Eight games away from another disastrous season under Ole

padzilla

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An interesting piece in F365 this morning about how terrible this season has been for us, if it wasn't for the decent run after Fernandes joined who knows what situation we would be in. We need 19 points from our last 24 available just to beat our worst ever Premier League total which was achieved under Moyes. If we don't match that then surely something has to be done?

https://www.football365.com/news/man-utd-and-solskjaer-have-eight-games-to-avoid-disaster
 

Raw

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If we don't match that and still end up in the top 4 then nothing should be done. Likewise if we won the Europa.

We had a horrible horrible start to the season, we're lucky the other top 4 candidates have been poor too.
 

El Zoido

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It’s a rebuild project, there are no quick fixes. This has been talked about to death but Liverpool were finishing down the table before it all clicked. For me this team looks a lot better than it has for years and years, plus they’re young enough to build and develop together. Key also is that Pogba hasn’t played all season and Bruno only just joined, two players that will greatly help us break down those stubborn defensive teams. So let’s at least allow this team to gel and improve further.
 

Samid

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Ole has been so lucky this season. If Rashford hadn't scored 14 goals we would have been bottom half. If Bruno hadn't been signed we would have been in a relegation battle. If we had conceded more than a goal a game we would have finished rock bottom.

All of a sudden he has Pogba available too. Can't believe his luck.
 

Djemba-Djemba

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Watching us at Spurs on Friday it really did hit me that we actually have a decent squad now. Our strongest 11 would be a match for anyone in the League and we actually have decent options to come off the bench. There have been points even this season when we had a depressingly average squad or line up for games so that's a nice change.

The start of the season was awful and it's immensely frustrating to think of some of the fecking shite teams that have taken points off us. Drawing at home to Villa, losing to West Ham and Bournemouth just appalling results.

If we lose tonight and then suffer a similar end of season run of form as we did in 18/19 then he might get sacked, but I think we'll end the season well.
 

The Boy

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Ole has been so lucky this season. If Rashford hadn't scored 14 goals we would have been bottom half. If Bruno hadn't been signed we would have been in a relegation battle. If we had conceded more than a goal a game we would have finished rock bottom.

All of a sudden he has Pogba available too. Can't believe his luck.
I know what you mean, but it works both ways. If Pogba hadn't been injured for ever as well as lengthy spells out for Martial and Rashford you could be 4th and surely Rashford's goals have to be partly down to the manager playing him and setting up for him rather than just pure luck. Finally presumably Ole had a say in who they should sign in Jan to help the team so again more than just luck.

It's a bit like saying if Salah hadn't scored 16 goals Liverpool would be struggling for top 4, fecking lucky Klopp!
 

Djemba-Djemba

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Also, seems unfair to classify last season as a disastrous season under Ole when Mourinho was in charge for half of it.

He took over in late December when we were on our fecking knees and everyone had given up on top 4. If De Gea didn't fall to pieces at the end of the season we may have sneaked into the top 4 despite our form collapsing.
 

diarm

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We've had years of looking entirely rudderless - even in the year we finished second, you didn't look at the squad and our play and think "there's a proper plan here and we're moving in the right direction.

Finally now, under Ole, we are moving in that right direction. We're slowly weeding out the shite that had infected the club and replacing it with actual quality. Everybody seems to be on the same page and playing for the coach which is the first time you can say that since Fergie left.

We haven't been perfect but we are getting slowly better all the time and to make a change now would be madness. Ole has earned the right to more time and the club needs a period of stability after several years of upheaval. There are still a few players that need to leave and still a few gaps in the first team and squad that need filling - let Ole finish that rebuild and give him a year with a finished squad.
 

jackal&hyde

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Ole has been so lucky this season. If Rashford hadn't scored 14 goals we would have been bottom half. If Bruno hadn't been signed we would have been in a relegation battle. If we had conceded more than a goal a game we would have finished rock bottom.

All of a sudden he has Pogba available too. Can't believe his luck.
:lol:

I was thinking there hasn't been much Ole bashing in some time.
 

Champagne Football

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Ole has been a revelation. He's improved us no end. Fixed the toxic atmosphere that the toxic one left behind. All his signings have been brilliant.

The only worry is possibly bottling games we should easily be winning from now on.

Hopefully De Gea doesn't cost us a CL spot for 2 years in a row.

Squeeky bum time
 

passing-wind

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Definitely a poor season, only time will tell if Ole is a right fit for us to be competitive. We might be headed in the right direction but we need the results to back that up.
 

youngrell

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I wish people would stop comparing to Moyes' season. He had a squad of champions, Ole has had no such thing.

With regards to the end of season, I think we're currently unbeaten in 12? And currently 2 DDG mistakes away from 7 wins in a row, so we are doing ok and hopefully continue that going forward.
 

BenitoSTARR

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Or we could be 8 games away from 3rd/4th place, we could be a few more away from an FA Cup final, and Europa league final too...

I worry about the outlook on life some people have.
 

Bilbo

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We've had years of looking entirely rudderless - even in the year we finished second, you didn't look at the squad and our play and think "there's a proper plan here and we're moving in the right direction.

Finally now, under Ole, we are moving in that right direction. We're slowly weeding out the shite that had infected the club and replacing it with actual quality. Everybody seems to be on the same page and playing for the coach which is the first time you can say that since Fergie left.

We haven't been perfect but we are getting slowly better all the time and to make a change now would be madness. Ole has earned the right to more time and the club needs a period of stability after several years of upheaval. There are still a few players that need to leave and still a few gaps in the first team and squad that need filling - let Ole finish that rebuild and give him a year with a finished squad.
This. I'm surprised this still needs to be said to be honest. Its completely obvious that the club are moving in the right direction, and Ole has a lot to do with that.
 

fergieisold

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It's been a great season in terms of an ongoing rebuild. The difference in our team now is pretty staggering compared to Mourinho, and credit to Ole for leading this. Next season is key to whether Ole is up to the job of taking us even further.
 

El Zoido

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Or we could be 8 games away from 3rd/4th place, we could be a few more away from an FA Cup final, and Europa league final too...

I worry about the outlook on life some people have.
People just don’t like Ole. He could win us the treble and you’d have a thread up on the caf the next day questioning if he’s good enough. It’s a bore.
 

Jeppers7

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I’m not being funny but that’s only an interesting article if you’re looking for that type of article. As for the season.....when the transfer window shut in august, anyone who didn’t think we would struggle was deluded. That’s without losing Pogba, Martial and Rashford for huge parts of the season.

for me now is not the time to debate Ole, the time for that is next season. If we bring Sancho or similar in, and have a squad with Bruno, Pogba, Martial, Rashford, Greenwood, Sancho and still struggle to break teams down and win those games then I’d ask serious questions.

For now Ole is doing a good job of turning the tide. There’s no doubt about that. Removing context from the argument changes nothing.
 

Adam-Utd

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Zero perspective in that article.

I think anybody with a brain can see the squad needed a lot of reinforcements to get anywhere near the title, Fernandes has been a great step forward and it shows quality players do make a difference.

Add in we've not had Pogba basically all season and Rashford missed a fair chunk, any team would struggle.

From what I've seen we are making forward progress not backwards unlike the previous 2 managers, so i'm happy with that.
 

BenitoSTARR

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I’ve said many times.

If you ignore context you make make lots of things look terrible.
 

VP89

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Of course it's an under achieving season but we just have to give it time because we've ripped up an old philosophy for a new one (again). The only solace we can take is that this philosophy is the closest thing we have to our club identity since Ferguson left, so here's hoping it's the right path with Ole.
 

Mount's Goatieson

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A bit OTT I think. I like Ole. I think with continuous time and support he could be very good at United.
Your first XI looks almost complete. If you're able to land Sancho, get a true No9 and get someone just better than Lindelof that's one hell of an XI. Squad players will need improving though as Perreira and Lingard aren't even worth being on the bench of a team like United, Mata is done and Greenwood is still too young.

What Ole does with such a team will be telling of his managerial prowess. Will be disappointing if United still have to rely on defensive tactics to get a result against the best teams. It's understandable due to some limitations and situations this season but with a potential team like that there is no excuse to play like that if you're really looking to move on from the Mourinho era.
 
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Amarsdd

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I know what you mean, but it works both ways. If Pogba hadn't been injured for ever as well as lengthy spells out for Martial and Rashford you could be 4th and surely Rashford's goals have to be partly down to the manager playing him and setting up for him rather than just pure luck. Finally presumably Ole had a say in who they should sign in Jan to help the team so again more than just luck.

It's a bit like saying if Salah hadn't scored 16 goals Liverpool would be struggling for top 4, fecking lucky Klopp!
I think he's being sarcastic in response to a comment above his about Ole being lucky, but I could be wrong. I can never tell in caf esp. when it comes to Ole threads.
 

Tel074

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It’s a rebuild project, there are no quick fixes. This has been talked about to death but Liverpool were finishing down the table before it all clicked. For me this team looks a lot better than it has for years and years, plus they’re young enough to build and develop together. Key also is that Pogba hasn’t played all season and Bruno only just joined, two players that will greatly help us break down those stubborn defensive teams. So let’s at least allow this team to gel and improve further.

I agree with this . I've been a season ticket holder for longer than I care to remember and even though it's been really poor at times ( Burnley at home) . Overall I see an Improvement I see a manager who wants us to play a decent brand of football his signings have been excellent maybe only James has disappointed. I'd give Ole next season and see how it goes and hopefully with anew right sided forward and maybe a CB and CF we won't be far away
 

Red Company

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I know what you mean, but it works both ways. If Pogba hadn't been injured for ever as well as lengthy spells out for Martial and Rashford you could be 4th and surely Rashford's goals have to be partly down to the manager playing him and setting up for him rather than just pure luck. Finally presumably Ole had a say in who they should sign in Jan to help the team so again more than just luck.

It's a bit like saying if Salah hadn't scored 16 goals Liverpool would be struggling for top 4, fecking lucky Klopp!
:lol:

I think he was being sarcastic
 

King7Eric

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Ole was and still is one of the luckiest coach I've met

Ability aside the timing of events is always on his side.
Well you know what Napoleon said. Better to be a lucky leader than a good one. :D
 

redshaw

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You have to take the context of the season into account. The league this year was on course to have the lowest points total for 4th of ~65. In 2013/14 the top 4 was 86,84,82,79 respectively.

We'll see with he reset and BCD if a team can go on a 8 game winning to counter it.

What is bad is instead of looking at points totals, if we finish 5th then it will be only 2 times out 7 years Manchester United have finished in the top 4.

That's once under LVG and once under Jose in seven years post Fergie. We're not a Champions League club anymore and this could get harder with Newcastle joining and Chelsea probably getting up to be the established 3rd team.
 

Fosu-Mens

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If he gets top 4 or wins EL, then it is difficult to sack him... Football is short term and the result(financial) oriented, at least from our boards perspective it seems.

Only real change is that we know have a manager that is positive and protects the players.

The football played is not that different from under JM. We struggle to create chances or do anything against a low block. We seem to have no discernable approach to how to go about playing against this type of setup. Our attacking play seems to be based on individual moments, not any input or guidelines from the manager.

The quality, or the suitability, of our signings to a more "progressive" type of football is up for questioning. Not included Bruno.

So, besides being positive and not throwing the players under the bus, what does actually OGS bring to the table? Do people think/believe that he will coach the team to become better at creating chances against a low block? Or should we just buy better attacking players (Bruno, Sancho?) and hope that this fixes it?
 

flappyjay

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You look at Ole's squad, if he got sacked the next manager would walk into a better squad job than what even Moyes walked into imo. However the season ends Ole's tenure has been a success in my book.
 

slored1

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We were shit at the start of the season, but after Bruno came we've been good. Ole in I say.
 

Eckers99

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We're on our best run of results in 18 months, have players back from long term injuries, are still in the race for top 4 and in a couple of cups. Bizarre time to roll out the negatives.
 

GazTheLegend

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At the start of the season a lot of people had no expectations for the season other than to "get rid of the dead wood and improve the squad".

That has happened. Ole has done a fantastic job freshening up what was an utterly shit team, be honest.

If anything given our injuries and considering our insane turnover we have done extremely well. You can't just look at things in a bubble and assume that what Ole has done was easy - he has put Man Utd ahead of himself when he could have kept the likes of Lukaku and Herrera and accepted more mediocrity.

We have had the youngest first 11 in the league and there is only one way for most of those players abilities to go and that's up, we hope. We knew this wouldn't be a quick fix.

Look at the mess arsenal and Tottenham are in and there's no comparison.
 

EwanI Ted

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People always call a poor season a "transitional" season, but in this case I think it's accurate. For the first time in a while I dont think we need major surgery to be successful. We have a couple of key spots to fill either this summer or next (RW, Matic replacement) and we have a couple of players with question marks over them (Lindelof, DDG) but nothing like the situation under Mourinho, where you looked at the outfield players and 7 or 8 of them you just knew were not good enough. I mean, think back to the days where we were playing Smalling, Young, Valencia, Fellaini, Herrera, Lukaku and Sanchez, and its pretty clear we're moving in the right direction.

Indeed, if we can get Sancho this summer, upgrade Lindelof and get a really consistent striker up front, I think we have a team that can challenge repeatedly over the next few years. The only thing missing is experience, which as a collective they can gain together. So I'm pretty relaxed about the points total, because for the first time in ages I feel like we've carefully built a team rather than chucking it together and hopefully we'll see the rewards for that in the coming years.
 

Deery

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It’s Uniteds own fault if we don’t get 4th place we knew what we were getting when we signed Ole, so there is no point complaining now.

The football hasn’t been very good at all and it won’t get any better either, it’s individual brilliance rather than good football getting us points.

But, we get a win tonight against Sheffield and we are in a good position to get 4th so let’s all get behind the team for the remaining games and forget these clickbait bullshit articles only designed to play on the insecurity of United fans..