Solskjær press conference vs West Ham (A)

Grylte

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That was a press conference from a man feeling pressure already.
I'm sure he's feeling pressure after just having signed a new contract, and sitting on top of the league.

This place is getting more ridicolous every single second.
 

cyberman

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The worrying thing is that comment comes after he essentially poo-poo's the idea of a specialist DM:
He doesn’t have to want a specialised DM? By all accounts you shouldn’t play with a sitter in a 4-2-3-1 anyway.
I just think it makes sense and if you look at someone like Klopp who had a DM in the dynamic mould of Fabinho then I can’t really see the need to laugh at Ole. He just doesn’t want limited midfielders and a lot of fans agree with him.
 

Desert Eagle

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I'm sure he's feeling pressure after just having signed a new contract, and sitting on top of the league.

This place is getting more ridicolous every single second.
The manager of Manchester united is always 4-5 poor results away from huge pressure especially if like Ole he is approaching 3 years in the job and has won nothing.
 

Matt851

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I'm glad I've learned to pay no attention to what managers say in press conferences because those intricacies (depending on what he's alluding to) are exactly what we lack. We actually look like a team who think our problems in possession will be solved by more "desire" and "winners", which is the problem. Hopefully it isn't actually an accurate representation of the ideas behind the scenes. After all, it isn't Solskjaer himself who handles the coaching so Carrick/McKenna might be the people you'd get a better read of our approach to specifics from.

That said, I also don't see how it helps Solskjaer to lean into the pre-existing perception that he lacks tactical intelligence with that sort of spiel. If Solskjaer was the manager his worst critics imagine him to be, this is exactly the kind of thing he'd say.
You are right ole probably doesn't lead the detail of day to day training but ultimately he will be the one responsible for implementing systems etc. Its also easy to imagine tuchel, pep and klopp giving detailed breakdowns of their tactical philosophies' in press conferences. You don't need to be a tactical nerd to win trophies but it does seem like most managers who have won major trophies have been. Ole sounds more steve bruce than one of the other top managers
 

ghagua

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Ole complaining that the reaction to loss to Young Boys is over the top, just incredible. Losses do happen, but the performance even when we had 11 men on the pitch is what people are complaining about! 2 freaking shots and zero chances created. This is not the first time. We did the same thing against Southampton and Wolves. We have players like Ronaldo, Sancho, Bruno, Pogba on the pitch, there simply is no excuse for the shit show we put out every week. We need proper coaching and a proper manager!

We simply cannot rely on individual brilliance to win games, but these players need proper coaching to get the best out of them. Pep, Klopp, Tuchel, all stamped their playing style on their teams, yet we have Ole who has been here 3 years doing nothing. This is embarrassing, really embarrassing.
 
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What on earth do you expect him to say?

Oh yeah our midfield is utter shite, I didn't get what I wanted so I'm stuck with them for another year? Throw everyone under the bus? Demand new players? What seriously do you expect him to say. Whilst keeping the players that we do have and their morals up and wanting to play for Man Utd. SAF spoke in waffle and mystery too. Get over it, Ole is here to stay for the time being.
What on earth do you expect him to say?
“I’ve got one of the best squads in world football and I’m one of, if not, the highest spending manager over the past 3 seasons.
But with all these highly technical and top quality players, I have no idea what to do. ‘Go out and play usually works due to their individual quality’ but whenever I come across a manager with a plan or things go against me I have no clue what to do. That’s actually why I subbed Ronaldo so he can do my job for me on the touch line

I bought a Bugatti but doesn’t mean I have a clue how to drive it on a race track against Mclarens, 911’s and AMG’s etc”

Of course we don’t expect Ole to throw himself under the bus. But his response to that basically did as it showed he’s a bit touchy when it comes to questions regarding his style of play, tactics etc and is aware of what the general criticism regarding him is.
 

Sandikan

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The manager of Manchester united is always 4-5 poor results away from huge pressure especially if like Ole he is approaching 3 years in the job and has won nothing.
The one big hope left is the reminder that Klopp lost about 3 or 4 finals with Liverpool before his breakout win.

You only have to look at our squad now versus when he arrived to see we've taken some big steps. It's just that one last huge step to a win that's of course a different gear entirely.
Especially when this will be the highest quality top 4 since the famed "big 4" days.
 

Grylte

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The manager of Manchester united is always 4-5 poor results away from huge pressure especially if like Ole he is approaching 3 years in the job and has won nothing.
So he had one bad result now.
And no, it's not like you are automatically fired if you lose 4-5 matches.

Ole is super safe in his job, even if the Caf is absolutely bonkers.
Sorry to break it to you.
 

Sandikan

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I'm sure he's feeling pressure after just having signed a new contract, and sitting on top of the league.

This place is getting more ridicolous every single second.
Lost one game. Always a disaster for our club.
 

Matt851

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Same fans have the blinkers well and truly nailed on. Anybody who thinks you can get away with being that simplistic as a coach these days is naive - as you said. Ole is entitled to be guarded about how he sets the team up but some fans see it as another example of him being a terrible coach - which is simply not true.
I agree you can't win major titles being that simplistic but ole hasn't done that and he didn't get the job based on his achievements so we don't have evidence of any greater insight he can offer
 

hobbers

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Some of those quotes are absolute howlers, especially on his midfield philosophy.

Can tell he hadnt prepped for that one.
 

tenpoless

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The meltdown is still premature because nothing has happened so far this season.

If we don't make it out of the group or go on a horrendous run which means we're out of top 4 after 10/15 games then by all means let rip.
To be fair winning the CL group stage or to be in PL top 4 shouldnt be the minimal expectation with this squad. I think some are just worried we will never have what it takes to challenge eventhough we have the best squad since Sir Alex's last squad. We seem to lack that extra thing from the manager and his staffs to get the best out of the players and try to hide their weaknesses. I personally think we shouldnt sack Ole, not after the players he brought in but for the coaches.... maybe bring more of them or replace some of the current ones. This team needs fresh ideas.
 

Sandikan

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Same song on repeat. The club will never learn to be ruthless like the other top clubs.

If Moyes said these things he'd be laughed at for the out-of-depth position he was in.
What would you like him to say exactly?

"We're Man Utd we'll batter everyone in our path from now on in"
"We'll be rucking Lingard right off, the second I gets me 10m"

Neither would be clever at all.
 

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I get the sense that Ole just wants to keep all of his mates close because he feels the pressure of managing the club. That's why Lingard is still here, and that's why he won't replace Carrick and McKenna with better coaches.
How do you come to that conclusion?

McKenna is at the club since when, 2017? and was promoted by Mourinho. Would Ole have known him from Adam when he took the job? Then there's Lingard who couldn't get near the team and would have been sold if the club received an acceptable offer in the Summer.
 

Sandikan

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Some of those quotes are absolute howlers, especially on his midfield philosophy.

Can tell he hadnt prepped for that one.
Again, genuinely not sure what you want him to say?

"Yeah I know i've left the midfield criminally weak"
"It'll all be cushty when Big McT is back"
 

Sandikan

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I get the sense that Ole just wants to keep all of his mates close because he feels the pressure of managing the club. That's why Lingard is still here, and that's why he won't replace Carrick and McKenna with better coaches.
Why the hell is Lingard his mate!?

Let alone some nobody coach he only met when he turned up!?

Carrick you could get a tiny argument for maybe.
 

Withnail

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To be fair winning the CL group stage or to be in PL top 4 shouldnt be the minimal expectation with this squad. I think some are just worried we will never have what it takes to challenge eventhough we have the best squad since Sir Alex's last squad. That extra thing from the manager and his staffs to get the best out of the players and try to hide their weaknesses.
That's why it would worthy of a meltdown. What am I missing here?
 

Gandalf

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What on earth do you expect him to say?
“I’ve got one of the best squads in world football and I’m one of, if not, the highest spending manager over the past 3 seasons.
But with all these highly technical and top quality players, I have no idea what to do. ‘Go out and play usually works due to their individual quality’ but whenever I come across a manager with a plan or things go against me I have no clue what to do. That’s actually why I subbed Ronaldo so he can do my job for me on the touch line

I bought a Bugatti but doesn’t mean I have a clue how to drive it on a race track against Mclarens, 911’s and AMG’s etc”

Of course we don’t expect Ole to throw himself under the bus. But his response to that basically did as it showed he’s a bit touchy when it comes to questions regarding his style of play, tactics etc and is aware of what the general criticism regarding him is.
The bolded is laughable when you look at his record against Pep for example but you clearly have a narrative to push and you won't let pesky facts get in the way of it.
 

mu4c_20le

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What on earth do you expect him to say?
“I’ve got one of the best squads in world football and I’m one of, if not, the highest spending manager over the past 3 seasons.
But with all these highly technical and top quality players, I have no idea what to do. ‘Go out and play usually works due to their individual quality’ but whenever I come across a manager with a plan or things go against me I have no clue what to do. That’s actually why I subbed Ronaldo so he can do my job for me on the touch line

I bought a Bugatti but doesn’t mean I have a clue how to drive it on a race track against Mclarens, 911’s and AMG’s etc”

Of course we don’t expect Ole to throw himself under the bus. But his response to that basically did as it showed he’s a bit touchy when it comes to questions regarding his style of play, tactics etc and is aware of what the general criticism regarding him is.
So he's 'touchy' just because he doesn't feel like sitting there waxing lyrical about his philosophy? Do we long for the LVG days again?
 

Flytan

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What would you like him to say exactly?

"We're Man Utd we'll batter everyone in our path from now on in"
"We'll be rucking Lingard right off, the second I gets me 10m"

Neither would be clever at all.
I expected the club and manager to sit down with lingard the moment the transfer window opened and say: "we will facilitate a move away for you. You are not in our plans. If you want to stay you can train but you won't be picked in the squad".

And then he wouldn't be asked that question now. Because he's either lying (hopefully) or saying he and the club have no clue how to move players on
 

Blood Mage

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Laughing off the anger about the Young Boys result isn't a good look. He seems to be in denial about what a disaster it was. I don't see much wrong with his midfield comments though, he's just saying he doesn't want limited players in there which is fine (as long as he doesn't actually think McFred are the long-term solution).
 

Sandikan

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Laughing off the anger about the Young Boys result isn't a good look. He seems to be in denial about what a disaster it was. I don't see much wrong with his midfield comments though, he's just saying he doesn't want limited players in there which is fine.
It is an interesting take on Fred, as he's certainly not in anyone's books a specialist at anything!
 

Paxi

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Solskjaer asked about midfield and his 'philosophy'
"I’m not here to explain every single detail of how I want my team to play. We want central midfielder who can play. Today’s football is about he’s a good 6, 8, 10 back in the day you had proper midfielders, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Bryan Robson. You see players out there who can attack and defend and that’s what we look for, midfielders who are complete and we try to develop that in our midfield.

It's a balance between with how many you commit forward and how you defend because one little mistake and there’s a counter attack towards you.

Overarching philosophy… I don’t sit here and claim and talk... football is a simple game and it's about making good decisions and being in a team.

Sometimes we look too much into the all intricacies and it’s passion, it's desire - who wants to win the ball? Which one of the striker has the desire to get on the end of crosses?

You can talk about all sorts, it looks nice on paper. But when you go out on that pitch, it's who wants to win, that’s one of the big things. You want winners and I think I’m getting there with my team, team players."
Nothing wrong with what he said here. People put him on the spot about a philosophy. Truth is he probably thinks it’s a load of bollocks that’s gets thrown out there by the hipster crowd. Football is a simple game.
 

FatTails

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So he had one bad result now.
And no, it's not like you are automatically fired if you lose 4-5 matches.

Ole is super safe in his job, even if the Caf is absolutely bonkers.
Sorry to break it to you.
Can people like you at least stop acting like he’s a new manager who we know nothing about, and the reaction is solely to one game? At least be intellectually honest and don’t be so obtuse.

“Top of the league”. It’s been 4 games! It’s more prudent to make a judgment based on the almost 3 years he’s been here for rather than the 4 games.

And no, I’m not “Ole out”. I couldn’t care either way. If he leaves, we haven’t lost anything special and if he stays we’ll continue improving slowly as we get better players (whether we are maximizing their potential and getting good ROI is a whole different topic).
 

FatTails

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Nothing wrong with what he said here. People put him on the spot about a philosophy. Truth is he probably thinks it’s a load of bollocks that’s gets thrown out there by the hipster crowd. Football is a simple game.
Why is he being paid £10m a year if football is a simple game and it comes down to having better players who have more passion and desire?

Why are top managers so sought after, and why are there clear changes in style of play and often results when a manager is replaced by another? Football is a simple game and the players didn’t change.

Why the veneration and admiration for SAF? He had better players and football is a simple game.

There are better defences of Ole than the clearly weak “philosophy is for his hipsters” and “football is a simple game”
 

MattofManchester

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"No, it doesn’t surprise me. I've got my job and we do our job, you tend to in the media get judged by behaviours and outcomes rather than intentions. It's black and white. But we go into the game with good intentions, we make changes with good intentions, go into a tackle and make a pass with good intentions. The outcome always decides which headline we’ll see and very very rarely is the game fantastic or really really bad, it just hovers
I've always liked his approach to pressers, but this is a weird one.
What is he trying to say here?
We tried in the game, which is important?
Intention? We went out with the intention to win the game and that's what matters?
You can have all the intention in the world, but hypothetically if you're losing 10 games in a row all that intent means jack squat.

Also, he's a Manchester United manager.
He is judged on the style on football and ability to deliver trophies. Obtaining the right outcomes are vital in reaching that point. It's about playing attractive football and winning. We're not Spurs ffs.

I do not like this aspect of his interview one bit. It's shambolic.
 

Devil may care

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After the minnow style approach against Young Boys the opinions Ole put forth about midfield are in keeping with the mentality.
 

Grylte

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Can people like you at least stop acting like he’s a new manager who we know nothing about, and the reaction is solely to one game? At least be intellectually honest and don’t be so obtuse.

“Top of the league”. It’s been 4 games! It’s more prudent to make a judgment based on the almost 3 years he’s been here for rather than the 4 games.

And no, I’m not “Ole out”. I couldn’t care either way. If he leaves, we haven’t lost anything special and if he stays we’ll continue improving slowly as we get better players (whether we are maximizing their potential and getting good ROI is a whole different topic).
People like me? He has kept us in good and stable position in the league every season he's been here, and still people moan when we get a rare loss, yes, rare.
Moan is a ridicolous understatement, it's absolutely mental in here if we lose a match.

He has done a good job, and he will keep his job for atleast his new current contract, i'm sure about that.

The football forum on here isn't the place to talk about intellect, sorry dude.
 

Paxi

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Why is he being paid £10m a year if football is a simple game and it comes down to having better players who have more passion and desire?

Why are top managers so sought after, and why are there clear changes in style of play and often results when a manager is replaced by another? Football is a simple game and the players didn’t change.

Why the veneration and admiration for SAF? He had better players and football is a simple game.

There are better defences of Ole than the clearly weak “philosophy is for his hipsters” and “football is a simple game”
It’s an expression for God sake. But yeah football boils down to some very basic stuff so I’d say it is a simple game.

I’m sure his team are giving tactics out and he gets paid for delegating them amongst other things which I know a lot of people have a problem with.

I can be critical of Ole too but this is a weird thing to get upset by. He literally doesn’t have to explain his tactics to anyone except his players so I can see why he gave this answer.
 

Jeppers7

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Jesus Christ, half the people in here are fecking Ihni binni dimi diniwiny anitaime.

They sail from orgasmic euphoria after tearing Leeds a new one to suicidal depression in the space of a week. There's no middle ground.

To say Ole isn't "tactical" is bollocks. He has his way of setting up the team that is there for all to see. A solid defence, 2 holding protective midfielders and then unleash the front 4 on the counter. It's hardly rocket science. Just because he didn't use "word of the day" terms like Trequartista or Regista, or wave his arms about on the touchline like a chimp on drugs, or gurn about with shit teeth, or you know, tell some no mark reporter who basically asked a loaded question to generate "news", the ins and outs of his system.

Not a single one of you (or me) knows what they are coached, or how. We're top of the league (granted after 4 games), unbeaten away in 28 games, finished 2nd in the league last year, got to a major european final last year, and only lost on the lottery of a penalty shootout. We're miles an miles ahead of where we were just 2 seasons ago, both in terms of results, the general environment about the place, the first XI. It goes beyond what you see in the 90 minutes on the pitch, which lets be honest, is 99% on the players, not the manager once they cross the white lines, and that's notwithstanding red cards in the first 30 minutes, or brainless backpasses, neither of which the managers tactics have any effect on.

Some of you need to wake up and realise that you can't win every game, you need squad players such as Lingard who while they aren't world beaters, they can help the squad at times.

Get behind the manager, support the team, because from reading this, 90% of people seem to be happy for him to fail, so they can get some other "tackticul" manager like say a Conte or a Simeone in, who will alienate the players, play boring football and the fans will then start to moan about that.

Grow up ffs.
Pashun...Top red
 

ivaldo

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Straight from the Big Sam & Sean Dyche book of football secrets that line , jesus

I appreciate the sentiment but that will only ever get you so far, if our tactics is passion and vibes then were in trouble
It's not a sentiment. It takes all of 5 seconds to figure out he doesn't want to discuss tactics in public. I'm sure that'll be translated as he doesn't have any tactics though. Usual shit from the usual shit posters.
 

FatTails

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People like me? He has kept us in good and stable position in the league every season he's been here, and still people moan when we get a rare loss, yes, rare.
Moan is a ridicolous understatement, it's absolutely mental in here if we lose a match.

He has done a good job, and he will keep his job for atleast his new current contract, i'm sure about that.

The football forum on here isn't the place to talk about intellect, sorry dude.
You’ve gotta admit that as our squad has improved over the years, some patterns remained constant. Inability to deal with deep defences often, weird in-game management, and the one that personally drives me crazy, a complete lack of emphasis on our possession play. He’s built a team that is very suited for quick transitions and counterattacks and we seem to be poor at other aspects of the game.

Do people go over the top after a loss? Yes, but for many, it’s because they see the same patterns from previous losses repeating.