Four months in which he’s got more points than anyone else while knocking PSG out of the cup.
Four months ago we expected to lose to fecking Huddersfield away.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
- Status
Four months ago we expected to lose to fecking Huddersfield away.
For all we know Ole might turn out to be a great coach for us as well. Nobody knew Pep and Zidane were good before they got the job and proved themselves either.
Give him the time. He understands the club and seems to have some good ideas. It’s not like we had a choice of all top managers - we had it in 2013 when we went with Moyes but not now.
Then what exactly is the solution?
If we want PL proven then we have couple of managers (both won most PL titles than anyone bar SAF) who are jobless. Worth a try I guess.
We have gone thought the proven route and it didn't work out, for once we appointed a young manager who has lot to prove and his team produced numbers that's more than any other manager we had since SAF and his ppg is as good as any in the league.
Of course we could have offered him a contract at the end of the season, not sure how it makes any different. ManUtd were in shit position in december and are back in race for top 4. If club judge him as not good enough based on remaining games, then it's just a shit decision making process as it ignores all the work did in 4 months and ignores the position ManUtd and morale of players when he took over. All this work with the players whose fitness is questionable so he had to change his methods (thanks to shit loads of injuries) and 0 transfers, hired during busiest period of season and not enough time to work on fitness and tactics.
Exactly. People go on about how we are not so different from Jose's time (which is nonsense btw) but ignores how many injuries we had when Solskjaer tried to set up his team to play with intensity and full of running.
This team lacks fitness, at least I'm assuming Ole changed his methods to adapt to his team. Next season is the right time to judge him considering he will have summer window and also a preseason to work on weaknesses.
At least from December to April, no one could have done any better than what Ole did.
Waiting until the end of season would not have achieved anything. He has already got us into a CL quarterfinal and into a top 4 race which was beyond expectations in December when he was hired. Even if we do not finish in top 4, the fact that we are in this race is remarkable itself considering our league position after 17 games.
Hear hear. A truer summary of RedCafe today exists not
Yeah, it wouldn't have made any difference if he was hired now or end of season (not sure the point of waiting). We just can't ignore his performance in last 4 months where we won so many games including tough away games.
Jesus give the guy the summer and next season before smashing him into the ground. In fact the most important thing is pre-season and training the lads so they can play with pressing and high intensity all game.
Exactly. Who do we have that's definitely good enough to be starting for a title challenging team right now?
De Gea
Lindelof
Shaw
Pogba
Rashford, at a push
The rest are either developing, squad level players or should be shown the door, and we have an awful lot of the latter. No manager is doing great things with this team.
Having said all that, Solskjaer has made some very questionable tactical decisions and substitutions in recent weeks. I'd feel a lot better if Phelan confirms and we appoint a director of football.
Not parking in the manager's space in the car park, because it "belongs to the boss" is very cringey and eyebrow raising
Looking forward to the summer
Looking forward to the summer
I'm not gonna say he is the wrong appointment, he has done plenty of positive things and I think he should have got the job regardless. I think it would have been best to wait till the summer as well but with Woodward you can never underestimate his stupidity.
Now, he's far from perfect and he must learn from his mistakes. Favoritism towards some members of the squad for a start has to end. Rashford and Lingard are blatant examples. Rashford is far from Ronaldo, and should be guided properly and not be immune to critics and benching. Lingard is just Lingard and should be pushed out of the door till next summer never mind starting games and treated like he is some integral member of the team. He has to be ruthless and that is yet to be seen. Selling Fellaini was a start.
Giving proper chances to young players like he already did must continue. And now is the best time in my opinion, instead of giving shit players that are half way out of the door.
Now, he's far from perfect and he must learn from his mistakes. Favoritism towards some members of the squad for a start has to end. Rashford and Lingard are blatant examples. Rashford is far from Ronaldo, and should be guided properly and not be immune to critics and benching. Lingard is just Lingard and should be pushed out of the door till next summer never mind starting games and treated like he is some integral member of the team. He has to be ruthless and that is yet to be seen. Selling Fellaini was a start.
Giving proper chances to young players like he already did must continue. And now is the best time in my opinion, instead of giving shit players that are half way out of the door.
No comparisons with Jose please. Moyes, LVG and Mourinho really hurt this club.
We have a lot to do, our squad needs much, much work... We as fans, will need patience, and to just be good footie fans.
Ole, in my opinion, is the perfect man in that seat right now, because he understands the expectations of the club. Ole, Phelan, Carrick, and Nicky Butt in right place to guide us through a challenging transitional period.
Ole and his coaching team have turned a season going nowhere, and a horrible atmosphere, into a season where we have much to look forward to.
We have a lot to do, our squad needs much, much work... We as fans, will need patience, and to just be good footie fans.
Ole, in my opinion, is the perfect man in that seat right now, because he understands the expectations of the club. Ole, Phelan, Carrick, and Nicky Butt in right place to guide us through a challenging transitional period.
Ole and his coaching team have turned a season going nowhere, and a horrible atmosphere, into a season where we have much to look forward to.
A dicking at the Nou Camp and handing either City or Liverpool the league is not something I look forward to tbh.
Not his fault though
Give the man a chance...
Yeah, assuming we don't win against Barca (which is, let's be honest, very likely) the remaining weeks of this season will have feck all high points and a bunch of very low ones.
A real pity that Ole's first half season in charge is inevitably going to end with a load of bad memories.
I genuinely think this is a generational passing of the baton in the new tech dystopia. Jerk on my commentators; knee-jerk on ad infinitum.
Perspective has been lost; the FIFA/FM-ification is complete. Ignore everything but instant-hits.
Sack Ole Sell Rashford.
Perspective has been lost; the FIFA/FM-ification is complete. Ignore everything but instant-hits.
Sack Ole Sell Rashford.
I want only one thing from Solkjaer the remaining games, that he gets the players fired up and we see them giving their all. The results come second.
He could do that, but we were so poor in passing, possession and pressing, any good coach we should be seeing an improvement in those regards, everything has gone flat now, all the issues in the team is still there, we still cannot keep meaningful possession or press in an organized way, we still defend deep and trying counter attacks.
Our squad is paper thin, I don't think Solksjaer is capable of overseeing this huge transition, we will stuck in an endless loop of buying players not fitting a style of play and replacing managers again.
Ole has to be the man for the job, after all he is now our permanent manager for three years at least.
I have to confess I was one of those who felt that giving him the fulltime job before he had completed his audition was inviting a jinks, and so it has been. Players now know they can talk to the 'real manager' and the, "I want more money," I want to play in a 433", or "I want.... something else" have now landed on his desk and the worry about who will be managing them next year has been lifted from the players, some I suspect (after Saturday's display) are thinking of being on the beach already!
However with hindsight (isn't it a wonderful thing?) All this 'hands out' for money; wanting to dictate where they play etc. is better coming now than in the pre-season or worse still at the beginning of next season. Ole needed a spell of things not going right, to hone his approach. Ole knows this club inside out, he knows what the majority of fans want and he knows what he should demand of his players. These last few games will have told him, for sure, who he should keep, to believe he can improve them/their attitude, and those who need to 'be gone'. I will be pleasantly surprised if we either get past Barca and/or make the top four, maybe in some strange way not succeeding in either of these objectives might just be what's needed to finish-off Ole's period of 'on-the-job' training as Manager.
Very much hope that however we finish the season Ole's got a firm grip on 'that wheel''.
I have to confess I was one of those who felt that giving him the fulltime job before he had completed his audition was inviting a jinks, and so it has been. Players now know they can talk to the 'real manager' and the, "I want more money," I want to play in a 433", or "I want.... something else" have now landed on his desk and the worry about who will be managing them next year has been lifted from the players, some I suspect (after Saturday's display) are thinking of being on the beach already!
However with hindsight (isn't it a wonderful thing?) All this 'hands out' for money; wanting to dictate where they play etc. is better coming now than in the pre-season or worse still at the beginning of next season. Ole needed a spell of things not going right, to hone his approach. Ole knows this club inside out, he knows what the majority of fans want and he knows what he should demand of his players. These last few games will have told him, for sure, who he should keep, to believe he can improve them/their attitude, and those who need to 'be gone'. I will be pleasantly surprised if we either get past Barca and/or make the top four, maybe in some strange way not succeeding in either of these objectives might just be what's needed to finish-off Ole's period of 'on-the-job' training as Manager.
Very much hope that however we finish the season Ole's got a firm grip on 'that wheel''.
I like the effort and mentality we have shown under OGS.
Although tactically we have not been very good. Part is probably the players, but also the management. We need to improve the way we press and attack as a team.
Although tactically we have not been very good. Part is probably the players, but also the management. We need to improve the way we press and attack as a team.
I missed the game on Saturday, did we go 433 or 352/532?
Let him have a pre-season with them, the fitness level of the squad is really bad. Give him the summer to work on their fitness levels which will help us with our pressing.
He will have too many issues to handle. Clear out the squad, buy new, good players, get our fitness level up, improve our general play, improve our attacking play, increase confidence, change attitude.... Let's see what he can do after the summer
You think all that’s achievable in 6/7 weeks?
Dreaming!
He's working with a squad that isn't anywhere close to up to par, with arguably the worst set of attackers in the top six, and he has achieved some fantastic results.
We have a whole array of players that Guardiola and Klopp would happily sell at the first opportunity. Expecting fantastic attacking football with this group isn't fair on Ole. Let him build his team.
We have a whole array of players that Guardiola and Klopp would happily sell at the first opportunity. Expecting fantastic attacking football with this group isn't fair on Ole. Let him build his team.
Was more like a 4-2-3-1
Dalot---Smalling---Jones---Rojo--
-----------Fred-----Pogba--------
Lingard--------Mata------------Martial--
---------------Lukaku----------------
Of course they are, amol.Huge shoes to fill
Having us comfortably mid table and out of the top 4 race before December really are huge shoes to fill
Absolutely agree. Plus he's taken over at the end of a largely disappointing season and had no input in transfers yet.
There are so many players in the squad that I have been saying season after season since Moyes, with more arriving with each unsuccessful manager, that have never been and never will be anywhere near required level to even realistically compete for a title. And now in 2019 it blows my mind that some of them are still there.
I've always had this thought which I really wanted to know other people's thoughts on. .
Our first game when Ole arrived, we won 5-1. Ole had absolutely no time with the squad or to instill any of his ideas.
Could it be that the emphatic win was actually as a result of the coaching by Mckenna & Carrick?
Ole is my favourite player so I love that he's our coach, but I just feel something has changed over the course of his tennier? Maybe we need more input and direction from those two? Or perhaps Ole has brought unlong certain methods and ideals that the players aren't adapting to?
Our first game when Ole arrived, we won 5-1. Ole had absolutely no time with the squad or to instill any of his ideas.
Could it be that the emphatic win was actually as a result of the coaching by Mckenna & Carrick?
Ole is my favourite player so I love that he's our coach, but I just feel something has changed over the course of his tennier? Maybe we need more input and direction from those two? Or perhaps Ole has brought unlong certain methods and ideals that the players aren't adapting to?
Last edited:
All I'm saying is we need a coach, one who works with the players and fixes long standing problems like poor passing, movement, lack of pressing etc. The coach doesn't have to PL proven or a trophy winner, a coach who trains his squad and makes us play dominantly like a top team.
A new manager bounce is not something new, our players had a lot to prove after the disaster with Mourinho and it showed and since then everything has quietened now and our old problems seem to be cropping up again, Solksjaer is probably a better man-manager than Mourinho but tactically or as a coach, I've no idea where he stands, is he known for a quick passing style or a defence oriented like Conte/Simeone or gung-ho attacking, he simply is too much of an unknown quantity, if we had world class players at our disposal, this appointment wouldn't be much of an issue, but we are in need of serious overhaul, managers who don't have a playing style usually approach the "buy expensive world class players" market strategy, I'm afraid if we don't buy carefully next season, we will be in serious trouble.
Of course they are, amol.
Having us comfortably mid table and out of the top 4 race before December really are huge shoes to fill
Not to mention calling everybody out and blaming everyone elseThe more OGS struggles, the more I fear such themes (absolving the previous one) will become ever present.
Good post.
Who is that manager who would have fixed everything in 4 months, without preseason and transfers?
We worked harder than our opponents in first few games and made more sprints than opposition too, ended up with our players dropping like flies and then the whole adapting thing to get by this season.
Solskjaer has said many times he wants his team to be one of the hardest working team in Europe and also said we are not working much on fitness because of lack of time, so there isn't any manager who would have fixed everything when the fitness levels are so poor. We can't play with intensity for long periods, we can't play pressing game.
Without getting the players he wants to implement his style, it's harsh to judge him, even more so with such a poor fitness levels of our team.
Also he might not be Pep in his philosophy but there is clear change in our attacking game and there is pattern too, we try to open defense with one twos or quick passes near the box. What we are lacking is that last touch, half a second late and we lose the ball or the shot is blocked. Obviously we are far from finished product.
From where we started since Ole took over, he did a brilliant job to be in touching distance to 3rd.
No, that is why I said it will be too much for him to change with so little time. If he can improve the team and play better football, that is the best we can hope for
If he's worthy of the role, he should be able to coach better performances by the season's end.
Top 4 or not, with the players we currently have, he should be able to implement tactics that bring decent football against the likes of Everton, Huddersfield and Cardiff - those are really the games I'll be looking at to see the actual football he's playing.
A few weeks ago everyone was saying how we actually have a really good squad and Mourinho was misusing them... now suddenly the reality that OGS is actually a mid-table manager at best starts to creep in and lo and behold, it's the players and we need a new starting 11...
Top 4 or not, with the players we currently have, he should be able to implement tactics that bring decent football against the likes of Everton, Huddersfield and Cardiff - those are really the games I'll be looking at to see the actual football he's playing.
A few weeks ago everyone was saying how we actually have a really good squad and Mourinho was misusing them... now suddenly the reality that OGS is actually a mid-table manager at best starts to creep in and lo and behold, it's the players and we need a new starting 11...
So you have written off top-four finish? And you clearly have no hope at all for us in Barca?
That's sad. You may end up correct on both fronts... but, you also, may not. Support the guy, the support the players. I think Ole and his coaching staff are all too aware of the issues across the squad and club. Phelan's recent comments about club structure were really, really pertinent. They know they have a big challenge ahead.
So let's embrace that challenge. We wanted a 'man united' manager in post, we have one.. he is doing super well.. and what happens? Some of us are STILL not satisfied!
I look at some of the players, instead of Ole, because they simply aren't showing that level of ability that their contracts warrant, or the short represents.
I wont pretend I understand this comment. But I absolutely love it!
I have a hard time understanding where some (surprisingly many, actually - or perhaps it's just a case of relatively few being very vocal) on here are coming from, to be honest. There was a reason why it might make sense to wait with offering him a contract - but it had nothing to do with wanting to micro analyze his "performances" as manager of a team that clearly isn't his own in the sense usually implied. If there were other, realistic options worth waiting for (options that were better, safer, or whatever) - then yes, wait. It's a huge call to make, shouldn't be made in haste, etc. But what some people are doing now is plain absurd: you don't judge a manager a few months into his tenure - and certainly not when said manager's main task so far has been to try and save something from the huge mess left by his predecessor - which he might still do in spite of how utterly hopeless it looked when he took over.
I wonder what some people would've made of Klopp after a few months in charge, had he taken over United and not Liverpool. Probably would've had grave concerns over Guardiola too.
Don't get giddy, fair enough, I'm not giddy myself. But turning a big, underperforming club like United around will take some time, that's not being unduly apologetic on behalf of OGS - it's plain common sense and would've been true regardless of who we'd hired.
I wonder what some people would've made of Klopp after a few months in charge, had he taken over United and not Liverpool. Probably would've had grave concerns over Guardiola too.
Don't get giddy, fair enough, I'm not giddy myself. But turning a big, underperforming club like United around will take some time, that's not being unduly apologetic on behalf of OGS - it's plain common sense and would've been true regardless of who we'd hired.
- Status