Has Solskjaer made us fitter?

[LawCharltonBest]

Making a specific thread here because Solskjaer said his aim at the end of last season was to make us fitter this season.

It was this time last season that we looked extremely leggy and started dropping loads of points.

I’ve noticed we look a lot fitter now coming to the end of this season. Often looking fitter than our opponents and outrunning them imo. So is it working?

 

[2 man midfield]

Much fitter. We now look dead on our feet from around 80 minutes instead of 60.

Seriously though, yeah I'd say so. I think we're reaping the rewards of a bit of fitness, a bit of cohesion finally, and dare I say it a bit of luck at times.

 

[Judas]

Look how badly we were dragging along against Liverpool in a similar type of home game much earlier in the season, looked much less dead today, but we also had much better depth to call on which helped massively.

 

[Chairman Steve]

We don’t look completely blown after 65 mins like a year ago anymore so yes.

 

[DBT85]

Undoubtedly. Not only just that, according to an Athletic peice the other day we are also allowing the opposition a lot less touches before we attempt a defensive action all in part because we're pressing harder and for longer thanks to that fitness.

 

[crossy1686]

There's definitely been a fitness improvement. Either the players are learning how to manage the press in games better now or they're doing more cardio work, who knows?

 

[arthurka]

Yes and it has come at a cost aswell.. injuries have been haunting is this season. But I like this work ethic.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Matic was being lazy ball watching under Mourinho and even until half of this season, and people called it because he's too old with no leg anymore. And now he started to work his socks off to cover and press his opponent. May be this is not just mere of coincidence.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Yes.

Which is weird that he was the man to do that. There was all this noise that LvG's gruelling pre-season routine would make us fitter, and then Mourinho was always fitness-over-football, yet we looked terribly unfit under both of those managers, and it was one of the first things Ole talked about when he started.

Still a long way to go. We still look done before the game is up, but nowhere near as early as was happening before.

 

[11101]

We look fitter but we are also playing on the front foot much more. It's far harder playing Mourinho's style of chasing the opposition around in defence.

 

[SirAnderson]

Definitely. As mentioned, it has sifted out injuries because of it, but definitely has made us have more mettle toward the end of games.
Getting Luke Shaw fit is the pinnacle/poster boy of what he has been trying to do.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Definitely. As mentioned, it has sifted out injuries because of it, but definitely has made us have more mettle toward the end of games.
Getting Luke Shaw fit is the pinnacle/poster boy of what he has been trying to do.

Since that break in Portugal we’ve looked fitter

 

[WR10]

Definitely. As mentioned, it has sifted out injuries because of it, but definitely has made us have more mettle toward the end of games.
Getting Luke Shaw fit is the pinnacle/poster boy of what he has been trying to do.

The team finally figured out he needed a talented dietician not a treadmill which is brilliant. Great testament to Ole & co to make everyone look as fit as Fred

 

[M16Red]

Ole even said in pre-season that the players will be working on fitness , and he hated it because he'd struggle to walk up stairs. It was needed.

Last season he said a number of times that no team should out run Utd.

 

[El Zoido]

He clearly has, we looked on top of our game even at 97 minutes. I know Matic and someone else was down with cramp at about 90, though I think that was probably a hit of gamesmanship. We are definitely more fit, it’s evident.

 

[Alek M]

Does anyone have the stats on ground covered today for each team. Ground covered by Fred?

 

[simplyared]

Answer to the OP is DEFINATELY. If you can't see that then you can't see anything!

 

[baskinginthesun]

I would say so. I think even Ole said in a presser or an interview that the team was much fitter and sharper.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Much fitter. We now look dead on our feet from around 80 minutes instead of 60.

Seriously though, yeah I'd say so. I think we're reaping the rewards of a bit of fitness, a bit of cohesion finally, and dare I say it a bit of luck at times.

Can you remember the games when Lukaku looked gassed after 30 minutes? Terrifying stuff.

 

[SER19]

Definitely made us more physical. Martial looks full on aggressive in recent weeks

 

[2 man midfield]

Can you remember the games when Lukaku looked gassed after 30 minutes? Terrifying stuff.

God yeah. He looked like a 60 a day smoker at times.