So everything to not give credit to Ole who was playing that way with his first Molde team, before he had to change to a more direct football when he started losing key players? Well... if that makes you more comfortable. There’s a level of disrespect in the football understanding of Ole that is disturbing in my opinion, but I suppose it’s inevitable since he has that kind of personality. Just remember that between closed doors, he’s still an assassin, and there’s a reason why the team wants to perform for him. It’s because his football vision is valid.
We're actually quite good
- Thread starter Sassy Colin
- Start date
He had the big time CV and was a proven winner though. That’s all that matters
I think you interpreted me wrong, i love Ole and he is definitely a part of everything good that he is happening at the club right now. He is the one creating this positive environment were a lot of people seems to thrive. He had Molde very attacking and scoring a fair amount of goals. Also did well in Europe which is not a small thing considering the size of that club. So he definitely knows his stuff.
Saf had other people doing lots of work on the training ground as well. It was not meant as a dig at Ole
We were closer to relegation battle than Top 4 before Bruno. Rashford was even injured since then. Ighalo rarely played in the League, where it's only Bruno the constant feature. If it's growth, it should be gradual. It feels like we've actually jumped into a new level. Now if the stars lining up nicely, we might even get Top 3.
Screenshot taken from the streamable I created on post match thread. All of United's outfield players in the attacking third with Rashford stretching the pitch on the right side. One other thing is the flexibility in the final third with Martial operating on the let for a brief spell, Rashford on the right, and Greenwood centrally.
Almost had a goal with a full back (AWB) assisting a full back (Williams) which encapsulates the attacking license, and the timing shows United weren't content with maintaining the score line.
The image has none of attackers in the box. A lofted pass that found the run of James and suddenly you have United players arriving in the box. Brighton's shape disorientated as the numerical superiority has been compromised. Greenwood in aches of space as Brighton find themselves in unwelcome territory.
AWB is benefiting from the tactical understanding and in game management of Pogba, Matic, and Bruno. In this particular example, you can see Matic instruct Bisakka to momentarily stay infield as Rashford was stretching the pitch on the right and United looked to create overload on the left. In preseason, you could tangibly see the influence of Pogba with him visibly telling Bisakka to position himself in offensive areas. I think that was one of the reasons why Pogba was deployed on the right side of midfield as opposed to the left which he had a propensity to drift too. The right back has utmost confidence that Pogba will not only be aware of his runs, but have sufficient ability to pick him out. The relationship works both ways too, as Bisakka can (provided the opportunity presents itself) tuck into make a challenge on a player in the middle looking to orchestrate a counter-attack .
Encouraging underlap rom AWB. Reminded me when I watched the underlaps of Bellerin for Spain at the U17 Euros.
Fluid system. On this occasion Bruno as the deepest midfielder. On other occasions, it may be Matic or Pogba. That line of 5 in attack is problematic for the opposition, as it makes them susceptible to being outnumbered with the full backs. Attacking the space either side of the full back is one way of testing the spacial awareness of the defender in question. Those that make up the five is by no means rigid. Could be both wing backs push up high with the #9 flanked by inside forwards in which case could look like Shaw-Rashford-Martial-Greenwood-AWB. Could be one of, if not both, full backs being deployed infield i.e. in this screenshot, AWB is momentarily occupying an infield position. Could be the leading #9 flanked by offensive #8s (perhaps Pogba and Bruno) with only one offensive full back and the other full back filling in as an auxiliary CB.. The side with the auxiliary CB would then rely on the wide player to provide witdh, and even better if said person is adept at dribbling players in a 1v1 .
On different occasions each of Maguire, Lindelof, Matic, Freed, Shaw have helped to maintain a back three as a safeguard. In this clip, you van see Lindelof progressing forward and then continues to press as he has trust his teammates will domoinate proceedings at the back by covering for him. Then you can see Shaw heading back to the wing back position once he sees Linlelody drop back.
Also, liked some of our build up play
We've been decent so far, hopefully that continues when we experience greater challenges
It's like we installed some kind of patch. Pach called Bruno. Of course it's not just Bruno, it's no more problems with injuries, Marcus and Pogba back, Ighalo, players growing in confidence and ability, buying into Ole and staff methods. Ole is growing as a manager and together with him team is growing too. Compared to the beginning and first half of the season it's like 2 worlds. Also to think I've read so many times we dont have a system is reason to laugh now.
Not to mention our younguns coming through and in general young players thriving. Exciting times ahead.
Of course it's not just Bruno, it's no more problems with injuries, Marcus and Pogba back, Ighalo, players growing in confidence and ability, buying into Ole and staff methods. Ole is growing as a manager and together with him team is growing too. Compared to the beginning and first half of the season it's like 2 worlds. Also to think I've read so many times we dont have a system is reason to laugh now.Not to mention our younguns coming through and in general young players thriving. Exciting times ahead.
I think we are actually quite good
Fernandes, Pogba and Cavani are probably our most devastating attacking trio in the last decade. Villareal or Arsenal.. I can't see either team stopping them in the final.
The latter 2 (in fact all 3) need to sign new contracts in the next month. Sign a Sancho, Kane or Haaland.. Throw in a Torres or Rice and some cheap competition for Wan Bissaka and we will really leave some opponents disturbed next season.
Fernandes, Pogba and Cavani are probably our most devastating attacking trio in the last decade. Villareal or Arsenal.. I can't see either team stopping them in the final.
The latter 2 (in fact all 3) need to sign new contracts in the next month. Sign a Sancho, Kane or Haaland.. Throw in a Torres or Rice and some cheap competition for Wan Bissaka and we will really leave some opponents disturbed next season.
Upgrade the central midfield and we’d be even better.
We actually are when we attack a team that leaves space that is a notch (or two) below the top European tier.
My only worry is we've peaked with this team because Pogba might be moving on and the Glazer leeches won't provide enough funds (from the club's own money) to get us to that next level.
We badly need a DM, RW and a reliable mobile partner for Maguire/Lindelof. If we did that, we could realistically go for the league next season.
My only worry is we've peaked with this team because Pogba might be moving on and the Glazer leeches won't provide enough funds (from the club's own money) to get us to that next level.
We badly need a DM, RW and a reliable mobile partner for Maguire/Lindelof. If we did that, we could realistically go for the league next season.
Isn’t this true for any team?
I think McFred needs to go, we we’d probably lose a few more games but actually have a more points overall from avoiding the draws. Last season we drew 12 games, that’s 24 dropped points alone - this season we’re already on 10 draws.
I don’t even mind the double pivot if one of the players can play more offensively with the ball but neither McT or Fred is good enough for the highest level to play that role.
Personally something like a Fred - Tielemanns duo would work best or even try VdB there until end of the season.
Loads of posters have posted about all 'the ones that got away' over the past eight years.
Assuming top-level recruiting, we're actually only about 60m-80m in shrewd signings away from seriously competing.
Most people vastly underestimate just how bad Woodward/Judge were/are. All our footballing competitors are very worried how we'll do once the Woodward/Judge shackles are removed.
Assuming top-level recruiting, we're actually only about 60m-80m in shrewd signings away from seriously competing.
Most people vastly underestimate just how bad Woodward/Judge were/are. All our footballing competitors are very worried how we'll do once the Woodward/Judge shackles are removed.
Good post! We’ve only lost a handful of games in the last year or so.
We’re a good side, we deserve more credit.
The noises lately seem to suggest they might stay which would be fantastic news.
We have players on our team that 100% we would moan about wanting if they didn't play for us, but at the same time they get grief whilst playing for us.
People are way too harsh on the team imo. We're doing good things and the direction is looking good.
Even after what was mostly thought of as a shocking transfer window we have done really well. I sincerely hope we make some cracking signings and really use this base to push off from. I do fear not bringing in the right players might make us stand still.
People are way too harsh on the team imo. We're doing good things and the direction is looking good.
Even after what was mostly thought of as a shocking transfer window we have done really well. I sincerely hope we make some cracking signings and really use this base to push off from. I do fear not bringing in the right players might make us stand still.
Put it this way, if we were building the team from the ground up again and we were offered everyone we currently had I'd take a good 80% of them. I think next year's a genuine title challenge.
At least the narrative that we were boring being used to attack Ole since we win every other game can be stopped now.
We were never boring this season
We were never boring this season
Funny how expectations shift, as we gradually improve, the bar raises. I feel like people have forgotten how dreadful we were under LVG and Mourinho. Even though we won silverware under both, and finished second with Mourinho, it never felt quite right. This team is so exciting and I look forward to our games again. Ole is doing a tremendous job. He’s not the best manager in the world, but at the same time I can’t imagine any manager out there doing what he’s doing for us. If he can deliver the Europa League trophy, that will be big, as far too many of our fanbase seem to be waiting for him to fail. This team still has improvement left in them, Ole now has my trust to deliver it.
We're pretty awesome on our day. Imagine next season with a couple more additions to this team. Also Pogba seem back to a high-ish standard most games now, can't but love that. Long may it continue.
Our unbeaten PL away record is also unreal this season.
People can claim it's due to empty stadiums but why hasn't anyone else done it then?
People can claim it's due to empty stadiums but why hasn't anyone else done it then?
Ole is at the wheel but he hasn’t reinvented it. He’s just fed right back into what makes us great and man managed terrifically while trimming the squad down to a point where we are almost a blank canvas again. Every other manager post Fergie has pulled against what made the club a success in the first place and brought in their own players and style and fell short but Ole has gone back to basics and galvanised us.
The recruitment for the first team has been a massive improvement. Cavani AWB Maguire Bruno are amongst our most important and best players. Hendo has been a big boost to the defence. Once again just pretty obvious transfers and good strong personalities.
He’s hired good coaches.
Very good with the media.
Give him Sancho and Camavinga keep Cavani and Pogba and we will challenge for the CL next year.
The recruitment for the first team has been a massive improvement. Cavani AWB Maguire Bruno are amongst our most important and best players. Hendo has been a big boost to the defence. Once again just pretty obvious transfers and good strong personalities.
He’s hired good coaches.
Very good with the media.
Give him Sancho and Camavinga keep Cavani and Pogba and we will challenge for the CL next year.
Last edited:
Only Leeds have been involved in more goals in the league this season. In Europe we've already scored 31 goals. It was always a senseless accusation.
its because we are good. We have i think 6 0-0 draws (mainly against too teams) and a 1-1 at albion. If we start to fill the last few gaps in the side with some quality players then that little bit extra pays off over the season. 4 goals more and we could have been top of the league. On top of that, overall squad and wage positions and academy players getting in team has been best its been for ages and ages. Its quite a positive time to be a Utd fan
We need a top striker, RW and a DM. We're close but this summer is going to be vital.
When you look at Cavani's performances - I cant stop thinking about where we would be if Haaland had chosen United over Dortmund with Ole managing his man.
The way he has improved alot of our players whilst arguably targeting some better players than usual has been great.
The way he has improved alot of our players whilst arguably targeting some better players than usual has been great.
Absolutely but when you think about it the only reason we probably needed Ole in the first place was through our owners and Ed’s sheer incompetence at running things post Fergie. I’ve said it over and over. The guys might have meant well but they’ve just had no luck at all/gave power to the wrong people. Spend a fortune to fix something and make the problem 5 times worse. Squad crawling with lads only in it for themselves on huge deals. I would imagine the team was probably very divided behind the scenes too. They decide to go back to basics with Ole and stuck gold and we’ve basically been quite lucky and relevant again ever since. Wage bill down. Age of team down. Clearly trying to sign more suitable players. The Football is getting there. The fight, work rate and belief is there again. Back to back CL. No manager player drama in the news or throwing players under the bus. We are back to normal and it’s a fantastic feeling after the last 8 years in the wilderness.
Yeah I mean I started off not believing in Ole as a tactical manager but I still could see he was making the decisions/pushing decisions that of a proper DOF. This was why at the start of his tenure some people were willing to keep him as a DOF even if he wasnt a manager.
As you said with the owners; all you really have to see is that Woodward went from LVG to Mourinho which were arguably two complete opposite of managers and tactics- leaving us with the worst of both football players.
However, what I think people dont realise is how much a DOF sir alex Ferguson was for United. Sure we had David Gill but was he the reason we were successful? Or was SAF deciding what type of players we should target, what is in their mindset, what type of assistant manager we use to help change the tactics of the players etc, the man management and so much more.
This is why we were always going to fail under Moyes, LVG and Mourinho- it's not that they were purely bad; it's because what we needed is that manager that can have a DOF attitude to looking after United especially after our last most successful period was controlled by a 20 year phenomenon. Moyes couldn't do it and was a rabbit in headlights, LVG could do it but was so strict in his ways & had a free ride at controlling United which ended up ruining United's squad he started with and finally Jose did the same thing going for players like Zlatan, Lukaku, Mkhitaryan etc.
What Ole is done is given us a mix of a manager and a DOF in one; helps us target young players aswell as value experienced ones. Man management and coaches players to get better. That never give up attitude and so much more.
Whilst I know not many will agree with this; this is why as long as I see some progress (even if its little) I'd be happy with Soljskaer here for some time - to give us that growth of our core and some stability. He isnt there yet - but he knows what United is about and he is helping reshaping United back in to the United way rather than a particular Ole way imo and I can be patient with that.
Agree with a lot of that. This squad is a blank canvas
Wow, great to have such a positive thread in the United Forum.
Great stuff guys
Great stuff guys
Wed be up there with city right now, if not ahead. Hell, sign Cavani right at the start of the window and we could be there even now. He was out for months before we got him
Cracking post and I agree 100%. In my book Ole is the last real credible link to Fergies style too. He’s come at the perfect time to bridge the gap between the past and present day. He could probably see ok let’s change this this and this back to how it was and see how we go. You can see from his protection of Pogba and performances he’s getting out of him now, he definitely knows what he is at. The football isn’t always great because the squad isn’t there yet and he’s still frustratingly risk averse at this moment in time. Hopefully he will take a few more risks once he builds up a little bit more credit in the bank!
Unbeaten at home also since we change the banners
I think sometimes the players don't realize how good they can be.
They become reserved in their play too often like in the 1st half against Spurs and Roma or the countless boring draws.
They become reserved in their play too often like in the 1st half against Spurs and Roma or the countless boring draws.
This. Which has been clear pretty much all season after our poor start.
Makes me angry when you consider what we could have done this season if we had the transfer window we should have last summer and if we had benefited from a proper pre-season to avoid the poor start we had.
I wish fans would collectively get behind the manager and team and that we weren’t such a negative bunch.
Sort of agree with this. When the pressure is on, they go into their shells a bit. Specifically, you see a lot of players being extremely safe with passing / ball carrying, can't get out of 3v2s when playing out from the back, get pressed by one player and lose the ball in the midfield etc. etc.
When the pressure is off and they know they're playing well (like when it was 3-2 / 4-2 yesterday), they play some liquid football. This is probably true of all teams but more true for us than the others.
It's beyond any reasonable debate that there are gobs of ridiculous moaners and whingers here, which to me at least says more about society at large than about United fans, as there's plenty of moaning on other club supporters sites. But those of us who who support the club and are actually happy to see us win matches -- and not moan about winning because that means the manager won't get sacked or whatever -- can deal with the ridiculous moaning and whinging.
We have a very strong squad of footballers, who sometimes pull out an extraordinary performances, but we have a few gaps in the squad that need to be addressed. If nothing else, what Cavani should have taught us by now, including clowns like Goldbridge, is that we need a proper CF for United to be successful. If we can keep Cavani for another season of course we should take a pass on Haaland (price tag is excessive anyway, but what a man) and fill the gaps at RW and CDM. If we can't keep Cavani we need to come up with a good idea as to who will fill his boots. I have high hopes for Greenwood being even better than Kane (comparing them to their mid 20s, obviously Kane will begin his decline soon) but I don't see Greenwood being the outrageous striker next season that I believe he will be 2-3 seasons from now.
We have a very strong squad of footballers, who sometimes pull out an extraordinary performances, but we have a few gaps in the squad that need to be addressed. If nothing else, what Cavani should have taught us by now, including clowns like Goldbridge, is that we need a proper CF for United to be successful. If we can keep Cavani for another season of course we should take a pass on Haaland (price tag is excessive anyway, but what a man) and fill the gaps at RW and CDM. If we can't keep Cavani we need to come up with a good idea as to who will fill his boots. I have high hopes for Greenwood being even better than Kane (comparing them to their mid 20s, obviously Kane will begin his decline soon) but I don't see Greenwood being the outrageous striker next season that I believe he will be 2-3 seasons from now.
We need to hit a golden age at the transfer market in order to win the title or have a sniff at the champions league. Neither Klopp or Guardiola or Sir Alex could not have won the 2 biggest prizes without proper talented players and they have proved this. Ole can win if he wins the transfer market. Having players like bruno, pogba and cavani really makes a difference but its not enough. We need to buy more talented players at decent prices, I mean city, bayern, do it all the time.
I would agree on Bayern, but not on City. Yes City got it right on talent and suitability part most of the time, but their price tag is not cheap. Not sky high but certainly not cheap.
3 days ago, the consensus was that United were poor going forward but good at the back. Fast forward to today, and the consensus is that we're dangerous going forward but leaky at the back.
It's difficult to argue this topic on the internet because people like to confirm their own biases, often based around how they felt about Jose and/or Solksjaer's appointment. And depending on the previous result, the weight of opinion can swing wildly.
The evidence points to the fact we are indeed quite good. The proof is in the fact we're second in the league and (almost) in the final of the EL. This thread deserves just as much activity when we lose as it does when we win. Because even if we drop points against the scousers, we'll still be quite good.
It's difficult to argue this topic on the internet because people like to confirm their own biases, often based around how they felt about Jose and/or Solksjaer's appointment. And depending on the previous result, the weight of opinion can swing wildly.
The evidence points to the fact we are indeed quite good. The proof is in the fact we're second in the league and (almost) in the final of the EL. This thread deserves just as much activity when we lose as it does when we win. Because even if we drop points against the scousers, we'll still be quite good.
So we're quite good? Huzzah!!
Bastard, for a moment there I thought you were replying to the post on removing the Woody and Judge shackles.
Heart stopped
Heart stopped