Appointing Solskjaer was a mistake

[Sterling Archer]

You fecking kidding me?

Aside from Liverpool and City, look at the teams around. None of them are lighting the league afire. We've just lost 7 of 9 games, which is atrocious, and yet still in the running for a top 4 spot.

It should tell you a few things:
- judging Ole over half a season is idiotic. As fans, it's crazy to be calling for his head already. As a chief executive it's complete numbskull business to have given him a full contract after a dozen games.

- the culture and atmosphere within the squad is just as important as the tactics. From that standpoint, I'd say Ole might be the best option to get us back to the mentality that was ripped away by Moyes.

 

[Majima]

Were you a Mourinho fan? If not, don't you think it's slightly strange that they're playing the same as they did under him? I've never understood the kneejerk reaction to blame the manager.

Is it Ole's plan for Young to hoof the ball forward relentlessly for 90 minutes regardless of success rate?
Is it Ole's plan for Lukaku to stand like a Covent Garden statue and point occasionally?
Is it Ole's plan for our midfield not being able to string a few passes together?
Is it Ole's plan for all passing options to just feck off away from the ball carrier hoping for a long hoof forward?
Is it Ole's plan for De Gea to just not be that good recently and for his distribution to be tragically shit?
Is it Ole's plan for our defence to actually be borderline inept at anything?

Perhaps fans should start looking at these untouchable sweethearts who have been wearing the red fecking shirt for a couple of years before chastising the manager who's been there for 4 months.

I wasn't a fan of Mourinho's football at all. I don't like the results orientated style. I respected that he was a winner and was hopeful he could bring success back to us in the short-term, but was glad by the end that he had gone. It had got all too petty and toxic.

It's not kneejerk from me at all. I was far from convinced he was the right appointment from the start.

I don't think it's strange, Ole is a conservative manager.

Have you seen our setup? We play very deep, then launch it forward in the channels for Rashford to chase.
Of course it's the plan for Young & co to do that. We love a good chase up the pitch under Ole.

He's constantly on about how we just need to run more, never any focus on the technical/tactical side. He's not just saying this. It shows, come match-day.

How can Ole be exempt from criticism when he's been here for 4 months now. We should be seeing some evidence of his coaching by now. All i can see is us looking more and more clueless by the week, getting outplayed by everyone we come across. In the past month or so, he's got outplayed by Nuno twice, Pellegrini who's West Ham had the better of us at home, Javi Gracia who's Watford had the better of us at home too & Marco Silva's Everton. Forget City, those are the matches that i form my opinion on. If he can't even get the better of them, what chance has he got vs the rest of the top 6?

7 losses from 9 is a tragic record. You would think it's Moyes out there at the minute. Say what you want about Mourinho, it never got this bad under him.

I don't see any top talent (which everyone hopes we'll get) looking at this side under Ole, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

I would really like to know what is the reason for the continued faith in Ole?

Is it just blind optimism?

 

[Rhyme Animal]

I wasn't a fan of Mourinho's football at all. I don't like the results orientated style. I respected that he was a winner and was hopeful he could bring success back to us in the short-term, but was glad by the end that he had gone. It had got all too petty and toxic.

It's not kneejerk from me all at all. I was far from convinced he was the right appointment from the start.

I don't think it's strange, Ole is a conservative manager.

Have you seen our setup? We play very deep, then launch it forward in the channels for Rashford to chase.
Of course it's the plan for Young & co to do that. We love a good chase up the pitch under Ole.

He's constantly on about how we just need to run more, never any focus on the technical/tactical side. He's not just saying this. It shows, come match-day.

How can Ole be exempt from criticism when he's been here for 4 months now. We should be seeing some evidence of his coaching by now. All i can see is us looking more and more clueless by the week, getting outplayed by everyone we come across. In the past month or so, he's got outplayed by Nuno twice, Pellegrini who's West Ham had the better of us at home, Javi Gracia who's Watford had the better of us at home too & Marco Silva's Everton. Forget City, those are the matches that i form my opinion on. If he can't even get the better of them, what chance has he got vs the rest of the top 6?

7 losses from 9 is a tragic record. You would think it's Moyes out there at the minute. Say what you want about Mourinho, it never got this bad under him.

I don't see any top talent (which everyone hopes we'll get) looking at this side under Ole, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

I would really like to know what is the reason for the continued faith in Ole?

Is it just blind optimism?

Excellent post.

 

[Intilo]

Not for Glazer , he is a yes man , a manager without reputation so he won't be able to attract high profile player that requires huge amount of money. He is perfect for Glazer money saving policy although he is tactically inept and clueless. While Jose Mourinho has proven himself as Brilliant tactician no matter how bad his personality is.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

I wasn't a fan of Mourinho's football at all. I don't like the results orientated style. I respected that he was a winner and was hopeful he could bring success back to us in the short-term, but was glad by the end that he had gone. It had got all too petty and toxic.

It's not kneejerk from me all at all. I was far from convinced he was the right appointment from the start.

I don't think it's strange, Ole is a conservative manager.

Have you seen our setup? We play very deep, then launch it forward in the channels for Rashford to chase.
Of course it's the plan for Young & co to do that. We love a good chase up the pitch under Ole.

He's constantly on about how we just need to run more, never any focus on the technical/tactical side. He's not just saying this. It shows, come match-day.

How can Ole be exempt from criticism when he's been here for 4 months now. We should be seeing some evidence of his coaching by now. All i can see is us looking more and more clueless by the week, getting outplayed by everyone we come across. In the past month or so, he's got outplayed by Nuno twice, Pellegrini who's West Ham had the better of us at home, Javi Gracia who's Watford had the better of us at home too & Marco Silva's Everton. Forget City, those are the matches that i form my opinion on. If he can't even get the better of them, what chance has he got vs the rest of the top 6?

7 losses from 9 is a tragic record. You would think it's Moyes out there at the minute. Say what you want about Mourinho, it never got this bad under him.

I don't see any top talent (which everyone hopes we'll get) looking at this side under Ole, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

I would really like to know what is the reason for the continued faith in Ole?

Is it just blind optimism?

Good post

 

[bleedred]

I don't see any top talent (which everyone thinks we'll get) looking at this side which has just lost the last 7 out of 9, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

All we are going to be able to attract under him are the dregs.

It's as simple as that really.

Hopefully Spurs get knocked out of the CL and we go all out for Pochettino.

And how many superstars will line up for a man who has won feck all.

This players joining for a manager is non-sense. Silva, Aguero and Kompany joined just for mancini?? or did hazard join for Di matteo. Or sanchez and Ozil, just so they could play under wenger. I could go on.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I wasn't a fan of Mourinho's football at all. I don't like the results orientated style. I respected that he was a winner and was hopeful he could bring success back to us in the short-term, but was glad by the end that he had gone. It had got all too petty and toxic.

It's not kneejerk from me at all. I was far from convinced he was the right appointment from the start.

I don't think it's strange, Ole is a conservative manager.

Have you seen our setup? We play very deep, then launch it forward in the channels for Rashford to chase.
Of course it's the plan for Young & co to do that. We love a good chase up the pitch under Ole.

He's constantly on about how we just need to run more, never any focus on the technical/tactical side. He's not just saying this. It shows, come match-day.

How can Ole be exempt from criticism when he's been here for 4 months now. We should be seeing some evidence of his coaching by now. All i can see is us looking more and more clueless by the week, getting outplayed by everyone we come across. In the past month or so, he's got outplayed by Nuno twice, Pellegrini who's West Ham had the better of us at home, Javi Gracia who's Watford had the better of us at home too & Marco Silva's Everton. Forget City, those are the matches that i form my opinion on. If he can't even get the better of them, what chance has he got vs the rest of the top 6?

7 losses from 9 is a tragic record. You would think it's Moyes out there at the minute. Say what you want about Mourinho, it never got this bad under him.

I don't see any top talent (which everyone hopes we'll get) looking at this side under Ole, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

I would really like to know what is the reason for the continued faith in Ole?

Is it just blind optimism?

Good post.

I think people are hoping Ole is to us what Zidane was to Real.

So it is blind optimism.

I don't know how anyone can look at our recent form and not be worried for next season. We've lost 7 out of 9 and have played fairly terrible in most of those games(even the two games we won).

 

[bleedred]

What are you talking about?

How can you find it so unbelievable?

He has no experiencing in building/shaping a team at this level and the last time he had some input on transfers at Cardiff, it was a disaster.

The last two mangers we brought in had around 50 years of experience between them at this level. That worked out well, didnt it?

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

The last two mangers we brought in had around 50 years of experience between them at this level. That worked out well, didnt it?

Van Gaal never had direct say in transfers before. That was a worry we had when he was announced the manager. His transfers were horrible here. But the bigger problem was that he's just not a top manager anymore. He's a has been.

Jose though is simply a busted fish. The signs were there during Chelsea's implosion in 2015-2016. The game has passed him by and he's failed to adapt. He hasn't been a top manager since he was at Madrid.

The point though is we should have aimed to minimized the risk as much as possible with our managerial appointment after Jose.

I mean Moyes is more proven than OGS was and Moyes was a monstrous disaster.

 

[bleedred]

I wasn't a fan of Mourinho's football at all. I don't like the results orientated style. I respected that he was a winner and was hopeful he could bring success back to us in the short-term, but was glad by the end that he had gone. It had got all too petty and toxic.

It's not kneejerk from me at all. I was far from convinced he was the right appointment from the start.

I don't think it's strange, Ole is a conservative manager.

Have you seen our setup? We play very deep, then launch it forward in the channels for Rashford to chase.
Of course it's the plan for Young & co to do that. We love a good chase up the pitch under Ole.

He's constantly on about how we just need to run more, never any focus on the technical/tactical side. He's not just saying this. It shows, come match-day.

How can Ole be exempt from criticism when he's been here for 4 months now. We should be seeing some evidence of his coaching by now. All i can see is us looking more and more clueless by the week, getting outplayed by everyone we come across. In the past month or so, he's got outplayed by Nuno twice, Pellegrini who's West Ham had the better of us at home, Javi Gracia who's Watford had the better of us at home too & Marco Silva's Everton. Forget City, those are the matches that i form my opinion on. If he can't even get the better of them, what chance has he got vs the rest of the top 6?

7 losses from 9 is a tragic record. You would think it's Moyes out there at the minute. Say what you want about Mourinho, it never got this bad under him.

I don't see any top talent (which everyone hopes we'll get) looking at this side under Ole, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

I would really like to know what is the reason for the continued faith in Ole?

Is it just blind optimism?

Nobody is calling for faith in OUR manager. I haven't seen a single poster claiming him to be the messiah and he will turn out to be a success.

But on the flip side, there are so many who are cocksure that he will be a failure and some even consider this tenure of the past four months a failure.

We have to give a manager/any manager time to address the issues in the squad. If we are going to sack a manager after every bad run, it would be a joke.

For all the Pep/Klopp/Poch love in here, all had similar issues in the beginning and two have them have won nothing in the last 5 years.

 

[bleedred]

Van Gaal never had direct say in transfers before. That was a worry we had when he was announced the manager. His transfers were horrible here. But the bigger problem was that he's just not a top manager anymore. He's a has been.

Jose though is simply a busted fish. The signs were there during Chelsea's implosion in 2015-2016. The game has passed him by and he's failed to adapt. He hasn't been a top manager since he was at Madrid.

The point though is we should have aimed to minimized the risk as much as possible with our managerial appointment after Jose.

I mean Moyes is more proven than OGS was and Moyes was a monstrous disaster.

Then why would you bring up solskjaers non-experience as a trivial factor in the selection process, since it has been evident that experience means nothing.

 

[R'hllor]

Dunno about appointing him but not waiting end of season before making final decision regarding perma manager was poor.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Nobody is calling for faith in OUR manager. I haven't seen a single poster claiming him to be the messiah and he will turn out to be a success.

But on the flip side, there are so many who are cocksure that he will be a failure and some even consider this tenure of the past four months a failure.

We have to give a manager/any manager time to address the issues in the squad. If we are going to sack a manager after every bad run, it would be a joke.

For all the Pep/Klopp/Poch love in here, all had similar issues in the beginning and two have them have won nothing in the last 5 years.

Pep and Klopp did 'struggle' initially, but they already started imposing their imprint on City and Liverpool.

There were clear patterns of play and structure being developed.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Then why would you bring up solskjaers non-experience as a trivial factor in the selection process, since it has been evident that experience means nothing.

The selection process should have been conducted with the aim of minimizing the risk of failure as much as we could have.

Experience does mean something.

The problem though is we've gone with experienced managers who are past their expiry date(Van Gaal and Jose).

 

[bleedred]

The selection process should have been conducted with the aim of minimizing the risk of failure as much as we could have.

Experience does mean something.

The problem though is we've gone with experienced managers who are past their expiry date(Van Gaal and Jose).

So, basically you are limiting the selection process to probably Pep, Klopp, Zidane.

How would you assess the risk of appointing a manager?. I mean how would you calculate the percentage of Poch succeeding compared to Ole.

 

[bleedred]

Pep and Klopp did 'struggle' initially, but they already started imposing their imprint on City and Liverpool.

There were clear patterns of play and structure being developed.

Pep had a far superior squad to begin with. You could say the effect Klopp on Liverpool initially was similar to solskjaer, they had some highs initially and started losing as the season progressed including 2 cup finals. Irrespective of the imprint he has established, he choked in three finals and has won feck all still, which you conveniently ignore.

 

[WPMUFC]

The question that's never been answered by the club (via media or leaks etc) is why did we change the plan?

For the first time since SAF left, i thought the club actually made a sound decision after removing a manager. We said, "it's not working, will get an interim manager for the rest of the season, and use that time and the offseason to conduct a thorough search".

Ole was a good choice as interim because of many dynamics and honestly who was available? However why did a sensible approach turn into either fan appeasement or boot room appointment of our manager?

Why did we go all in for no reason? We went from sensible planning to winging it based off a good run after a crap season? WTF is that?

Ole could be the right choice. However, why did we make that choice after a handful of "dead-cat bounce" games? Ole's had to go from just steadying a ship to making club-defining choices in a matter of weeks because we beat a choking PSG? You don't set up a manager like that for success.

 

[Axle17]

I don't agree with Ole being a mistake.
I can see Ole trying to get the players to play the same way he used to under fergie . The old sling-shot counter attack.

We can move the ball swiftly out of defence, but unfortunately the minute Pogba/Fred get the ball, they try to be too technical and lose the ball. That's all on the players and their lack of ability.

Let's not forget the players have pretty much being playing the same style and way for the past 3 years.

So I'm not pointing the finger at Ole for not being able to change the players in 6 months.

 

[ash_86]

Pep and Klopp did 'struggle' initially, but they already started imposing their imprint on City and Liverpool.

There were clear patterns of play and structure being developed.

I think we did show initial games under Ole how quickly we transitioned from front to back on counters againt big teams and dominated againt smaller teams . That's a clear pattern of play IMHO.. Too bad the players fitness wouldn't allow it and they kept injuring themselves to the point we had to revert to whatever style we're playing .

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

So, basically you are limiting the selection process to probably Pep, Klopp, Zidane.

How would you assess the risk of appointing a manager?. I mean how would you calculate the percentage of Poch succeeding compared to Ole.

I wouldn't have put Zidane with Pep and Klopp. I would have had concerns over his ability to build a team. We'll see how he does in Real Madrid now when they need a retooling.

As for the bold: We needed someone with experience of building/shaping a team. We need someone to build a team and someone who can improve current players in the side. Someone who also typically has made good purchases and unearthed some gems. And then that same person has a clear identity or structure to their play. If 1-2-3 individuals are under-performing, it makes the game tougher, but there's a clear system to rely on and the collective can overcome under-performing individuals.

I'm not a Pochettino fanboy. I worry about him being a 'non-winner'. In fact, I did write during Ole's great run, I'd probably prefer Ole to Pochettino. I didn't think in the meantime, we'd go on this terrible run with our performances getting worse and worse and Poch knocking out Pep in a 2 legged affair, etc.

I mean I don't think Poch is a surefire success nor do I think Ole is a surefire failure, but there's definitely more of a risk appointing Ole than Poch.

 

[bdspeedy]

I agree that this month we've seen the wheels come off. We blew our wad at PSG and after that, there was nothing left in the tank. But all of this "lost 7 out of 9" doesn't tell the whole story. He's won 16 games, lost 8 and drawn 2, including wins over Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG and a draw vs pool..... Several of these were away fixtures. We had a great run, fueled by a lot of factors but we could never have sustained our initial perfect run of form. I'd love to see the loooooong list of managers you lot have recommended since the Sir Alex's aborted first retirement announcement. Most haven't been heard from in years. We have Ole now. Let him have a couple transfer windows and a season or two at the wheel and then evaluate his performance.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I think we did show initial games under Ole how quickly we transitioned from front to back on counters againt big teams and dominated againt smaller teams . That's a clear pattern of play IMHO.. Too bad the players fitness wouldn't allow it and they kept injuring themselves to the point we had to revert to whatever style we're playing .

Yes, I agree with that.

However, I worry those early signs weren't down to OGS, but down to McKenna and Carrick.

The more time Ole has had, the more time he should have been able to implement some sort of structure to our play. And the signs don't look great so far.

Look if we come out firing next season after a pre-season and transfer window and there's clear patterns to our play, I'll tip my cap to him. I really hope he succeeds.

 

[bleedred]

I wouldn't have put Zidane with Pep and Klopp. I would have had concerns over his ability to build a team. We'll see how he does in Real Madrid now when they need a retooling.

As for the bold: We needed someone with experience of building/shaping a team. We need someone to build a team and someone who can improve current players in the side. Someone who also typically has made good purchases and unearthed some gems. And then that same person has a clear identity or structure to their play. If 1-2-3 individuals are under-performing, it makes the game tougher, but there's a clear system to rely on and the collective can overcome under-performing individuals.

I'm not a Pochettino fanboy. I worry about him being a 'non-winner'. In fact, I did write during Ole's great run, I'd probably prefer Ole to Pochettino. I didn't think in the meantime, we'd go on this terrible run with our performances getting worse and worse and Poch knocking out Pep in a 2 legged affair, etc.

I mean I don't think Poch is a surefire success nor do I think Ole is a surefire failure, but there's definitely more of a risk appointing Ole than Poch.

Maybe, only time will tell because we cannot be predict hypothetical scenarios. But, its done. He has been appointed full time and we need to back him more than ever.

If we don't improve upon next season, I would understand the frustration among fans. But calling for a manager, club legend or not, to be sacked this early, to me is absolutely uncalled for.

 

[TsuWave]

David Moyes with a club legend coat and nice guy hat. I appreciate the heroics and triumphs of the past, but he should have not been given the job.

I voiced concerns when there were rumors about permanent appointment and people were pushing for it back in early february:

So “thorough recruitment process” is “this lad has got a winning run and says the right things in interviews”?

No wonder we gave Moyes a 5 year deal

to me its almost crazy that people think he's the man for the rebuild and is going to lead us to some kind of promise land

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Maybe, only time will tell because we cannot be predict hypothetical scenarios. But, its done. He has been appointed full time and we need to back him more than ever.

If we don't improve upon next season, I would understand the frustration among fans. But calling for a manager, club legend or not, to be sacked this early, to me is absolutely uncalled for.

I never said that to be fair.

 

[BlueHaze]

Yes, I agree with that.

However, I worry those early signs weren't down to OGS, but down to McKenna and Carrick.

The more time Ole has had, the more time he should have been able to implement some sort of structure to our play. And the signs don't look great so far.

Look if we come out firing next season after a pre-season and transfer window and there's clear patterns to our play, I'll tip my cap to him. I really hope he succeeds.

We all do but lets be honest here, to succeed you need a great platform to build on something this club severely lacks. Are you confident going into this summer with a relatively unkown manager in charge and Woodward being responsible for transfers? I'm not sure what to think but part of me thinks this could go really bad especially with the window being so massively important and the fact that it's open for a shorter period this year. We just have to hope that Ole is out after the right players and that Ed for once make things right.

 

[bleedred]

I never said that to be fair.

I never said, you did. But I could find many posters advocating it.

 

[TsuWave]

But calling for a manager, club legend or not, to be sacked this early, to me is absolutely uncalled for.

Big clubs make big decisions. Big dog, big nuts. Look at Real and Solari. Them guys don't like losing, and I'm guessing that striving for excellence is why they are the biggest club in the world and bagged 3 CL's back to back.

Meanwhile we dither and think that getting rid of someone that's not producing the necessary levels of results and competence is uncalled for.

 

[bleedred]

Big clubs make big decisions. Big dog, big nuts. Look at Real and Solari. Them guys don't like losing, and I'm guessing that striving for excellence is why they are the biggest club in the world and bagged 3 CL's back to back.

Meanwhile we dither and think that getting rid of someone that's not producing the necessary levels of results and competence is uncalled for.

Ok.

 

[Samba]

No I don't think those extensions were a good idea and no I don't think Ole was responsible for them. I think those extensions had been in the works before Ole got here. I can understand giving Jones an extension as he's homegrown and better than both Rojo and Bailly (who aren't homegrown) so decent squad player really but Young is past it. We should get a new RB in to replace him and I trust that we will in the next transfer window. Truth is, right now we don't have better alternatives so I can't fault Ole for playing them.

Playing them and extending their contracts are two very different things though.

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

The issue is the squad, irregardless of whether Ole is the manager or not.

Honestly, how many players starting today have the ability to play in a championship winning side? How many of them get into City or Liverpool’s side?

Miles off the required standard.

I just don’t get this.So let’s appoint Jaap Stam as our manager....Or should we appoint Roy Keane or Mark Hughes as our manager?Cause we seem to suggest that it doesn’t matter who the manager is,we are hopeless because of our squad.,.Yes,the club needs to appoint a DOF to buy players in a structured way but the manager still has to get the most out of those players.

What in Solksjaers track record suggests that he’s good enough to manage at this level?What gives you hope that he can take us back to the top?I still can’t get my head around the fact that he was given the job based on our results over a couple of months...How idiotic and short sighted can we possibly be?

We had just suffered back to back defeats when we anointed him as our manager.Wouldnt it have made more sense to wait and watch how he would have reacted to those defeats before making him our manager?

And to all those supporters who had the nerve to criticise and abuse anyone who questioned Solksjaers appointment.....7 defeats in 9 now....But we”re still fine cause the wonderful Oles at the wheel right?

 

[K2K]

I wasn't a fan of Mourinho's football at all. I don't like the results orientated style. I respected that he was a winner and was hopeful he could bring success back to us in the short-term, but was glad by the end that he had gone. It had got all too petty and toxic.

It's not kneejerk from me at all. I was far from convinced he was the right appointment from the start.

I don't think it's strange, Ole is a conservative manager.

Have you seen our setup? We play very deep, then launch it forward in the channels for Rashford to chase.
Of course it's the plan for Young & co to do that. We love a good chase up the pitch under Ole.

He's constantly on about how we just need to run more, never any focus on the technical/tactical side. He's not just saying this. It shows, come match-day.

How can Ole be exempt from criticism when he's been here for 4 months now. We should be seeing some evidence of his coaching by now. All i can see is us looking more and more clueless by the week, getting outplayed by everyone we come across. In the past month or so, he's got outplayed by Nuno twice, Pellegrini who's West Ham had the better of us at home, Javi Gracia who's Watford had the better of us at home too & Marco Silva's Everton. Forget City, those are the matches that i form my opinion on. If he can't even get the better of them, what chance has he got vs the rest of the top 6?

7 losses from 9 is a tragic record. You would think it's Moyes out there at the minute. Say what you want about Mourinho, it never got this bad under him.

I don't see any top talent (which everyone hopes we'll get) looking at this side under Ole, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

I would really like to know what is the reason for the continued faith in Ole?

Is it just blind optimism?

Basically.

The only retort seems to be: Give him a transfer window to bring in his own players.

Our tactical deficiencies won't suddenly be fixed by doing that.

 

[K2K]

The issue is the squad, irregardless of whether Ole is the manager or not.

Honestly, how many players starting today have the ability to play in a championship winning side? How many of them get into City or Liverpool’s side?

Miles off the required standard.

We are being beaten not by Championship winning sides.

But much weaker ones. Being outplayed by them too.

 

[tenpoless]

I've always said We need to wait till the end of season to determine the best candidate possible (and to keep the Ole wheel running as a caretaker manager). So many people (fans, pundits, players) were urging the club to appoint Ole as permanent manager but the board needed to wake the feck up, they were in the charge of the club and They KNEW if They wait for a bit longer, everything will become clearer by the end of season.

But no, They went with the best decision "at the moment" for the third fecking time. Never about the future - signing players for the moment, managers for the moment, announcing things for the sake of hype.

Solskjaer appointment was MISTIMED and it could end up being a mistake. I'll still watch United but I think as long as there's no big structural change We'll never go anywhere, it's one step forward, one step back all the time. This is our place for the next few years, the board members are a bunch of short-sighted teenagers.

 

[haram]

We are going to hand him 200 million in the summer. This will either go really well or really, really bad.

I hope they have a real plan, not just this United DNA/mentality talk. He cannot hide behind that the next 3 games. He has to win all three.

 

[MisterLupus]

So fast to judge a manager who's tenure hasn't even started yet the moment results go against him. No perspective at all - none whatsoever. Ole is still stuck in the phase of trying to save something from the disaster we were trapped in when Mourinho got sacked - he's not even playing with his own team and he's unable to play the kind of football he wants so there's only so much he can do. Plus he's aware of all of this has said as much and also he agrees that we should perform at a much higher level than we currently are and stated that there will be changes ahead. It's not as if he's in denial about anything or if these bad results are neither mystical nor unexpected - or even by his own design. All he's been doing so far is trying his best to make something of a really bad situation - one he's inherited even not one he himself got us into - and probably doing some experimenting along the way learning what he can in regards of strengths and weaknesses surrounding our squad before shit gets real next season.

We're still only three points away from top four - where were we when he came in? People are getting hysterical over someone who's not even properly seated yet and all this because he might not manage to get us into the position we'd all dismissed as impossible when he took over. And the really dumb part is - we might still even make it despite our team having looked like something of a mess for the past month.

So... Yeah. Unbelievable. Raging and calling for his head already dismissing this as a failure because we're unable to dominate the league and the best teams in the world? Seriously? We were struggling to keep up with mid-table teams before he came in! When things were going great a just a few weeks back everyone said our first string of bad results would be "his major test"... I haven't seen him lose his head yet - I haven't seen the team fall so far behind anything looks impossible even - but the same cannot be said for certain supporters on this forum and elsewhere. I'm actually ashamed to tell people I support United these days - for the first time ever - and it's not because of where we're at in the league or elsewhere - I'm old enough to have been through that before - but because of how some of our fellow supporters conduct themselves. Degrading and raging at both players and staff alike - as if these are evil creatures from the depths of Hell and not even worthy of common human decency - while also falling over in spasms foaming at the mouth panicking in every direction like frightened children every time something goes wrong...

I'm new and not sure how far you can go in terms of swearing on this forum but I don't care because this needs to be said every bit as much as that hooligan needed to get kicked way back when: The whole spectacle is fecking weak. Pathetic even. Some people both here and elsewhere should ask themselves if they're really in this to support the club because if they are then they're sure as hell going about it funnily. As far as being good ambassadors go - which is perhaps the most important part of supporting anything - some of them are just plain shit. Even more so than anyone who's ever represented this club both on and off the pitch. Some United fans are doing a way better job at making this club look bad than even our least talented players and our worst signings coupled with our most incompetent managers could ever hope to achieve.

Solskjær has done way more to earn his seat at this club than any of us ever have. Like all professionals he sacrificed his youth just to get that good and as a player he fecking wrecked himself physically setting us up for success - accepted being an eternal substitute even despite being offered more important roles elsewhere - and now he's willing to risk his sanity as a manager too trying his best to get us out of this mess despite everyone being constantly in his face over it. Some of our fellow supporters however... These guys can't even watch the team get outperformed on a TV screen comfy in their sofa without crumbling into a puddle of pure idiocy - so yeah... Get a grip and grow the feck up. We don't know what Ole's all about yet - all we know is where his heart's at and the fact that so far he's managed to put us back into the competition for qualifying for next year's CL.

And he's done it with someone else's spoiled leftovers - so give him a chance and stop embarrassing us all.

 

[Himannv]

It's far too early to tell if appointing Ole was a mistake or not. I think he's too defensive tactically though. A back 3 with Darmian, who barely plays these days, is just a bad idea. He's also broken what worked for him earlier. When he started his tenure, the CBs were striding into midfield and aiding the attack and we looked unstoppable at times. His desire to keep a clean sheet has made him change things and it's hampered our attacking play and control in midfield.

It probably doesn't help that Herrera isn't playing anymore. He does most of the hard work in midfield so he's a bigger miss than we realize.

 

[Rocksy]

He doesn’t know what he’s doing. It shows every game and whenever he speaks. Same as at Cardiff.

 

[elmo]

First that needs to go is Ed.

Second is the players whose hearts are not in it . It's clear as hell that the majority of the squad we've arent that bothered about the club and are just content to fluff about for the pay cheque .

 

[kouroux]

I wasn't a fan of Mourinho's football at all. I don't like the results orientated style. I respected that he was a winner and was hopeful he could bring success back to us in the short-term, but was glad by the end that he had gone. It had got all too petty and toxic.

It's not kneejerk from me at all. I was far from convinced he was the right appointment from the start.

I don't think it's strange, Ole is a conservative manager.

Have you seen our setup? We play very deep, then launch it forward in the channels for Rashford to chase.
Of course it's the plan for Young & co to do that. We love a good chase up the pitch under Ole.

He's constantly on about how we just need to run more, never any focus on the technical/tactical side. He's not just saying this. It shows, come match-day.

How can Ole be exempt from criticism when he's been here for 4 months now. We should be seeing some evidence of his coaching by now. All i can see is us looking more and more clueless by the week, getting outplayed by everyone we come across. In the past month or so, he's got outplayed by Nuno twice, Pellegrini who's West Ham had the better of us at home, Javi Gracia who's Watford had the better of us at home too & Marco Silva's Everton. Forget City, those are the matches that i form my opinion on. If he can't even get the better of them, what chance has he got vs the rest of the top 6?

7 losses from 9 is a tragic record. You would think it's Moyes out there at the minute. Say what you want about Mourinho, it never got this bad under him.

I don't see any top talent (which everyone hopes we'll get) looking at this side under Ole, thinking "I can't wait to join him, they're going places."

I would really like to know what is the reason for the continued faith in Ole?

Is it just blind optimism?

Great post. Personally I would easily look past the terrible form we're actually in if our football was making a little sense, if his subs were making a little sense and if he stopped showing this ridiculous faith to Young and Lingard. I'm very worried going forward