Moyes was the worst and can't decide between the rest - but all were fairly shit lets be honest
Rank our post-SAF managers
- Thread starter sullydnl
- Start date
LVG diving for the 4th official is the most entertained I'd been in years.
1. Confused and overwhelmed
2. Dinosaur
3. Past expiration date and toxic
4. Way over his head
Garbage, garbage, garbage
2. Dinosaur
3. Past expiration date and toxic
4. Way over his head
Garbage, garbage, garbage
Jose
LVG
Moyes
Solskjear
LVG
Moyes
Solskjear
How can people suggest LVG is second. Does anyone remember how bad the football was?
Jose - won 3 trophies, did well for 2 years and was not backed
Ole - cultural reset, managed to assemble a very good squad ready for the next guy
LVG - won the fa cup but the football was the worst, and consistently, for a very long time
Moyes - was just not the right man to take over after Fergie, had he been the secone or third, it may have been a different story but i do believe the experience he had at United and then in Spain is what has made him excel at West Ham in 24 months.
Jose - won 3 trophies, did well for 2 years and was not backed
Ole - cultural reset, managed to assemble a very good squad ready for the next guy
LVG - won the fa cup but the football was the worst, and consistently, for a very long time
Moyes - was just not the right man to take over after Fergie, had he been the secone or third, it may have been a different story but i do believe the experience he had at United and then in Spain is what has made him excel at West Ham in 24 months.
You missed out RedCafe
All poor, just for different reasons
Jose
LVG-Ole
Moyes
LVG-Ole
Moyes
1. Mourinho
2. LVG
3. Moyes
4. Ole
Ole is not only our worst post-SAF manager, he is easily one of the worst managers to ever work in Premier league ( in recent years at least).
Unlike other managers on the list, I'm almost certain he will never land another PL job again. He will either retire, go to Molde/ Norway or club like Celtic at the very best.
This alone should tell you enough about his skills as a manager.
2. LVG
3. Moyes
4. Ole
Ole is not only our worst post-SAF manager, he is easily one of the worst managers to ever work in Premier league ( in recent years at least).
Unlike other managers on the list, I'm almost certain he will never land another PL job again. He will either retire, go to Molde/ Norway or club like Celtic at the very best.
This alone should tell you enough about his skills as a manager.
Solskjaer, Van Gaal, then Mourinho. It’s difficult to really rank Moyes because he was clearly and obviously way over his head and was (quite rightly) not given requisite time to make some sort of mark.
Solskjaer leaves the squad in a better position and restored some sort of pride back to the club. Van Gaal at least had some sort of identity, even if it was dour and dismal. Mourinho was a catastrophe and would have happily torched Old Trafford to the ground if it meant saving his arse. A thoroughly poisonous bastard and a blight on our history. The other two just failed, and that’s ok with me.
Solskjaer leaves the squad in a better position and restored some sort of pride back to the club. Van Gaal at least had some sort of identity, even if it was dour and dismal. Mourinho was a catastrophe and would have happily torched Old Trafford to the ground if it meant saving his arse. A thoroughly poisonous bastard and a blight on our history. The other two just failed, and that’s ok with me.
I don't remember opposition fans singing for our managers.
Even shit teams like Watford took the piss on us.
Ole
Jose
Moyes
LVG
Jose
Moyes
LVG
1. Decent
2. Philosophy, saxophone lady, Mike Smalling
3. Heritage
4. Even SAF wouldn’t win with this squad
2. Philosophy, saxophone lady, Mike Smalling
3. Heritage
4. Even SAF wouldn’t win with this squad
It's still very raw with Ole and time might improve one or two things but here's my list for now
- Jose-best win rate, most titles, most cup finals, awful football and super toxic, deserved to go. First season was actually quite fun and the football was decent (just couldn't score enough goals despite good chance creation)
- LVG- I really liked him as a person and as a manager, and he came with a fresh vision which was needed but it didn't work out because of crap transfers. Generally very good performances in big games. Ironically if you gave him this squad now he'd do an awful lot better I feel. Most likable character we've had as a manager and a proper football guy.
- Ole- Legend as a player but I can't help but feel he was so out of depth and all that bollocks about 'United DNA' really pissed me off and his football wasn't THAT attacking or dissimilar to Jose's. Extremely lucky not to be sacked earlier but to his credit he turned 3 or 4 crisis periods into winning streaks. Time will tell how much of this rebuild has been successful when the next manager takes a look at some his signings. Zero trophies, a confidence shot squad and a toxic split among fans are what he's left behind at the moment.
- Moyes- Moyes
They definitely mocked us for Moyes, van Gaal and Mourinho. For all 3 there were chants of sacked in the morning during their bad periods.
The point is not that we won with luck. That's fine. The point is that we pretty much played tumescent football with no particular plan on show under both LvG and Mourinho and ended up winning a final (and matches before that) with a lot of luck whereas under SAF the team played well and deserved their luck on the day and prior. Don't compare the two victories. Compare what happened after SAF won the CL final toh what happened after Mourinho won the Europa League final. That should help you decide which manager made his own luck.
I'm not saying getting to a final and winning is all pure luck. What I am saying that there is not much of difference in terms of managerial quality between Solskjaer team playing decent in Europa League and then losing in a final on penalties and Mourinho's team winning knockout rounds despite poor performance and being aided by luck.
Last edited:
1. Sucked a lot
2. Sucked a bit less
3. Sucked a bit less than #2 but he should have never managed us
4. Fooled everyone that he doesn't suck, but at the end, ended up sucking a lot.
So yeah, it pains me to say it, but it appears Jose was our best manager as he won a trophy and finished second. LvG was second best. Moyes and Ole were a disaster. Actually they all were a disaster it's just arguable who was the smallest and who was the biggest disaster. Big picture is that we have a massive, massive issue within the team that manager cannot fix.
2. Sucked a bit less
3. Sucked a bit less than #2 but he should have never managed us
4. Fooled everyone that he doesn't suck, but at the end, ended up sucking a lot.
So yeah, it pains me to say it, but it appears Jose was our best manager as he won a trophy and finished second. LvG was second best. Moyes and Ole were a disaster. Actually they all were a disaster it's just arguable who was the smallest and who was the biggest disaster. Big picture is that we have a massive, massive issue within the team that manager cannot fix.
Who is comparing the two victories? I'm using the two victories to explain how you always need luck to win competitions. What happened after is not up for debate. Both LvG and Mourinho failed at United. The difference between them and Ole is that they have some success to show for it. Ole failed and won feck all. It doesn't matter who had what luck in the semis/finals and thats a point you are stressing on which I'm telling you irrelevant.
And what I am telling you is that Mourinho having a won a Europa league final to show for success isn't much of an achievement compared to Solskjaer trophy-less Europa league campaign ending in a defeat in the final when you compare the performances and the fine margins of luck. Both are almost equally crap in terms of managerial ability on display.
Not really. Winning a European trophy (didn't Jose win two trophies?) is far better than 4 trophyless years.
I don't even like Mourinho and was delighted when he was sacked. But 2 trophies vs feck all (wow Ole made a final, yaay) is not a comparison.
That EL Final we won we outplayed Ajax all the way. They never had a prayer. We were very comfortable winners. We were so good that their best striker Dolberg was substituted as he never had a chance.
1. Mourinho
2. Ole
3. LVG
4. Moyes
Tbf to Moyes, he had by far the hardest job and got by far the least investment. What he is currently doing at West Ham might suggest that we were wrong to not back him more than we did, but based on what each of the 4 managers actually achieved in terms of trophies, position in the table and overall progress I'd rank them like this.
Jose did a decent job on the pitch and was by far the best tactition but his man management was absolutely terrible and he's fully to blame for losing the support of the players (and he subsequently went on to do the same thing at Spurs and is in the process of losing the players at Roma).
LVG had a philosophy but we never implemented it properly and I think he was by far the most wasteful with the money he was given. None of his signings did well. He did win an FA Cup but he never reached as many points as we did with Ole.
Ole got our highest points total in the league (edit: sorry Jose actually got more the season he finished 2nd, but Ole had the 2nd highest total) and reached a EL final even if he didn't win any competition. The squad is by far the best it's been post-Ferguson imo. However, that being said, it does need to be noted that part of the reason the squad is so much stronger is because Ole got to invest much more than LVG, Jose and especially Moyes. I also think Ole was by far the best man manager of any of these managers as the players did seem to genuinely like him and want to perform well, but he was just out of his depth tactically.
2. Ole
3. LVG
4. Moyes
Tbf to Moyes, he had by far the hardest job and got by far the least investment. What he is currently doing at West Ham might suggest that we were wrong to not back him more than we did, but based on what each of the 4 managers actually achieved in terms of trophies, position in the table and overall progress I'd rank them like this.
Jose did a decent job on the pitch and was by far the best tactition but his man management was absolutely terrible and he's fully to blame for losing the support of the players (and he subsequently went on to do the same thing at Spurs and is in the process of losing the players at Roma).
LVG had a philosophy but we never implemented it properly and I think he was by far the most wasteful with the money he was given. None of his signings did well. He did win an FA Cup but he never reached as many points as we did with Ole.
Ole got our highest points total in the league (edit: sorry Jose actually got more the season he finished 2nd, but Ole had the 2nd highest total) and reached a EL final even if he didn't win any competition. The squad is by far the best it's been post-Ferguson imo. However, that being said, it does need to be noted that part of the reason the squad is so much stronger is because Ole got to invest much more than LVG, Jose and especially Moyes. I also think Ole was by far the best man manager of any of these managers as the players did seem to genuinely like him and want to perform well, but he was just out of his depth tactically.
Last edited:
I wasn't commending Solskjaer for reaching a Europa league final and then embarrassingly bottling it. This was more about how Mourinho's didn't prove he was much better a manager (for Manchester United) by winning the Europa league since his team played tumescent football throughout the tournament, got close to getting knocked out many times (goal line clearances), won games via individual brilliance (I alluded to Rashford's game deciding free-kick earlier, did I?). What gives legs to my argument is how Mourinho's team peformed after the final victory and how he wasn't able to arrest the decline. (much like Solskjaer after his Europa league final defeat). Both managers took their teams on the same downward trajectory.
You seem to be taking my line of argument as a means to defend Solskjaer or endowing with him some managerial credibility and seem to be missing the point completely. Winning a trophy is better for the team sure. Does winning that trophy show a better managerial ability in context of leading Manchester United team? No. The performances had to be much better than what was on the show.
1. Mourinho
2. LVG
joint last - Moyes/Ole.
Moyes you could argue was worse than Ole, but I still feel he's a much better coach who would have done better if given the same time and resources as Ole. Ole I feel is a very poor coach who isn't good enough to manage anyone in the PL if I'm being brutally honest.
2. LVG
joint last - Moyes/Ole.
Moyes you could argue was worse than Ole, but I still feel he's a much better coach who would have done better if given the same time and resources as Ole. Ole I feel is a very poor coach who isn't good enough to manage anyone in the PL if I'm being brutally honest.
Mourinho
Solskjaer
Van Gaal
Moyes
Very difficult to judge between LVG and Ole - the former got a trophy but the latter had the better league finishes. Both spent big money but I think Ole has invested better compared to LVG, so on balance he edges it for me.
Jose the best and Moyes the worst are undeniable, but not a great list from top to bottom sadly.
Solskjaer
Van Gaal
Moyes
Very difficult to judge between LVG and Ole - the former got a trophy but the latter had the better league finishes. Both spent big money but I think Ole has invested better compared to LVG, so on balance he edges it for me.
Jose the best and Moyes the worst are undeniable, but not a great list from top to bottom sadly.
Jose is number 1. I dont think thats in any doubt, but I will give Ole number 2. Its been a long time that I thought he should leave, but theres been more spells under him that were fun to watch than there ever was under LVG or Moyes.
Mou
LVG
Ole
Moyes.
LVG
Ole
Moyes.
It's strange. Everybody knows the football and performances haven't been good enough under either of the four managers. However in a thread to rank the four managers we shouldn't consider trophies which is literally the point of competing?
Yes. That is in order of their win percentages.
Mou has to be first due to getting us 2nd and winning two trophies. Imploded and made man-management errors but I feel he was abandoned by the club when he wasn’t getting along with Pogba (the club backed the wrong horse there).
Ole did great in fits and starts and has done good work behind the scenes.
LVG won a trophy but it was a boring and hope-free era.
Moyes cocked it up but would probably do a better job now with the benefit of more experience.
Moyes definitely the worst but had the least opportunity. Problem was he was so incompetent and overawed it was nearly impossible to stand behind him.
The others are really hard to split. Varying shades of things that went wrong.
Ole probably had the best transfers (although spent a ton and still made some costly errors) and got a team together that had a decent spirit. But not enough nous in the big moments. Creditable league performance.
Jose and LVG won something which if it's by the far main criteria then I can see why they'd be be higher, but personally I can't look past Louis's transfers and the way Jose turns the whole club into his personal sideshow. I think that overrides a cup for me - it's just not worth the cost. I think you have to win a big title for the ends to justify the means with what you had to put up with from these two.
So overall I'd probably land on Ole, then LVG/Jose, then Moyes.
The others are really hard to split. Varying shades of things that went wrong.
Ole probably had the best transfers (although spent a ton and still made some costly errors) and got a team together that had a decent spirit. But not enough nous in the big moments. Creditable league performance.
Jose and LVG won something which if it's by the far main criteria then I can see why they'd be be higher, but personally I can't look past Louis's transfers and the way Jose turns the whole club into his personal sideshow. I think that overrides a cup for me - it's just not worth the cost. I think you have to win a big title for the ends to justify the means with what you had to put up with from these two.
So overall I'd probably land on Ole, then LVG/Jose, then Moyes.
We played quite well in the final yes. But we played pretty average, even bad, prior to that. We got off to a good start in the final via a deflected Paul Pogba shot (not via some blitzing move) so that made things easier certainly. Solskjaer's team played better in the knockout rounds and played bad in the final. For me, performance by both the managers in this tournament were almost equally abject. Both managers almost peformed similar on their CL campaigns as well.
1. Mourinho - wins at results but fails at being likable and toxic. Left us listing.
2. Ole - made us watchable again for awhile but couldn't win anything and it all fell apart. Left us with a good squad but no identity.
3. LvG - snoozefest. No one should fall asleep watching their team. So what that he won an FA Cup? His team scored 49 PL goals. Oh but he did that funny thing once on the sidelines and got drunk. Bore. Left us as aimless as his pass pass pass don't shoot football and full of deadwood.
4. Moyes - a deer in the headlights. Left us reeling.
2. Ole - made us watchable again for awhile but couldn't win anything and it all fell apart. Left us with a good squad but no identity.
3. LvG - snoozefest. No one should fall asleep watching their team. So what that he won an FA Cup? His team scored 49 PL goals. Oh but he did that funny thing once on the sidelines and got drunk. Bore. Left us as aimless as his pass pass pass don't shoot football and full of deadwood.
4. Moyes - a deer in the headlights. Left us reeling.
Van Gaal is my favourite. Football wasn't great but it's almost comforting that was almost by design than incompetence. He was trying to get to play a certain way. Didn't work though. Character. Won a trophy and even though it was right to get rid of him when we did I think he was alright.
1. Jose - 2 trophies
2. LVG - 1 trophy
3. Ole - 0 trophies but VIBES
4. Moyes - no trophies or vibes
2. LVG - 1 trophy
3. Ole - 0 trophies but VIBES
4. Moyes - no trophies or vibes
The CL Final we won in 1999 we were terrible. Bayern could have scored a lot more than just one goal but we were lucky to win it. They were the much better team for 90 mins. Jose won two trophies. Ole none.
It's between Ole and Jose for 1st place imo. Ole finished top 3 twice in a row, but Jose beat Ajax and Ole lost to Villarreal. Won League cup as well. Place turned toxic under Jose in his last season, but there was never a 0-5 to Liverpool catastrophy or something similar. On the other hand, there was never toxicity under Ole.
LvG finished 4th and 5th in 2 seasons were most of top teams were in some kind of transition and he was given lot of money to spend. His fault most of signings turned to be bad fit. Won the Fa Cup obviously.
Moyes will be worst on most people's list, as it was shocking season after all the success under Fergie and it was a bad fit but he was also there for only 8 months or so. Out of our 4 managers since Fergie, he is best one these days though.
LvG finished 4th and 5th in 2 seasons were most of top teams were in some kind of transition and he was given lot of money to spend. His fault most of signings turned to be bad fit. Won the Fa Cup obviously.
Moyes will be worst on most people's list, as it was shocking season after all the success under Fergie and it was a bad fit but he was also there for only 8 months or so. Out of our 4 managers since Fergie, he is best one these days though.
Well this is a tough one. Like getting punched in the head four times then being asked which one hurt the least.
Mourinho
Vangle
Ole
Moyes
Moyes is definitely a better manager than Ole but in terms of his time here he was worse.
Mourinho
Vangle
Ole
Moyes
Moyes is definitely a better manager than Ole but in terms of his time here he was worse.
You want to judge/rank Manchester United managers via their victories in a single Europa league? Be my guest. I would rather judge them on the overall display and performances especially if the only differentiator is bloody Europa League. One manager did well in winning a trophy or two but did poorly almost in every other aspect from transfers to his conduct whereas the other had some very good and some very very bad performances. Both managers were equally poor when comparing their overall tenure. It's a matter of fine margins. That's my opinion. Yours differs obviously. Let's agree to disagree then.
Is Mourinho a far better manager than Ole? Of course. Should Mourinho be ranked higher than Ole as a Man Utd manager and the matter is not even up for a debate because of trophies involved? Probably not.
Mourinho
Van Gaal
Solskjær
Chosen one
Van Gaal
Solskjær
Chosen one
Mourinho won the EL and League Cup, and got to an FA Cup final, and had a better win % and massively better defensive record and his 2nd place finish was higher points than Ole...so I don't know if its fair to say he's being ranked on the Europa League alone.