Give it a rest, de Gea is awful at penalties and everyone knows it. He should have taken him off and it was a mistake not to.This thread being bumped yesterday has to be the most predictable thing ever
I'm sure that you'll find lots of examples where great coaches have a supposedly better penalty keeper on the bench but still don't make the sub. If anything, that seems to be the standard. To use it as a stick to beat Ole with strikes me as moronic. But then again 'moronic' is a good description of the football forum every time we lose or draw or when something marginally good happens to our rivals. I'm sure that if Liverpool got an ice cream sponsorship tomorrow people would bash Ole for hating ice cream.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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So what your saying is the best team in the league, with the best manager on the planet signing two of the best players in the league doesn’t make it any harder for Ole?
Nonsense, it makes a very difficult job a LOT harder.
What your saying is an example of how it will be totally overlooked. I agree there is more than one way to skin a cat and we still should be expected to compete, but you have to apply logic and realism.
It does in theory make it tougher (though am not personally convinced Grealish is one of the best in the league just yet, very good player though he is) but that's not how it always turns out and also, Ole's not exactly managing Southampton and expecting to compete is he? He's at the biggest club in England and has just signed Varane and Sancho.
As stated previously it can be done. United bought Veron and Ruud in 01-02 and finished third that season to Arsenal and Liverpool. Jose bought Ballack and Shevchenko in 06-07 and finished second (we bought Carrick). We'll have to wait and see how it turns out but anything less than a decent title challenge and a trophy is a disappointment and questions probably should be asked.
Simple; he must win something. Jose had 81 point. And so what? Ole finished 2nd with 66. Again so what? Position on table is something which counts. Trophies are something which counts.
Standards set for Ole are ridiculous. Good mood, points and goals scored. That is standard for Man Utd manager?
So if he wins the FA Cup and we finish sixth is that acceptable? After all, he’s won something.
My expectations are far from low. I’m just aware that there is a lot of variance and nuance relative to performance.
It’s perfectly possible that we have a positive season without a league title to show for it. I think our squad of players should be looking to put up a good fight and get a trophy over the line. I’d expect us to score more goals and concede less, too.
We’re not going to win the title without further investment, though. The midfield is too poor.
Being in title challenge until the end and winning one cup is a solid season.
Our midfield is Pogba and Bruno with Fred and Donny. You think that Pool or Chelsea have better midfield? It is manager's job to make them work.
Exactly. People here seem to think that you can't win if you have one spot that isn't world-class. City won the league with ease without a striker last season. Chelsea isn't perfect, Liverpool is far from perfect.
I'd say Liverpool has a better 11 than we do, less depth though in certain positions.
I agree; that would be a solid season.
I think Chelsea and Liverpool have had much better midfields than us, yes. They have deeper midfielders that can actually do the job at a high level. We don’t have Jorginho and Kante to steady the ship. We certainly don’t have a three as functional as the Fabinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum dynamic.
We have some flashier names, absolutely, but we don’t have the right balance in the middle of the park. Bruno is amazing but he’s essentially a second striker and the rest of our options range from the decrepit to the cowardly to the vanishing act. I’ll let you work out who is who.
I have my doubts if he has what it takes to get us over the line to major trophies. He has failed even when we are heavy favourites. I hope he does it this season else we look for a top manager.
Top 4 and a trophy or deserves the sack for me. He has a lot of very good players sprinkled with some real top talents. No excuse not to bring home a trophy now after 3 full seasons.
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In 2008 it meant going for titles. In 2005 it meant building up a new crop. In 1973 it meant not getting relegated.
Right now it means building on previous good work and getting closer to the top.
United manager. Let's have a think about that. You do understand that that varies year to year.
In 2008 it meant going for titles. In 2005 it meant building up a new crop. In 1973 it meant not getting relegated.
Right now it means building on previous good work and getting closer to the top.
I’ll be judging Ole mostly on tactics and in-game changes this season.
I’ll also be keeping a close eye on his team selections and how he manages to rotate the squad.
I’d always been a supporter of his but last season he made some horrible decisions that cost us more than we deserved and we likely would’ve - gone further/won a trophy - in certain tournaments had he opted for better decisions. That just cannot happen again.
I’ll also be keeping a close eye on his team selections and how he manages to rotate the squad.
I’d always been a supporter of his but last season he made some horrible decisions that cost us more than we deserved and we likely would’ve - gone further/won a trophy - in certain tournaments had he opted for better decisions. That just cannot happen again.
We have one of the best squads in the league and you're saying the target now is just to build on the previous good work .. crazy.
The target with this squad is easily challenging for the title.
Some people genuinely believe fine or okay is the standard of managerial quality we need. It's truly bizarre.
Were all hoping Ole and the team start the season on fire and move from strength to strength. But this whole 'what's the bare minimum he has to do?! mindset is bizarre. If you want to win PL and CLs your manager has be excellent. There's no other way around it.
We have become pretty much the Arsenal of the later years of Wenger. We used to laugh at them but now we are exactly them. The word rebuild being thrown around in every single argument and top 4 being the acceptable achievement.
Okay, you're hiding behind words like 'challenging for the title'. What happens if we don't win? Stick your neck out and say Ole wins the title or he gets the sack.
I don't think that's a reasonable thing to do btw.
Except it isn’t, is it?
What exactly do you expect of this team? Pretty much every reasonable poster is expecting us to improve and have a crack at the title but there is also an acknowledgement that we are up against at least three other excellent teams.
That isn’t contentment, it’s reason.
I think for me the easiest way to discuss expectations is in terms of points. For me United should be finishing with 80+ points this season irrespective of where we finish. I would expect us to at least go past the group stages in the cl . If after 3 seasons at the club and with this squad you can’t get 80 points then you are going to struggle to win the league irrespective of kind of competition
Comparing points from different seasons is useless imo. It would mean that Mourinho's 17/18 team is one of the best United sides in the PL era. Mourinho finished 6th (with two trophies) and 2nd. Ole has a 3rd place finish and 2nd. That's all that matters.
We already challenged for the title last season, so it shouldn't be too hard. Anything else would be a step backwards anyways.
I see the people moaning about people potentially moaning at some point in the future, has already started 
I think some of you lot feel Ole should be totally immune to any criticism.
I think some of you lot feel Ole should be totally immune to any criticism.
I learned since Ole was here to not be Ole in or Ole out and not too look at him as a legend and just a manager.I see the people moaning about people potentially moaning at some point in the future, has already started
I think some of you lot feel Ole should be totally immune to any criticism.
I think he has done very well steadying the ship and has bought right while getting rid of deadwood all while bringing us closer to where we want to be.
The thing I have is I’m not sure he can take us too the next level and challenge and I feel that’s fair as he has no history of doing so. We make SF/F under him but can’t get over the line so it’s a fair opinion but most think I’m just criticising him
No, if we challenge till the last few weeks and not manage to win it eventually, losing it by a points gap of 5-6 points or so it'll be fine, he can get another season.
A repeat of last season, like 2nd and out of title race by Feb, finishing +10 points away from 1st spot will be an absolute failure.
I have never said we must win the title next season. However I always said it's an absolute must for us to challenge till the last few weeks.
/shrugs
That's what most people are saying. Put in an actual title challenge, go deep into CL, win a cup etc. etc.
Yeah, so ? What do you want exactly ?
Who in particular has posted in a way in which it appears that they think Ole is immune to criticism?I see the people moaning about people potentially moaning at some point in the future, has already started
I think some of you lot feel Ole should be totally immune to any criticism.
Ah come on, it's utterly rampant throughout this thread. I won't name names, but there's 6 or 7 posters who will literally use every deflection tactic possible to absolve Ole of any blame. They're easy to find
I’m not seeing a lot of it, to be honest. Just a lot of twaddle from a few folk who think a season can be boiled down to Ole must do XYZ or…Ah come on, it's utterly rampant throughout this thread. I won't name names, but there's 6 or 7 posters who will literally use every deflection tactic possible to absolve Ole of any blame. They're easy to find
I think Ole has done a really good job. We could sack him tomorrow and he’d be the first manager post-Ferguson to leave us in a better position than which he inherited. But the job isn’t done and the team still isn’t quite there. Everybody wants to see more progress and so does he. If we have a terrible season and fail to compete for top honours then criticism will be due, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Both sides are a ****. Don’t get drawn into it.I see the people moaning about people potentially moaning at some point in the future, has already started
I think some of you lot feel Ole should be totally immune to any criticism.
Ole has done alright. He’s made the team likeable again, improved league performances & given us our strongest squad post Fergie, whilst also making some baffling decisions & struggling to win when it really matters. I give him a C so far. I will never understand his adoration of McTominay.
Yeah I'm happy with him too. But it doesn't negate the fact that there's a-few posters who are very OTT about the job Ole has done and completely absolve him of any blame, for anything. I saw one of these posters say he has done a 'great job' - hyperbolic much? This same poster aggressively pushes this narrative in multiple threads and becomes extremely hostile anytime there's even a sign of criticism towards Ole.
Pretending these posters don't exist is like pretending that there isn't a cohort that will criticise him for anything and everything.
I was very pleased when Ole got his new contract. For those of us who support and appreciate him, it was a good moment. Fully expected of course but, still, a cause for some responsible celebration. 
I think the question that needs to be asked is if Ole is better than Pep, Klopp or Tuchel? If he is then he should be kept and given more time. If not then there is no point isn't it?
Why? Are any of them available?
Fantastic post. Ole isn’t better than Pep or Klopp. Right he’s sacked. Who are we getting who is better than Pep and Klopp?
I heard nothing but good things about Kep and Plopp.
One of them. What is the point in buying players for over 100 million if the manager is not good enough?
That's if Ole is not good enough. If he is then give him more time.
That's if Ole is not good enough. If he is then give him more time.
Not really. Very different situations. Tuchel and Pep walked into well oiled machines. The latter had the club built for him for years before he got there and still needs the best part of 1bn to be happy. A better question is could either of those have come to United when Ole did and been a success? Obviously impossible to tell but I don't think so. Klopp maybe, but I don't think the other two would have been too up for helping restucture the entire club.
Solskjaer's been the perfect fit to come in and rebuild because he knows the place and how it should be. That's a vital facet of why he's here and why many support him. He's made some errors, sure, but it's pointless looking at the oil clubs and comparing. Entirely different circumstances and situations. Is he good enough? We're about to find out eh. Regardless of what happens, we're in a better place moving forward than at any point since the great man left. Strap in and enjoy it.
Was fine yeah. Didn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things. His objectives will remain the same, and I didn't personally feel it was a good decision going into the season with a manager whose contract was expiring. If you celebrated it, that's a-bit odd tbh.I was very pleased when Ole got his new contract. For those of us who support and appreciate him, it was a good moment. Fully expected of course but, still, a cause for some responsible celebration.
It's good though that he's been backed with a new contract and in the transfer market. There's big expectations this season and I feel we're going to have an excellent season.
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