Oppo fan's view on Ole Gunnar Solskjær's appointment?

Tommy

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Sorry if this is perhaps a weirdly timed & themed thread, but rather than get in the way of a rather jubilant bunch of United supporters, I thought it'd be best to create a thread here & see what all the non-United fans think of the appointment (and subsequently the tenure) of the iconic OGS.

My thoughts? Pretty much entirely positive, with a ? over what he'll manage to do on the pitch.

Firstly, getting rid of Mourinho was 100% the right thing to do for you. I don't think there's any doubt about that at all at this point. I was surprised it happened while you were still in the Champion's League, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

Mourinho would be an obstacle (or at the very least a PR nuisance) towards the model the club wants to head for. You're seemingly crying out for a Director of Football, and in that regard, Solskjær is a great hire. He knows the club, he loves the club, and he knows his role at the club - he's not going to get in the way of the much-needed progress behind the scenes.

It's also a pretty risk-free bet with a chance of a nice pay-off. If we're being honest, top 4 shouldn't really be entertained as a goal this season, not now. HOWEVER, if Solskjær were to take the club on a great run, then who knows? You might have your own Zidane-like presence. A club legend who the players just love to play for. If it doesn't work out like that, and we're saying top 4 isn't likely anyway, what's the worst that can happen? You miss out on the Europa League? Would you even care?

My only concern would be that, the last time he managed in the league, he didn't fare too well. That said, his more recent efforts have been much more positive from what I can gather, so who knows? And as I said, worst case scenario? You get yourself a DOF anyway, get in your ideal man in the summer, and miss out on the Europa League.

Oh, and thank god you'll actually play some attacking football again :D

So yeah, provided you get the manager you want next summer (if OGS doesn't turn out to be Zidane 2.0), the DOF you need, and Ole steadies the ship short-term, I think you've done alright for yourselves.
 

Theafonis

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In all seriousness, I think he'll be a decent appointment. Former player, legend around those parts, he'll do well if he implements progressive tactics and manages to get the players on his side. At the very least, I think he'll command respect.
 

Tommy

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This is becoming like the old board on the official site. Anyone who has something to say starts a new thread instead of adding to an already opened one.
I just didn't want to get in the way of the natives, or filter through their jubilant forum-screams in search of views from the outside :D I apologized off the bat if this thread is out of place/not needed, & if that's the case, it'll be shut. I just thought it was an interesting thing to discuss with non-United fans.
 

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He'll be a friend to the players, which these weak attitude feks (Pogba, Sanchez, Lukaku comes to mind, and then you look at Fred who has a great attitude despite no play time) needed. Not someone hard headed like a Simeone (not saying he'd be our interim, just cant think of an interim manager that was in the contest with that man management style)


It'll do wonders for our players confidence and hopefully we can ride the initial boost to gather together a streak of wins to get us back to a somewhat secure top 4 position. The only problem is that if his tactics are as weak as I think they are eventually that comes to an end and you get exposed, after that all thats left is the players, and these players mentality and leadership isnt as strong as Chelsea's was when they won the UCL with matteo for instance.
 

P-Nut

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Should be an interesting read, although I'm already hating the fact oppo fans are happy we're potentially going to improve, just rubber stamps how far we've actually fallen. I want to be decking despised across the country again like the good old days :lol:
 

roonster09

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He'll be a friend to the players, which these weak attitude feks (Pogba, Sanchez, Lukaku comes to mind, and then you look at Fred who has a great attitude despite no play time) needed. Not someone hard headed like a Simeone (not saying he'd be our interim, just cant think of an interim manager that was in the contest with that man management style)
Pobga played under Allegri, Conte, Deschamps without problem and you think he is weak attitude? Man Jose really has a magic wand.

Same with Sanchez, he played for Barca, one of the highest pressure environment.
 

duffer

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It's the perfect choice in terms of changing the mood of the supporters. He knows what the fans wantt and they've got a really easy run of fixtures coming up so he should get some goals and the inevitable "sign him up" chants will follow.
 

FutbolFan

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He will bring positivity to the stadium to begin with. But results on pitch will continue to dictate overall mood no matter if some of the fans are okay with writing the entire season off.

His old prem managerial record doesnt seem promising but as a Chelsea fan, I should not discount what iterims can acheive.

Risky choice imo to settle things down.
 

Tommy

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Should be an interesting read, although I'm already hating the fact oppo fans are happy we're potentially going to improve, just rubber stamps how far we've actually fallen. I want to be decking despised across the country again like the good old days :lol:
Hey now, I never said I wanted your results to improve :D I just don't wanna tune into a United game on a whim & lose faith in humanity (or at the very least interest in the sport).
 

duffer

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Should be an interesting read, although I'm already hating the fact oppo fans are happy we're potentially going to improve, just rubber stamps how far we've actually fallen. I want to be decking despised across the country again like the good old days :lol:
We don't want you to improve! Hopefully your new manager is as good as he was as Cardiff manager.
 

RochaRoja

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I don’t expect results to improve much but hopefully he’ll at least make them exciting to watch again.
 

Peyroteo

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Can't do much wrong, isn't expected to reach top 4 at this stage of the season and noone expects United to get past PSG in the CL anyway so it shouldn't really matter results wise.

Important for the fans to have this change happen anyway though.
 

Raees

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Luis Enrique is someone who struggled early on in his coaching career but made it work at Barca and now seems to be a reliable manager at the highest level.

Sometimes a certain scenario just doesn’t suit a manager - If Solksjaer has a more progressive style perhaps Cardiff just wasn’t the right place for him to put that philosophy into place.

End of the day it is a huge punt but feck it - a few days ago we were miserable as sin thinking we would have Jose until end of the season - we now have someone in place who at least bare minimum will have a go in games, loves the club and will smile at press conferences. If it doesn’t work we can content ourselves with the fact we reset in the summer and we will be signing a big boy manager who this time will be in the prime of his career and adept at managing the modern day player (Poch/Zidane perhaps even a Favre/Jardim/Silva).
 

njred

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Should be an interesting read, although I'm already hating the fact oppo fans are happy we're potentially going to improve, just rubber stamps how far we've actually fallen. I want to be decking despised across the country again like the good old days :lol:
Could go either way. The quality of the players come into question now with the interim mgr. If there is progress even just a bit then a new sparkly mgr in the summer should put you back on track. But if you fall deeper in the league and your big players falter then it’s going to be a long rough road ahead. The owners will have to rethink everything. Still despised here so no worries there.
 

B20

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I think it's a clever appointment. He's the right profile you should be looking for, rather than look around for whoever has the most trophies. Now you've got six months to assess whether he is up for the task or not.

The main issue really is Woodward's inability to make such an assessment.
 

hellohello

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I think it shows that United can't get a manager they want straight away, and therefore give it to someone to temporarily get fans to enjoy the football. Ideally the long term manager should come in straight away so that he has more time to work and assess the squad before next season. I guess they had no choice, but it's not a great situation imo.
 

ArmandTamzarian

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It's a gamble but one with a lot of immediate postitives, fans and players will feel re-energised, the cloud of doom and gloom that Mourinho seems to be unable to shake will be gone and the football will be better (I assume). The gamble part is wether or not Solskjaer is cut out for a huge role like this and if he can turn the positives into better performances and ultimately, results. Even if it is only temporary.
 
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hellohello

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Bit harsh. Assuming the poll that’s currently up has all the major candidates we’d possibly go for correct, outside of Jardim (who just flopped spectacularly) Conte (we just had a defensive manager) and Zizou (questions whether he wants to stomach a rebuild), everyone else is currently in mid season with trophies on the line.

Taking my personal favorite Marco Rose as an example, the man is probably going to win another A Bundesliga title and has an outside chance at a Europa league title. Why on earth would he leave now just to start rebuilding now. Even if he did, the pressure on him to win would begin at the start of next season, rather than having next season as a whole (assuming no Moyes collapse) to work with. Could say the same for pretty much every other manager we would be linked to.
I know why it would be difficult to get a manager they want mid season, and since Mourinho made it impossible to wait for the summer then the board really had no choice but to appoint an interim manager. I just feel that although it's probably the only real option it's far from ideal. On Ole as an interim I guess it's a decent choice, he knows the club and will get goodwill from the fans. At least there's a reason to watch United play except the Jose drama, and a chance to see the players without the Mourinho excuse.
 

roonster09

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I think it shows that United can't get a manager they want straight away, and therefore give it to someone to temporarily get fans to enjoy the football. Ideally the long term manager should come in straight away so that he has more time to work and assess the squad before next season. I guess they had no choice, but it's not a great situation imo.
No, it shows there are big changes that are done at the club and next manager will be appointed after that.
 

hellohello

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No, it shows there are big changes that are done at the club and next manager will be appointed after that.
Is that so? DOF etc?

I haven't paid much attention, but if the club restructure while an interim hold the fort, and then the new manager is chosen to fit in with this then that's a great idea imo.
 

roonster09

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Is that so? DOF etc?

I haven't paid much attention, but if the club restructure while an interim hold the fort, and then the new manager is chosen to fit in with this then that's a great idea imo.
Yeah, that was mentioned yesterday by many papers.

Mourinho is understood to have wanted his own structure, but the new manager will be appointed with a head of football above him reporting to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
Some head of football will be appointed and then instead of making quick decisions, club is talking 6 months to assess all the options (hopefully this time with Head of football/DoF in charge)
 

hellohello

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Yeah, that was mentioned yesterday by many papers.

Some head of football will be appointed and then instead of making quick decisions, club is talking 6 months to assess all the options (hopefully this time with Head of football/DoF in charge)
Must have missed it in all the noise, thanks:). Will be interesting times ahead for United.
 

roonster09

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Must have missed it in all the noise, thanks:). Will be interesting times ahead for United.
Yeah, maybe not something you want to read as a Spurs fan but lot of noise about Woodward meeting Poch before Jose's appointment and he wants him in the summer. Anyways 6 months is a long time in football, you never know what happens. At least this time I'm happy that we are playing waiting game instead of rushing it.
 

Rob

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Meh, doesn’t really matter all that much considering he’s just an interim and this season’s basically a write off.

What was important was to get Mourinho out of there, and sadly that happened.

Solskjær is a safe choice as he’s adored by the fans, but I don’t necessarily think that the results are going to get much better.

He’s a nice guy by all accounts, so I do wonder if he’s strong enough as a manager to handle ego’s like Pogba and Sanchez.

I don’t really care about all that “knows the club” stuff, though. A good manager is a good manager, and which good manager are you going to get that “knows” United? I mean, if you get Allegri, God forbid, he probably knows next to nothing about United.
 

hellohello

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Yeah, maybe not something you want to read as a Spurs fan but lot of noise about Woodward meeting Poch before Jose's appointment and he wants him in the summer. Anyways 6 months is a long time in football, you never know what happens. At least this time I'm happy that we are playing waiting game instead of rushing it.
Very true, we'll see what happens.
 

Robbo's Shoulder

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Meh, doesn’t really matter all that much considering he’s just an interim and this season’s basically a write off.

What was important was to get Mourinho out of there, and sadly that happened.

Solskjær is a safe choice as he’s adored by the fans, but I don’t necessarily think that the results are going to get much better.

He’s a nice guy by all accounts, so I do wonder if he’s strong enough as a manager to handle ego’s like Pogba and Sanchez.

I don’t really care about all that “knows the club” stuff, though. A good manager is a good manager, and which good manager are you going to get that “knows” United? I mean, if you get Allegri, God forbid, he probably knows next to nothing about United.
I think the knows about club stuff is only important when comes to the interim manager, it won't count for anything i doubt when choosing the full time manager
 

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I don't understand the point of bringing him in until the end of the season.

The board are no doubt going to want Pochettino (spelling) or Zidane so why not try and get them in now? The season is a write off anyway but If you bring them in now, it gives them the rest of the season to analyse the squad properly and identify the problems that need solving in the summer. Players can go and new ones can come in. The ones that stay will have had half a season of learning the new playing strategy and everyone goes into pre-season knowing what is required.

Bringing an interim manager in now means that the players don't feel like they're playing for the place in the squad next year, no recruitment can happen in January because there's no point bringing in a player now if the new permanent manager doesn't want him and the club doesn't move forward until the summer at least.

As an opposition fan, I'm glad you've got an interim manager in and especially someone who hasn't got any experience of managing an elite level club.
I was worried that you'd appoint Poch or Zidane now and the foundations for next season would start to be laid.
You're going to have to pay a hell of a lot for Poch anyway, just pay the extra and get him in now, it's not like you can't afford it.
 

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I would imagine they are in agreement with the majority on here.

Season is a write off. We can’t be any worse under Ole, and hopefully he’ll get some feel good factor back before we make a permanent appointment. If it doesn’t go well it’s just a temporary thing, and none of our top players wanted to renew under Jose.
 

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I think the trend of appointing a manager because he was good at kicking a ball around is dumb. Not all great players are great trainers, plenty of evidence for that.

That being said, I know nothing about his managerial career thusfar and it will be awesome to hear the you are my Solskjaer my only Solskjaer again.
 

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It makes sense if you do bring in someone like Pochettino in the summer, otherwise if you're going to get someone like Zidane/Conte i'd have just brought them in immediately as the likelihood is whoever is managing you, you won't get into the CL. It does make me believe that the board has shortlisted targets that aren't willing to move during this season but can be coerced in the summer i.e Poch.

It helps that he actually has a connection to the club unlike Mourinho/Van Gaal/Moyes and doesn't appear to have the same complex that they do either. Bringing in Phelan to help says to me that this is going to be more of a cohesively built team than just one egotistical shit-show.
 

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I don’t see much evidence that he’s a good manager and I doubt he’ll lead United on a big Matteo like run to silverware. His Cardiff tenure was nothing short of disastrous and otherwise its really just Molde. His appeal has everything to do with his club legend status and nothing to do with his managerial track record.

But I think he’ll get on well with the players and help lift the gloom around the club, making the next man’s job easier. That’s ultimately the most important job of a caretaker.
 

ThierryFabregas

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It's a gamble because his pedigree isn't there and to a large extent he has failed. In the transfer market he won't be able to have any say because he isn't a manager who'll have any connections so that defaults back to Woodward is it? And I don't think you guys rate him.

On the plus side he's worked under Fergie and knows his methods. He's a United legend, he has United DNA, he's a likeable guy. It's just you question how well he can tactically set up the team or how good a coach he is.

Overall an unknown but he should improve morale and hence performances, which is maybe all you want from a caretaker after all.

Pobga played under Allegri, Conte, Deschamps without problem and you think he is weak attitude? Man Jose really has a magic wand.

Same with Sanchez, he played for Barca, one of the highest pressure environment.
Sanchez caused trouble in the Arsenal dressing room. There was rumour of falling out with Messi and that's why Sanchez was shifted instead of Pedro.
 

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Sorry if this is perhaps a weirdly timed & themed thread, but rather than get in the way of a rather jubilant bunch of United supporters, I thought it'd be best to create a thread here & see what all the non-United fans think of the appointment (and subsequently the tenure) of the iconic OGS.

My thoughts? Pretty much entirely positive, with a ? over what he'll manage to do on the pitch.

Firstly, getting rid of Mourinho was 100% the right thing to do for you. I don't think there's any doubt about that at all at this point. I was surprised it happened while you were still in the Champion's League, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

Mourinho would be an obstacle (or at the very least a PR nuisance) towards the model the club wants to head for. You're seemingly crying out for a Director of Football, and in that regard, Solskjær is a great hire. He knows the club, he loves the club, and he knows his role at the club - he's not going to get in the way of the much-needed progress behind the scenes.

It's also a pretty risk-free bet with a chance of a nice pay-off. If we're being honest, top 4 shouldn't really be entertained as a goal this season, not now. HOWEVER, if Solskjær were to take the club on a great run, then who knows? You might have your own Zidane-like presence. A club legend who the players just love to play for. If it doesn't work out like that, and we're saying top 4 isn't likely anyway, what's the worst that can happen? You miss out on the Europa League? Would you even care?

My only concern would be that, the last time he managed in the league, he didn't fare too well. That said, his more recent efforts have been much more positive from what I can gather, so who knows? And as I said, worst case scenario? You get yourself a DOF anyway, get in your ideal man in the summer, and miss out on the Europa League.

Oh, and thank god you'll actually play some attacking football again :D

So yeah, provided you get the manager you want next summer (if OGS doesn't turn out to be Zidane 2.0), the DOF you need, and Ole steadies the ship short-term, I think you've done alright for yourselves.
I think it should be goal to aim for. But he shouldn't be lambasted as a failure if he doesn't get it. 11 points behind Chelsea. It's steep, but we're not halfway through the season yet. 11 points behind a league leader would be different, title challengers are bound to be more consistent and I don't see Chelsea getting close to a title race. Chelsea (and also Arsenal) look better this season, but still not completely convincing. Lots of points will be dropped outside of the top 2. 4th has to be the focus for everyone at the club IMO, to keep the players driven and not act like the rest of the season is just a free swing.

Historically, when a club bins a struggling manager who is dragging down morale, there is a boost when that weight is lifted, and we have a favourable run of games for the next month. Hopefully there is a lift in morale and we can get build some momentum with that. If we can cut that gap to 8 points by mid-January, the situation looks far from impossible.

I agree with the rest. Great post.
 

rzoroLFC

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Personally I think that is a good move... For every other prem team. Sorry but he was awful at Cardiff and now managing Molde in Norway. Yeah they'll be that initial hype for about a month, but by Feb he'll be found out. Can't believe the Man Utd board thought this was a good idea even in the interim.
 
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It’s an interesting one

But I find it strange

Why not just leave Carrick in charge? Or does the Club need to be seen to be doing something, anything

To please the fans? I doubt Solskjær would have been a fan favourite before hand with the fans for the main seat

Either way I doubt he can make things any worse, it could end up really good in the form of achieving 5th, or even outstanding buy achieving 4th (highly unlikely or course)

If Solskjær does that then he’ll rightlyfully be heavily applauded

As for steadying the ship until the summer, Carrick could have done that no? Or is it better a club legend does that?