What "quick-fixes" should the next manager do?

[snk123]

Was listening to the post match analysis by Owen, Scholes and Hargreaves and got the feeling that every one was saying different things and no one really knew how to fix whatever that is wrong at the moment.

What are the immediate steps that need to be done to save this season? I'll start.

1. Replace Maguire as captain with Ronaldo/Bruno or De Gea
2. Make it known to everyone that poor performances means you're on the bench regardless of who you are.
3. As per #2, Shaw on the bench
4. Go 5 at the back until we sort out leaking goals for fun
5. Put the players that have been frozen by Ole in the starting line up. (Donny, Sancho, Bailly, Martial, Telles etc.)
6. Ban the fecking apology messages on social media.
7. Grow a pair and promote a few players from the youth in the first team setup and actually give them some minutes every other game (Mejbri, Shoretire? )

 

[Skills]

Pretty sure we're not allowed to go 4-5-2

 

[IWat]

Teach £200m worth of defenders how to defend basic balls.

 

[snk123]

Teach £200m worth of defenders how to defend basic balls.

So.. get rid of Eric Ramsey?

 

[2 man midfield]

The defending is the main thing for me. We’re so so poor at it, and that’s what’s ultimately going to cost Ole his job. If he can make us better going forward too then it’s a bonus cos we’re quite shit at that as well, but we’ll win games just from being more solid.

 

[Trequarista10]

Well midfield is the most important part of any team, and our midfield is awful, so that's the obvious place to start.

We have a few midfielders who might be suitable partners for a top class CM, but none of them are good partners for each other.

 

[kps88]

His days are numbered anyway so might as well start dropping players to give them a wake up call before the new manager comes in.

 

[Hectic]

Is there some kind of check on the goal sizes before each match? Could we install new goal frames that would decrease by 2 foot for our goal and increase by 2 foot for the opposition and then we reverse it over half time?

 

[AltiUn]

Dropping Fred, Wan-Bissaka, McTominay, Shaw and Maguire would probably do him the world of good, going off their form.

 

[hobbers]

Buy a right back and a McTominay upgrade in January.

Give Bruno or Ronaldo captaincy.

Bench Shaw for a while

Bench Greenwood for a long while

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

1. Stick with a formation and philosophy you believe it
2. Set standards for individual performances and bench those who fall below it
3. Use the squad better for cup games and subs
4. Balance the squad in the next couple of windows

 

[Litch]

Not sure there are any quick fixes. Not sure players are frozen out, just not picked. All teams have them and that's why they leave.

 

[TheGame]

There needs to be better rotation and squad management.

 

[VanDeBank]

How about, decide on a game plan based on the quality of the squad (focused on the best players), then mould them in a machine in training following that game plan.

I don't care whether it's a more pragmatic manager or a manager that has a fixed philosophy. Our squad is massive enough to accommodate the latter and we have a good U23s (loanees included)

It's literally what I watched LVG do in the span of 2 days for Holland. He picked his line up based on the best players playing to their strengths. First game was iffy, then it was all good. No silly goals leaked, not conceding on set pieces, basics of man marking applied. It's not rocket science for an experienced accomplished coach and he doesn't have to be world class.

 

[I'm David Moyes damnit]

Is there some kind of check on the goal sizes before each match? Could we install new goal frames that would decrease by 2 foot for our goal and increase by 2 foot for the opposition and then we reverse it over half time?

That’s totally unrealistic.

We’ll just ask the ref at half time if “he’s cool” if we don’t bother switching sides.

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

Settle on a system. Coach players to play that system. If they can’t, sell them and get in players who can. Stop buying media darlings, big names or players that are good in general if they can’t play the system. Watching Ole buy players is like watching a kid play fifa in manager mode.

 

[UnitedSofa]

Was listening to the post match analysis by Owen, Scholes and Hargreaves and got the feeling that every one was saying different things and no one really knew how to fix whatever that is wrong at the moment.

What are the immediate steps that need to be done to save this season? I'll start.

1. Replace Maguire as captain with Ronaldo/Bruno or De Gea
2. Make it known to everyone that poor performances means you're on the bench regardless of who you are.
3. As per #2, Shaw on the bench
4. Go 5 at the back until we sort out leaking goals for fun
5. Put the players that have been frozen by Ole in the starting line up. (Donny, Sancho, Bailly, Martial, Telles etc.)
6. Ban the fecking apology messages on social media.
7. Grow a pair and promote a few players from the youth in the first team setup and actually give them some minutes every other game (Mejbri, Shoretire? )

This has got to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read.

So you want the club to challenge for the league title but never play all your best players as SAF said “all the time” by playing vastly inexperienced players into a league title challenging team just “because”. You do realise Ole has played many Youth players including Elanga and Shoretire right?

What benefit does playing 18-21 year old youth players for no other reason than seeing “if it works” for the first team or the player themselves. EVERY OTHER WEEK. How are you going to keep your first teamers, world class internationals, happy if you are dropping them or subbing them at ang point in a match for a youth team player. I’d be fecking insulted!

This is why you should never listen to armchair managers like this poster. None of us know what it’s like to manage a team and none us know what the feck we’re doing either.

& banning social media apologies is again a ridiculous thing to look to control, if they bother you that much as a football manager there’s a much deeper issue there. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but in the grand scheme of things they don’t matter whatsoever to performances on the pitch.

 

[VanDeBank]

Settle on a system. Coach players to play that system. If they can’t, sell them and get in players who can. Stop buying media darlings, big names or players that are good in general if they can’t play the system. Watching Ole buy players is like watching a kid play fifa in manager mode.

I don't think quick fixes include transfer business. Not that I disagree. I don't know whether to cry or laugh at that last line

 

[VanDeBank]

Youth players including Elanga and Shoretire right?

In what universe has he given good academy players a chance? Everyone and their mom is going out on loan. 2 min debuts here and there. 20m signing plays a half, scores a goal, then is nowhere to be a found. It's ridicilious. We don't need players that can't be arsed (Martial & Pogba), or ten players the manager doesn't rate but wants on the books in case of an injury crisis (Telles, Donny, Lingard, Mata). There should be room for a little youth. For all the talks of United DNA or whatever, Ole the manager has very little of it.

 

[snk123]

This has got to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read.

Try reading some of your own posts and this will go further down your list.

So you want the club to challenge for the league title but never play all your best players as SAF said “all the time” by playing vastly inexperienced players into a league title challenging team just “because”. You do realise Ole has played many Youth players including Elanga and Shoretire right?

What benefit does playing 18-21 year old youth players for no other reason than seeing “if it works” for the first team or the player themselves. EVERY OTHER WEEK. How are you going to keep your first teamers, world class internationals, happy if you are dropping them or subbing them at ang point in a match for a youth team player. I’d be fecking insulted!

Of course I'm not suggesting putting them on in an undecided match. In case you didn't notice over the years, that's exactly how we've made young players take the step up. Rashford, Greenwood are the most recent examples.
I'm pretty sure no one would feel insulted if they're subbed off while we're winning for an upcoming talent in the last 5 minutes.. isn't that how we've always given minutes to our youth (some minutes here and there and some in the cup competitions)

Only an idiot would think that we've given enough minutes to youth under Ole. Dialo scored an excellent goal but hardly got a sniff again. Shoretire, Elanga, Mejbri all play in the preseason but don't get any minutes what so ever.

This is why you should never listen to armchair managers like this poster. None of us know what it’s like to manage a team and none us know what the feck we’re doing either.

You've been parroting this for quite a while. What's the point of the forum if you can't discuss? Also, many fans have been right about a lot of things before. Your assumption is that fans don't understand the game which might be true in your case but some of us have actually played football at a good enough level to realize what's going wrong.

 

[11101]

Get rid of 4231.
Make Bruno Captain.
Bench players who are out of form.
Force our attackers to run the channels or get dropped.

 

[Foxbatt]

Coach the bloody team to play proper football.

 

[PoTMS]

Manage this world class group of footballers.
Get rid of our current coaches and bring in a competent defensive coach.
Drop Wan-Bissaka and recall Laird. I mean he can't do a worse job on the ball.
Stop starting McFred every week.
Sign a defensive midfielder in January.

We may still make top 4 if we act soon enough.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

coach pressing football.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

A competent manager should be able to implement the 433 that our squad looks best suited to

 

[Dominos]

There are no quick fixes, but there is competent coaching and incompetent.

The players have been coached by sheer incompetence for 3 years. I think we'd be shocked at the difference a competent coach could make in our passing, pressing, building from the back, attacking patterns, defensive organisation in a relatively short space of time. Look at the difference in Lampard's Chelsea vs Tuchel's.

We're one of the worst performing teams in the league despite having a squad miles better than almost everyone, we don't look like a cohesive unit in any area of the game. It's not a case of picking this player vs that player, 4231 vs 433, it's about having a coach who has a vision of how they want their team to play an implementing it on the training pitch.

 

[Dominos]

A competent manager should be able to implement the 433 that our squad looks best suited to

I really don't know what people think 433 is going to fix?

Is a midfield set up of

---------Fred----------
Mctominay-Bruno

going to be any better than

Fred-Mctominay
-------Bruno-------

Or put VDB in there and the principle still applies.

The team is dreadfully coached in every area of the pitch. The idea that a double pivot is the cause of all our problems is bizarre, loads of teams play 4231. Ole could play 433 and we'd still be awful as the team has absolutely no principles of play in terms of cohesion and organisation.

 

[Yorkeontop]

No untouchable players would be simple enough to follow.

 

[pierrethesnack]

This has got to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read.

So you want the club to challenge for the league title but never play all your best players as SAF said “all the time” by playing vastly inexperienced players into a league title challenging team just “because”. You do realise Ole has played many Youth players including Elanga and Shoretire right?

What benefit does playing 18-21 year old youth players for no other reason than seeing “if it works” for the first team or the player themselves. EVERY OTHER WEEK. How are you going to keep your first teamers, world class internationals, happy if you are dropping them or subbing them at ang point in a match for a youth team player. I’d be fecking insulted!

This is why you should never listen to armchair managers like this poster. None of us know what it’s like to manage a team and none us know what the feck we’re doing either.

& banning social media apologies is again a ridiculous thing to look to control, if they bother you that much as a football manager there’s a much deeper issue there. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but in the grand scheme of things they don’t matter whatsoever to performances on the pitch.

Thanks for this post. I was thinking something similar, but felt too lethargic to actually make it a cohesive post

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Never play Fred and McTominay together again.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

I really don't know what people think 433 is going to fix?

Is a midfield set up of

Fred
Mctominay Bruno

going to be any better than

Fred Mctominay
Bruno

Obviously we could do with a better DM but I think it would be:
Matic (or Fred / McTom)
Bruno Pogba (or VDB)

 

[Flying high]

Bring in a new head coach/assistant manager. Someone with experience of success at the top level.

Many managers delegate coaching. It's seems like the last throw of the dice.

 

[mattunited1978]

There are no quick fixes, but there is competent coaching and incompetent.

The players have been coached by sheer incompetence for 3 years. I think we'd be shocked at the difference a competent coach could make in our passing, pressing, building from the back, attacking patterns, defensive organisation in a relatively short space of time. Look at the difference in Lampard's Chelsea vs Tuchel's.

We're one of the worst performing teams in the league despite having a squad miles better than almost everyone, we don't look like a cohesive unit in any area of the game. It's not a case of picking this player vs that player, 4231 vs 433, it's about having a coach who has a vision of how they want their team to play an implementing it on the training pitch.

Exactly this, a competent coach instead of Ole's clueless shite and we'd see a world of difference

 

[antsmithmk]

There needs to be better rotation and squad management.

This. Going out of the league Cup has caused more problems than many realise. Every game is now becoming a must win and the same names need to go on the team sheet.

 

[Idxomer]

Don't play more than 2 players who are bad or don't contribute much when we are in possession till you fix that in training.

 

[stw2022]

We don’t need a quick fix. Blaming individual players when your whole team looks school level is ridiculous.

 

[antsmithmk]

We need a nasty bastard or two bringing in as well.

Who in our team are you actually frightened of? Bailly is a nutter but rarely features.

 

[caid]

Stop playing 4 strikers. Playing 3 isn't much better, even if you play 5 at the back. I'd criticise our midfield but 2 guys struggling against the 4+ most teams play feels redundant.
Just pick a balanced formation with some vague plan as to what each players role is. Doing basic shit like that would go a long way.

 

[Dominos]

Obviously we could do with a better DM but I think it would be:
Matic (or Fred / McTom)
Bruno Pogba (or VDB)

Of all the defensive problems we've had this season of teams cutting through our midfield and leaving our defence exposed, the CAF thinks the answer is to

1. Switch from having 2 players protecting the defence to just 1
2. Have Bruno and Pogba play together with their erratic high turnover of possession style
3. Have 33 year old Matic who can't run as the lone cover behind Bruno and Pogba

That seems like a recipe for disaster.

 

[Abraxas]

I don't think it's going to be quick. I think even if a very good coach comes in it's going to be harder than people expect to steady the ship. Our squad is unbalanced, we have some severe weaknesses in our best lineups and our confidence is low. It's not mission impossible by any means but it will be tricky.

I think getting back to a simple, consistent way of playing would help. Consistency of lineup, and sticking to a plan. A manager that has strong ideas of what our best balance in attack is and gives it a chance to develop, we chop and change constantly. I think we have to mostly go back to a 4 because this 5 at the back seems a niche setup for us in its utility.

I think tactically we need to clear minds and get back to basics. We're trying all sorts of formations, all sorts of approaches, personnel seemingly picked at random except Ronaldo. At this stage it's not about pressing or not pressing, it's about being aggressive, playing with energy and belief even if it's from a low block. Every setup needs those ingredients. All these ideas about pressing and patterns and play are useless if we can't produce the physicality and desire to compete so that's what the next guy will want to instill.