1) the players
They're a bunch of tools. The biggest of which is Pogba. Love him as a personality, honestly. I'm talking his out there style, playfulness, etc. But my god the ups and down in professionalism are intolerable. A picture says a thousand words : see the Instagram photo he posted after Jose was sacked. To then go on the poty performance run to screeching halt when Zidane talks up his move is damning.
As a collective, their performances were a complete 180 from Ole's first match. And not after a settling period with the new coaches... immediately. And it was sustained for several months! That overnight change is not because Ole and the staff are geniuses. It's because the players decide to be professional...and in many ways some of the quickness, focus and transition patterns we saw are the same that Jose was working on over the summer and players didn't employ with any regularity until, oh big surprise, they got their hard nosed manager out and an all smiles, play with freedom manager came in.
2) the players
The honeymoon period for Ole was brilliant because the season was already over - 4th place out of sight, PSG battering on the horizon, maybe some fun in the FA Cup ahead. He told the players to play with freedom, attack over defense and enjoy themselves. The winning run, sursprisingly put us back into contention for 4th and with added fortune, past PSG. All of a sudden Ole is also given the permanent job. As a man of ambition and United soul his tone transitions from 'have fun boys' to 'buckle down and focus, hard work, tactical study to best teams like Barca and formidable Wolves, more hard work to grind out against battling mid table teams. Actual responsibility and professionalism was again required.
It's interesting to note that this coincides with a shift in what Ole tells the press. From "we have amazing players " to "there are those that need to work harder and show they want to play".
All of a sudden the substitute teacher is assigning homework, asking 'a lot ' more of these players than they probably expected to have to do the rest of the season. And having secured Ole's permanent position during the honeymoon, many obviously did turn off the engines. With more games on the horizon that can't simply be won by enjoying themselves, professionalism is required. Lots of running. Indeed many a player sustains injury but that's what happens when you push your body after going months half arsing it. Is it a bother to return to that level of effort, apparently not for many of these players.
And as the season nears it's end, loss after loss, being out worked and outplayed by Watford, West Ham, Wolves, Everton, Ole's language is rather explicit. "many of them won't be here much longer"
That's a huge change from when Ole has come in and it really epitomizes how much this is down to the players.
3) Woodward
He is nothing special at business and he is awful as a football executive. The exorbitant salaries are a testament to that. The petty penny pinching with Inter trying to 'outfox' them is a testament to that. Missing the release clause and overpaying for Marouane Fellaini is a testament to that. The sponsorship deals we've made are nothing any run of the mill salesman couldn't do. Chevy sponsors everyone and their mother. Adidas has been pining for us to leave Nike for decades. Kohler is a fecking toilet company. We're Manchester United. World's biggest global football name. Woodward showed no masterminded ability in any of these deals.
Sooo, getting back to the poor results. We begin to stumble at the end of the winning run and bam, Ole is given the full time role. By this point there were pundits drooling over Ole, the players posting reminiscent photos of their interim manager and a general good feeling from the public. To make this serious appointment after only recently saying there would be a thorough search is astonishing. To be swayed so easily by others opinions, if that was the behind it, is unacceptable for one in his position. To think it was the right decision as a football executive who has just seen multiple experienced managers fail in grand fashion is unacceptable. I would not be surprised if the decision made the players themselves feel powerful.
In the background of all this we also had several contract renewals ongoing. In the end we saw Jones, Martial and Young renewed. Herrera in talks with PSG. Mata in limbo. Pogba openly courting Zidane. It's a mess of distraction and the outcomes or lack thereof tells of an executive out of his depth.
4) Ole
Frankly, he fell victim to making judgement before he arrived. Like many of the fans he seems to have thought that Jose's hardline stance and man management along with negative tactics were solely at fault. Many of the squad were part of Ole's youth setup and he was familiar with their ability and also perhaps that they needed more love than stick to perform. The biggest issue I think was how openly he spoke about this in the early months - how great the squad was. Without getting to truly know the state of affairs he stuck his nose out for the players, openly questioned Alexis and sold Fellaini immediately. Now he looks a bit of a nepotistic knob and the team isn't exactly going to be happy that his tune has changed to 'ill sell you all'