Ole's legacy? History can be kind to reputations and time will tell whether, with the benefit of hindsight, it is kind to Ole as well. However, as it stands, Ole will ultimately be defined by the things that cost him his job - failure. Humiliating losses at home and away including having our pants pulled down at Old Trafford, by our biggest rivals. Re-occurring instances of tactical cluelessness and the inability to consistently get the best out of resources made available to him, no matter how seemingly abundant, is what defined Ole.
I am not saying that Ole did not have talents, skills and endearing qualities. I accept he had all that and more. My point is that as a Manchester United manager he failed. Yes, under Ole we got to a Europa League final. Yes, last season we finished second in the Premier League. But let's be real, in the context of what Manchester United represents, second is failure. Any attempt to re-package failure as some measure of 'progress' (especially when it is not built upon) is plainly daft. Coming second, in the European football equivalent of the Championship, is nothing to reflect positively upon. Similarly, the 'achievement' of finishing second last season can be seen in its proper context, now that Liverpool are over their injury crisis and the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal appear to have gained ground.
Even the vaunted 'rebuild' which Ole was supposed to have laid the foundations for, what has it produced? It seems widely accepted that the new manager when they are appointed will also need time to 'rebuild' and will likely show a number of Ole's players the door.
Let's be honest, Ole was a 'hit and hope'. We were seduced by the sheer romance of a club hero and undoubtedly likeable man, leading the club back to glory. True Roy of the Rovers type stuff. For reasons of sentimentality we ignored the necessity for due diligence and even when the evidence suggested that Ole was not the right man for the job, we kept willing him on as if by itself our hope for his success could cover up for his ineptitude.
I do not judge Ole by his outstanding and record breaking start, as United manager, nor his capacity to produce amazing one off results against the best managers. Instead I judge Ole by the fact that when it came down to it, he was simply not good enough.