Appointing Solskjaer was a mistake

[RD76]

Some complete melt on BBC 5 live who apparently went to the game today has just said that we should get Rafa in. He didn't want Ole and we should have got Rafa in December.

I don't think he was a WUM either. Our support FFS.

 

[Martial]

A lot of people seem to forget that we weren't close to Top 4 when he was initially appointed, it's a small miracle that we are still in contention for it.

Absolutely. I would bet the league table since Ole has been here makes very pleasant reading.

Fecking De Gea.

 

[Minimalist]

A lot of people seem to forget that we weren't close to Top 4 when he was initially appointed, it's a small miracle that we are still in contention for it.

Yeah but what's he done for us lately?

 

[Josep Dowling]

Calling for his head, with no pre-season, none of his own signings, and with the miracles he has performed to even get us into the top-4 equation is nothing short of retarded.

Any fan who thinks otherwise is a plastic, idiotic prick and should fuck off and support City.

I would only regard it as a miracle if he made top 4. After picking us up from 6th we are now going to finish 6th. Major signs of progression that.

 

[mu4c_20le]

A lot of people seem to forget that we weren't close to Top 4 when he was initially appointed, it's a small miracle that we are still in contention for it.

This is what i dont understand.. its like the better Ole does, the higher he raises the expectations of himself.

 

[Ali Dia]

We wouldn’t be close to this position if it wasn’t for ole. Jose superstar manager with unbelievable credentials couldn’t motivate this lot either. It’s not the manager. Our best players don’t want to be here because the squad is still crap after x amount of years. You can’t really blame them in a way, but I think it’s disgraceful to not to your job to the best of your ability even if you do have one foot out the door.

 

[Hawks2008]

I said nothing offensive or untrue.

You may have had some semblance of a point but the last bit was in poor taste.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Absolutely. I would bet the league table since Ole has been here makes very pleasant reading.

Fecking De Gea.

The table last season made for pleasant reading as well.

 

[bondsname]

I hear a lot about we being in the top 4 race thanks to Ole, but just take a look at the last 10 games. It's pathetic and unacceptable. I can understand everyone who wants him out already.

 

[Cassidy]

A lot of people seem to forget that we weren't close to Top 4 when he was initially appointed, it's a small miracle that we are still in contention for it.

Top 4 is irrelevant to be honest our form in the last 10 games is worrying to say the least.

 

[vangagal]

Absolutely. I would bet the league table since Ole has been here makes very pleasant reading.

Fecking De Gea.

And you better run your sock off in games will ya?

 

[Rampant-red]

He is a great guy and a legend. However even with Fergies help , tactically its outdated. This is the reason Jose failed also. We need a Poch/Kloop/Guad modern manager . Problem with Ole is it is the background is wrong . The board are tossers . Not modern thinking like the boards of our rivals. He is not at the moment good enough to take United to the next level ( I pray I will be eating humble pie )

 

[Rampant-red]

Top 4 is irrelevant to be honest our form in the last 10 games is worrying to say the least.

Exactly . 100% correct. Very worrying

 

[el3mel]

Needs to sort out his in game management and subs. They're beyond crap.

 

[Timo.utd]

Honestly i like the guy as person but he's tactically inept and clueless, his formations are a joke, his subs are a joke, very sttuborn keeping his favourites in the starting eleven.

I can't stand young's captaincy of the team anymore.

He's just another mistake from this pathetic board, if we keep him we will see another year or two of terrible football.

Hopefully we stop all this sentimental stuff, sack him at the end of the season and start a rebuilt with a competent manager.

 

[Robbie Boy]

At least he’s not Mourinho tbf.

 

[Mister_Stubbs]

I hear a lot about we being in the top 4 race thanks to Ole, but just take a look at the last 10 games. It's pathetic and unacceptable. I can understand everyone who wants him out already.

And in the last 10 games we look like relegation candidates. That’s all Ole as well but you know, he knows the club.

 

[Un4givableB]

Fans would never turn on him.

Are you sure? Fans will turn anybody hero today, the villain tomorrow.

 

[GM K]

I don't think that is true but it will carry on being thought that way.

Ole was appointed manager on the 28th March. We lost to Wolves on the 16th March, lost to Arsenal on the 10th. Had a lucky win against Southampton at home on the 2nd, it was very reminiscent of the 3-2 home wins under Jose with us going a goal down early and looking desperate for long spells. We also lost to PSG at home.

I'd say the unraveling happened a nearly month before.

Players did play with freedom when Ole came, new manager bounce but we saw lots of passing, Pogba linking up with Martial. Ole was often talking about quick passing and entertaining the fans in his early days here, players expressing themselves. We clawed the points back and then we had something to lose now. Injuries happened. Getting to the end of the season we also have contracts not being signed, some players looking elsewhere for next season. Ole has also tightened up with his setup and the talk of passing and flair has long disappeared from Ole. We're launching it to Rashford and seeing Martial trying to beat three defenders again.

Those are pretty much some of the things that actually test managers.

 

[JPRouve]

Top 4 is irrelevant to be honest our form in the last 10 games is worrying to say the least.

It is relevant because we closed the gap with teams that are around our level in Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea. Between injuries, bad form and fitness issues we have experienced a tough moment but truth be told we aren't that bad. It's important to remember that in the last months we have faced pretty good teams, teams that are superior to us in Barcelona and City but also teams that are roughly around our level. So claiming that hiring Ole was a mistake is an overreaction.

And Ole currently has a better record than Klopp during his first season, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[NoLogo]

Here is how I see it. We had a high phase under Ole at the start. It wore off and now we are back to the Mourinho level. For a lot of us this is hard to accept because we thought, look the team can acatully play great football we will be back on the top at no time. Turns out it's not that easy.

 

[MikeKing]

We didn't get top 4. Solskjaer has to go. You couldn't make it up.

 

[bleedred]

Honestly i like the guy as person but he's tactically inept and clueless, his formations are a joke, his subs are a joke, very sttuborn keeping his favourites in the starting eleven.

I can't stand young's captaincy of the team anymore.

He's just another mistake from this pathetic board, if we keep him we will see another year or two of terrible football.

Hopefully we stop all this sentimental stuff, sack him at the end of the season and start a rebuilt with a competent manager.

What if the new manager still keeps young as captain, We sack him and start again.

I understand the frustration that he keeps playing the same players , but honestly there are no other options out there.

I would wholeheartedly agree with you, if we see Young starting next season, he surely hasnt learned.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Exactly . 100% correct. Very worrying

Our first half performance was brilliant, it was a real statement after our poor run. Ole is the only one to make us do well with two strikers up front since that one time we scored four under Moyes playing 442. We should have done better in the second half but it felt like both managers were being cautious.

 

[Clerp Dawkins]

Ev

Ed should bite the bullet and sack him now in order to save him the trouble of doing so in November. 6 defeats in 8 is unprecedented in it's awfulness. It's becoming increasingly clear that he hasn't got a clue how to turn the tide. United need a new manager and staff with a clear vision how to play progressive football.

A few months later and it's like Mourinho never left:

Still faffing about with the defense (is he really the man to shore up this defense?)
Still playing the same formation
Still willing to give the deadwood more chances
Still shunting Rashford to the wing
Still putting Matic straight back into the team
Still calling out the players in the press
Still talking about the past
Still negative

At least Mourinho would have had them fired up to come back from a losing position once in a while.

Every decision the Glazers/Woodward make is based on making or saving money, not winning trophies

 

[cfkane]

Should we, based on earlier good results then trust him with complete squad overhaul? It's a massive gamble IMO and we could be making the same mistake all over again. It does seem even fans have not learned that "let him bring in his own players" is not exactly THE recipe for success. If he fails, we get another manager in who needs to be given time and money to "bring in his own players". This isn't how most top clubs work.

I guess what I'm saying, there is nothing "embarrassing" about being worried. If he wasn't a club legend this recent run of terrible results would probably seen differently. If we ignore the results and focus on performances, it doesn't really get much better either. We've given the massive job of a squad rebuild to a manager who has never done anything like it before and who has shown no clear, defined playing style so far. It could work out but still seems like a gamble that perhaps wasn't what we needed at this point.

Moyes - At the time not seen by most as a gamble.
LVG - Not seen as a gamble by most.
Mourinho - Divided, but I'd say most figured it not a massive gamble.

Maybe it's time we gamble.

 

[Yagami]

You are both complete and total idiots. Morons. Plastic fans to boot.

He may not come good, but to make those kind of idiotic statements without even giving him the slightest chance here is genuinely retarded.

Why you gotta use the r word as an insult, man? Relax.

 

[Eric7C]

I obviously don't want Ole to be fired, but he seems to have lost his confidence all of a sudden. What happened to the high press and quick passing and movement of the first weeks? He wants to be successful here, but you wonder about the kind of authority he can project in the dressing room.

There's also been odd team selections lately. The Shaw-Pogba-Martial axis had been working great earlier, but it hasn't even been tried in recent weeks. Yes, Martial has been injured, but he didn't come off the bench today. Strange.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

A lot of people seem to forget that we weren't close to Top 4 when he was initially appointed, it's a small miracle that we are still in contention for it.

Don't think people are forgetting that at all.

It does though seem fair to say he got a huge reaction out of the players at the start, most likely because of his polar opposite personality to Jose, and the fact our position allowed them to play with zero pressure, which is precisely the job he was brought into do.

Now that's gone he is looking exposed, and maybe the sort of manager United thought they were getting as an interim, he just got 100% at the start, and 0 % at the end, which made for a 'knee jerk' reaction, which we now have no choice but to follow through.

 

[el3mel]

A lot of people seem to forget that we weren't close to Top 4 when he was initially appointed, it's a small miracle that we are still in contention for it.

Chelsea and Arsenal fecked up a lot too. Also another fact that we won 7 out of last 21 points but still 3 points away from 4th means the other teams being shite is what keeping us in contention. It's like LVG's second season all over again.

 

[Cassidy]

It is relevant because we closed the gap with teams that are around our level in Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea. Between injuries, bad form and fitness issues we have experienced a tough moment but truth be told we aren't that bad. It's important to remember that in the last months we have faced pretty good teams, teams that are superior to us in Barcelona and City but also teams that are roughly around our level. So claiming that hiring Ole was a mistake is an overreaction.

And Ole currently has a better record than Klopp during his first season, if I'm not mistaken.

Klopp had a track record which bought him the benefit of the doubt. I also didn't say he was a mistake by the way.
It was however a mistake to hire him before the end of the season IMO.
Also our form includes performances vs Watford WestHam Wolves (x2) Everton lets not pretend that we were playing all those games vs top 6 opposition.

Fact is Ole was/is a massive gamble considering the rebuilding job that is required and unlike Klopp when he went to Liverpool doesn't have the experience or track record of taking a team to a title from a chasing position. (Dortmund were chasing Bayern)

If we had a well oiled structure to the club I would say maybe a decent gamble, however we do not.

We are in a position right now where mistakes within the rebuilding can be very costly and set us back even further from our goals

 

[JPRouve]

Don't think people are forgetting that at all.

It does though seem fair to say he got a huge reaction out of the players at the start, most likely because of his polar opposite personality to Jose, and the fact our position allowed them to play with zero pressure, which is precisely the job he was brought into do.

Now that's gone he is looking exposed, and maybe the sort of manager United thought they were getting as an interim, he just got 100% at the start, and 0 % at the end, which made for a 'knee jerk' reaction, which we now have no choice but to follow through.

But he doesn't have 0% and that's where perspective is key. Both Klopp and Guardiola had at least one serie of 10 games with at best 3 wins during their first seasons. Klopp and Ole had the argument that they came in the middle of the season and didn't had the opportunity to bring players or prepare the team for their tactical approach particularly in terms of fitness.
To me the main knee jerk reaction is the one that I'm seeing among fans, they don't use perspective, don't use common sense. It's all about instant results and gratification. Not even the best managers built their teams without growing pains, it's almost always part of the process, particularly since they don't control every events and the early days don't allow a lot of room for anticipation.

 

[pascell]

We didn't get top 4. Solskjaer has to go. You couldn't make it up.

Horrendous isn't it. Someone told me he should be sacked next summer, if we dont win the league.

 

[Amadaeus]

Carrick and McKenna at the wheel..In all honesty, United appointing Ole so early shows a drop in standard towards us as a club.

Di Matteo freaking win Chelsea a champion league and he still got sacked . If Ole gets top four he will need that sort of Di Matteo luck to accomplish that and I don’t believe that is enough to get us back where we should be. Our manager needs to know how to rebuild a team and have a philosophy that is attractive to watch.

 

[MikeKing]

Horrendous isn't it. Someone told me he should be sacked next summer, if we dont win the league.

Yeah, he hasn't even started. I more than understand the doubt and feeling of risk with the appointment but people have some weird ass perspectives going on, or are probably 12 years old.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

But he doesn't have 0% and that's where perspective is key. Both Klopp and Guardiola had at least one serie of 10 games with at best 3 wins during their first seasons. Klopp and Ole had the argument that they came in the middle of the season and didn't had the opportunity to bring players or prepare the team for their tactical approach particularly in terms of fitness.
To me the main knee jerk reaction is the one that I'm seeing among fans, they don't use perspective, don't use common sense. It's all about instant results and gratification. Not even the best managers built their teams without growing pains, it's almost always part of the process, particularly since they don't control every events and the early days don't allow a lot of room for anticipation.

I know what you're saying, but it's just so hard to use the Klopp comparison, they sacked a fairly well functioning manager to get him, because they saw him as an improvement and had a plan, whereas we were forced into sacking a manager we really didn't want to, and were left with no immediate options, so turned to what was a shock choice as interim manager, whist still screaming from the rooftops that our actual big plan was a DOF, followed by a move for
Poch.

So to try and draw parallels with what Liverpool and City did is very difficult, when outwardly it looks like we never had intention of letting him be manager, and only a freak set of circumstances has lead us to this point.

 

[MikeKing]

Carrick and McKenna at the wheel..In all honesty, United appointing Ole so early shows a drop in standard towards us as a club.

Di Matteo freaking win Chelsea a champion league and he still got sacked . If Ole gets top four he will need that sort of Di Matteo luck to accomplish that and I don’t believe that is enough to get us back where we should be. Our manager needs to know how to rebuild a team and have a philosophy that is attractive to watch.

Plain obvious you are just hating now. Taking pleasure in it, it seems as well. Do you even support United?

 

[pascell]

Yeah, he hasn't even started. I more than understand the doubt and feeling of risk with the appointment but people have some weird ass perspectives going on, or are probably 12 years old.

I agree, they're making this place toxic and ruining it for everyone. They're stuck in the old times, thinking we're an elite level club and should be winning the league each season, we're far from it. We need to be stripped back and be built up again.

 

[passing-wind]

Carrick and McKenna at the wheel..In all honesty, United appointing Ole so early shows a drop in standard towards us as a club.

Di Matteo freaking win Chelsea a champion league and he still got sacked . If Ole gets top four he will need that sort of Di Matteo luck to accomplish that and I don’t believe that is enough to get us back where we should be. Our manager needs to know how to rebuild a team and have a philosophy that is attractive to watch.

It was a poor business decision, the best commodity the Glazer's had with an interim manager is time. They probably got lazy when the results went our way and halted the development of hiring a new manager.

I've always reiterated the club should have pushed for Poch, Solskjaer has absolutely no credibility building a team. We could splash 500 million and still look clueless if the tactics and coaching is sub par standard. If anyone wants an example see here post Zidane Madrid slump. More players in Madrid starting 11 that would walk into any team of any league and they couldn't get going.

Long gone are the days of "do what you want", "express yourselves", "it's up to you", these professionals need to be coached on what to do, where to run, how to think etc. Coaching is also temperament and motivation, if Ole is struggling to get the players going how will we mount a league challenge when the high level needed has to be consistent every single week.

 

[Siorac]

At least he’s not Mourinho tbf.

Yeah, at least he's likeable and doesn't shit on the club in public every other week.

A low bar for sure but it was too high for the Portuguese prick.