This is how I read it as well , somethings seem right at he time but just don't work out. Does make sense.
The Overlap - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
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Indeed. Additionally there were some absolutely cracking games and moments under Ole too. Just a shame we couldn't build and move forward.
that's what I thought too.
Of course it makes sense. I was buzzing when we signed Ronaldo. Guaranteed 20-25 goal a season striker + plus iconic club hero = happy days. However, had we had the right structure in place at the time, then someone above the manager would've vetoed the signing.
Interesting to hear him on his last game , even though nothing was said to him he knew it was his last game at halftime as he felt players stopped believing and some even stopped caring.
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I was against him to be honest, because it just seemed vibes and hi5s. Looking back he was fine for a season but I don't think he's able to go to the next step. I think he knows that too.
Did you even watch it? He says later in the video that if he did would not sign him if he could change something, because with hindsight it was the wrong decision both for Ole/United and Ronaldo. The hatred for Ole on this sub is fecking weird.
Really enjoyed watching it! A lot of interesting bits about the mentality of the players. For example how he thinks Maguire was highly affected by the incident in Greece, a lot more then I would've guessed at least.
He also mentions that he (obviously for people with a brain) was not involved in the financial decisions on what to pay for certain players, so everyone giving ETH shit for overpaying can sod off as well. That's "just" on our shit structure above the manager.
The bit about certain players sending coaches to tell Ole that they don't want to captain certain games is... something else.
Yeah that's true too and from the way he speaks I feel like that too. Mind you, some of the comments are damning of some of the players.
I was perfectly fine with counter attacking football, and the whole "can't unpick deep defences" thing was massively overplayed in his last full season as we'd improved a lot in that regard. I think it was really just his naivety in giving into calls to become some high pressing, possession-hungry side that ended him.
Telling his players to press and attack Liverpool in particular was an absolute clanger and we never recovered.
A lot of the players need to go, you can’t compete at the highest level if this is the mentality the players have.
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I agree however, as he hinted at in the podcast, some of the players during his final few months weren't willing to be a hard-working counter-attacking team vs Liverpool (I assume Ronaldo was a big factor in that). Player power has always been a huge impediment at United post-Fergie.
God I love him.
Legend
Legend
I've got a ton of respect for Ole, always speaks candidly & with dignity in interviews & clearly he gets what it means to be attached to Man Utd. I still feel he got a rough deal at the end, player power, lack of structure that still plagues the club to this day, maybe a little naivety on his part... but he did a great job with a really tough hand and actually made us believe again for a little while. What a fairy tale it would've been to win the league with Ole at the wheel.
Let's see how the PL case against City turns out
The man cares and is very earnest.
That never bodes well for public faces tbh, people will snipe.
I wanted him gone but I regret that.
That never bodes well for public faces tbh, people will snipe.
I wanted him gone but I regret that.
Hope Ineos speak to him as well about the players and what he thinks is wrong - never thought he was right as a coach but can't fault his clear love for the club and what he wanted the team to do, even if he couldn't get the team to do it.
He specifically namedrops McTominay, Fred and Matic as players who give everything. I feel like that’s a dig at certain senior players who a lot of us might guess who they are.
You can tell Keano's really fond of Ole.
It was the same with Rooney, he was very sincere with some of his advice.
Great interview - nothing that groundbreaking but good to hear him confirm a few things that most assumed anyway
Still ridiculous the amount of hate he got from our own fans, the Ole years were the best in the postFergie era for me
Still ridiculous the amount of hate he got from our own fans, the Ole years were the best in the postFergie era for me
Toxicity gets rewarded with engagement, simply being nice isn't rewarding in the online sphere.
This speaks volumes about the club. We all know this but yet another confirmation of how the club sucks under the Glazers.
The moment you have a player say that he doesn't want to be captain for a specific match, you know he is not a Manchester United player. You have to move away from those players. But yet here we are.
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At the time it was the right decision but in hindsight it wasn’t the right decision.
I don't see an issue with not wanting to be captain. Some players are built for leadership, while others aren't. Fair play if you know you're not up to it.
Paul Scholes, for example, could never have been captain material. We didn't have many standout candidates after Keane was shown the door.
They should be man enough to tell Ole directly, though.
Don't be. He made mistakes and once things go wrong it's sometimes impossible to recover in that job. That's just how it is. You know he made mistakes, he knows he made mistakes, something had to change, that's just how it is. Just be fond of the good memories he gave you and appreciate what good he did.
True - still bizarre how many of our own fans lap it up though
Nice one Pexboy
If some players don't want to be captain it's not an issue, I agree. But when it's necessary to tell the manager that, then we are obviously talking about players who are at least seen as potential captain material by the manager. That's either bad character judgement on Ole's side when he wanted to make someone captain who doesn't feel for it, or really a lack of leadership material in the squad when there are no obvious candidates. Both would be a problem.
He did but my word the players let him down. Yet, they're still here!
It was for one game ffs. Not club captain.
Nostalgia but gimme 442, two centre forwards, two traditional wingers, two inverted full backs and give me the perfect players for that system.
Urgh that Leverkusen semi in 2002 is fecking depressing. Good interview, the Overlap have a good thing going.
I think it says more about the mentality/mindset of some players that they don't want to be captain for certain games, probably because they are worried about what would be said in social media. I don't mean this in the sense that they are weak but more that they are focusing on the wrong things.
He also mentioned that quite a few would refuse to do the pre-match interviews because they were worried as well. Namedropped a few that would always be up for it, think it was Bruno, McTominay, Maguire, De Gea, Lindelof or something like that.
The actual captain's armband is more of a symbol than anything. You don't need it to be vocal or provide leadership. A good team will have 3-4 big influences in the dressing room.
There are less obvious leaders in modern football, in my opinion. Keane, Vieira, Terry, etc. You just knew they were the boss, the guy, the man.
Gundogan was a good captain at City. Not as much presence as traditional leader, but a good communicator and inspirational with his ability to score important goals.
Met him recently when he visited India last month. Was fortunate enough to shake his hand and sit on the next table while we watched the Villa game in the hotel pub. Seems really earnest and his love for United is also undoubted.
However, in his interactions in India and also on the Overlap, he wasn't asked any tough questions. Particularly regarding the money spent on Maguire, AWB, Sancho. He's sitting there saying that Sancho didn't want to play on the right and also that we chased him for a year and a half. Think Ole wants back in PL or another top job and hence the PR (Bayern links and all) has been in overdrive.
However, in his interactions in India and also on the Overlap, he wasn't asked any tough questions. Particularly regarding the money spent on Maguire, AWB, Sancho. He's sitting there saying that Sancho didn't want to play on the right and also that we chased him for a year and a half. Think Ole wants back in PL or another top job and hence the PR (Bayern links and all) has been in overdrive.
Still the best manager we've had since Fergie. Nice to hear him speak on the things that happened, sounds more clued up than any of the managers we've had.
He said on the Overlap that he was never involved in those conversations (regarding price).
You can't say that the ultimate goal was to gradually move away from counter-attacking tactics in favour of a more possession-based style and, then, suggest that you thought it was a good idea to have a team with a 37 yo Ronaldo, Rashford, Bruno in the starting line-up. Something's off there, it just doesn't add up. Kudos to him for assuming responsibility, though, instead of blaming everyone and anyone under the sun. You rarely see it nowadays (and not just in football).
Nah, that's all about opinion.