Solskjaer's legacy and his future

[Verward]

I have nothing against him even though I was in 'Ole Out' group since beginning. And that's because I was never convinced he's the right man to take us back to glory days.
I'd never insult him as he's still a United Legend and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
I blame board and Glazers for this debacle.

 

[NZT-One]

Ole was the right man at the right time after Mourinho. It isn't his fault, that the people in the club, who should have the competitiveness of the club as first priority sticked for too long on that fairy tale. That meant that Ole was burdened with a task that would have been a challenge even for better managers than him.
In my eyes he exceeded expectations, he earned this thankfulness and I personally think, he raised the bar for his successor quite a bit. Even if it wasn't too high considering the shortcomings of Moyes, LVG and Mourinho - somebody had to change the trend and Ole did that without any question. He should be proud of himself about what he has achieved. The last days of his tenure were an all-time low, I hope, the despair some of the players now show will end in some sort of reaction and won't turn out in the end as some sort of guilty feelings. If even a few of them stopped trying because they lost trust, they should be axed as well for letting him getting the axe for some of their shortcomings.

Whether Ole was the best in this or that regard, what does is matter right now, it will take some time to see things more neutral. Right now, there is way too much uncertainty and frustration in the air. His time is over, no need to express all the bad feelings anymore. I hope, the club makes a good decision regarding his successor and we will continue to progress from now on.

 

[Galactic]

To be fair to him, he wasn’t brought in as a permanent manager. But his results in those first few months was spectacular. He deserved to be appointed as permanent manager. He did well for 2 years. Finishing above expectation in the league. Reached a few semis. Very almost got us the europa league. But we were not as dominating in games like Liverpool and City. And this year we were horrible to watch in some important games. The squad is heading the right direction, thanks to him. But unfortunately we need a better manager to go to the next level. Thank you Ole. You did your best. Always a class act.

 

[Chip]

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Spot on. Our standards have fallen so much.

 

[Idxomer]

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Spot on. Our standards have fallen so much.

Yep, United isn't about making friends or whatever drivel that came up in that interview. Fergie literally booted Beckham out of the club 4 years after being the best player in the team that won the treble.

The standards he set have been long gone for a while now, unfortunately.

 

[::sonny::]

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[Livvie]

As always a decent and pertinent post by Livvie! I haven't been here for a while but yesterday when I posted on this thread I was delighted to see you are still posting.
Yes, Ole's style of man management was confusing for the players and supporters. I think it was likely to do with an inability to take calculated risks and also as we all know, players now are more powerful than they've ever been at any point in sporting history.

Their multi millionaire status and ability to move around if they don't like something at their club plus the parasitical agents in some cases mean it is much harder to manage them. It isn't like in Sir Alex Ferguson's prime but nonetheless there are managers who can balance all of this. Had Ole been an outsider and not one of United's heroes, it probably would have been easier for him to distance himself and take necessary actions with tactics and players.

And as others have pointed out, lack of outside perception and input in staff has cost United dearly. I loved Michael Carrick as a player but he needs to leave his position. Others too.

Thank you....and without wanting to sound gushing or insincere, I feel the same way about your posts I don't get here too much either, definitely less than I used to when I neglected way too much real life!

Agree with you about Michael Carrick - loved him as a player, but he looks way too quiet and inanimate to take over a position that needs someone with a Keane type fire.

 

[nmm85]

Not sure if my standards have fallen but got to say that I've enjoyed supporting United a lot more during Oles tenure than that of the previous 3 managers, irrespective of trophies. I really loathed Mourinhos United (especially after we bought Sanchez). This team is likeable (aside from Maguire) and I hope the next manager is able to get these winning. We have a good squad but need a new RB and CDM to be competitive.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

The sad part is the fact that had we never appointed him permanently and allowed him to leave at the end of that season, we'd have had a lot more to thank him for. Stupid and clueless board.

 

[Halftrack]

The sad part is the fact that had we never appointed him permanently and allowed him to leave at the end of that season, we'd have had a lot more to thank him for. Stupid and clueless board.

Yeah, if only the board hadn't forced you to spend a few years abusing and ridiculing him.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Yeah, if only the board hadn't forced you to spend a few years abusing and ridiculing him.

Abusing him? Where did I abuse Ole? Stop talking nonsense. This forum is filled with people criticising either the players, managers, coaches, executives, owners, rival players etc. They're all human beings so maybe we should simply stop saying anything bad about anyone.

 

[Bosnian_fan]

The funny thing about Ole is, I can see him back at United as interim coach one day.

Lets be honest, the Glazers will mess up another few managerial appointments. It'll all end up in a mess with us needing an interim. And you just know, if they give him a call and say: 'Can you take the team for a few months?' Ole will drop anything else he's got on and come running.

His legacy, really, has been his undoing. United spent the best part of a decade treating 'top four' like it was a trophy. By securing back to back Champions League qualifications Ole reset the bar for himself: Challenge or go. Long term that's a good thing. No other big club (besides maybe Milan but they're are reasons in Milan's case), tolerates 'transitions' of eight, nine seasons. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juve, none of them would allow so much mismanagement of resource as we've seen under Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho. Especially without it leading to top honours, domestically or in Europe. Florentino Perez isn't spending a billion euros for a Copa del Rey and a Europa League.

Ole's legacy is that, now, Man Utd expect to compete at the top table again. Instead of celebrating mediocrity and Thursday nights somewhere we've never been before for the craic. That, in and of itself, has made his three years at the helm worthwhile. I hope we never again fall back into the trap of looking down and being happy we're better than X, rather than looking up and asking why we're not better than Y.

But United wasn't transitioning with Moyes and Mourinho, maybe with van Gaal to some extent. Nobody accepted "transition" excuse while they were in charge. It only became widely accepted when Solskjaer took charge.

Judging purely by results is not a good way, because, as many people have pointed out, advanced metrics have shown that United hadn't actually improved all that much with Solskjaer in charge. And eye test pretty much proves it.

Team has never had a coherent, strategic way of playing, it was disaster waiting to happen. If we knew, and there are many people who rightly pointed out, that Solskjaer could manage for 50 years and still win nothing, what was the incentive in keeping him for all these years? There are managers out there United could have gotten that would have made much more in 2019-2021 span than Solskjaer did. Solskjaer was practically building something (in terms of playstyle he's built nothing) for someone who could have done the building process himself, and in much shorter time.

 

[MrMarcello]

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Spot on. Our standards have fallen so much.

MEN had a write up a few days ago that seems to indicate standards without directly applying the wording. The results at times have papered over the obvious cracks to anyone not blinkered by nostalgia and romance.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...ws/man-united-solskjaer-next-manager-22230105

 

[Red Royal]

Not sure if my standards have fallen but got to say that I've enjoyed supporting United a lot more during Oles tenure than that of the previous 3 managers, irrespective of trophies. I really loathed Mourinhos United (especially after we bought Sanchez). This team is likeable (aside from Maguire) and I hope the next manager is able to get these winning. We have a good squad but need a new RB and CDM to be competitive.

I agree with you, except for Maguire... he has been decent apart from this season.. so well done to Ole on the squad he built. Hope someone can move itforward.

 

[Roboc7]

The funny thing about Ole is, I can see him back at United as interim coach one day.

Lets be honest, the Glazers will mess up another few managerial appointments. It'll all end up in a mess with us needing an interim. And you just know, if they give him a call and say: 'Can you take the team for a few months?' Ole will drop anything else he's got on and come running.

His legacy, really, has been his undoing. United spent the best part of a decade treating 'top four' like it was a trophy. By securing back to back Champions League qualifications Ole reset the bar for himself: Challenge or go. Long term that's a good thing. No other big club (besides maybe Milan but they're are reasons in Milan's case), tolerates 'transitions' of eight, nine seasons. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juve, none of them would allow so much mismanagement of resource as we've seen under Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho. Especially without it leading to top honours, domestically or in Europe. Florentino Perez isn't spending a billion euros for a Copa del Rey and a Europa League.

Ole's legacy is that, now, Man Utd expect to compete at the top table again. Instead of celebrating mediocrity and Thursday nights somewhere we've never been before for the craic. That, in and of itself, has made his three years at the helm worthwhile. I hope we never again fall back into the trap of looking down and being happy we're better than X, rather than looking up and asking why we're not better than Y.

Not sure how his legacy is expecting to compete at the top table when he said trophies were for ego and celebrated finishing above a Liverpool side that had a terrible season and has since thrashed us and will finish miles ahead of us.

This whole three years has been about mediocrity, excuses and false promises. No one expects Utd to compete for the league let alone win it, what is it now 8 years since that happened. We’re as far away now as we were three years ago. The bar has been lowered and lowered, Ole went from criticising Jose for celebrating 2nd to doing it himself. His standards dropped because he couldn’t achieve what he set out to do.

I think trying to rebuild wasn’t a bad idea but expecting Ole to be able to do it was a disastrous decision only people as incompetent as Woodward and the Glazers could think was a good idea. But fans bought into it because all the hives flaws were glossed over by a legend behind the figurehead.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

If he wants to stay in management, I'm sure he will get another gig, certainly in Norway. He's a lovely guy, a club legend and will always be one of us. He got third and second in the league; sadly this season it has fallen apart. It certainly isn't all Ole's fault: we have a dysfunctional board and his coaches did all the coaching. He was badly let down by some of the players, not least his captain, due to their terrible form. However, the manager always pays the price.

He will always be welcome at Old Trafford and deserves our thanks for giving it his best shot. The last couple of months can't have been easy.

 

[El Zoido]

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Spot on. Our standards have fallen so much.

Blame the Glazers for that, they’re completely clueless as to how to run and operate a football club. It comes across like they don’t even really care.

 

[Nevilles.Wear.Prada]

Called for his sacking for well over a year. Now i feel weird

 

[fishfingers15]

OGS did a splendid job till football was kicked in anger this season. There was progress each year, not just in the football pitch but off it and there was a collective momentum happening. The bickering on this board about Ole in and Ole out posters skewed the sentiment of this board but in general, there was good progress done under OGS. I was firmly pro Ole even knowing perhaps he wasn't the right man to take us to the title. But the progress made under him sort of gave the assurance that we are at least on the right track. I didn't foresee things will implode this quickly but It has done. Now, it really depends on how much time the rebuild takes.

If we are stuck with an interim manager and this season ends up as a write off, then questions really need to be asked of this board whether they are the right people in charge of the club. If outsiders as we know these things, I would really think the board needed to have acted on last season and got another manager in, enabling OGS to walk with his head held high. Personalities like OGS have insane amount of self belief as a coping mechanism. Of course he's going to trust his instincts. It is up to the guys who are running the club to see the signs of danger. All that being said, if we are quickly back on track to a top 3 position and a deep run in CL, I would still think OGS' entire tenure was a success. As such, now I believe that he did well till last season.

Not going to engage other posters, but I can only laugh at people deriding OGS and claiming he was worse than Moyes, LvG and Mou. Maybe time will heal and he will be looked back fondly as a manager as well, but all of you need to have a word with yourself. 2OLEGEND.

 

[Beagle]

Those first couple of months as caretaker was the best time to watch and support United since Fergie. Especially after the tumescent years of LVG and Mourinho, it felt great to be able to watch and enjoy football so much. He brought me back from checking scores to planning weekends around United games. He probably did too well for his own good such that he ended up with the permanent job.

I would genuinely thank him for those few months.

 

[Forevergiggs1]

What sort of Stockholm Syndrome has our fan base got into? And What’s with the steadying ship references? Is the ship steady right now?

We get two fecking top 4 finishes after outspending the entire league and we’re told that he has brought in stability. I’m not sure who is the most responsible for our standards slipping, the board who can’t seem to appoint a decent manager or the fanbase who will clap for a manager who got us beat 5-0 at home to Liverpool.

Thank you Ole for what? Not winning a trophy? Getting us one of our most humiliating result in the PL era?

I will always like him for his contributions as a player. But only as a player. There are zero positives from his managerial stint. Zero.

what a fantastic way to explain some peoples relationship with Ole. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[VidaRed]

Ole is still a legend and will be loved. The fact that he failed as a manager has no bearing on that.

20Legend

 

[MileStolar]

I watched that interview and I teared up, love the man, and I'm sad it went tits up for him, but he's leaving with his head high, and nothing to be ashamed of.
I've been singing "you are my Solskjaer" the whole day long and it came to me by itself, I would really love to hear it from the stands next time we step out on Old Trafford. You can support clubs that have more success than we do, but few and far between have this special something that we have in terms of something that ties us fans and ex players and all associated with the club together. We ought to nurture that, and Ole is certainly one that did nurture it.

Too many fans nowadays hunger for glory and trophies and forget that supporting a club is more than just that, our history and aura that makes us what we are can't be bought like trophies nowadays. That's why I fell in love with the club in the first place.

Even though his managerial abilities won't be missed here, his presence and persona surely will!

Farewell Ole, hopefully we'll get to see you more around the club!

You are my Solskjaer,
my Ole Solskjaer!
You keep me happy when skies are grey!
Oh Alan Shearer, was fecking dearer,
So please don't take my Solskjaer away!

 

[Kopral Jono]

Ole was an absolute legend as a player, aside from the usual suspects another personal favourite moment was when he scored his first goal after a lengthy injury away at Charlton back in 2006. I remember celebrating that goal with more gusto than usual and I felt so happy for him that day. But unlike most I just can't bring myself to get all soppy over his departure, at least for now, instead I'm feeling happy and relieved he's finally gone.

Last night I finally watched his farewell interview in full and it didn't move me the way I expected it to be. The closest I've felt to feeling sorry for him was the 'sorry for smiling' thing, that was a difficult watch. Having said that, time is a healer.

 

[Needham]

Ole was an absolute legend as a player, aside from the usual suspects another personal favourite moment was when he scored his first goal after a lengthy injury away at Charlton back in 2006. I remember celebrating that goal with more gusto than usual and I felt so happy for him that day. But unlike most I just can't bring myself to get all soppy over his departure, at least for now, instead I'm feeling happy and relieved he's finally gone.

Last night I finally watched his farewell interview in full and it didn't move me the way I expected it to be. The closest I've felt to feeling sorry for him was the 'sorry for smiling' thing, that was a difficult watch. Having said that, time is a healer.

Wonderfully put. But time is not a healer. It has only made me hate her more.
Ole's legacy will be that he was the final try out: Scots inheritor, European innovator and madman, Super manager, ex-player...If Poch is next, he is the first proper fit for the job.

 

[pebbles8]

A genuinely lovely man a top player but utterly clueless as a manager. Has left the club in a total mess after spending an absolute fortune.

 

[Amir]

The (now closed) thread about the squad he leaves behind got me thinking that his legacy hasn't been completely written yet.

Obviously as a pure manager he won't be remembered as a success. He might get some credit, though, if the squad he built goes on to win big stuff in the next 2-3 years. If not, well, then his tenure has been an absolute waste of time and money.

 

[sglowrider]

I think Ole has done a good job, but ultimately it reached a point where he had taken the team as far as he could. Jose left us in an absolute mess - he may have won some silverware, but it was at the cost of any semblance of long term potential. Ole came in and instilled the first bit of genuine positivity I have seen in the club since Fergie left. He revitalised the team, got them (at times) playing some great attacking football, cleared out some of the galacticos and instead built a team with a core around young English players, that will leave the next manager with a strong side to work with.

Having said all that, it became very clear - especially this season - that something was missing on the coaching and tactical side of things. The players looked lost, there was no particular effective system of play - you want a team to be more than the sum of its parts, ours was the opposite. I said that the board would give Ole until Christmas to turn things around, but the Watford result was simply too much, his position became very much untenable at that point, and it was the right decision to part ways.

I will remember Ole as the one who managed to bring back a bit of the 'old' United, who started building what will hopefully go on to be a successful winning squad, but who fell short on the coaching and tactical level. I still think he would be make a good DoF for us, when paired with a master tactician to sort out the day-to-day/match tactics.

Henderson, Maguire, AWB, Shaw, Sancho, Rashford, Greenwood - thats 7 English players who could form the core of our team over close to the next decade. It may not be fashionable to say this right now - but they (along with others in the squad such as McT and Donny) are good players, capable of a lot more than they have shown lately. We also have an abundance of quality youngsters coming through the system.

The job for the next manager is relatively simple - sort the midfield out, and get the players playing as a team. Ole's job when joining was a much harder one. I think he has left the club and the squad in a much better state than he took over, and he deserves credit for that.

This.

 

[wolvored]

The (now closed) thread about the squad he leaves behind got me thinking that his legacy hasn't been completely written yet.

Obviously as a pure manager he won't be remembered as a success. He might get some credit, though, if the squad he built goes on to win big stuff in the next 2-3 years. If not, well, then his tenure has been an absolute waste of time and money.

Depends how many player are left. If we win the league and only 5 of oles players played regularly, or the rest had gone, would you credit Ole for the 5 left, or the new manager for obviously coaching and getting them to play a style and a lot better?

 

[Amir]

Depends how many player are left. If we win the league and only 5 of oles players played regularly, or the rest had gone, would you credit Ole for the 5 left, or the new manager for obviously coaching and getting them to play a style and a lot better?

Naturally I assume it will be mostly the current squad. I can't see us making that many changes within two years after all the money spent in recent years.

Having said that, I'm not sure the current squad was built that well, so success might be beyond it without some changes.

 

[The Oracle]

I think Solskjaer's legacy will be that we gave Liverpool fans ammunition against us for years...

Just like how we laughed at their iconic player's nightmare against Chelsea - which resulted in him being known as 'Slippy G' even to this day.

Our former player who scored probably the most important goal in our club's history... then went on to manage us years later, and was in the hotseat on the day that our most fierce rivals recorded their biggest ever win at Old Trafford.

That for me is what I will remember about him... the fact that he dumped that on us.

 

[Sky1981]

The (now closed) thread about the squad he leaves behind got me thinking that his legacy hasn't been completely written yet.

Obviously as a pure manager he won't be remembered as a success. He might get some credit, though, if the squad he built goes on to win big stuff in the next 2-3 years. If not, well, then his tenure has been an absolute waste of time and money.

As we speak half of his purchases are deadwoods.

AwB, maguire, telles, amad, are all looks like they'll be gone in 2-3 years time

 

[Eyepopper]

I think Solskjaer's legacy will be that we gave Liverpool fans ammunition against us for years...

Just like how we laughed at their iconic player's nightmare against Chelsea - which resulted in him being known as 'Slippy G' even to this day.

Our former player who scored probably the most important goal in our club's history... then went on to manage us years later, and was in the hotseat on the day that our most fierce rivals recorded their biggest ever win at Old Trafford.

That for me is what I will remember about him... the fact that he dumped that on us.

Well then, you're either about 15, or a completely joyless prick.

For most people older than 12 Ole's legacy at Utd will mainly be remembered like this...

 

[Smores]

Some are desperate to push this foundation nonsense but he left us with a couple of expensive ill suited signings and several he couldn't get the best out of anyway. All within the context of a team without proper coaching.

We're probably going to lose to Chelsea and be in the bottom half with a negative GD so it's not fooling anyone.

Being here whilst the club spend shit loads isn't building a foundation. He gets some praise for the top 4 finishes but that's it for me and ruined by this season.

 

[Manny]

I think Solskjaer's legacy will be that we gave Liverpool fans ammunition against us for years...

Just like how we laughed at their iconic player's nightmare against Chelsea - which resulted in him being known as 'Slippy G' even to this day.

Our former player who scored probably the most important goal in our club's history... then went on to manage us years later, and was in the hotseat on the day that our most fierce rivals recorded their biggest ever win at Old Trafford.

That for me is what I will remember about him... the fact that he dumped that on us.

Take it you've already posted this on your RAWK account..

 

[Eyepopper]

I think Ole has done a good job, but ultimately it reached a point where he had taken the team as far as he could. Jose left us in an absolute mess - he may have won some silverware, but it was at the cost of any semblance of long term potential. Ole came in and instilled the first bit of genuine positivity I have seen in the club since Fergie left. He revitalised the team, got them (at times) playing some great attacking football, cleared out some of the galacticos and instead built a team with a core around young English players, that will leave the next manager with a strong side to work with.

Having said all that, it became very clear - especially this season - that something was missing on the coaching and tactical side of things. The players looked lost, there was no particular effective system of play - you want a team to be more than the sum of its parts, ours was the opposite. I said that the board would give Ole until Christmas to turn things around, but the Watford result was simply too much, his position became very much untenable at that point, and it was the right decision to part ways.

I will remember Ole as the one who managed to bring back a bit of the 'old' United, who started building what will hopefully go on to be a successful winning squad, but who fell short on the coaching and tactical level. I still think he would be make a good DoF for us, when paired with a master tactician to sort out the day-to-day/match tactics.

Henderson, Maguire, AWB, Shaw, Sancho, Rashford, Greenwood - thats 7 English players who could form the core of our team over close to the next decade. It may not be fashionable to say this right now - but they (along with others in the squad such as McT and Donny) are good players, capable of a lot more than they have shown lately. We also have an abundance of quality youngsters coming through the system.

The job for the next manager is relatively simple - sort the midfield out, and get the players playing as a team. Ole's job when joining was a much harder one. I think he has left the club and the squad in a much better state than he took over, and he deserves credit for that.

Yeah, I think of all of this is bang on.

I think people forget the mess we were in when he took over.

 

[redrobed]

He needs to go now - was great as a player when I started supporting but has outstayed his welcome as a manager. Every week I turn up on a Monday and am having to deal with comments about our results and performances.

 

[sglowrider]

Yeah, I think of all of this is bang on.

I think people forget the mess we were in when he took over.

I do startups generally for a living. But I have had a pretty extensive corporate life previously, managing teams and building tech products/services.
One thing I have learnt over the years is that you need different people for different phases of the product/company's a development/life cycle. (A company/product has like 5 stages though some say six.)

I am pretty good at the embryonic and the take-off stages -- from a piece of paper/idea to a product ready to deliver into the market. But get bored once it goes past that phase. I like chaos and making it into some stability and semblance of structure.

Ole played a role in streamlining, to put it euphemistically the organisation with a cultural re-set. A change agent. Putting out the fire so to speak and steady the ship. Trust me, in my experience, this is a horrible job that is part political but also goes unappreciated. But without it, it would be tough if not impossible to implement the next phase.

In order to put the foundations for the 'take-off' stage, we will need a Rangnick to go from a less chaotic but stable situation and put some proper foundational changes or structures into the United organisation. Lots of strategic planning and execution plans. But the United organisation has to be ready to accept these changes too.
This is why Rangnick wants to stay on to see if his project will live on.

Bottomline, you need different people for different phases of the organisation's development. Ole played his role and should be appreciated in the long term for what he had done after the shitshow of the Jose who dealt with the remnants of LVG.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Yeah, I think of all of this is bang on.

I think people forget the mess we were in when he took over.

I think this mess thing under Mourinho is slightly exaggerated. I think fans were a bit more disillusioned in general at that point than maybe they have ever been but when you look at it there isn’t much difference from then and now as we’ve approached the end of Oles reign.

When he took over. That United team had lost 3-1 to Liverpool. Seven of that starting eleven are still at the club.
United had lost 5 of their 17 games that season at that point.
We’ve lost 5 of our first 12 this season. We had a goal difference of 0 back then, now we have a goal difference of -1.
We’d just come off a season of an unconvincing 2nd placed finish and a poor cup final defeat.
Our football was awful then and is awful now.
The only difference is that we have a better squad (and everyone hated Mourinho whereas nobody hates Ole) but surely that’s expected with a 400 million net spend in the subsequent three years.

 

[Amir]

As we speak half of his purchases are deadwoods.

AwB, maguire, telles, amad, are all looks like they'll be gone in 2-3 years time

Possibly. I'm well aware of the limitations of Maguire and AWB and was never a fan of their purchases, but they are better than they've shown this season so we'll see what another manager can do with them. Telles is just a cheap backup.

Personally I feel the last three years were a waste of time and money and that Solskjaer hasn't really built anything for anyone. But we'll see.