Appointing Solskjaer was a mistake

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NWRed

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There is nothing to suggest he has even the faintest of clues tactically.
But he will do it the United way and refer to SAF as Gaffer throughout, so we’re golden.
I just don't understand this criticism, tactically, particularly in the big games, Ole has been very good, setting the team up well and being very adaptable. The players have let him down but it's not his fault as he hasn't bought a single one of them.
 

Garethw

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Signing such an inexperienced manager (at the top level) just shows the ambition of the board.

It’s obvious that as long as the dollars keep rolling in they won’t give two shits about footballing achievements.

Ole is horrendously out of his depth, but when he fails, this time fans will be rounding on the board and owners.
 

gulli_G

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We might as well get a

Appointing Moyes was a big mistake!
Appointing Van Gaal was a big mistake!
Appointing Mourinho was a big mistake!

thread.

Give Ole at least a decent transfer window ffs and the 19-20 chance.
:lol: They may as well start a thread 'Appointing any manager is a mistake, Woodward should manage the team'.
 

Loublaze

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I can confirm that there were initial talks held with Zidanes representatives but was told that he was holding out for a return to Madrid.
I have a feeling Poch was going to cost to much to prise away so I'm guessing now that Ed decided to stick with Ole due to the good run and the fact that it wouldn't eat away at the transfer budget.

@Champ What's your source for this? Im asking because this was reported in the media, but not the part about Zidane holding out for Madrid.


Yeah I guess Jose is not a top manager but Poch is. The state of this place sometimes...

@norm87cro Mourinho is not a top manager anymore. A top club is more likely to sign Pochettino then Mourinho right now.
 

Champ

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I can confirm that there were initial talks held with Zidanes representatives but was told that he was holding out for a return to Madrid.
I have a feeling Poch was going to cost to much to prise away so I'm guessing now that Ed decided to stick with Ole due to the good run and the fact that it wouldn't eat away at the transfer budget.

@Champ What's your source for this? Im asking because this was reported in the media, but not the part about Zidane holding out for Madrid.


Yeah I guess Jose is not a top manager but Poch is. The state of this place sometimes...

@norm87cro Mourinho is not a top manager anymore. A top club is more likely to sign Pochettino then Mourinho right now.
Loublaze, I have/had a source within the club at senior level, I discussed issues with them beginning of December, they mentioned the whole Zidane thing, this was before the media got hold of it, in fact you could probably go through my posts around that time, I mentioned Zidane was in line back then!
Shame it didn't pan out, but by that point Zidane was already in talks with Madrid.
 

Loublaze

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Loublaze, I have/had a source within the club at senior level, I discussed issues with them beginning of December, they mentioned the whole Zidane thing, this was before the media got hold of it, in fact you could probably go through my posts around that time, I mentioned Zidane was in line back then!
Shame it didn't pan out, but by that point Zidane was already in talks with Madrid.
I see. Do you happen to know Thomas Clare? Out of curiosity?
 

Moriarty

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I see. Do you happen to know Thomas Clare? Out of curiosity?
Is Tom still around then? Don't know him personally but we once had a spirited discussions about Frank O'Farrell. Wrote some really good stuff about dementia and on Nobby Stiles. Brought a tear to my eye that did.
 

RedNed77

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I can confirm that there were initial talks held with Zidanes representatives but was told that he was holding out for a return to Madrid.
I have a feeling Poch was going to cost to much to prise away so I'm guessing now that Ed decided to stick with Ole due to the good run and the fact that it wouldn't eat away at Ed's FM in real life transfer budget.

@Champ What's your source for this? Im asking because this was reported in the media, but not the part about Zidane holding out for Madrid.


Yeah I guess Jose is not a top manager but Poch is. The state of this place sometimes...

@norm87cro Mourinho is not a top manager anymore. A top club is more likely to sign Pochettino then Mourinho right now.
FTFY
 

Loublaze

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Is Tom still around then? Don't know him personally but we once had a spirited discussions about Frank O'Farrell. Wrote some really good stuff about dementia and on Nobby Stiles. Brought a tear to my eye that did.
He's in Houston Texas. I've met him a few times at United games in preseason and at the local United pub in Atlanta. Fascinating guy. I guess its ok for me to say this as he's made no secret of it, and actually documents his journey but he's battling a terminal illness. His spirits are ever high
 

Moriarty

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He's in Houston Texas. I've met him a few times at United games in preseason and at the local United pub in Atlanta. Fascinating guy. I guess its ok for me to say this as he's made no secret of it, and actually documents his journey but he's battling a terminal illness. His spirits are ever high
I'd heard that and it's sad, but I'm glad he's keeping his chin up.
 

USREDEVIL

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Signing such an inexperienced manager (at the top level) just shows the ambition of the board.

It’s obvious that as long as the dollars keep rolling in they won’t give two shits about footballing achievements.

Ole is horrendously out of his depth, but when he fails, this time fans will be rounding on the board and owners.
But we tried highly experienced managers named Mourinho and Van Ghoul already. Didnt work. I think this time we're trying to change philosophy by going back to our roots a bit. My real issue is the players we've signed over the last 5 years or so.
 

Champ

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He's in Houston Texas. I've met him a few times at United games in preseason and at the local United pub in Atlanta. Fascinating guy. I guess its ok for me to say this as he's made no secret of it, and actually documents his journey but he's battling a terminal illness. His spirits are ever high
I thought he got the all clear??
 

Lexxxzi

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One of the stupidest (sorry for the wording, but it's true) things I read is when people say "we need Pochettino", "we should have hired Klopp", "we ust go for Zidane", "Pep would be the perfect fit for us". No it wouldn't. Stop with shit sh**. This is sheep mentality at its best, no creativity, and by the way, it would absolutely destroy any distinctiveness, uniqueness. They are Tottenham, Liverpool and City managers (!) It's the same ridiculousness as hiring Mourinho, who was a former CHELSEA manager. This stuff kills every bit of desire for the game, both for the managers themselves and the players.

Ole is a muuuuch better choice in this regard.
 

soapythecat

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This is such a lazy, half assed criticism. If you can be bothered to look there are plenty of articles and youtube videos dedicated to an analysis of his tactics at Molde. To distill it all down into a message board soundbite his preferred way of playing is with a high press utilizing full backs in advanced positions and fast, hard working attacking players. Very generic description but if you think that sounds a lot like the way Klopp sets out his teams you would not be far wrong. Ole also showed in the Europa League that he could adapt his tactics to play against more talented teams and still get positive results.

If you are wondering what the results of his coaching are all I can say is in 2010 Molde barely avoided relegation, In 2011 under Ole they won their first ever league title and defended it in 2012. The team was more inconsistent in 2013 but still won the Norwegian Cup. You may not like Ole, your comments seem to suggest that you don't, but he clearly knows a lot more about tactics than you or any other keyboard warrior taking a dump on him on these boards. You haven't truly seen an Ole team yet because the shower of shite assembled by Woody is not capable of playing the way he wants without being totally gassed after 15 minutes.
I actually do like Ole. I thought he was great whilst here playing and had the right attitude and he comes across as a good man when interviewed. My childish digs about him are merely tongue in cheek, as I do feel that he is not experienced enough for the job and he sometimes comes across in interviews that even he can't believe he has the job. Referring to SAF as 'Gaffer' still and banging on about the united way when we haven't seen sight or sound of that for almost a decade - it just doesn't feel right.
What you are saying about his time at Molde may be great for some but we are talking about a league where managers would struggle to get a job in the 1st division with that on their CV. If we had taken a manager from the Scottish prem (other than Rodgers) we would all be asking the same questions and I feel that is a stronger league.
Playing a high press and such, as you described is hugely different between the two leagues, otherwise loads of managers would do well as this is what all modern manager want from their teams, no?
 

Loublaze

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I thought he got the all clear??
I can't remember if he was specifically given the all clear but he made huge improvements and the outlook was looking much better. I deactivated my FB so I don't know the current situation. I should message him.
 

Feed Me

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I'm a bit confused by this. Yeah, we're in a bit of a slump right now having seemingly ran out of gas a bit, but what has Pochettino shown that makes us think he's the man for the job?

Spurs have gone from challenging to the title, to potentially dropping out of the top four entirely in the time Solskjaer has taken United from being over ten points adrift, to within touching distance until this last set of games. It's not the first time his Spurs side have shown a lack of staying power, and his repeated comments about success not being measured in trophies should surely be a bit of a red-flag for United fans?
Yep, he's run out of gas.
 

Andycoleno9

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Last 2 CL games are best example why on highest level you must have excellent coach. Liverpool and Spurs won their games because Klopp and Poch made excellent tactical changes( against also good managers) and in the right time. First they both did it at half time then they made moves during the second half.

Our coach in our most important game of the season against Chelsea just watched how Chelsea is dominating us and still he didn't do anything until 70th minute when he just made player for player sub. And it was not the first time. He does that in every game. Late with subs and without any tactical change. If something is wrong in first 45,60 or 70 minutes then it will not change without doing something about it.
When you watch our games you clearly can see that there is a huge gap in knowledge between him and nearly every manager against we played.
God, what a awful signing he is. On this forum, dozens of times people used a phrase "pub player". Well, we hired pub manager.
 

Josep Dowling

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One of the stupidest (sorry for the wording, but it's true) things I read is when people say "we need Pochettino", "we should have hired Klopp", "we ust go for Zidane", "Pep would be the perfect fit for us". No it wouldn't. Stop with shit sh**. This is sheep mentality at its best, no creativity, and by the way, it would absolutely destroy any distinctiveness, uniqueness. They are Tottenham, Liverpool and City managers (!) It's the same ridiculousness as hiring Mourinho, who was a former CHELSEA manager. This stuff kills every bit of desire for the game, both for the managers themselves and the players.

Ole is a muuuuch better choice in this regard.
So never hire a manager who’s managed another English club?
 

izec

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Last 2 CL games are best example why on highest level you must have excellent coach. Liverpool and Spurs won their games because Klopp and Poch made excellent tactical changes( against also good managers) and in the right time. First they both did it at half time then they made moves during the second half.

Our coach in our most important game of the season against Chelsea just watched how Chelsea is dominating us and still he didn't do anything until 70th minute when he just made player for player sub. And it was not the first time. He does that in every game. Late with subs and without any tactical change. If something is wrong in first 45,60 or 70 minutes then it will not change without doing something about it.
When you watch our games you clearly can see that there is a huge gap in knowledge between him and nearly every manager against we played.
God, what a awful signing he is. On this forum, dozens of times people used a phrase "pub player". Well, we hired pub manager.
Well Klopp changed because of injury to Robertson. I doubt he would have brought on Wijnaldum so early, but he made the right sub. So it was a bit forced. Poch made the Llorente sub early on and reaped the rewards, which wasnt directly due to injury. Ole is learning, he is still green in top flight football. he needs to learn quickly though and adapt, otherwise time will be up pretty quickly. He has no business being United manager at this stage of his career Molde. It would be like Spurs/Liverpool hiring Poch from Espanyol or Klopp from Mainz, they would have never gotten the job and would make more mistakes.
 

sparx99

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I can't say any of our defeats have been tactically naive though. We've missed chances at big moments and suffered some really poor individual errors.

The only obvious tactical error was when Bailly started against PSG at right back and was being torn apart. It took too long to fix but wasn't terminal to our chances.

Our options have been pretty limited of late as to how to change things in games. Lukaku has had injuries while Martial has been in dire form so not like you can haul Rashford off and go more direct. I wanted Fellaini gone but it has limited our options for plan B. Greenwood still looks very raw at the senior level as well.

We don't know how it's going to pan out but Ole needs a pre-season and a transfer window to at least get a fit squad and options that he wants.
 

Rashy10

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As a long term reader but a newbie poster I can't post a thread, so here goes nothing.

United since 2013:

Sir Alex Ferguson constantly spoke about the need for a transition after he's gone, and to avoid falling into the trap Liverpool fell into in the late 80s/90s. Despite the argument that Ferguson left behind a title winning squad, the truth is we had an average midfield and a defence that had 3 key players on the verge of retirement. Its a testament to SAF that he carried that team over the line, but essentially he handed Moyes a team that didn't have a central midfield, and needed 7/8 replacements. We did not prepare for life after.


Woodward:

Strangely enough, despite being an incompetent footballing CEO he's allowed his managers full control of the team affairs and signings with the exception being last summer when he vetoed Mourinho's summer targets in defence. He's a terrible negotiator and we always overpay but at the same time he isn't micro-manager, so the success or failure of the squad is really on the gaffer(s).


The Boss:

Ole does have it in himself to succeed but he needs to cultivate the 'assassin' side of his psyche more than the 'babyface' part. He now has to do the job Ferguson left vacant in 2013 and subsequent mangers made worse -- overhaul an entire team and stamp his character on the new squad.

The manager's biggest mistake so far was dropping McTominey against Arsenal. Sure, Scott would have been tired but this lad is hungry to succeed and he'd have done a job on Arsenal's weak midfield like Fletcher used to. Instead Matic literally walked back into the team and allowed to walk around the pitch giving Xhaka a 20 yard space to pick his shot with DDG failing as the last guard. It changed the momentum for United and team crashed back to earth and haven't recovered since. He persisted with Matic and Pogba when both have made it clear they're not interested in pressing other teams, and United continued losing. Other mistakes include his subs and in-game management.

He seems to take a lot of input and listen to those around him. Ole now needs to find his own inner voice and wield his authority with unseen levels of ruthlessness. My username is a play on his chummy attitude with players, another thing that he needs to alter very soon.


The Squad:

Most of us probably dislike this squad and its clear what their shortcomings are.

I say we're lucky to be losing like this, none of them can hide anymore and fool yet another manager. This is our chance for a fresh start, and as a bonus we can raise some money for new signings from the sales too.

DDG: If he can replicate his prior form, its a no brainer that he should stay, but over the summer he has to work on his distribution and overall on-the-ball abilities. If not, sell to the highest bidder and maybe even settle for Kasper Schmiechal for 2-3 seasons. The replacement does not have to be world class, Romero could even do the job in the short-term or young Dean Henderson, there are other positions which require a more urgent attention.

Lindelof: The young Swede has to be given props for the way bounced back from a terrible first season and regain his form and confidence. He deserves to stay and a start. Its a testament his strong mentality & cajones to have won the fans over this season.

Bailey: If you check his background, he only became a pro-footballer at 18-19 years old and it shows. His positioning is off the mark, to compensate for that he makes rash challenges. Can Ole drill some of the basics into his game? If the answer is no, then we should sell.

Shaw: This is where I have to disagree with the majority of the forum. Shaw has not fulfilled his potential yet and there are good reasons for it, including breaking his leg twice. He was hitting top form before that horror injury at PSV. Highlighting all his misfortunes is absolutely fair, but at the same time he can't give us what Alex Sandro and Robertson are offering their teams in offence. Solution: Get Chillwell in, he's already flying going forward and can only improve. Swap deal with Leicester and we could troll Leicester into throwing 10-20m cash our way too by valuing Shaw higher than Chillwell? Luke may decide he's too big for Leicester but its hard to see which top team would fork out 40-50m for him on current form. This (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...-summer-minging-running-local-park-propelled/) will give you an insight into Chillwell's mindset and the kind of man he is.

Jones, Rojo, Smalling: The less words wasted here the better, they're average plonkers trying to do an honest job but their body keeps breaking down on them for some reason unfortunately. Sell all for any price we can fetch.

Darmien, Valencia, Young: They've all overstayed at the club by 2-3 seasons already and should be shown the door. Young could perhaps stay as a distant back up, but should not play more than 10 games a season.

Dalot: Diego is being underrated in this forum. He's unfortunate that Mourinho and Ole have both showed a reluctance to play him at his natural position in RB. He can own that position next season and he's already shown that he loves the club and needs to be shown faith from the manager.

Matic, Herrera, Mata: They're all going or almost gone. Matic can be a squad player, but his lackadaisical style is too lethal for us in a Premier League that's getting faster every year with nearly all the teams applying a high press.

Pogba: Straight to the point, he's a big kid in a man's body. Paul is probably a decent guy and a fun character to be around as a mate but you can't create a hungry and motivated dressing room while the senior player in the club is more focused on haircuts, social media and his brand. Ferguson chopped Beckham for much less, and Beckham tbf was giving the team so much more than Pogba has ever come close to at the time. Sell to Real for anything over 100m.

Lingaard: Same as above, another man-child. It's sickening how he attached himself to Rashford like a parasite. There's a clear difference between the humble/shy kid Rashford was prior to this moron becoming an influence on him. If we can fetch 30-40m from any other team in the league we should grab that with both hands. Alternatively, we can use him a sweetener for deals we're trying to make.

Fred: United are stuck with him either way given the overspend of 50m. He can be a decent player for us but Ole has to play him in the right position which isn't the DM/holding role. He's too eccentric for such a role and any mistake will leave the defence exposed. Play him further forward as a CM and use his passing range.

McTominey: This lad has a big future at United and it always surprised me to see how much our fans attacked him. Sure, he's no Maradona on the ball, but he has other qualities and is technically proficient. He's aggressive, strong mentally, can play a decent pass in a tight space, and his abilities to read a game is second to none. He showed all those qualities against PSG, the area in front of Smalling & Lindelof was completely shut down by Scott and he managed to Keep Veratti out of the game at the same time. He can be United's Busuqets, unglamorous but crucial to the team.

Martial & Rashford: Both have mentality issues and a natural talent. Rashford works hard for the team but is erratic in his final delivery. Martial is extremely lazy, will not run for anyone to create space instead always wanting the ball to feet, but has a better output in and around the box. The boss has to figure out a way to motivate both of them, and potentially sell Martial if he will continue cultivating his Le Sulk character.


Lukaku:
50% of United fans hated this transfer and he struggled to prove those critics wrong. He's a decent striker but nowhere near United's leading striker level. This is the toughest position for United to solve. There are so few world class forwards in the game at the moment. United should sell before his value plummets any further, his value will crash the more time he spends on the bench.

Sanchez: He's made enough money and is on the way out. Use this chance to restore a realistic wage structure and cap on the highest salaries.

Who should remains in summer '19:

  • DDG/Romero
  • Lindelof
  • Axel
  • Dalot
  • Fosu-Mensah
  • Fred
  • McTominey
  • Rashford
  • Martial (If Ole believes he will improve his attitude)

Everyone else must go, even though this leaves United with a skeletal squad for pre-season. Keeping one rotten apple in a basket spoils the rest of the apples. Solskjaer must realise his actual role now is a cancer surgeon, chemotherapy is a must rather than other soft-solutions. If he keeps just one free-riding slacker in the dressing room, they'll continue the rot and teach the new class how to down their tools whenever they become unsatisfied. They've already had 3 managers removed, he will be their next casualty if he doesn't draw the sword first.


How to fix the team:

The anchor of any team is the center midfield position. United have lacked a dominant CM since Scholes' first retirement. This should be the first priority for the manager whether he knows it or not.
  • Rabiot must be considered given his ability and age. United has not had a midfield controller who can dictate a game since the ginger prince retired. For £0 United will have a great talent on their hand, pay him & his mother a handsome signing fee, whatever it takes.
  • Chillwell who is clearly an upgrade on Shaw and a marauding wingback needed to boost United attacking capacity.
  • Trust Dalot and play him week in week out with full encouragement to bomb forward.
  • A new CB: Break the bank for De Ligt or Maguire. Both will offer the leadership needed in the back in a partnership with Lindelof, with Maguire being a more realistic signing. Axel also returns as a back-up and can be slowly incorporated into the team.
  • McTominey has the temperament and ability to be a leader in the near future, Ajax reached the CL semi-final with a 19 year old captain, the advantage being that the lad is United through and through. He needs to play in the DM position as he did against PSG and not the more advance position Ole has tried him in recently.
  • A striker: We've been linked with Icardi and Dybala, but United needs a proper #9 to lead the line and they're not the answer. This is where Ole has to find value for money, Jovic rumours say is on his way to Real and the options in this position are limited.
  • If the budget permits, then we should go for Brandt or Havertz esp the latter or Brooks from B'mouth as a British option. United haven't had a technical player to link midfield and attack since god knows when. City have 3-4 players in that role from both Silva's to De Bruyne.
  • RW position here we can be a little creative. There's two types of RW's, a type that goes to the line and crosses the ball, and there's a second style now pioneered by Raheem Sterling. There's no reason why we cannot use Rashford in the same manner, obviously a ton of drilling is needed over the pre-season for his movement and positioning. City and Pool leave the crossing to the full backs who are always pushing up and utilise the wide forwards closer to the box, we must do likewise.
Total spend:

Rabiot - £0

De Ligt/Maguire: 60-100m for one of them.

Chillwell - Could be signed in a swap deal for Shaw plus 10m to us.

Havertz/Brooks - 40-60m especially if we sell Pogba, we need players of this caliber to fill void.

Regarding our #9, I don't really have an answer here for who we should target. All this leaves us with under 200m spend excluding potentially the 100-200m we can raise from sales including Paul Pogba to Real potentially.
 
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edgar allan

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Last 2 CL games are best example why on highest level you must have excellent coach. Liverpool and Spurs won their games because Klopp and Poch made excellent tactical changes( against also good managers) and in the right time. First they both did it at half time then they made moves during the second half.

Our coach in our most important game of the season against Chelsea just watched how Chelsea is dominating us and still he didn't do anything until 70th minute when he just made player for player sub. And it was not the first time. He does that in every game. Late with subs and without any tactical change. If something is wrong in first 45,60 or 70 minutes then it will not change without doing something about it.
When you watch our games you clearly can see that there is a huge gap in knowledge between him and nearly every manager against we played.
God, what a awful signing he is. On this forum, dozens of times people used a phrase "pub player". Well, we hired pub manager.
He still has all the players that the last disaster of a manager left......give the man a summer to try and put the mess right.
 

Treble

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With the success of the other English teams, the pressure on Ole is huge. And maybe also on the board but they are happy that the financial situation is pretty good.
 

Mick1

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I haven't really been reading the forum much because i could honestly not believe how many people were happy with ole to be made permanent manager, or even interim in the first place. What have turned into

Ole gunnar solskjaer has managed the reserve team and did quite well then went to Norway with Molde where they won 2 league titles on the bouce fir the first time in their history. Impressive, less so when considering Ole took with him a couple of reserve players, decent talents by England standards, probably championship level, but significantly better than anything the Norwegian league had.

On that basis, and that alone, he was given a job in the premier league by the owner of cardiff city, a crazy investor. And Ole failed miserably. To be fair he was only given half a season in the league but they were relegated under him. Given more time, he had them in relegation form in the championship. He was rightfully sacked and went back to Molde.

4 years later at Molde, he was given the most difficult management job in the world. He went on a good run but despite some worrying signs and some really lucky wins, he was then given the permanent job. We should habe managers at the levels of Real Madrid, City, Juvents, Liverpool, but we re absolute leagues away from them. Premier league is not Ole s level, despite his likable nature, never mind actually competing at the top end of it. Mourinho was one of the best managers in histiry, with accomplishments that rival sir Alex 's. A true genius of the game. Perhaps not at his best now, but nowhere near where we ended up with him. During a critical periods we refused to back the most successful manager in the last 15 years in the world over a growing players attitude worsening and those who were identified to have a negative influence on the squad that is ultimately showing to be true. There is too mich obcession with young exciting new managers who have potential, whilst the ones actually doing it barely get any recognition. No one at the club is qualified to tell Mourinho who to ask for whether it s to buy or to sell. We are one of the richest clubs in the world, with one of the greatest managers in the history if the game, and we kicked him out and replaced him with ole.

Ole is Ferguson s disciple, but he s competing against others teams' ferguson. Klopp, Poch and Guardiola are on varying levels of the gaffer, but they are levels above Solskjaer. Ole is not good enough to replace Benitez in Newcastle. In fact, based on his previous records, one of the worst managers in the last 10 years of the premier league.

The only reason ole got this job, and the one before it, was that he is a famous likable player, remnant of an old era. Nothing he has ever done as manager makes him deserve this opportunity. And we replaced Mourinho with him.

Now i hope, truly hope that this comment will come back to bite me in the ass, but this is just blindingly obvious
 

Untd55

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We rushed into the Solskjaer appointment and should have waited until the end of the season to make a fully-informed decision. I believe he is the wrong choice in the long term as I think we need to eventually choose a manager who has already built a quality team in the recent past.

Pochettino (Ungettable), Jardim and Ten Hag (possibly) are the most recent managers that have built quality teams. I believe someone of this ilk should be what we should get in the long run and then stick with them for an extended period of time, allowing them to build a team.

The thing is that there is no evidence that Solskjaer can make a great team, but the three above have already done it. There would be more promise had we appointed one of those managers instead of someone who has almost zero experience at top-level management.

Also, you know what the styles of those three managers are, but you do not know with Solskjaer (I have not seen any evidence of what he is trying to implement yet).

I think we needed more stability (sticking with a manager for a longer period of time); less unpredictability than we are getting with Solskjaer (knowing the manager's style of play and ability will make the club more attractive to players); recent success in creating a high-quality team.

Unfortunately, we have skipped the last two of those with the appointment of Solskjaer. Of course, he could succeed but there is no evidence of any prior success with rebuilding a team and thus not so much promise. I think that might affect our transfer window.
 
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diarm

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For me it was and still is the best appointment we could have made.

We tried bringing in an idiot from Everton and it didn't work. We tried bringing in experience and class and it didn't work. We tried bringing in a world class achiever and fighter and it didn't work.

The club is rotten from top to the bottom and there is no manager walking this Earth who is going to come in and fix it on his own. The owners are rotten, the man in charge of football affairs is rotten, the chaotic mishmash of coaching, scouting and academy staff is rotten and we've spent ten years accumulating a rotten group of players.

Ole is a legend. He loves the club and every one of us loves him. His work rate, desire, passion and integrity in what he will bring to this role is beyond reproach by anyone so there is nowhere for the scumbags or below him to hide anymore.

We are so far away from being relevant at footballs top table that his tactical ability at the top end couldn't matter less. We need a shining light of what it means to be Manchester United so we can cut the rotten mess out from around it.

Keep Ole where he is while we fix the club. Let him instil into the youngsters and the new, better recruitments of players and staff we bring in, exactly what it means to be at this club. When we've fixed what needs fixing, then we can move Solskjaer into an upstairs role with our thanks and worry about bringing in a head coach with the attributes we need to challenge at the top. For me that point is at least five years away from now.
 

sincher

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It's not so much that we should definitely not have given him the job, but I think it was wrong to jump the gun. It gives the impression that a good run of games is enough to assess when it just isn't. We should have waited and weighed up his achievements. In my opinion he fell just short of doing what he needed to do to convince me he was the right person, as it turns out, though I do wonder if we had kept the position less certain, we might not have just got over the line in the race for 4th.

Ironically I distinctly remember the likes of Gary Neville saying we had to appoint him over the international break, which is exactly what we did. I don't see why, at all. It all smacks of poor leadership at the top of the club.

Like all United fans, I love Ole. I want him to be a success as our manager and I want him to be given time to rebuild the team. I hope he has it in him to do it. But do I really think he can? Probably not, especially given the way the club operates.
 

Ronaldo's Love Child

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It was a mistake to appoint OGS when we did. There was no pressure to give him the permanent job other than from the media and some of the fanbase. OGS would have been happy enough to plod away until the end of the season. Never mind though as that horse has bolted-we are where we are.

Even if we didn't appoint OGS as permanent manager we would still have a big problem. Spurs are in the Champions League Final and are one match away from moving up a level-would Pochetino really move to us at that point ?
 
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Lexxxzi

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So never hire a manager who’s managed another English club?
Straw man. You know perfectly well that's not what I am saying.

I am pretty sure Pochettino would NOT be a success at this club. He already MANAGES a top, top club. A club he pretty much made one-handedly, the way it is today. What would be his motivation for Utd? Money? Contrary to what you guys believe, money isn't really a motivator for anything. Also, he has already got the money...

This Pochettino talk is delusional gibberish, in my opinion.
 

Ronaldo's Love Child

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Keep Ole where he is while we fix the club. Let him instil into the youngsters and the new, better recruitments of players and staff we bring in, exactly what it means to be at this club. When we've fixed what needs fixing, then we can move Solskjaer into an upstairs role with our thanks and worry about bringing in a head coach with the attributes we need to challenge at the top. For me that point is at least five years away from now.
There's one problem with this hypothesis. David Moyes inherited a squad of players that had Fergies DNA stamped through them. The youngsters Moyes inherited were all schooled under Fergie's watch and tutelage.

Unless, unless.......Fergie got out at the right time. Perhaps even Fergie would have struggled to build another great team after his last title win?
 
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diarm

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There's one problem with this hypothesis. David Moyes inherited a squad of players that had Fergies DNA stamped through them. The youngsters Moyes inherited were all schooled under Fergie's watch and tutelage.

Unless, unless.......Fergie got out at the right time. Perhaps even Fergie would have struggled to build another great team after his last title win?
I said we've spent a decade accumulating rotten players. Fergie's been gone less than a decade. I love the man like family but he had a part to play in this as well.
 

Siorac

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One of the stupidest (sorry for the wording, but it's true) things I read is when people say "we need Pochettino", "we should have hired Klopp", "we ust go for Zidane", "Pep would be the perfect fit for us". No it wouldn't. Stop with shit sh**. This is sheep mentality at its best, no creativity, and by the way, it would absolutely destroy any distinctiveness, uniqueness. They are Tottenham, Liverpool and City managers (!) It's the same ridiculousness as hiring Mourinho, who was a former CHELSEA manager. This stuff kills every bit of desire for the game, both for the managers themselves and the players.

Ole is a muuuuch better choice in this regard.
I'm sorry but what?

Guardiola is also a "Barcelona and a Bayern manager". Klopp is also a "Dortmund manager". They are and were not destined for City and Liverpool. At this point we obviously won't get either but it's understandable if people feel that they would have been better choices in the past than the actual choices we had made.
 

Renegade

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I said we've spent a decade accumulating rotten players. Fergie's been gone less than a decade. I love the man like family but he had a part to play in this as well.
Fergie plays no part in this mess, except for recommending Moyes. That’s it. The decisions and choices the club and managers have made since have left us in this mess. Look at the money spent. Imagine Fergie with all that money that’s been available to these other managers.
 

diarm

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Fergie plays no part in this mess, except for recommending Moyes. That’s it. The decisions and choices the club and managers have made since have left us in this mess. Look at the money spent. Imagine Fergie with all that money that’s been available to these other managers.
Fergie said publicly many, many times that money was never withheld from him and any player he asked for, the club went for.

Either we call him a liar or we accept that in his final years at the club, he grew frustrated with the way football finances were going and truly believed there was no value in the market.

Regardless, his stance on this and our failure to spend big and well after Ronaldo left hurt us to an extent we still haven't fully recovered from.

Look at the way Barca reacted to losing Neymar compared to our reaction then. It's chalk and cheese and it put cracks in our image as a world giant of the game.

I worship Sir Alex but he made mistakes towards the end. I imagine he would say so himself now looking back.
 

simplyared

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Gary Neville throws a wobbler when there's a leak about Mourinho getting the sack. When everyone's waiting for the hatchet to fall, nothing happens, we keep him on for another month or so and it goes from infected to toxic. Then whilst we we're on that fantastic run with Ole he goes out and says the board should do the obvious and get him signed up for the long haul. I mean ffs!
 

Sandikan

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I love the way seemingly everyone now says it was a "massive mistake" appointing Ole when we did, yet at the time, almost everyone was saying it was deserved etc.

This place is going to be toxis if we don't make a roaring start next season :eek:
 
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