Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

[Mockney]

For what its worth, I don't believe for a second that Ole is the right man to lead he club forward - that's as clear as day for anyone who cares enough to take notice - but the issue I have with sacking him right now is his replacement. I genuinely do not think any manager could get a tune out of this squad, at least not one capable of taking charge midseason and transforming them into top-four contenders.

Yeah I agree. Unless someone like Poch gets sacked mid-season, there’s not much point as the next guy would also just be an interim whilst we do the due diligence we should’ve done last season. It’s a feck up.

 

[Kemizee]

I'm not sure.
He seems to be out of his league but can we keep on sacking managers?

Yes we can. Other top clubs do it all the time and remain competitive and successful. It's high-pressure stuff and Ole understands that. We can't keep making excuses for a mediocre manager and wondering if we should sack him simply becuase 'we can't keep sacking manager, it will speak bad of us'. Who cares? I want people to respect and fear our team the way they used to previously not pity managers who aren't up to scratch.

 

[7even]

Simply wrong. There has been done in depth analysis on what and when Ole changed things. What he got was a team of players going for it and doing the task asked they where asked. You don’t see that now, the team is unable to recreate. The theory behind that by the most active and reactionary 10 posters on here, who post on the borderline of spamming, is that Ole has coached it out of them. He has gone from good tactics to worse. He knew what he was doing back in February, but some how forgot. Or it was just down to luck. That is simply not true.

If what you suggest is the truth then why didn’t the players continue to follow his instructions?

They won games. The media and supporters was in love with all of them. If I understand you correctly Ole had the formula to win but after three month the players stopped to follow his instructions. Correct?

I have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes but I watch all of our games and the results are available for all of us to see. No matter how we paint the truth our results are on a all time low since the PL started. We often look totally disorganized, we repeatedly make silly mistakes, we have huge problems to create chances and we more often then not look out of ideas. That’s the reality. Results don’t lie.

 

[Enigma_87]

Millions time this. It is not even about punching above your weight. It is about getting max out of players individually and collectively, which is the ultimate goal and responsibility of each and every manager out there.

Without 150m transfer kitty as well.

But then Potter is better coach, better manager and better tactician than Ole. Having an inferior team perform in a certain style doesn't require billions.

That is if you know what you are doing.

 

[ash_86]

So once he gets injured during the season we will be doomed? We are still in Octobre and he will get injured again as the season is long. You are just telling me our manager is clueless once he gets one player injured which just speaks about him rather than good. His job as a coach is to find a way to replace the injured important player.

Yes our season depends on him. Atleast this season as we have thinned our squad to recruit again next season. Every team has one such player, Arsenal has Auba , without him they would lose more than 50% of matches. Only City might lose players to injury and not fold. Even Liverpool without Firmino looks clueless and couldn't get going. We need a little bit of luck for him to stay fit. Nothing wrong in that as he's a very important player and we dont have replacement.

 

[He'sRaldo]

Hope the we have crap players brigade watch Brighton and see that a team can have identity and play good football without having stars in any position. Sometimes coaching can make you punch above your weight.

Brighton are crap. This is their first good result in a while. We could pull up our Chelsea result and say the exact same thing. Besides, we probably wouldn't be allowed to play like Brighton anyway, since we're a much bigger club.

I agree with the point of your post, but not the kneejerk part.

 

[Mainoldo]

Hope the we have crap players brigade watch Brighton and see that a team can have identity and play good football without having stars in any position. Sometimes coaching can make you punch above your weight.

I hope it also shows that good players can play crap and downtools. Like Spurs are.

 

[chb23]

James was recommended by Giggs and is a talent I agree. AWB will need to raise his attacking game a lot if we decide to go with actual attacking football. Whilst he's an excellent defensive full back the jury will be on him if he can work in different formation and role.

Maguire - we paid 80m for him and to me he'll be a solid player for us.

Neither of those deals strike me that Ole has to be given time on the basis of recruiting 3 players that might be successful.

It was poor management and squad planning. If you can only reinforce the defence by completely overruling midfield and attack and you still leak goals and you can't score to save your live then what is the point ?

What we don't know is how restricted (if so) was he by Ed Woodward. We don't know if he wanted an attacker to replace the ones who left. Besides mourinho, i'd say his signings have been very good compared to his predecessors.

 

[He'sRaldo]

I hope it also shows that good players can play crap and downtools. Like Spurs are.

It also shows that people only mention these small teams when they randomly win. If Brighton played the same but were tonked, no one would be bringing them up.

 

[zenith]

It all went downhill the season sir Alex retired. The club should have went all out for a proven manager and stuck with him like Liverpool did with Klopp. Hindsight is 50/50 and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

So now we are at the point where no one, including the management is quite sure on what to do next. Sacking ole in such an environment would be suicidal for the club, given the lack of obvious replacement.

We need to carefully scout the right fit and then wait for him, like city did with pep. Till such time we do need someone in charge who can lay a solid foundation and continue the rebuild on a common club philosophy.

 

[Lee565]

So ole has come out and said that it was his decision to go into the season with our striker options after he was unsure about spending large amounts on a mystery striker and felt confident in the "potential" we had at the club in terms of strikers.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Look at what Aston Villa did to Norwich. No way in hell could we do that to anyone. Bullshit that we don't have the players.

 

[ash_86]

Look at what Aston Villa did to Norwich. No way in hell could we do that to anyone. Bullshit that we don't have the players.

It's hard when even City couldn't do it.

 

[Catt]

So ole has come out and said that it was his decision to go into the season with our striker options after he was unsure about spending large amounts on a mystery striker and felt confident in the "potential" we had at the club in terms of strikers.

Recently?

 

[momo83]

Too early to conclude. We are barely three months into their Man Utd careers.

Exactly. Bailey started off great, Lindalof crap but has become good. Di Maria started off very good, Darmian started off very good...

I think Maguire and AWB will have long and successful careers... they were the obvious choices. Most fans would sign them, not as if Ole unearthed a rough diamonds from Easter Europe... best to see how they and James develop under Ole’s coaching.

 

[momo83]

So now we are at the point where no one, including the management is quite sure on what to do next. Sacking ole in such an environment would be suicidal for the club, given the lack of obvious replacement.

We need to carefully scout the right fit and then wait for him, like city did with pep. Till such time we do need someone in charge who can lay a solid foundation and continue the rebuild on a common club philosophy.

While City were waiting for Pep they had competent managers who were still able to win things, and keep City attractive to Pep..

 

[dev1l]

Exactly. Bailey started off great, Lindalof crap but has become good. Di Maria started off very good, Darmian started off very good...

I think Maguire and AWB will have long and successful careers... they were the obvious choices. Most fans would sign them, not as if Ole unearthed a rough diamonds from Easter Europe... best to see how they and James develop under Ole’s coaching.

"most fans would sign them"....
In reality most fans would sign anyone hyped by the media and his agents..:

 

[JPRouve]

So now we are at the point where no one, including the management is quite sure on what to do next. Sacking ole in such an environment would be suicidal for the club, given the lack of obvious replacement.

We need to carefully scout the right fit and then wait for him, like city did with pep. Till such time we do need someone in charge who can lay a solid foundation and continue the rebuild on a common club philosophy.

Surely you didn't compare Ole to Mancini and Pellegrini?

 

[Leftback99]

Look at what Aston Villa did to Norwich. No way in hell could we do that to anyone. Bullshit that we don't have the players.

You were saying look how good Norwich are a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Based Adnan]

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/...n_account_on_twitter/?st=k1dtff91&sh=2e6ed290

Apparently a fan account messaged Ole on Twitter and he responded before deleting his account

I just told him that I understood the project he was building and mentioned a few of the parts that were good. I acknowledged that times were tough and said with more signings and continued training I am sure he will bring us back.

“Hi [OP's name]. Thanks for your message. I'm glad someone can see progress, we do. And the attacking will come ”

 

[Garethw]

Anyone expecting an easy game with the players we have available tomorrow will be disappointed. It's not an excuse it's just a fact that they aren't good enough.

You don’t think they are good enough to beat a relegation candidate?

 

[BlueHaze]

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/...n_account_on_twitter/?st=k1dtff91&sh=2e6ed290

Apparently a fan account messaged Ole on Twitter and he responded before deleting his account

We truly are doomed if this horror show is considered progress..

 

[Womp]

Anyone expecting an easy game with the players we have available tomorrow will be disappointed. It's not an excuse it's just a fact that they aren't good enough.

You do realise we are playing Newcastle, right? Arguably the worst team in the league.

 

[Judas]

We should beat Newcastle even with the players we currently have, anyone who believes otherwise has truly gone off the deep end.

 

[Leftback99]

You don’t think they are good enough to beat a relegation candidate?

This is our squad for tomorrow:

Goalkeepers: De Gea, Romero, Grant.

Defenders: Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Tuanzebe, Rojo, Young, Williams.

Midfielders: McTominay, Matic, Fred, Mata, Gomes.

Forwards: Pereira, Chong, Greenwood, Rashford, James

Yes we might win but would you honestly be surprised if we don't?

The above is a mid table squad. Mid table teams don't always beat even relegation candidates away from home. They win 4-5 away games a season.

 

[Lee565]

Recently?

Yep -

https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro....igned-replacement-romelu-lukaku-10868033/amp/

 

[Greck]

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/...n_account_on_twitter/?st=k1dtff91&sh=2e6ed290

Apparently a fan account messaged Ole on Twitter and he responded before deleting his account

This kind of thing breaks the heart. It's easy to forget the person is human and must be going through a lot of personal doubt and turmoil. Too nice a guy for all of this. If he does leave in the future I hope it be a mutual agreement sort of thing

 

[Di Maria's angel]

You were saying look how good Norwich are a couple of weeks ago.

My point is, teams are capable of playing good football on any given day - we can't, and thats proven by the fact that we've been abysmal for 22 games.

 

[Bastian]

Yep -

https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro....igned-replacement-romelu-lukaku-10868033/amp/

What I take from this is that instead of using the many months since Ole was made permanent manager to actually negotiate a deal for a striker we faffed around and did nothing. And then it seems that buying a striker was completely dependent upon selling Lukaku. But even then, a deal could have been provisionally agreed months ago for a new recruit. Just appalling planning. Even with Maguire we knew the price, spent all summer trying to lower it, then at the end of the window paid the declared price.

I honestly think the only good bit of business Woodward has ever done is recoup the money for Lukaku. People talk about him as a great commercial operator. But he's hemorrhaged money down the drain on managers, players, contracts, only to have one of the most expensive squads on the planet, in terms of transfer fees and wages, and it's not in the top 50 best teams around. Shrewd business.

 

[Chairman Steve]

Looking on it, I don't think these old Utd boys who spent most of their careers under SAF really would be the best managers.

Firstly they've spent most (if not all) of the career under one man, and no matter even if he was arguably the GOAT of managers, it still doesn't mean he can impasse his midas touch onto others. SAF's major strength was his personality and his man management and tactics wasn't really his strong point (that was left to Querioz). I think it's hard to teach someone that god-like level of man management unless telepathy can be developed and you can channel SAF into yourself... and because everyone is unique in some way, you can't just do one thing you saw once because it may not work on similar people.

Name one SAF disciple whose gone onto to have even a fraction of SAF's career at managerial level. Giggs is struggling with Wales. Scholes wasn't great for Oldham. Gary Neville was famously bad with Valencia

 

[Greck]

Looking on it, I don't think these old Utd boys who spent most of their careers under SAF really would be the best managers.

Firstly they've spent most (if not all) of the career under one man, and no matter even if he was arguably the GOAT of managers, it still doesn't mean he can impasse his midas touch onto others. SAF's major strength was his personality and his man management and tactics wasn't really his strong point (that was left to Querioz). I think it's hard to teach someone that god-like level of man management unless telepathy can be developed and you can channel SAF into yourself... and because everyone is unique in some way, you can't just do one thing you saw once because it may not work on similar people.

Name one SAF disciple whose gone onto to have even a fraction of SAF's career at managerial level. Giggs is struggling with Wales. Scholes wasn't great for Oldham. Gary Neville was famously bad with Valencia

I'm going to be harsh with this take. Many of them come across as incredibly thick as pundits. Especially when there are real tactical issues and all someone wants to do is talk about Paul Pogba like it's all that happened in the 90 minutes. It's no surprise to see players falter as managers. They were chess pieces and you can't expect the piece to see the whole board the way the master can.

 

[The Kag]

Looking on it, I don't think these old Utd boys who spent most of their careers under SAF really would be the best managers.

Firstly they've spent most (if not all) of the career under one man, and no matter even if he was arguably the GOAT of managers, it still doesn't mean he can impasse his midas touch onto others. SAF's major strength was his personality and his man management and tactics wasn't really his strong point (that was left to Querioz). I think it's hard to teach someone that god-like level of man management unless telepathy can be developed and you can channel SAF into yourself... and because everyone is unique in some way, you can't just do one thing you saw once because it may not work on similar people.

Name one SAF disciple whose gone onto to have even a fraction of SAF's career at managerial level. Giggs is struggling with Wales. Scholes wasn't great for Oldham. Gary Neville was famously bad with Valencia

Completely agree with this sentiment. More to the point, it's not necessarily that they make poor managers because of Sir Alex's influence, but excellence isn't so easily transmitted.

Honestly, people lazily attach and assign credibility to certain players and managers just by virtue of proximity to other greats. Osmosis only goes so far because despite being exposed to years of tutelage, mentorship, philosophy, and style, there are so many other aspects at play that makes a successful individual (like Sir Alex Ferguson) a successful individual.

It would be an understatement to claim that it's extremely difficulty to transfer and replicate someone's core essence as a person and a professional onto someone else. A lot of prodigies and geniuses are indeed inspired by others that came before them (or their contemporaries), but they still have to have that inherent talent within them. They possess authentic intangibles that creates that divide between the average, the good, and the great. It's tacit knowledge.

Speaking of tacit knowledge, there's a great quote by skateboarding legend, Rodney Mullen, about this very subject.

"Dude, you just know what authentic is. That's the very nature of authenticity; tacit knowledge. Something we all know, but we can't teach. The smallest nuance of facial expressions, you know what they're thinking. Likewise with authenticity, and that is the undergirding power, like an electromotive force that pushes out style. Past that, you can't really capture it. By the time you've defined it and quarantined it to some verbal parameters (ie "the United way"), you've already missed the point."

 

[Raees]

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/...n_account_on_twitter/?st=k1dtff91&sh=2e6ed290

Apparently a fan account messaged Ole on Twitter and he responded before deleting his account

Apparently Woodward controls Ole’s account.. hence the bullshit in the message.

 

[Denis79]

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/...n_account_on_twitter/?st=k1dtff91&sh=2e6ed290

Apparently a fan account messaged Ole on Twitter and he responded before deleting his account

"I'm glad someone can see progress" Aren't the majority of fans positive according to Ole? Probably made up though, to rile people.

 

[red4ever 79]

There you guys he he has confirmed it himself. He made the decision not to replace Lukaku. This was not on Ed to go into the season with Rashford, Martial and Greenwood. Ole should be fired for gross negligence.

I can say [I am a striker short], but that was the decision that I made and I made it happily," Solskjaer told Sky Sports.

"When you have players, [they may have] great potential, but Romelu's head was not here for us working forward as a group

 

[Revaulx]

There you guys he he has confirmed it himself. He made the decision not to replace Lukaku. This was not on Ed to go into the season with Rashford, Martial and Greenwood. Ole should be fired for gross negligence.

I can say [I am a striker short], but that was the decision that I made and I made it happily," Solskjaer told Sky Sports.

"When you have players, [they may have] great potential, but Romelu's head was not here for us working forward as a group

The initial gross negligence was not forcing Lukaku to get back into shape. Jose failed to do it, but that wasn’t an excuse for Ole to take no action when he was first assessing the squad as interim manager.

 

[red4ever 79]

The initial gross negligence was not forcing Lukaku to get back into shape. Jose failed to do it, but that wasn’t an excuse for Ole to take no action when he was first assessing the squad as interim manager.

I just wanted to clear it up as a lot of people were blaming Ed for this. Ole has now confirmed it was his decision not to replace Lukaku. A decision that has cost us dearly in my opinion as we cant score goals and are utterly dependent on Rashford who is not good enough to be a striker. Ole will regret it when he is back in Norway with his P45

 

[Revaulx]

I just wanted to clear it up as a lot of people were blaming Ed for this. Ole has now confirmed it was his decision not to replace Lukaku. A decision that has cost us dearly in my opinion as we cant score goals and are utterly dependent on Rashford who is not good enough to be a striker. Ole will regret it when he is back in Norway with his P45

Oh yes I agree.

I was just adding that while I’ve never been a great fan of Lukaku I think it was silly of Ole to just write him off, rather than trying to get him back into shape.

 

[red4ever 79]

Oh yes I agree.

I was just adding that while I’ve never been a great fan of Lukaku I think it was silly of Ole to just write him off, rather than trying to get him back into shape.

Agreed. Whatever you think about Lukaku you cannot let a striker go who has scored 40+goals across two seasons and not replace him. Terrible decision by Ole. Reminds me when LVG sold RVP and put his faith in a past it Rooney

 

[Volumiza]

"Dude, you just know what authentic is. That's the very nature of authenticity; tacit knowledge. Something we all know, but we can't teach. The smallest nuance of facial expressions, you know what they're thinking. Likewise with authenticity, and that is the undergirding power, like an electromotive force that pushes out style. Past that, you can't really capture it. By the time you've defined it and quarantined it to some verbal parameters (ie "the United way"), you've already missed the point."

Cool quote regardless of the context and it’s totally true.

I have never been convinced by Ole in interviews and press conferences. Something either forced or missing, can’t put my finger on it.

Ole went on a great run when he came in and loads of us, me included, hopped on the happy train and wanted his appointment made permanent. Ole now looks so far out of his depth it’s ridiculous and the quality of our football is horrific.

Smaller teams with a fraction of our money and wage bill are playing much better football than us.