Sport Witness: Man United row between Bruno Fernandes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer dismissed as 'lies'

AshRK

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Right. So for me a takeaway here is it's not just Bruno but other players. Which is consistent with Laurie Whitwell from Athletic and in my opinion the most worrying news for Ole as it marks the beginning of the end.


A "rift" is probably a strong term, because Castles says that all the players get on fine with Ole. He makes a point of stating this actually. Castles just states that the players are losing belief that Ole is a good manager. This has also been reported by Athletic.

Here's what Castle states in his podcast almost word for word:

- Senior players at Man Utd have not been entirely impressed by his management or coaching, or physical fitness regimes and even tactical decisions.
- It's not that he is disliked, but there is a sense that top level players who have had experience with the best managers feel he is not at the class managerial level that United need.
- The worry is that the feeling has now spread to Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes was substituted at half time, there has been reports that he was shouting "we are supposed to be Manchester United" and that he was questioning Ole's tactics. Castles says he's told that this is correct.
- Castle's says Fernandes' opinion of Ole is the same as other senior players in the team. That he's not strong enough and not able to push the team in the direction it needs to be.


I think from Castles specifically I can agree with @#07 that hopefully at least, the public questioning of Ole from Bruno may be inaccurate. But I can certainly believe many players doubt Ole as a manager.
 

dev1l

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According to Twitter , Fabrizio Romano said on podcast that Bruno/Ole story is fake.

Tbf, when some news has got to do with United you never know as both real and fake news sell the same
 

VP89

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What does this tweet show? You know this journalist is one of the biggest jokes around right? It's "Philip de Brun" :lol:

And Duncan Castles actually said senior players first lost the faith and its only just spread to Bruno. Please read my post, or listen to the podcast.Him, and you by the looks of it are making it look like he's only talking about Bruno as an isolated player who doubts Ole. This is not and was never the case.
 

amolbhatia50k

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It's funny.

At the end of last season we were allowed to dream for a bit. Young exciting front three, okay defense, Fernandes having an impact, and we were all set to add Sancho to that team. Turns out we've gone back to looking like we don't have a managed, failed to get Sancho and instead signed a few kids, got mauled by Spurs at home, defense is looking, midfield looking poor, attack has barely done anything.

Basically were a yoyo club right now just not as per the usual understanding. But it's exactly what we are. Little spurts where everyone feels a glimmer of hope and then reality hits that our manager is mediocre and the squad is still not where it needs to be.
 

fezzerUTD

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Who are we going to blame for signing Bruno now?

Some of our fanbase is in a tough position at the moment. They'd love to blame Woodward for signing a primadonna/mercenary/insubordinate player but at the same time Bruno's been the best thing to happen to the club since Fergie retired.
Fixed for you, and tell me otherwise.
 

AshRK

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What does this tweet show? You know this journalist is one of the biggest jokes around right? It's "Philip de Brun" :lol:

And Duncan Castles actually said senior players first lost the faith and its only just spread to Bruno. Please read my post, or listen to the podcast.Him, and you by the looks of it are making it look like he's only talking about Bruno as an isolated player who doubts Ole. This is not and was never the case.
The tweet just further confirms Duncan has his biasness while reporting Ole and one should not blindly trust him. I have followed Duncan and his news enough to agree with Phil. It is a knows fact Duncan shares a close ties with Jose and had always spoken against Ole (not just referring to this case). Anyways you can continue trusting and backing Duncan. Duncan may get the transfer stories right but when it comes to giving his opinion on the club and ole , I will rather not trust them.
 

dev1l

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That Castles is Mendes mouthpiece is not news. Nor it is news that most journalists that have exclusive transfer info get the info from the agents.
The journalist gets rewarded by getting more clicks and become more popular while the agent releases the news that suits his agenda.

But in the end, the news is always dictated by the agent s agenda
 

AshRK

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That Castles is Mendes mouthpiece is not news. Nor it is news that most journalists that have exclusive transfer info get the info from the agents.
The journalist gets rewarded by getting more clicks and become more popular while the agent releases the news that suits his agenda.

But in the end, the news is always dictated by the agent s agenda
Which just proves one cannot just blindly trust what Duncan says when it comes to the club or Ole. Many who have followed Duncan will tell you the same but some think that we are being bitter towards Duncan :lol:
 

VP89

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The tweet just further confirms Duncan has his biasness while reporting Ole and one should not blindly trust him. I have followed Duncan and his news enough to agree with Phil. It is a knows fact Duncan shares a close ties with Jose and had always spoken against Ole (not just referring to this case). Anyways you can continue trusting and backing Duncan. Duncan may get the transfer stories right but when it comes to giving his opinion on the club and ole , I will rather not trust them.
The tweet confirms feck all because its Philip De Brun. He's one of the least credible journalists around. In fact I wouldn't even call him as such, he's just a gossip queen and always has been.
 

VP89

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Just like the news by Duncan confirms feck all.
No, because Duncan is a journalist who contributes to The Times and the news he reported is backed up by The Athletic.
Philip on the other hand is a gossip queen who works for no credible outlet.

It is now abundantly clear to me that you have an odd gripe with Castles, and I highly question where he "mugs off Ole". Still waiting for that evidence. One headline will do if you can find it.
 

dev1l

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The tweet confirms feck all because its Philip De Brun. He's one of the least credible journalists around. In fact I wouldn't even call him as such, he's just a gossip queen and always has been.
Apparently even Fabrizio Romano said that there was no fight between ole and Bruno. According to Twitter he said it in podcast
 

AshRK

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Here is FabrizioRomano, who also denies the news but yes let us trust Jose's mouthpiece.
 

AshRK

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No, because Duncan is a journalist who contributes to The Times and the news he reported is backed up by The Athletic.
Philip on the other hand is a gossip queen who works for no credible outlet.

It is now abundantly clear to me that you have an odd gripe with Castles, and I highly question where he "mugs off Ole". Still waiting for that evidence. One headline will do if you can find it.
I prefer to trust journalists like FabrizioRomano than Jose's mouthpiece. Like I said you continue to trust Duncan while I chose not to.
 

VP89

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I prefer to trust journalists like FabrizioRomano than Jose's mouthpiece. Like I said you continue to trust Duncan while I chose not to.
So you don't trust his news that players are doubting Ole, but you'll believe Athletic who say pretty much the same thing?
 

AshRK

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So you don't trust his news that players are doubting Ole, but you'll believe Athletic who say pretty much the same thing?
Athletic never mentioned Bruno losing faith in Ole. Laurie in the piece said some players don't think he is a top top coach which doesn't suggest players are losing faith. Neither is arteta a top top coach, neither is lampard. Duncan is trying to suggest Bruno has lost faith in Ole which Athletic never mention.
 

#07

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So you don't trust his news that players are doubting Ole, but you'll believe Athletic who say pretty much the same thing?
I think people are sceptical about the sources. Many people, rightly or wrongly, believe the source of the Athletic piece was someone in senior management at United who had an agenda to deflect from pressure about their failings over the summer.

When there are so many possible agendas behind what's reported, I think most people will be sceptical about what's reported one way or the other.

For me, I always think: 'Who does it benefit for this news to be reported?' I see no obvious benefits to Bruno for this news to be out there, hence it makes me wonder who briefed it and why. Alternatively Bruno could drop 2/10 performances in his next few games and you start to think: 'Actually it does look like he's downed tools.'
 

VP89

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Athletic never mentioned Bruno losing faith in Ole. Laurie in the piece said some players don't think he is a top top coach which doesn't suggest players are losing faith. Neither is arteta a top top coach, neither is lampard. Duncan is trying to suggest Bruno has lost faith in Ole which Athletic never mention.
You think because Athletic don't name drop Bruno, but say that several players doubt Ole, that Bruno is likely not one of them?

Duncan Castles say it was other players, and Bruno is now one of them, that's it. And if you listen to Duncan Castle's podcast he's saying exactly what Laurie Whitwell is saying - that they doubt his managerial nous at the top level. Weirdly though you spin this as an Ole witch hunt and not the Athletic one. Very very odd.
 

The Plump Poet

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"I choose to believe/interpret these stories/tweets in whatever way fits my personal narrative regarding Ole"

End thread
 

Reapersoul20

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What does this tweet show? You know this journalist is one of the biggest jokes around right? It's "Philip de Brun" :lol:

And Duncan Castles actually said senior players first lost the faith and its only just spread to Bruno. Please read my post, or listen to the podcast.Him, and you by the looks of it are making it look like he's only talking about Bruno as an isolated player who doubts Ole. This is not and was never the case.
Jaysus, bit of a gowlish post. You don't know what's going on so stop speaking like you have insider insight.
 

VP89

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Jaysus, bit of a gowlish post. You don't know what's going on so stop speaking like you have insider insight.
What are you on about? I've stated nothing to suggest I have insider insight. I'm just summarizing what has been reported:

- Duncan Castles releases a podcast that several senior players doubt Ole's credentials as a top manager and now it's spread to Bruno.
- He highlights this in a tweet
- He gets backlash from posters who think it's because he hates Ole
- I remind them the same is stated by Athletic

That's literally it.
 

el3mel

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I don't think there's a reason at the moment for Ole to lose the dressing room. I think most of the squad are happy he's around and the expectations are rock bottom anyway. He doesn't strike me as a very demanding coach to be honest, so it must be fun for many players in our squad. They probably deep down know he's not good enough to win major titles though.
 

sammsky1

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I don't believe it is Bruno vs Ole. More likely Bruno, Rashford & others vs Pogba & Maguire
More likely just Pogba and this the has influence over.

He’s using it as the excuse as to why he is not as good as he thinks he is or is required for a player of his status.

Of course that’s bull as he is simply not a great player.
 

Glideman

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Better than 33 points off the top. Better than 3 semi final losses. Better performances that didn't rely solely on individual moments of brilliant or penalty kicks.
Mate you haven’t answered my question.
Did you expect more than 3rd and 3 semi finals?
What was your expectation of the season?
Just answer that
 

TsuWave

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Mate you haven’t answered my question.
Did you expect more than 3rd and 3 semi finals?
What was your expectation of the season?
Just answer that
Read:

So expectations are static then? Is this how you process the world? Either way I didn’t expect United to finish 33 points off the top and to be as hard to watch as they were.
 

cptkeane1993

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What this transfer window has taught us is that most journalists know diddly squat about the club. The only outlet I'd take even remotely seriously at this stage is The Athletic.

No one knew about Sancho's extra year, or about what was going on behind the scenes until the window closed. No one bar The Athletic head a clue about Pellestri or Diallo. Even the likes of Romano were wrong about Stevanovic. The Maguire and Greenwood sagas were all over the place with contradictory reports, and the media has run similar anti - Ole stories with Pogba, Martial and other players before.

We did lose to Spurs 6-1, we did have The Athletic reporting of flaring tempers at half time and post game. There probably was a lot of frustration, and there probably were words said - you shouldn't read too much into it. It's not unusual after a loss like that, if it were not Manchester United, these stories wouldn't be getting so many clicks and views.

What we need is some positive results. Given how our schedule looks, unfortunately, these articles might be multiplying soon before they go away.
this
 

TsuWave

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You still have avoided the question.

what was your expectation of our league position?1st? Top 4?

what was your expectation in the cups?
I’ve answered your question, multiple times even.

You’re set on me saying something along the lines of “I expected us to be champions of England and”, and that’s not how expectations work for me. Football isn’t a thing where you look at the end of the season and say “oh we finished 3rd. Ecstatic!” Without taking performances, playstyle etc into consideration. Somehow losing 3 semi finals is being lauded here. By Manchester United fans. That’s crazy. The gap between us and the top was 33 points. Leicester had a colossal second half of the season capitulation, but Ole is being hailed.
 

Jaqen H'ghar

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What bit was the "untrue" article referring to?
I said "unsubstantiated", not untrue, as in there is nothing to back up these claims. Likely all untrue, but who knows?
What I'm understanding is, players aren't really behind Ole because of his tactics, and that's reported by Athletic/Castles.
The athletic attributes it to "sources close to players". Could be a disgruntled agent for all we know. They also don't specify any players or how many.
But the half time bust up between Bruno and Ole is a different bit, and that's been refuted.
Because Castles was specific with his claims. There are no specific claims to refute in the Athletic peice though is there?
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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I’ve answered your question, multiple times even.

You’re set on me saying something along the lines of “I expected us to be champions of England and”, and that’s not how expectations work for me. Football isn’t a thing where you look at the end of the season and say “oh we finished 3rd. Ecstatic!” Without taking performances, playstyle etc into consideration. Somehow losing 3 semi finals is being lauded here. By Manchester United fans. That’s crazy. The gap between us and the top was 33 points. Leicester had a colossal second half of the season capitulation, but Ole is being hailed.
It’s the same with the goals conceded tripe.

People use the outlier that was 18/19 to make 19/20 seem better.

Look at where we were 2 seasons ago, this team has stalled at best.
 

Jaqen H'ghar

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I think people are sceptical about the sources. Many people, rightly or wrongly, believe the source of the Athletic piece was someone in senior management at United who had an agenda to deflect from pressure about their failings over the summer.

When there are so many possible agendas behind what's reported, I think most people will be sceptical about what's reported one way or the other.

For me, I always think: 'Who does it benefit for this news to be reported?' I see no obvious benefits to Bruno for this news to be out there, hence it makes me wonder who briefed it and why. Alternatively Bruno could drop 2/10 performances in his next few games and you start to think: 'Actually it does look like he's downed tools.'
Refreshing to read some common sense.
 

RashyForPM

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Fernandes and Ole have seemed to always have a brilliant relationship, but suddenly Bruno has lost trust in Ole just because he subbed him off in a game which was already lost?

This story is nonsense. Can’t believe this thread has 7 pages :lol: