Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

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Bilbo

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Let's look over a whole season? Also there is plenty of positives in those games you mentioned as well as negatives. We were Shocking against Sheffield bar 15 minutes. We fairly shite against Villa. Both game we drew. We've also got beaten at Newcastle, so that's 3 newly promoted teams taking points of us. Maybe I'm just being concerned where appropriate?
Pointless arguing with you if you refuse to accept that we are improving. I'm certainly not wasting valuable kip time to do it.
 

Paxi

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You can't enjoy a nice win?
Who said I didn't enjoy it? People are jumping down my throat I'm replying to them in kind, but I'm happy, especially for Greenwood.
 

Sterling Archer

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Clearly didn't take anything away from what he read because the way we play is complete opposite to the way Pep plays.
Ole actually started out with a possession based football in his early days at Molde before transitioning to a more expansive one in his later second stint there. (supposedly)
 

Paxi

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Pointless arguing with you if you refuse to accept that we are improving. I'm certainly not wasting valuable kip time to do it.
Where did you see me say where I said that were not? Our results have improved and I'm happy but I still have concerns in regards to our play. Quite frankly, I find it irritating that United fans just choose to blame the players when results don't go our way. First half, we play like shit, the match day forum is full of post of how this the worst squad ever etc. Second half we smash them in 10 minutes with the same squad..
 

Isotope

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This has the feel of the good ol' United under SAF. Just put any players out there, we'd still win against this kind of team.
 

lysglimt

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I hope people are aware that we just scored 4 goals against the side with the (I think) least conceded goals in all of Europe today. 8 in 16
 

WR10

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Not sure if it's Phelan coming back or Ole and co perfecting this. However, the tight space between the back 4 and midfield is insanely disciplined. It doesn't matter how high of a line we play or how low, they give opposition absolutely nothing in between there. Very hard to score against a team this disciplined.

No surprise that we've only lost 2 games in the PL since September.
 

Dve

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Ole must have been really angry in the break. In fact so angry, after 4-0 he still looked angry.
 

joso157

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We had issues with their press in the first half, in the 2nd half Ole and the coaching straff moved Mata further down in midfield and we started to press better. That's why we have a manager and coaches, is it not? Struggle to see the issue with that, especially since we won 4-0...
Exactly this....thats how a football game pans out sometimes, you set up a certain way, the game pans out differently so you adjust your tactics at half time, thus demonstrating you are capable of doing your job as the manager, and win the game 4-0. Unfortunately the players dont always carry the message through, which has happened on occasion this season. Ole knows that isn't acceptable, so do the players, and by the looks of the last few games, things are looking up. Sorry to disappoint, but AZ were leading scorers in the EL, on a 9 game unbeaten run, 2nd only to last seasons CL semi finalists domestically, so it would seem they can actually play football. We just put 4 past them with our U23 team and still people moan...

Some people seriously are deluded, are we supposed to steam roll teams for 90 mins every week? Not gonna happen, period. It's almost like some of you want him to fail, are you sure you're supporting the right team?

This is the most togetherness I've seen from us post fergie, he's brought in some fantastic characters, humble guys who will give 100% every week as we've seen, he's brought through some really promising youngsters, rashford is in beast mode, solid partnerships building all over the pitch. Give him another couple of windows to bring in players of a similar ilk and phase out some more of the deadwood and we'll be flying.
 

RUCK4444

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It was always going to be an up and down season with such a young team coupled with our best player being out for so long.

We have had some poor results but we've had some excellent results against the top sides. Ole quite frankly has worked wonders to get some big results with the squad at his disposal.

For fear of repeating myself there are many positives there to see if people are willing to acknowledge them.

Young players in particular seem to thrive under Ole, he seems to have the gift of getting the maximum out of the youngsters. Introducing young players into the starting 11 is a risky business and can backfire in a managers face but he's doing an excellent job of that in particular in my opinion.

Of course there will be mixed form when playing youngsters but I'm genuinely excited to see what this young team may become with the right additions in the transfer market. An injection of a few top quality, experienced players and this squad could really take off.

I haven't been particularly excited about transfer windows for a long while now, but the next two windows are critical for Ole's tenure here and Ed must back him.

I appreciate the season has been a mixed bag of results but I can't help feeling, for the first time in a long time, that we could be on the right path this time. C'mon Ole, bring us home lad.
 

ReddBalls

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It was always going to be an up and down season with such a young team coupled with our best player being out for so long.

We have had some poor results but we've had some excellent results against the top sides. Ole quite frankly has worked wonders to get some big results with the squad at his disposal.

For fear of repeating myself there are many positives there to see if people are willing to acknowledge them.

Young players in particular seem to thrive under Ole, he seems to have the gift of getting the maximum out of the youngsters. Introducing young players into the starting 11 is a risky business and can backfire in a managers face but he's doing an excellent job of that in particular in my opinion.

Of course there will be mixed form when playing youngsters but I'm genuinely excited to see what this young team may become with the right additions in the transfer market. An injection of a few top quality, experienced players and this squad could really take off.

I haven't been particularly excited about transfer windows for a long while now, but the next two windows are critical for Ole's tenure here and Ed must back him.

I appreciate the season has been a mixed bag of results but I can't help feeling, for the first time in a long time, that we could be on the right path this time. C'mon Ole, bring us home lad.
Yep. Totally different feeling about the progression the teams show now compared to under LVG and JM.
 

Random Task

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Where did you see me say where I said that were not? Our results have improved and I'm happy but I still have concerns in regards to our play. Quite frankly, I find it irritating that United fans just choose to blame the players when results don't go our way. First half, we play like shit, the match day forum is full of post of how this the worst squad ever etc. Second half we smash them in 10 minutes with the same squad..
Inconsistency is always going to be an issue with a young squad like ours. It doesn't help the matter that the few older, more experienced members of that squad (Young, Mata, Matic) contribute so little.

Tonight's game (the first half at least) proved just how weak our second-string players are, meaning we are another injury crisis away from more relegation standard football. The squad still requires considerable investment.
 

cptkeane1993

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Well I had nothing but good things to say post City and Spurs. Credit where credit it due. By the same token, I'll criticise Ole for what I believe is a lack of ability to break smaller teams down as we've seen many times this season. Anyway, we'll see over next few games. All the games we should win.
If we perform like we do against the TOP sides and win the technically winnable games, surely we’d be challenging Liverpool for the title? Is that really our expectation this season, in what is Ole’s first full one?
 

Bastian

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This is great to see. And he couldn't be creating those expectations of the club in the market at a better time. Back the guy. He played for a month with one midfielder.
 

Strelok

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Ole must have been really angry in the break. In fact so angry, after 4-0 he still looked angry.
Agreed, he didn't smile the whole match if my memory serves me right. Good sign tbh.

Just hope he can get some reinforcements in Jan. @Ed please back him with a good midfielder at the least.
 

Bilbo

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Where did you see me say where I said that were not? Our results have improved and I'm happy but I still have concerns in regards to our play. Quite frankly, I find it irritating that United fans just choose to blame the players when results don't go our way. First half, we play like shit, the match day forum is full of post of how this the worst squad ever etc. Second half we smash them in 10 minutes with the same squad..
That's your mistake right there. You're taking the views of the most reactionary supporters on here and assuming those to be the general view. Most rational people will just put a bad half of football to being just that - a bad half of football. It happens to every single team in the history of the game. The management team made some adjustments at half time, we win the match in some style and come away with quite a few positives - game over, good win, move on.
 

crossy1686

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I’m really happy with how things are going lately. We’ve had a rough patch but you can’t deny the feel good factor is coming back with each win. The City and Tottenham games seem to have been a turning point.

we obviously won’t win every game between now and the end of the season but if we become more consistent things will be very good when we strengthen also.
 

Bilbo

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I’m really happy with how things are going lately. We’ve had a rough patch but you can’t deny the feel good factor is coming back with each win. The City and Tottenham games seem to have been a turning point.

we obviously won’t win every game between now and the end of the season but if we become more consistent things will be very good when we strengthen also.
Agree with your post, but for me the Liverpool game was the turning point. Bournemouth aside its been a pretty consistent improvement ever since.
 

Alabaster Codify7

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We've no idea how to play if we don't have vast amounts of space in behind the opposition's defence. It's not a personel problem -- it's a coaching problem. If you can't see this, then you're seeing our situation through rose tinted specs.

I actually think its both because to unlock deep defences, you need clever, intricate attacking midfielders/forwards. KDB type players. What we have, without Pogba, is a series of speed merchants (James, Martial, Rashford) who are not renowned for their 'footballing abilities' per se. They are known for their direct, blistering pace running at and behind defenders, not the ability to cleverly unlock those defences.
 

Gasolin

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Oh dear, what? Have we not had problems all season against low block teams? First half was the same. The second half we look better of course but the first half was a garbage game of football just like like a lot games this season. Let's see when we play Everton Burnley et al and come back to this conversation.

Also, at half time I was told the team wasn't good enough so what is it now then?
How did you do with SAF teams then? Because it was always the same, direct, fast football with resolve and intend the final third. He says that himself...
 

TrustInOle

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Where did you see me say where I said that were not? Our results have improved and I'm happy but I still have concerns in regards to our play. Quite frankly, I find it irritating that United fans just choose to blame the players when results don't go our way. First half, we play like shit, the match day forum is full of post of how this the worst squad ever etc. Second half we smash them in 10 minutes with the same squad..
All i'll say is, 3 managers all struggled at United for whatever reason, with better squads to begin with. Ole is currently just started rebuilding a team whilst improving the culture of said squad , that is threadbare thin at best, whilst spending the most part of the first seasons half without a number of players, including 2 of the 3 best players we have. Add to this his desire to work and develop youth instead of buying players for every position needed.

There is a style of play being implemented, but, not much you can do against a low block, 10 man defense when a. Teams always give more playing united, b. Only Pogba is of a level to consistently find and produce the kinds of passes you need to break through tight defences and finally c. The man has had 1 transfer window to add parts to the team he envisioned. The hyperbole on here, after a fantastic few games of consistency, just shows how a our fanbase can never be happy or stop criticising unless we are winning titles and buying the worlds best players. Sigh.
 

Gasolin

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Ole actually started out with a possession based football in his early days at Molde before transitioning to a more expansive one in his later second stint there. (supposedly)
A more direct football, a la SAF, you mean. And yes that’s true and there’s a reason for that in my mind. It’s just “more effective”.
 

Gasolin

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I actually think its both because to unlock deep defences, you need clever, intricate attacking midfielders/forwards. KDB type players. What we have, without Pogba, is a series of speed merchants (James, Martial, Rashford) who are not renowned for their 'footballing abilities' per se. They are known for their direct, blistering pace running at and behind defenders, not the ability to cleverly unlock those defences.
If you say that, would you say that Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez couldn’t unlock defenses? Right.
We will get there because Rashford ans Martial are technical and James is getting better at that.
 

Chesterlestreet

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If we perform like we do against the TOP sides and win the technically winnable games, surely we’d be challenging Liverpool for the title? Is that really our expectation this season, in what is Ole’s first full one?
Fair point.

In fact, win just a couple of technically winnable games (as you say) and turn a couple of draws against "lesser" sides into wins - and presto, we're sitting above City in the table. With a squad almost everyone (Ole in or Ole out) agrees is multiple upgrades off being top notch.

And, yes, I realize the above is hopelessly hypothetical - but margins do matter in a league like this one. It's pretty tight at the moment. A winning streak for us combined with a poorish spell for anyone below Liverpool could see us in the top four - that isn't unrealistic at all. The flipside is, of course, that a rotten streak on our part could see us way down the table rather quickly.
 

Greck

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This is imo where Ole is doing a great job. The restraint. We just had three managers ending up with duds because they went for whatever was available. Spending wisely also puts less pressure on him to produce immediate results. No one was going to give Jose the benefit of the doubt after spending 300m and rightly so
 

SteveW

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I do think it'll be suicidal to not bring anyone in, I can't believe we'd be that naive.

But yet I still expect us not to sign anyone.
Naive is probably the wrong word. Ole said yesterday that we are another 3 players away from having an adequate squad to deal with a long season. He knows the situation.

He said they will wait until the ones they want are available though. If that's not until the summer they might look at loans in January to strengthen the squad.
 

rollingstoned1

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The OleIn crowd, from my observations, lack rationality and operate solely on emotion. Sort of like Trump supporters. They accuse everyone who has a difference in opinion about our manager (based on his undeniably abysmal record and performance since PSG) of not supporting the club and think they 'enjoy' watching United lose. When we do lose, they have a million excuses for the manager. When we win, they fall over themselves rushing to online forums to rub it in everyone's faces that Ole got a win. Doesn't matter how we did it, or why we won (like opponent playing into our counter-attacking hands; granted, we are bloody good at the counter with that pacey front 3), to them they have won the internet. Just ignore them.

Personally, for me, the 1st half yesterday was an amazing performance. 2nd half we controlled the game sort of well, but make no mistake, we were just camped out in our half like any mid-table side would do against City. Difference was that McTominay, Bissaka and Fred played their hearts out and were in the way of everything City tried. Also helped a bit that City was off-colour and had Jesus as their focal point in attack. But, great performance, no doubt. Show this competency, fight and verve in our next 3-4 games against the midtable fodder and I don't think anyone here would be unwilling to say 'maybe Ole can actually do this'.

I still believe that there are better managers out there to take us forward, but that doesn't mean Solskjaer cannot change my mind. It's crazy if anyone thinks most of us wouldn't want one of our legendary players to be the one to bring us back to the top and put the Liverpools, Cities and Chelseas of the world back where they belong.
The holier than thou condescension here is precisely the problem with those who reduce this situation to a false dichotomy of logic and rationality by pretending that they are the more sensible ones because of their cynicism. For all the criticism they level at the ones who support him I haven't seen them have any perspective when they judge our form either in that a large reason why we have been up and down, apart from having a young squad is due to injuries to important players, so much so that we naturally play a lot better when we get people like mctominay and martial back. This is not even mentioning how they damn with faint praise when we do actually play well because it will mean that they have to challenge their own positions so also when they engage in double standards like putting an asterisk when we win but not when we lose. When we win the opposition is crap and when we lose it is because we are crap.

The political angle has a lesson there. One needn't take the moral high ground or automatically assume that one is right because of what they believe in.
 

United58

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Comment from Reddit:


I firmly believe that United should go after Pochettino to replace Ole at the first moment possible, however I can't deny the sensational job Ole has done in kicking out the trash and the dead-weight. Lukaku sold, Fellaini sold, Sanchez out, Matic on his way out, Smalling out and Jones (as good as) out. I'm willing to bet anything that Bailly and Rojo would be sold this summer too. His signings have been great as well.

Pogba is another one I want rid because I just don't like the drama he and his agent bring to the table, but in the meanwhile, put him in an advanced role without defensive duties (instead of Pereira/Lingard) and watch this team shine! Remember when he had like 10 goals in 10 games right after Ole had taken over? He was just incredible in that role
.

Thoughts? Our ability to consistently pick up 3 points against smaller teams is awful but the deadwood is being cleared, young players are getting chances and players like Rashford are improving.

I'd love a more experienced, attacking coach, but Ole isn't doing such an awful job given the constraints placed by the board and the state José left the squad in.
 
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