Solskjær press conference vs Brighton (A)

Pogue Mahone

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On going undefeated for the remainder of the season
“Complacency kicks you somewhere you don’t want to get kicked in football.

Brighton, we’ve lost the last two when we’ve gone down there. We’ve got Bournemouth, who we’ve lost to [this season]. We’ve got Aston Villa, who we drew with at home. We’ve got Palace, who we lost to at home. We’ve got West Ham that we’ve lost to. Every game is one we have a point to prove in.”
That’s an absolutely shocking set of results right there. If we’d even managed par results against the bottom half of the table so far this season we’d he home and dry in the top four by now.
 

charlenefan

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He didn't look his usual jovial self in the taped part of the presser but then why would a Man Utd Manager be happy this week? I'm glad he's being forthright especially before a game I'm sure lots of us expect us to drop points in
 

Samid

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On Martial
He's playing with a smile on his face. Anthony has had a really good season, he's been really important for us. We felt it during the couple of months he was out injured; we struggled.

But he knows that we trust him. He knows that we'll have patience with him and that we'll keep working with him.

He's working hard in the gym. He's enjoying the physical challenge more. He's a good finisher but it's about being in and around the right positions. He's developed more and more in terms of getting into that penalty area and closer to the goal.

We do a lot of work in finishing groups and sessions but it's also down to him to be mentally sharp and ready. We've always known he's a quality player and highly, highly skilful.
 

Samid

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On Ighalo mentoring Martial
Odion is a seasoned No 9. He's played that position his whole career whereas Anthony has played more out on the wing. Odion is helping on the training pitch, in terms of his movement, hold-up play and just being himself... Anthony's learning off an experienced centre-forward.
 

Samid

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On keeping Martial challenged
"It's the first season that he's really playing as a No. 9; he's had to have that burden of the shirt and be that central focus through the middle.

Sometimes that's not easy when you play for Manchester United but he knows that we trust him and I think he knows that we want him to keep developing.

We'll keep challenging him. There are always players in and around the team - and outside the club - who would want to be No. 9 for Manchester United. There's always pressure on a centre-forward but so far he's performed really well."
 

Samid

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On having flexible tactics
"I think we can play in many different ways. Bruno has played in central midfield, to the right, to the left, as a No 8, a No 10, in a diamond. It's the same with Paul. And I have Scott McTominay, Fred, Nemanja Matic giving me a headache when I have to leave them out. It's a good position to be in.

The forward players know they have players behind them who can create something out of nothing. Bruno can create chances where there's no space - a little flick around the corner; he's been very good with his back to play.

They're [Bruno & Pogba] both creative players who can pick a pass, players with individual qualities. To be a centre-forward in front of these two is a joy."
 

Samid

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On bridging the gap and recruiting
"Everyone is working towards one common goal but the proof is on the pitch.

"If we keep playing well, keep developing, get into the top positions... I know we can attract good players and everyone knows that Manchester United at some point will start winning trophies again."
 

pratyush_utd

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On Martial
He's playing with a smile on his face. Anthony has had a really good season, he's been really important for us. We felt it during the couple of months he was out injured; we struggled.

But he knows that we trust him. He knows that we'll have patience with him and that we'll keep working with him.

He's working hard in the gym. He's enjoying the physical challenge more. He's a good finisher but it's about being in and around the right positions. He's developed more and more in terms of getting into that penalty area and closer to the goal.

We do a lot of work in finishing groups and sessions but it's also down to him to be mentally sharp and ready. We've always known he's a quality player and highly, highly skilful.

This won't go down well in Martial performance thread
 

Grande

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Underpaid? How much is he paid currently and what is the current terms offered to him now? No one knows really. There is also no evidence that he is better than Jesse at this point of time. In future yeah probably, but he definitely isn’t now. Ole isn’t scared to play the youngsters if they are good enough
Sorry, it was part of a running joke about Mercedeses.

Ed. Your joke, it suddenly dawns on me. Iwas really just embellishing on the apt point you made :)
 
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Grande

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Interesting. After long periods of talking up players, he’s applying some pressure. Without throwing players under the bus, but the message is pretty clear.
 

edcunited1878

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Ole's got the fire going and he knows all too well about the end of season runs where it separates the good teams to great teams because there's meaningful, high consequential games.

CL qualification, FA Cup semi-final, European competition. Three fronts and all to play for. The manager is game and hope the players are feeding off of his urgency and demands.
 

Handré1990

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I really like what I’m reading here.
Interesting. After long periods of talking up players, he’s applying some pressure. Without throwing players under the bus, but the message is pretty clear.
Yeah, it’s a good way to challenge the players.
 

Majima

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This is one of the best pressers i've seen from Ole. He could have given lip service like ''Brighton's a tough place, we'll have to be at our best to stand a chance, we hope to perform well etc...'' but no, he's telling it straight that we're Manchester United, and as much as i might believe in you, this is crunch time & we need to win these matches... and if you can't handle that pressure then you don't deserve the shirt.... which is fair enough.

If the players aren't up for this match, then nothing will get them going.

Ole showing his fire. More of this please. :)
 

RedSky

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Its the type of man management we've missed since Sir Alex, no doubt Ole has his faults, but this is certainly one of his strengths imo. Impressive quotes on this page. Like what I read.
 

MileStolar

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On having flexible tactics
"I think we can play in many different ways. Bruno has played in central midfield, to the right, to the left, as a No 8, a No 10, in a diamond. It's the same with Paul. And I have Scott McTominay, Fred, Nemanja Matic giving me a headache when I have to leave them out. It's a good position to be in.

The forward players know they have players behind them who can create something out of nothing. Bruno can create chances where there's no space - a little flick around the corner; he's been very good with his back to play.

They're [Bruno & Pogba] both creative players who can pick a pass, players with individual qualities. To be a centre-forward in front of these two is a joy."
I like how the whole quote subtly asserts that Bruno&Pogba are first two midfield picks on the teamsheet. He definitely wants us going forward firing on all cylinders!
 

Web of Bissaka

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This is one of the best pressers i've seen from Ole. He could have given lip service like ''Brighton's a tough place, we'll have to be at our best to stand a chance, we hope to perform well etc...'' but no, he's telling it straight that we're Manchester United, and as much as i might believe in you, this is crunch time & we need to win these matches... and if you can't handle that pressure then you don't deserve the shirt.... which is fair enough.

If the players aren't up for this match, then nothing will get them going.

Ole showing his fire. More of this please. :)
:devil: Agreed. Best one to date.

He's starting to feel the heat/pressure of being a United manager.. considering our current league positions, fellow competitors in good form, Gomes situation, and records against smaller teams, etc. Season is far from over.
 

United58

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On going undefeated for the remainder of the season
“Complacency kicks you somewhere you don’t want to get kicked in football.

Brighton, we’ve lost the last two when we’ve gone down there. We’ve got Bournemouth, who we’ve lost to [this season]. We’ve got Aston Villa, who we drew with at home. We’ve got Palace, who we lost to at home. We’ve got West Ham that we’ve lost to. Every game is one we have a point to prove in.”
I hope he really drills this in to the players. Our complacency over the past 5 years has been unreal at times
 

simonhch

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I’ve often said he has a ruthlessness about him that has been missing in our culture for a long time. It’s not a contentious ruthlessness, it’s one borne out of a maintenance of high standards. He’ll recruit in the summer and continue adding the right type of players. The mentality in and around the club is completely different under him, and very Manchester Unitedy.

He’s completely changed the way we play from the previous manager, developed the players we have, and all his signings have been superb. I have a lot of faith in Ole taking us to the next level. Whether he’s the long term future or not, remains to be seen. But whenever the next manager comes in, he will inherit the best squad we’ve had since SAF retired. This is a young team full of talent and hunger. I’m excited to see a couple of quality additions in the summer.

For the first time in a very long time, we are on the right path. Personally, I am ready for any bumps in the road because I see the vision. The short termism of previous years seems to be a thing of the past.
 

Mr Smith

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Solskjaer asked if playing without fans affects tactical approach
"The lack of fans of course affect the players some thrive on it, it looks slower I think the game, without the fans, the noise passion helps, even the view from a sofa all the physical stats show not a big difference.

The ball is more in play at the moment but you've got to create your own atmosphere and enthusiasm in there, some players thrive on crowds, some players relax more with now crowd and express themselves more, individual teams and players react differently."
Didn't answer the question at all :lol:

Hope that's Ole keeping tactics close to the chest and not a sign he's not thinking about tactics.
 

KM

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Brilliant, brilliant press conference.
 

Wednesday at Stoke

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Judging by the terseness and directness of the words, it feels like he has the terrible run to end last season in the back of his mind going into these games. I hope that mentality finds root in the players as well.
 

KM

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Agree totally.

Wish he would actually drop certain players who did not perform though. But yeah, sounds good, prove it.
Which certain players has been kept in the team who didn't perform? AP and Lingard were discarded a second after we signed Bruno.
 

Cassidy

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Which certain players has been kept in the team who didn't perform? AP and Lingard were discarded a second after we signed Bruno.
Daniel James
 

The Boy

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Which certain players has been kept in the team who didn't perform? AP and Lingard were discarded a second after we signed Bruno.
Agree with this, I dont really understand posters who say that he has a love of Lingard and keeps playing him, doesn't everyone realise that when Lingard was playing clearly out of form that Ole literally had noone else as he clearly didnt rate Gomes for the task. As soon as he could Lingard was dropped and aprt from the odd sun appearance or FA Cup game hasnt really been seen again
 

Cassidy

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Agree with this, I dont really understand posters who say that he has a love of Lingard and keeps playing him, doesn't everyone realise that when Lingard was playing clearly out of form that Ole literally had noone else as he clearly didnt rate Gomes for the task. As soon as he could Lingard was dropped and aprt from the odd sun appearance or FA Cup game hasnt really been seen again
Still too many and he has made 30 appearances this season
 

Grande

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:devil: Agreed. Best one to date.

He's starting to feel the heat/pressure of being a United manager.. considering our current league positions, fellow competitors in good form, Gomes situation, and records against smaller teams, etc. Season is far from over.
I would think he felt the heat a lot more in October, after a dreadful end to the season, full preseason and then lower half of the table, while press and people on social media where unisonly talking about him being out of his league. At that time he talked up the players, to the constrrnation of quite a few here who wanted him to shred them in public as well as behind the scenes.

Now, after 14 unbeaten and passage to the SF and QF of the cups, coming off two straight wins, and while most of the press is publicly eating humble pie (wether it’s premature or not), the heat seems palpably less. And this is the time he choses to put pressure on the players.

To me it seems very deliberate, and the point of it seems obvious for someone concerned with the both the confidence and attitude of the players.
 

The Boy

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Still too many and he has made 30 appearances this season
Hardly through the managers choice though, he hasn't started a game in the premiership since Jan 1st this year. Since then he's only made 2 sub appearabces and for 5 games he didnt even make the match day squad. He has played in most cup games, but again it seems it's Ole taking the chance to rest more important players.
 

ArjenIsM3

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Daniel James
Tbf apart from Greenwood who's already getting a lot of minutes for a player his age there's not really an alternative to Dan James, unless you'd prefer we play the likes of Mata, Lingard or Pereira there again.
 

Havak

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Daniel James
I don't agree with this at all.

My expectation is that Dan James was signed more to be developed and wasn't meant to be playing every game. Due to injuries to Rashford, Martial at times he has had to play even more. The alternatives at the start of the season were Lingard, Andreas, Mata... We saw how that went and we could still finish on our worst points total ever in the Premier League.

James has 4 goals and 7 assists this season compared to 5 goals and 10 assists at Swansea in an easier league. I'd say those kind of stats correlate pretty well to what we should have expected for him and he still has a very good chance of matching those stats if he continues to feature enough in the remaining games.

You can say perhaps he isn't good enough to be starting a lot of United yet and that's true, but he's offering more than most other players we could play in those positions and now that we have Rashford, Martial, and Greenwood fit it looks like James could spend more time on the bench which is correct.
 

KM

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Agree with this, I dont really understand posters who say that he has a love of Lingard and keeps playing him, doesn't everyone realise that when Lingard was playing clearly out of form that Ole literally had noone else as he clearly didnt rate Gomes for the task. As soon as he could Lingard was dropped and aprt from the odd sun appearance or FA Cup game hasnt really been seen again
Yup, Lingard has played 2 mins in PL ever since Bruno was signed.
 

Cassidy

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Tbf apart from Greenwood who's already getting a lot of minutes for a player his age there's not really an alternative to Dan James, unless you'd prefer we play the likes of Mata, Lingard or Pereira there again.
No I would prefer Greenwood started over him except when we are rotating which hasnt been the case.

First game back from lockdown and James started.

Hopefully Ole has seen the light now. I get protecring a young player like Greenwood but James has been on a downwards slope for so long now it was becoming a farce.
 

KM

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No I would prefer Greenwood started over him except when we are rotating which hasnt been the case.

First game back from lockdown and James started.

Hopefully Ole has seen the light now. I get protecring a young player like Greenwood but James has been on a downwards slope for so long now it was becoming a farce.
It made sense to play James against Spurs, Ole has managed Greenwood perfectly and yes he's not ready to start every match. It's certainly not a farce. You're overreacting.
 

Cassidy

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I don't agree with this at all.

My expectation is that Dan James was signed more to be developed and wasn't meant to be playing every game. Due to injuries to Rashford, Martial at times he has had to play even more. The alternatives at the start of the season were Lingard, Andreas, Mata... We saw how that went and we could still finish on our worst points total ever in the Premier League.

James has 4 goals and 7 assists this season compared to 5 goals and 10 assists at Swansea in an easier league. I'd say those kind of states correlate pretty well to what we should have expected for him and he still has a very good chance of matching those stats if he continues to feature enough in the remaining games.

You can say perhaps he isn't good enough to be starting a lot of United yet and that's true, but he's offering more than most other players we could play in those positions and now that we have Rashford, Martial, and Greenwood fit it looks like James could spend more time on the bench which is correct.
But he mainly was at RW even after we already knew Greenwood would be the better option there
 

Cassidy

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It made sense to play James against Spurs, Ole has managed Greenwood perfectly and yes he's not ready to start every match. It's certainly not a farce. You're overreacting.
Why did it make sense to play James vs Spurs? Is it because Greenwood needed a rest? Right...

Playing James vs a team who will sit back and not allow space in behind. Made perfect sense
 

Havak

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But he mainly was at RW even after we already knew Greenwood would be the better option there
I wouldn't go as far to say everyone knew/knows that. I've always felt Greenwood would be the no.9 eventually and at 18 I think it's fair that he will be managed more sparingly. I do expect Mason to play more now but I am sceptical of starting those three together all the time and if it doesn't work one game we lack options on the bench to turn to. Unless it's a game where the opposition are coming at us late on, then James is good.

Opinions anyway, I think James gets a bit of unfair treatment and as the season has gone on and we have everyone fit, the way you're looking at things is actually happening with Greenwood playing there a bit more.