What are Solkjaer's managerial attributes, really? Please list them in there.

[R.N7]

I think it would be interesting for the Ole iners to actually list some concrete reasons what he offers the team that no other manager wouldn't.

Style of football: I mean, any old Paul Ince off the block could get a team with so much offensive quality to perform somewhat when the pressure is off with some in vogue pressing football. You'd expect a team of United's stature to be more dominant in possession though and not rely solely on counter attacking and spot kicks like some midtable club.

Tactics: Two years in and there's never been a 'Olle masterclass'. Poor in game tactics, sets up the team wrong and doesn't react well to what's going on at the pitch, bad subs. A solution to the defense/midfield woes is nowhere to be seen on the horizon.

Motivation: Players would go through a brick wall for Klopp, Ancelotti and others. It doesn't look like these players play for Solkjaer at all, maybe during the caretaking stint but not since then, so many games with the players just ponderously waltzing around looking clueless and he just sits there on the bench looking like a glum, uncharismatic Mourinho.

Player improvements: Has any player really improved with his coaching since he took over? Maybe Martial but that's mostly down to actually playing him as a striker.

I've tried to find some postivies but it just isn't there, he's a mediocre talent and I'm not sure what difference it would make giving him more time. What could he improve with some more time? More signings doesn't make a difference if they all get thrown into this systemless nothing side.

 

[shaky]

Did you really need a new thread for this?

 

[romufc]

I think it would be interesting for the Ole iners to actually list some concrete reasons what he offers the team that no other manager wouldn't.

Style of football: I mean, any old Paul Ince off the block could get a team with so much offensive quality to perform somewhat when the pressure is off with some in vogue pressing football. You'd expect a team of United's stature to be more dominant in possession though and not rely solely on counter attacking and spot kicks like some midtable club.

Tactics: Two years in and there's never been a 'Olle masterclass'. Poor in game tactics, sets up the team wrong and doesn't react well to what's going on at the pitch, bad subs. A solution to the defense/midfield woes is nowhere to be seen on the horizon.

Motivation: Players would go through a brick wall for Klopp, Ancelotti and others. It doesn't look like these players play for Solkjaer at all, maybe during the caretaking stint but not since then, so many games with the players just ponderously waltzing around looking clueless and he just sits there on the bench looking like a glum, uncharismatic Mourinho.

Player improvements: Has any player really improved with his coaching since he took over? Maybe Martial but that's mostly down to actually playing him as a striker.

I've tried to find some postivies but it just isn't there, he's a mediocre talent and I'm not sure what difference it would make giving him more time. What could he improve with some more time? More signings doesn't make a difference if they all get thrown into this systemless nothing side.

Another Ole out thread.

We beat Chelsea, Spurs, City last season. We finished 3rd in the league whilst Lampard was in contention for manager of the season.

Motivation - What tells you the players are not playing for Ole?

Player improvements - Isnt it the managers job to play players in their position? How can a manager get stick for playing Pogba in the wrong position, but no credit for playing Martial in his position?

I am not saying he is the best coach in the league or the best man to take Manutd forward. If he gets sacked, am I going to cry about it? No. Will I complain ? No.

His flaws are getting bigger and bigger by game. If he wants to stay in this job, he will have to start making decisions such as dropping players.

 

[Idxomer]

what he offers the team that no other manager wouldn't

We've watched him play for United and score some iconic goals but this is more for the fans than the team.

Many fit these criteria though like Bruce, Hughes, and Giggs.

 

[11101]

Is he the right guy? I don't know. But i do know the atmosphere and optimism around the club at the end of last season was the best it has been since SAF left, and that was all down to Ole and what he had done with the team. It's also nothing to do with him that the atmosphere is now back down there with the darkest days under David Moyes.

We all knew this was going to happen, that the 3rd place finish would mean no investment and a botched summer. Ole is not the problem and blaming him plays right into Woodward's hands.

 

[fergieisold]

I think it would be interesting for the Ole iners to actually list some concrete reasons what he offers the team that no other manager wouldn't.

Style of football: I mean, any old Paul Ince off the block could get a team with so much offensive quality to perform somewhat when the pressure is off with some in vogue pressing football. You'd expect a team of United's stature to be more dominant in possession though and not rely solely on counter attacking and spot kicks like some midtable club.

Tactics: Two years in and there's never been a 'Olle masterclass'. Poor in game tactics, sets up the team wrong and doesn't react well to what's going on at the pitch, bad subs. A solution to the defense/midfield woes is nowhere to be seen on the horizon.

Motivation: Players would go through a brick wall for Klopp, Ancelotti and others. It doesn't look like these players play for Solkjaer at all, maybe during the caretaking stint but not since then, so many games with the players just ponderously waltzing around looking clueless and he just sits there on the bench looking like a glum, uncharismatic Mourinho.

Player improvements: Has any player really improved with his coaching since he took over? Maybe Martial but that's mostly down to actually playing him as a striker.

I've tried to find some postivies but it just isn't there, he's a mediocre talent and I'm not sure what difference it would make giving him more time. What could he improve with some more time? More signings doesn't make a difference if they all get thrown into this systemless nothing side.

He's continually got it right against the top teams. Yesterday was a surprise.

Improvements. Martial, Greenwood, Rashford, Fred, Matic off top of my head have improved.

His main attribute is he's come in and tried to restore a bit of the United culture, clearing out some of the obvious deadwood or atleast trying to. We've also played great football at times, certainly the best attacking football since SAF.

Is he the right man? Who knows, maybe he's taken us as far as he can (which has been a good achievement so far!)

 

[DWelbz19]

He managed to remove the toxic smog around the club for a while, and gave Rashford, Martial, and Greenwood a season as first choice players to prove they can score to a respectable level.

He’s not really made any tactical advancements. He’s almost like an national team coach — feel good vibes around the camp, but do things yourself on the field.

 

[Infra-red]

He's quite a positive individual. He cares about the club. That's about it.

The list of managerial attributes that you'd likely find in a top manager, but Solskjaer lacks, is substantially longer.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He seems to be able to build positive relationships with players.

He understands the club (though who knows what that means these days)

He's pretty good at saying the right thing.

He can set us up to play on the counter pretty well.

He's been strong in identifying the players he doesn't want to use (rightly or wrongly)

He's a whizz on the iPad.

 

[TheLord]

1. Nice lad
2. Loves the club
3. Doesn’t speak anything bad about the club, the players, the management, Ed, or the Glazers.
4. Generally positive outlook.
5. That’s it.

 

[bondsname]

The only thing I'm certain of is that he has the right values, and never speak ill of his players in public. Two positive attributes I'm sure of.

As for tactics and man management I'm doubtful he has it in him to make a team title winners.

I have to say though if Ole is sacked the next manager will start of with a better and more promising team than Ole started out with. Even if he has a terrible season and is sacked he has us going in the right direction, but I don't think he is the man that will lead us to titles and trophies.

 

[TheLord]

...

He's pretty good at saying the right thing

From a purely United perspective (development-wise), isn’t being more vocal about the lack of good signings in the transfer window the right thing to do as the manager? Whatever is said on the telephone doesn’t count.

 

[100]

My confidence with Ole was on the basis of rebuilding the squad. He could do the dirty work and worst case - he'd be sacked and the squad would be in a much better place, best case he'd prove to be a good manager for us. I still think the rebuild has been largely good but this summer plus the performances of Maguire/AWB/James has completely fecked the trajectory of it. So now you look at the potential worst case scenario not even being made.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

From a purely United perspective (development-wise), isn’t being more vocal about the lack of good signings in the transfer window the right thing to do as the manager? Whatever is said on the telephone doesn’t count.

Probably - but you can understand why he's not kicking off about it. He alludes to needing more players all the time, but I don't think a man in his precarious position can really be kicking off at the board, especially when you consider how fragile Ed "Wah Gary Neville said a mean thing about me" Woodward is

 

[Irrational.]

He's a nice guy.

 

[SER19]

Solskjaer took us to the highest point of optimism post Ferguson from arguably the lowest in 18 months. His squad overhaul has been the most comprehensive and effective.

There was no way any manager would finish higher than 3rd last season and the entire club had a sense of goodwill and optimism until it was the hierarchy turn to take centre stage.

The no masterclass myth is such a poor argument too, he beat city 3 times last season and dominated in all of them as well as many big games.

We were putting away smaller teams as we should as season progressed.

The emergence of young players has been very good.

There are better managers out there obviously. Acting like solskjaer has no merits though, is just pointless moaning to vent frustration.

 

[FrankDrebin]

He loves the club,he loves SAF and he's generally a decent guy.

Anyway, the major issues at the club far surpass Ole's but he's still part of it.

God, felt like I've wrote that about all our managers post Sir Alex.

 

[Siorac]

Is he the right guy? I don't know. But i do know the atmosphere and optimism around the club at the end of last season was the best it has been since SAF left, and that was all down to Ole and what he had done with the team. It's also nothing to do with him that the atmosphere is now back down there with the darkest days under David Moyes.

We all knew this was going to happen, that the 3rd place finish would mean no investment and a botched summer. Ole is not the problem and blaming him plays right into Woodward's hands.

So the run of good form was all down to him but when we're terrible, it's got nothing to do with him? How does that work?

 

[Wilt]

1. Nice lad
2. Loves the club
3. Doesn’t speak anything bad about the club, the players, the management, Ed, or the Glazers.
4. Generally positive outlook.
5. That’s it.

Sums him up in a nutshell.

Inoffensive, likeable, but not necessarily the attributes needed to be a good manager.

 

[11101]

So the run of good form was all down to him but when we're terrible, it's got nothing to do with him? How does that work?

We're terrible because the atmosphere around the club is terrible. You can see it from the quotes from ex-players, current players, and even Ole's pressers. Everybody feels the failure in the transfer window and the lack of direction from the club. It's completely reversed over the summer, i.e when no football has been played, so that's why it's not Ole's fault. This toxic atmosphere happens every fecking time, and still people think it's the manager, whoever he might be at that time.

 

[Enigma_87]

1. Nice lad
2. Loves the club
3. Doesn’t speak anything bad about the club, the players, the management, Ed, or the Glazers.
4. Generally positive outlook.
5. That’s it.

Players have zero pressure to perform and get a nice fat paycheck at the end of the day. It's a great place to be a manager and a player currently.

 

[soapythecat]

When’s he’s sacked I bet he doesn’t get another top job. In fact I’d wager he wouldn’t get a decent championship side to manage.
He’s not an attractive appointment because he’s achieved nothing. He’s a lucky man.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Unlike Mourinho he's actually got the best out of a lot of our players. Has a nice vision on what needs to be adressed at the club, but of course gets fecked over by the Glazers

I was a critic at one point, but he has my full backing. I basically think he has gotten close to the best out of our current crop. You can only take Lindelof, Bailly to a certain level. They're just not good enough, and the fault of not getting better defenders lies at Ed and the scouting team's table. Not Ole's.

 

[Sky1981]

The only thing I'm certain of is that he has the right values, and never speak ill of his players in public. Two positive attributes I'm sure of.

As for tactics and man management I'm doubtful he has it in him to make a team title winners.

I have to say though if Ole is sacked the next manager will start of with a better and more promising team than Ole started out with. Even if he has a terrible season and is sacked he has us going in the right direction, but I don't think he is the man that will lead us to titles and trophies.

Maybe our lot should get a spanking every now and then. All those arms around shoulders arent exactly improving them. Pogba is still a wild horse we have yet tamed

 

[cedara]

He's continually got it right against the top teams. Yesterday was a surprise.

Improvements. Martial, Greenwood, Rashford, Fred, Matic off top of my head have improved.

His main attribute is he's come in and tried to restore a bit of the United culture, clearing out some of the obvious deadwood or atleast trying to. We've also played great football at times, certainly the best attacking football since SAF.

Is he the right man? Who knows, maybe he's taken us as far as he can (which has been a good achievement so far!)

You just surprised yesterday only? not other 2 previous matches? wow, now I'm surprise too.

Martial has improved because he has been back to his favorite position. Rashford? the most overate player of our team, show me what highlight thing that he done recently? Greenwood, still remember the girl incident, Fred, he was in the good form and then dropped because of Jogba.

Restore a bit of the United culture? did you watch yesterday game? Jezz ...

 

[Siorac]

We're terrible because the atmosphere around the club is terrible. You can see it from the quotes from ex-players, current players, and even Ole's pressers. Everybody feels the failure in the transfer window and the lack of direction from the club. It's completely reversed over the summer, i.e when no football has been played, so that's why it's not Ole's fault. This toxic atmosphere happens every fecking time, and still people think it's the manager, whoever he might be at that time.

I don't know, man. I still remember 2006, the "shredding his legacy at every turn" article, the "where are the goals going to come from?" questions. After our frailties had been brutally exposed by Chelsea during the run-in, we sold our top goalscorer, we only brought in Michael Carrick and a reserve goalkeeper; we had the Ronaldo-Rooney "scandal" at the World Cup, with Real Madrid sniffing around Ronaldo... and yet we started that season with an absolutely brilliant performance, blowing Fulham away, winning the first four games.

Now, that was a long time ago, sure. And you might say that well, that was Sir Alex Ferguson, it's unfair to judge anyone by his standards. All true. But even so, the manager's job is to put out a competitive team. It's his job to motivate the players, to lift the mood. And yes, it would have been unrealistic to expect brilliance from our early season. But it should be much better than THIS. We had three league games and we got totally outplayed in all three, twice by teams way below us in terms of individual quality. Getting lucky with the woodwork is literally the only reason we have any points at all. Lack of transfers should not be an excuse for relegation form (I know we won't get relegated before anyone jumps on this, we're just playing like that for now). If Ole takes credit for the good times, he has to take at least partial responsibility for the bad times.

 

[shahzy]

Im what you'd call an "Ole iner" only due to necessity. I dont rate him as a manager but i think firing him would let woodward and the glazers off the hook. Those are the parasites i want gone. I'd take relegation in a heartbeat for them gone. Short term pain for long term gain. Firing ole would be the perfect get out of jail free card for them and for that reason i want ole in.

 

[11101]

I don't know, man. I still remember 2006, the "shredding his legacy at every turn" article, the "where are the goals going to come from?" questions. After our frailties had been brutally exposed by Chelsea during the run-in, we sold our top goalscorer, we only brought in Michael Carrick and a reserve goalkeeper; we had the Ronaldo-Rooney "scandal" at the World Cup, with Real Madrid sniffing around Ronaldo... and yet we started that season with an absolutely brilliant performance, blowing Fulham away, winning the first four games.

Now, that was a long time ago, sure. And you might say that well, that was Sir Alex Ferguson, it's unfair to judge anyone by his standards. All true. But even so, the manager's job is to put out a competitive team. It's his job to motivate the players, to lift the mood. And yes, it would have been unrealistic to expect brilliance from our early season. But it should be much better than THIS. We had three league games and we got totally outplayed in all three, twice by teams way below us in terms of individual quality. Getting lucky with the woodwork is literally the only reason we have any points at all. Lack of transfers should not be an excuse for relegation form (I know we won't get relegated before anyone jumps on this, we're just playing like that for now). If Ole takes credit for the good times, he has to take at least partial responsibility for the bad times.

It is unfair to judge anybody by SAF's standards, but if he came back into the team today, I have doubts even he could turn it around with Woodward pulling his feet out from under him at every turn. It's a very different time to when he had total control over the club. I don't see how any manager can be successful in this environment.

We are the same team that was blowing everybody away last season. Almost literally. We have one new player who has barely played. The rest is exactly the same. All that has changed is the atmosphere, brought about by a summer of expectation and failure. Ole had nothing to do with that.

 

[Loon]

I knew nothing about Babacar Sarr. Jesus, if there’s truth in that...

 

[thegregster]

Pretty excellent record v the big teams up to yesterday.

That's about it.

 

[Lentwood]

Ole did a great job of coming in and stabilising the club. Let’s not forget, however bad it is now, it was worse post-Jose. The atmosphere at the club was absolutely dire. The club was heading nowhere fast.

Now, we have 17/18 genuinely good players. I think Ole lacks the coaching skills to get them playing together effectively as an attacking unit.

That doesn’t necessarily have to be an insurmountable problem if we had the right coaches working under Ole...right now I don’t think we do.

I could see Ole remaining as a “manager” working with a “Head Coach” but he’s not qualified to be our “Head Coach” on the training ground

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

1. He knows the club, knows what United is all about
2. Usually positive, glass hall full - “fantastik for the cloob”
3. Relatively cheap
4. United legend
5. Doesn't kick up a fuss or throw his toys out of the park if the Board aren’t backing him (unlike Mou!) - happy to work with what he’s got.

OK, that’s more than three - so shoot me. You can keep your Jurgen Klopp’s with his fancy tactics and systems and his so called “proven track record”. Ole's at the wheel!

 

[Ballache]

Sums him up in a nutshell.

Inoffensive, likeable, but not necessarily the attributes needed to be a good manager.

Agreed.
He would do well as DoF, we need a proper Head coach though.

 

[Siorac]

It is unfair to judge anybody by SAF's standards, but if he came back into the team today, I have doubts even he could turn it around with Woodward pulling his feet out from under him at every turn. It's a very different time to when he had total control over the club. I don't see how any manager can be successful in this environment.

We are the same team that was blowing everybody away last season. Almost literally. We have one new player who has barely played. The rest is exactly the same. All that has changed is the atmosphere, brought about by a summer of expectation and failure. Ole had nothing to do with that.

But that's exactly what I'm saying: if that good form was real, if it actually was more than just a purple patch then we have no business being this bad even if the atmosphere changed. A good team cannot be this fragile just because the players didn't get new mates to play with. We haven't lost any important players - and barely any unimportant ones -, we don't have injuries, pretty much everyone is fit.

And let's face it, we weren't "blowing everybody away" last season, we won 9 out of 14 in the league after the Bruno signing which is good but it also involved home draws against West Ham and Southampton. We showed that we can be a very good team when things go well - and that also means we have no business ever being this abysmal, no matter how disappointed Ole is that we didn't pay €120m for Sancho.

 

[meamth]

Style of football:
Run at defenders, quick break, counter attacking football. Emphasizing on young attackers leading the attack that can interchange between positions.

Tactics:
Patient build up play, generally trying to get the best out of our central playmakers playing clever, quick passing for strikers to feed. Defending fairly deep to generate fast breaks using our forward's pace.

Motivation:
Trying to do the best, playing players that actually likeable for many years since SAF retired. Getting rid of the deadwood. Relying on youth and actually have connections with our young players.

Player improvements:
He really did improve many players since joining us. Martial, Greenwood, Rashford, Fred, McT, all improved steadily.

In conclusion, OP is just being a knee jerk.

 

[Galactic]

He doesn’t even deserve the correct spelling for his name now

 

[NotThatSoph]

Solskjaer took us to the highest point of optimism post Ferguson from arguably the lowest in 18 months. His squad overhaul has been the most comprehensive and effective.

There was no way any manager would finish higher than 3rd last season and the entire club had a sense of goodwill and optimism until it was the hierarchy turn to take centre stage.

The no masterclass myth is such a poor argument too, he beat city 3 times last season and dominated in all of them as well as many big games.

We were putting away smaller teams as we should as season progressed.

The emergence of young players has been very good.

There are better managers out there obviously. Acting like solskjaer has no merits though, is just pointless moaning to vent frustration.

I completely agree that 3rd place was probably the best one could hope for (I think a case could be made for second, but that would be a great achievement), but I think it's worth noting how it happened. League position is not just about how you perform over 38 games, it's also about how the other teams perform.

We ended last season in 3rd place with 66 points. In 18/19 (Mourinho/Solskjær) we finished 6th, so a solid improvement position wise but with the same point total as last season. If the other teams performed like in 18/19 last season would be deemed a total failure, but because the level of our competitors dropped substantially it became a success. In 17/18 (Mourinho) we finished 2nd with 81 points, the same point total as City last season but a worse GD. In 16/17 (van Gaal/Mourinho) we finished 6th, just like in 18/19, but with 69 points. That's three points better than our 3rd place last year. 15/16 (van Gaal) got us to 5th, losing out on 4th to City on GD, again with 66 points. 14/15 (van Gaal) was 4th place, 70 points. In 13/14 (Moyes/Giggs) we got 7th with 64, and in 12/13 (SAF's last season) we ended as champions with 89 points.

With the exception of Moyes's season 19/20 was the joint worst point total post Ferguson, and in no other season than last would it break into top 4.

 

[harms]

1. He has improved our forwards individually – Rashford, Martial (most notably, especially in terms of his off-the-ball movement), Greenwood
2. He has shown to be a decent tactician in big games. Seems weird to say it out loud after yesterday, but he has made some spot on decisions last season – exposing opposition's weaknesses and covering our weak points. Note: decent =/= good
3. He has shown some promise on man-managing front, although this summer was a let down. It's hard to fully assess his influence there considering that Woodward & the board are heavily involved as well, still: he had steadied the ship after Jose, promoted some youngsters, patched things up with Pogba (it may not be a good thing in hindsight, but he's one of our most valuable assets nonetheless), got rid of some deadwood, including not the most obvious decision of shipping out Lukaku (although this process was handicapped by our inept board & bloated salaries)

To become a proper top manager, he'd have to significantly improve on all of those & then some. It's not very realistic though.

 

[SER19]

I completely agree that 3rd place was probably the best one could hope for (I think a case could be made for second, but that would be a great achievement), but I think it's worth noting how it happened. League position is not just about how you perform over 38 games, it's also about how the other teams perform.

We ended last season in 3rd place with 66 points. In 18/19 (Mourinho/Solskjær) we finished 6th, so a solid improvement position wise but with the same point total as last season. If the other teams performed like in 18/19 last season would be deemed a total failure, but because the level of our competitors dropped substantially it became a success. In 17/18 (Mourinho) we finished 2nd with 81 points, the same point total as City last season but a worse GD. In 16/17 (van Gaal/Mourinho) we finished 6th, just like in 18/19, but with 69 points. That's three points better than our 3rd place last year. 15/16 (van Gaal) got us to 5th, losing out on 4th to City on GD, again with 66 points. 14/15 (van Gaal) was 4th place, 70 points. In 13/14 (Moyes/Giggs) we got 7th with 64, and in 12/13 (SAF's last season) we ended as champions with 89 points.

With the exception of Moyes's season 19/20 was the joint worst point total post Ferguson, and in no other season than last would it break into top 4.

I don't give that much stock. Every season is different. The treble winning team got 79 points. This season will be different again. He met expectations and wasn't backed this summer despite Cup exists making it clear to even the most amateur eye that we desperately needed depth