Ole Gunnar Solskjær | Managerial Watch | Sky Germany: Being considered for Bayern interim job

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Read the whole post - context is important.
No it’s not, he took over a side that months earlier had finished 2nd on 80+ points, spend an absolute shed load of money on players everyone is desperate to see the back of, won feck all, and his best season, was worse the season before he took over.

He’s our 5th longest serving manager since the war, and the longest serving since SAF.

He was an epic failure and a massive waste of time & money.

If the best ETH manages in 3 years is a 2nd placed finish, with points in the mid 70’s, he’ll be a massive failure too.
 

SalfordRed18

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No it’s not, he took over a side that months earlier had finished 2nd on 80+ points, spend an absolute shed load of money on players everyone is desperate to see the back of, won feck all, and his best season, was worse the season before he took over.

He’s our 5th longest serving manager since the war, and the longest serving since SAF.

He was an epic failure and a massive waste of time & money.
He had 2 very solid seasons and a shit third. To say his entire tenure was terrible is incredibly disingenuous.
 

edcunited1878

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He failed just like Moyes, LVG, and Jose. All short-termism failures. It wasn't all their fault because the overall structure was disconnected and damaged every year it got farther away from the Gill/SAF axis.

The constant bashing of Ole is tiring and unfounded. His 3rd year was a total bomb, so be it. United have been mugs for years now when it comes to spending, which only further illustrates that the owners spend on players and United haven't spent well. And one of the common lines on Caf has been, "need to find owners who are willing to spend...more".

No, that's not how it actually works. Investment in the club in the academy, training, development, scouting systems, and transfers all make a difference. If something's being neglected or just flat out spent unwisely like transfers, then it's going to show. It has shown. That's a reflection of the entire system. That's never all on the manager.
 

Chesterlestreet

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It’s academic now, but its odd that Oles 2nd place finish is derided as being a freak year in a weak league but when Mourinho says finishing 2nd with United was his finest achievement most say ‘Yeah, you’re probably right’.
Yeah, I agree with this.

I've said this before, but you can downplay a factual result in any number of ways - and sometimes it makes sense.

For instance, Ole's United were not the 2nd best team in England that season. There were reasons, let's say, why things turned out that way.

Nor were they, arguably, the 3rd best team in England, that other season. Again - reasons, yes, sure.

But if you manage - as, er, manager - to finish 3rd and 2nd in successive seasons, it's ridiculous to suggest that you're a "fraud".

Those who think Ole was barely a Championship manager must have a very high opinion of the squad he managed. Or a very low opinion of the opposition he faced.
 

Gandalf

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He should definitely replace fat Frank at Everton as soon as the board there figure out what a fraud Lampard is. We can then give him cut price deals on Donny, Brandon Williams, Tuanzebe and his beloved Harry Maguire.
 

Plant0x84

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He had 2 very solid seasons and a shit third. To say his entire tenure was terrible is incredibly disingenuous.
Those who think Ole was barely a Championship manager must have a very high opinion of the squad he managed. Or a very low opinion of the opposition he faced.
Sadly, there are plenty of posters who are so scarred by how quickly and badly Oles tenure went south that they are unwilling or unable to be reasonable and give credit where and when it’s due.
Any topic on Ole is now largely pointless as it will always descend into vitriolic, hyperbolic, over-blown criticism or snide sarcasm and mockery. A reasonable discussion is not possible.
 

Pickle85

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No it’s not, he took over a side that months earlier had finished 2nd on 80+ points, spend an absolute shed load of money on players everyone is desperate to see the back of, won feck all, and his best season, was worse the season before he took over.

He’s our 5th longest serving manager since the war, and the longest serving since SAF.

He was an epic failure and a massive waste of time & money.

If the best ETH manages in 3 years is a 2nd placed finish, with points in the mid 70’s, he’ll be a massive failure too.
Agreed. Love Ole and he'll always be a united legend but he should never have gotten the gig. Not even as interim.
 

Kaos

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For me his biggest downfall were his signings. Spending £130million on Maguire and AWB should have been a sackable offence on its own.
 

Plant0x84

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Agreed. Love Ole and he'll always be a united legend but he should never have gotten the gig. Not even as interim.
For me his biggest downfall were his signings. Spending £130million on Maguire and AWB should have been a sackable offence on its own.
Benefit of Hindsight. Plenty were very happy that both players were signed just as many called for Ole to get the full time job when he started as interim so well.
 
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Sadly, there are plenty of posters who are so scarred by how quickly and badly Oles tenure went south that they are unwilling or unable to be reasonable and give credit where and when it’s due.
That’s not the case at all, there are plenty of posters that couldn’t believe he got the gig to begin with and were critical through his entire reign. Let’s not pretend there wasn’t a big debate during his entire reign from Ole-acolytes and those constantly scratching their heads about how the feck he got the job & was just about managing to stay in it.
He had horror moments/form every season, including as intermin, so many times he pulled a win out just as it appeared he would surely face the sack.
The writing was always on the wall, and nothing about our football felt sustainable, the wheels were even coming off at the end of the 2nd placed season.
Facts is, he achieved a 66 point season, a 74 point season, no trophies and the his luck finally ran out.
Was an incredible waste of so much time & money.
 

Pickle85

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Benefit of Hindsight. Plenty were very happy that both players were signed just as many called for Ole to get the full time job when he started as interim so well.
As I say, I don't think he should have even been a interim, let alone gotten the full time job.
 

BorisManUtd

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I enjoyed first few months of his interim role but think after that big win in Paris, performances started to get worse, at the time I thought giving him the job as permanent manager like club did towards the end of March was rushing things and wrong decision, but it happened obviously. Ole's first full season in the end was okay, 3rd place and going far in all competitions, next season was similar and even better league wise, but game vs Villarreal in EL final should've been his last in charge as everything that happened 6 months later was coming.

But it's all in the past now - hopefully Ole can make a comeback in management and do well.
 

bond19821982

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Benefit of Hindsight. Plenty were very happy that both players were signed just as many called for Ole to get the full time job when he started as interim so well.
Not really. A huge number of folks here did say that it's a bad investment on both. 130m on 2 . What the feck was he thinking
 

Revaulx

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I don’t think he did fail in this regard. He got a 2nd and 3rd place league finish, he got to a EL final and was regularly qualifying for CL football.
I think where he failed was transitioning to the next step - Turning a counter attacking team into a more progressive front foot team, and translating from going deep in Competitions to trophy wins.
Well I agree with most of that but still think it’s fair to say he failed. I just don’t think he had the gravitas to get everyone (NOT just the players; the ones jockeying for positions of influence in signings as well) on board with his vision. It was easier to trot out the United DNA clichés after a while.

It’s academic now, but its odd that Oles 2nd place finish is derided as being a freak year in a weak league but when Mourinho says finishing 2nd with United was his finest achievement most say ‘Yeah, you’re probably right’.
Most? Only his fanboys, of whom there are sadly plenty still around. I quite enjoyed his first 18 months, but it was pretty obvious to plenty of us that things were only going one way after he had managed to wangle an unmerited improved contract.

I wish his luck and success in his future endeavours!
Same.
 

Foxbatt

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He should definitely replace fat Frank at Everton as soon as the board there figure out what a fraud Lampard is. We can then give him cut price deals on Donny, Brandon Williams, Tuanzebe and his beloved Harry Maguire.
You forgot AWB.
 

Gandalf

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For me his biggest downfall were his signings. Spending £130million on Maguire and AWB should have been a sackable offence on its own.
I see this mentioned a lot but based on how long the club had tracked them I would argue these are the signings he had the least involvement with besides obviously Ronaldo. The train was already in motion and I don't think Ole did much more than hop on board and I certainly don't see how he is to blame for the fees paid, that lies squarely on the shoulders of Judge and Woodward.
 

dove

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Meh another thread turned into Ole bashing thread. Yea he is crap, everybody knows it. Move on.

So, why is he still out of job? Is it because he, just like Moyes, thinks he belongs in the Champions league and is waiting for good offers from those clubs? Or is he so bad that even mediocre clubs stay away from him?
 

Gandalf

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Meh another thread turned into Ole bashing thread. Yea he is crap, everybody knows it. Move on.

So, why is he still out of job? Is it because he, just like Moyes, thinks he belongs in the Champions league and is waiting for good offers from those clubs? Or is he so bad that even mediocre clubs stay away from him?
Think it clearly states he made a conscious decision to take a break from the game and spend time with his family. He went from playing to coaching at United and then a variety of Managerial appointments. I can imagine he was quite burned out when he got sacked last year, the poor guy was visibly aging before our eyes and looked haunted. It was well reported that he stayed in the area because his daughter was playing for the Women's junior side and he didn't want to uproot the family again and as Mitten says, he has taken time to reflect on everything he has done and continue his coaching education. Sure he won't be the next Manager of Real Madrid but he has had some success in his career and I am certain if he wanted to return there would be jobs available, it is just a question of whether that is what he really wants. I still expect that he will be the Norway national team coach sooner rather than later.
 

fergiewherearethou

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Meh another thread turned into Ole bashing thread. Yea he is crap, everybody knows it. Move on.

So, why is he still out of job? Is it because he, just like Moyes, thinks he belongs in the Champions league and is waiting for good offers from those clubs? Or is he so bad that even mediocre clubs stay away from him?
I think Ole is perceived like a worst manager than Moyes and by quite a margin. Moyes got jobs after United and has done a decent work in his second stint at West Ham.
I don't see Ole given a chance at Sociedad or a PL relegation candidate like Sunderland.
 

Foxbatt

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I think Ole is perceived like a worst manager than Moyes and by quite a margin. Moyes got jobs after United and has done a decent work in his second stint at West Ham.
I don't see Ole given a chance at Sociedad or a PL relegation candidate like Sunderland.
Moyes was terrible after he left United and he relegated Sunderland and got sacked by a couple of more clubs. Moyes thought he was an elite manager but I never felt that Ole thought so highly of himself or had a conceited opinion of himself. He was a nice guy out of his depth at United.
 

Judas

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His 2nd placed finish was comfortably more impressive than Jose, one of the main reasons being because he's just nowhere near the managerial level of the latter. That's not me sticking the boot in on Ole, it's just common sense.
 

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I didn't like him as a coach but I can actually respect this approach. If he still wants to come back to coaching, it's good for him to learn from all his past mistakes as well as things he did right. Traveling around the world studying other teams play, formation, coaching style etc to have a wider range of understanding to the game when he comes back is good.
Most managers who's serious about managing would have their own game grafted inside the back of their head.

It's the other 200 games you'd have to analyze.
 

Ajr

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Moyes was terrible after he left United and he relegated Sunderland and got sacked by a couple of more clubs. Moyes thought he was an elite manager but I never felt that Ole thought so highly of himself or had a conceited opinion of himself. He was a nice guy out of his depth at United.
Feel like the amount of shit Moyes took for getting relegated with Sunderland would be nothing compared to if Ole did the same. Now he's proven he's a premier League manager, but the truth is sometimes it just doesn't work out with a team. Football has more nuance than that.
 

Bubz27

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Shouldn't the thread title be changed? Something like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - Man Watch.
 

InfiniteBoredom

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Benefit of Hindsight. Plenty were very happy that both players were signed just as many called for Ole to get the full time job when he started as interim so well.
Plenty = all? Because that’s the only interpretation where your point about hindsight makes sense.

Plenty were against him being appointed, particularly given the collapse post PSG tie. Plenty decried the price point and technical limitations of his signings, especially the Brit ones. And were told to shut up by his defenders, and were villified as fake, glory hunting fans. Turned out they knew about football just a bit better than those who have their romantic rose-tinted glasses on.
 

Foxbatt

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Feel like the amount of shit Moyes took for getting relegated with Sunderland would be nothing compared to if Ole did the same. Now he's proven he's a premier League manager, but the truth is sometimes it just doesn't work out with a team. Football has more nuance than that.
Ole did get Cardiff relegated. What he has proven is that he was not a pl manager of top quality that's needed for a top club.
Moyes is at his level.
 

MUnchies

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Most managers who's serious about managing would have their own game grafted inside the back of their head.

It's the other 200 games you'd have to analyze.
If he believes his methods and approach failed him then it’s not a bad thing to try to learn and study a new approach.