I think along with a lot of other United fans, i feel I'm always torn with Ole on account of wanting him to succeed because hes a club legend despite my head saying POch in the summer is the best option. There have been some real positives to Ole's reign in terms of the squad that i feel gets overlooked a lot but are things that will ultimately help the next manager that comes in.
Initiating a much needed Squad Overhaul - Over the past decade (,pre OGS arrival) United have developed a frankenstein-like squad with players from 4 different managers (SAF, Moyes, LVG & Jose) all with differing styles and player profiles. This had combined to create a team just didn't seem to function well or know what type of side it wanted to be. In Ole's 3 Transfer Windows the club has seen the following 1st team Players leave:
- Fellaini
- Herrera
- Valencia
- Smalling (Loan)
- Sanchez (Loan)
- Darmian
- Lukaku
- Rojo (Loan)
- Young
- Pogba + Matic very likely to leave in Summer, Mata, Lingard, Pereira, Jones could also leave, i doubt all of those in 1 window however.
We can debate all day as to whether it was right time to sell Lukaku, if Herrera should have been retained and whether we should try to keep hold of Pogba in the summer but they are all players that needed to leave United...and even after all those departures, there are still a good number of players that need to be replaced. What we have done with the Transfers out combined with the players that how come in permanently (AWB, Maguire, James, Bruno). We are started to have a younger, more compatible squad both style and profile wise. hopefully it ends up with United wage bill dropping to better reflect quality of squad.
Make no mistake, this was, still is and will be a huge undertaking that may still take another 4 windows, but the groundwork has started. It was always going to be a painful process given the size of the squad mess. A negative i would still aim at Ole is that despite all these changes, United really should have produced better points/performances this season, maybe 10-15pts given silly pts dropped, and it doesn't mean tactics have to have been what they are.
What it has done and why i feel its a real positive of Oles reign, regardless of how the rest goes, is that it has taken a lot of that work away from a potential new manager, those painful results that come with a squad overhaul of this magnitude are on Ole, a new man with no history with the club could have come in Dec 2018 produced the similar in regards to Ins/Outs and Results and wed have written them off as a flop.
In theory a new manager could come in over the summer, Poch for example. United are likely to make 3/4 additional signings, selling 2/3 more deadwood and finally ridding themselves of the Pogba circus just in time for a far more positive season next season and Ole's 18 months and 3 windows could be vital in laying the new mans foundations. not simply a case of 'Ole bad manager' 'new manager better', although we all have our opinions there.
- Final disclaimer: I know in modern day football, Transfers, recruitment, scouting etc. are all a multiple person operations and the manager probably has the least say in the team behind this but when that creates a transition and down turn in quality for a time and therefore results, its the manager that takes the brunt of the stick for this which Ole has.