A Solskjaer Masterclass. Whoop Whoop!!!

CG1010

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Of course, every team has games when they look poor and cannot break down and beat the opposition. I just don't think this is something we're experiencing any more than the top clubs do.
Post-lockdown we started with blowing everyone away with our array of attacking players. Then we lost steam as the teams started adjusting and pressing our CBs and Matic + Pogba. Plus we looked unidimensional in attack with too much reliance on either penalties or neat interplay between the front 4. We did have quite a few not so good performances at the end of the season.

Why I am now optimistic is that Matic+Pogba midfield 2 has probably been binned by Ole for good. Fred and Mctominay have looked good in dominating the midfield and that's a good sign. Further, by getting VDB, Cavani and Telles we have got ourselves Plan B and C in attack, and if it all works out, we should probably be able to score a couple of goals against your run of the mill PL teams. And while Maguire and Lindelof look like they are getting their confidence back, Axel may be a surprise addition that can be very valuable to the team. All in all very encouraging last couple of games I would say.
 

GlasgowCeltic

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Had no doubts his big game setup would show up Tuchel, thought a lack of quality may stop the team from winning though but they were superb, especially after the sub, the danger just dissipated.

They had some injuries but felt PSG tried too hard to imitate a mediocre version of Liverpool, except with an attack that doesn’t be press and non entity fullbacks, not impressed overall
 

OleTheGreat

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Wow! I have waited so long for this. Even when we beat PSG last time around in the round of 16 match. I was not so thrilled because this time around we truly deserved the win because we were fantastic in every department of the game. Axel and Lindelof worked well together. Wan Bissaka was out of this world. Luke Shaw and Alex Telles were so fresh and kept moving forward. Fred and Mctominay worked there backsides off. For the first time in a long time, Bruno-Martial-Rashford were all not so great at the same time. Although Martial and Rashford had some good first touches and were positive in their play, I don't think it was a finished product. They missed some beautiful chances to put us to maybe a score line that truly defined our performance- 3-1, 4-1 something of that sort. Rashford though, pulled off an amazing finish in the end to wrap it all up. The pressing game, pushing the ball forward, tackling, showing we can play, connecting the dots, moving swiftly throughout the game, those legs must be worn out in the end. I think only our possession stats were less than that of PSG but we ran so much more than them and I loved watching that game. Pogba made a difference, shout out to him. De Gea is back to his best! Ole at the wheel- bring on Chelsea! I only wish the board had supported Ole. Nevermind them, for a match that I thought would be awful to watch- it turned out to be one of the best. Great game boys, keep the form going!
 

AbusementPark

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if you are saying here we should be expecting ole to win the league then you are saying we are one of the greatest teams of all time since we are competing against the two best league teams of all time. nobody is buying that for a second. we aren't good enough to beat not one but two 100 pt potential teams. all we can do is improve on last years 66 pts, and we can probably improve quite a bit on that. this isn't the greatest squad in the history of the premiership though
Literally what I said in my message was that we would be closer than before and not that we would win the league. Looking further through the posts in the thread it seems you are trying to pick holes in everyone's comments. We beat Man City 3 times last season and twice in the league so if we improved on other results against the so called smaller teams then we will improve our points position.
 

Crashoutcassius

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Literally what I said in my message was that we would be closer than before and not that we would win the league. Looking further through the posts in the thread it seems you are trying to pick holes in everyone's comments. We beat Man City 3 times last season and twice in the league so if we improved on other results against the so called smaller teams then we will improve our points position.
is this not what forum discussion is?
 

Crashoutcassius

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Of course, every team has games when they look poor and cannot break down and beat the opposition. I just don't think this is something we're experiencing any more than the top clubs do.
you could well be right... or least teams closer to our level. if games where city drop points it is very rare they dont create a good few chances. poor are a bit different i guess in that they are so solid defensively or have been in the past that they often only need a couple of chances on their off day
 

Jim Beam

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This thread, but especially the tone within is a bit embarrassing. A dick swinging contest with the intention to provoke others. Not sure how it makes things better in the long run.

Going extreme one way or another is equally bad.
 

alexanderplatz

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I really enjoyed the team performance last night. A good attitude comes from the top down and I think the players performances have shown a number of times that they like Ole and respect him. Itwas fantastic seeing Telles get a few crosses in - feel like he can be a real asset in that respect. AWB made some fantastic tackles on Mbappe as well. With Tuanzebe I think it was clear that Ole wanted him to play regularly last year only for him to get injured. However perhaps we are seeing now why he did not go into the market for a CB. In this respect he is rolling the dice and hoping that Tuanzebe has no injury problems this year, good to have a manager with a bit of bravery and let’s hope it works out.
 

Gator Nate

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Ole definitely deserves some credit - and the players themselves for showing this is a team sport and big names on either side arent the end all. You don't make it to this level by being an absolute donkey.

Well.. Maybe some do, but none of them were in Paris tonight!
 

DarkXaero

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This thread, but especially the tone within is a bit embarrassing. A dick swinging contest with the intention to provoke others. Not sure how it makes things better in the long run.

Going extreme one way or another is equally bad.
Agreed. Cringe thread with a lot of cringe-worthy posts.
 

CG1010

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This thread, but especially the tone within is a bit embarrassing. A dick swinging contest with the intention to provoke others. Not sure how it makes things better in the long run.

Going extreme one way or another is equally bad.
Individual posts could be, but "A Solskjaer Masterclass. Whoop Whoop!!!" Is provocative on a Man United forum?
 

devilish

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When Ole wins = ole is great
When Ole loses = they set him to fail as they didn't bought him Sancho, Grealish, Van Basten, Zidane and Pele
 

jackal&hyde

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When Ole wins = ole is great
When Ole loses = they set him to fail as they didn't bought him Sancho, Grealish, Van Basten, Zidane and Pele
Talking about this season, no. We were unfit like a few other teams in the league. I don't understand why some people don't want to accept that fact, especially when we are far from the only team suffering from it. Is it that they don't grasp the importance of pre season for fitness and match sharpness or they just don't care and will take any opportunity to hate on the manager. Bizarre stuff really.
 

devilish

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Talking about this season, no. We were unfit like a few other teams in the league. I don't understand why some people don't want to accept that fact, especially when we are far from the only team suffering from it. Is it that they don't grasp the importance of pre season for fitness and match sharpness or they just don't care and will take any opportunity to hate on the manager. Bizarre stuff really.
That is not the point I was making. Fans need to understand that the manager had been backed. He spent nearly 200m last year. This year we got Telles, VDB, Cavani and 2 extremely promising kids in the middle of a pandemic

We as fans need to also know what we want. If we don't want the Saudis then we will be run as a business which means dividends to the owners. If we want the club to have a social soul then transfer money will be sacrificed because of that. If we want a DOF then expect United to move away from the obvious signings on huge sums of money and more towards a transfer window of this kind
 

georgipep

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That is not the point I was making. Fans need to understand that the manager had been backed. He spent nearly 200m last year. This year we got Telles, VDB, Cavani and 2 extremely promising kids in the middle of a pandemic

We as fans need to also know what we want. If we don't want the Saudis then we will be run as a business which means dividends to the owners. If we want the club to have a social soul then transfer money will be sacrificed because of that. If we want a DOF then expect United to move away from the obvious signings on huge sums of money and more towards a transfer window of this kind
I may be in the minority here but I really didn't see Cavani, Telles or the 2 extremely promising kids on the teamsheet for our Palace, Brighton and Tottenham games. Or you are making a point of Ole not winning future games?
 

devilish

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I may be in the minority here but I really didn't see Cavani, Telles or the 2 extremely promising kids on the teamsheet for our Palace, Brighton and Tottenham games. Or you are making a point of Ole not winning future games?
I am referring to the stance taken by many fans that Ole wasn't backed because we didn't bought him Sancho and Grealish. Moyes wasn't backed. Ole was
 

zizou81

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Ole is a giant killer. Gotta give him that. He has city in his pocket as well.

But he seems to struggle against mid to low table teams. The other two teams in our group are going to be a different kind of test. Redbull although to of the bundesliga is probably more on the level of spurs.
 

Gasolin

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I am referring to the stance taken by many fans that Ole wasn't backed because we didn't bought him Sancho and Grealish. Moyes wasn't backed. Ole was
If he was backed, the players would be there right away from game 1. He was not backed, but he accepted to try to improve the squad still. Can't you feel that the type of signings we are doing are completely different from the LVG and Jose era?
 

Jim Beam

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Individual posts could be, but "A Solskjaer Masterclass. Whoop Whoop!!!" Is provocative on a Man United forum?
Yeah, when it's main purpose is an attack on other posters and United fans. So no, it is not about thread title obviously.
 

devilish

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If he was backed, the players would be there right away from game 1. He was not backed, but he accepted to try to improve the squad still. Can't you feel that the type of signings we are doing are completely different from the LVG and Jose era?
That's silly really. Most signings are done towards the end of the transfer market for a reason. The selling club would want to make sure he accepts the best fee.

Sure things can improve which is why I want a DOF. However ole can't complain far too much on that either. He gave the thumbs up for 2 ordinary defenders on a ridiculous 130m fee

I am glad that we are moving away from the manager want and more towards the Club needs in the long term. It's aint perfect yet but we are getting there
 

georgipep

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I am referring to the stance taken by many fans that Ole wasn't backed because we didn't bought him Sancho and Grealish. Moyes wasn't backed. Ole was
I can't really comment on transfer targets, Ole has never publicly said (and rightly so) who he wants. Many people here commented about Grealish when he broke curfew and drove drunk that they don't want him at United, ever. As for Sancho, personally, I'm glad we didn't spend an obscene amount of money on him. There is now an outcry that the club has paid out £11m in dividend (agreed in February) but somehow spending £100m+ on one player is reasonable...

What I do have an opinion on, however, is the fact that the transfers came in on deadline day. That did have an effect on our results but unfortunately we will never know what could have been.

Anyways, I'm super optimistic about the season and I think all of the transfers will have a role to play.
 

Zlatans Knee

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That's silly really. Most signings are done towards the end of the transfer market for a reason. The selling club would want to make sure he accepts the best fee.

Sure things can improve which is why I want a DOF. However ole can't complain far too much on that either. He gave the thumbs up for 2 ordinary defenders on a ridiculous 130m fee
I count one (Maguire) who was actually very good for us in the second half of last year. Who is the other?
 

cyberman

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That's silly really. Most signings are done towards the end of the transfer market for a reason. The selling club would want to make sure he accepts the best fee.

Sure things can improve which is why I want a DOF. However ole can't complain far too much on that either. He gave the thumbs up for 2 ordinary defenders on a ridiculous 130m fee

I am glad that we are moving away from the manager want and more towards the Club needs in the long term. It's aint perfect yet but we are getting there
Imagine calling AWB ordinary after a night like Tuesday.
If he is ordinary then Ole wasnt backed this summer. You cant have it both ways.
 

devilish

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Imagine calling AWB ordinary after a night like Tuesday.
If he is ordinary then Ole wasnt backed this summer. You cant have it both ways.
Phi nev kept viera in his pockets and herrera did the same with Scholes. That does not make them WC. I don't care about individual games but more about consistency.

AWB is great defensively but he struggles big time going forward. Phil
 
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cyberman

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He's great defensively but he struggles big time going forward. I don't care about individual games but about the bigger picture. After all Phil nev kept viera in his pockets and herrera did the same with Scholes
Last Tuesday wasnt a one off.
 

devilish

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I count one (Maguire) who was actually very good for us in the second half of last year. Who is the other?
Actually maguire was decent at the first part of the season and then his performance nosedived after lockdown. I was referring to tackles
 

OleBoiii

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When Ole wins = ole is great
When Ole loses = they set him to fail as they didn't bought him Sancho, Grealish, Van Basten, Zidane and Pele
Ridiculous exaggeration aside: what's so hard to understand with the basis?

If a team performs better than the sum of its parts, then the manager will rightly be given credit. This is one of the reasons why Fergie and to a certain degree Klopp is held to such a high regard. On the other hand, when a team performs just about to the level you'd expect(which in the case of United right now means nowhere near a PL title), then it's hard to blame the manager. Reality has just caught up with the team. Even Pep and Mourinho have a hard time dealing with this reality when it strikes.

And on the flipside: if the team performs worse than the sum of its part, then the manager should take most of the blame(provided the team isn't suffering a major injury crisis). I'm 'Ole in', but if we are 11 points behind top 4 around Christmas(like Mourinho was), then I wouldn't be opposed to sacking Ole, as I think we are better than that on paper.
 

lysglimt

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When Ole wins = ole is great
When Ole loses = they set him to fail as they didn't bought him Sancho, Grealish, Van Basten, Zidane and Pele
When Ole loses = he is useless
When Ole wins = he is still useless, and will lose the next match
 

lysglimt

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I am referring to the stance taken by many fans that Ole wasn't backed because we didn't bought him Sancho and Grealish. Moyes wasn't backed. Ole was
He was backed by signing v.d Beek and Telles - which is a total of £50 million. Signing Pellistri and Diallo/Traore or whatever his name is this week - are long term investments which probably wont help the manager for at least 12 months
So I understand your point that we can't sign everyone - but there were smaller clubs who are not playing in the C.L who spent more than us - so he wasn't heavily backed

Villa spent £81million
Everton spent £90 million
Leeds spent £96 million
Even Sheffield U had a net spend that was just £10 millions behind us

But I understand that this is a price we have to pay for a) useless signings under Mourinho and van Gaal (which still hunts us) and b) the epidemic.
 

devilish

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He was backed by signing v.d Beek and Telles - which is a total of £50 million. Signing Pellistri and Diallo/Traore or whatever his name is this week - are long term investments which probably wont help the manager for at least 12 months
So I understand your point that we can't sign everyone - but there were smaller clubs who are not playing in the C.L who spent more than us - so he wasn't heavily backed

Villa spent £81million
Everton spent £90 million
Leeds spent £96 million
Even Sheffield U had a net spend that was just £10 millions behind us

But I understand that this is a price we have to pay for a) useless signings under Mourinho and van Gaal (which still hunts us) and b) the epidemic.
We actually spent 83m euros this year which tells part of the story as that doesn't factor Cavani's agent fees in. Pellistri and Traore might not go straight into first team but they aren't 15 year olds either. Pellistri had been playing regularly with Penarol. Traore had already scored with the first team and during his debut.

There's room of improvement of course but I am actually happy of how we conducted ourselves in the transfer market. Its amazing that we were able to sign VDB, Telles, Cavani and Pellistri for less money then Maguire had costed us.
 

devilish

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Ridiculous exaggeration aside: what's so hard to understand with the basis?

If a team performs better than the sum of its parts, then the manager will rightly be given credit. This is one of the reasons why Fergie and to a certain degree Klopp is held to such a high regard. On the other hand, when a team performs just about to the level you'd expect(which in the case of United right now means nowhere near a PL title), then it's hard to blame the manager. Reality has just caught up with the team. Even Pep and Mourinho have a hard time dealing with this reality when it strikes.

And on the flipside: if the team performs worse than the sum of its part, then the manager should take most of the blame(provided the team isn't suffering a major injury crisis). I'm 'Ole in', but if we are 11 points behind top 4 around Christmas(like Mourinho was), then I wouldn't be opposed to sacking Ole, as I think we are better than that on paper.

I understand the Ole ins POV. We removed the toxic atmosphere in our dressing room, some kids had actually improved and United had done well against the big clubs. That's all on Ole.

However I do see a point with the Ole outers as well. United had struggled against the smaller sides and some decisions taken were baffling. For example what's the point of spending 80m on an ordinary & slow CB when we already had a slow defence on our own? Why do we play with Maguire and Lindelof as CB, Matic as DM and Pogba alongside Matic? The defensive trio is probably the slowest in football and Pogba is a defensive liability (his words, not mine). Why buying a defensive FB for 50m when we already had Shaw as a defensive FB on the left? Why did we pursue Sancho when we've already got Greenwood, whose actually doing well in a big boy's league? Why had we given the captain's band to Maguire when its obvious that he's no captain?

In my opinion, United had the squad to make it to top 4. Ole achieved that and he deserved a second shot. He's survived another year out of merit but his achievements was what was expected.

Finally I am also glad that United is moving away from constantly appeasing the manager regarding transfer market. That was something that had started to cripple us before Sir Alex retired but which became ridiculous after he retired. Hopefully United will move to modern times by hiring a DOF, a head of recruitment etc.