Next permanent manager | Poll updated

[Infra-red]

The two big names currently looking for work are Conte and Zidane, but despite both being significant upgrades on Solskjaer, I'm not sure either are right for us at the present time.

Ole likely has at least another season or two at the helm, so other candidates will probably have emerged by the time the club is actually in the market for a new manager.

 

[Trequarista10]

Alternative question : there a Carlos Quieroz like coach out there we can bring in to oversee our tactics and playing style, whilst we keep Ole on as a figure head and people manager?

It's all good the board backing Ole in the market, but what he really needs is an assistant who can help him compete...

 

[red_de_pologne]

Alternative question : there a Carlos Quieroz like coach out there we can bring in to oversee our tactics and playing style, whilst we keep Ole on as a figure head and people manager?

It's all good the board backing Ole in the market, but what he really needs is an assistant who can help him compete...

Not unless he's Ole's mate or an ex player, those are requirements at United at the moment.

 

[crossy1686]

The two big names currently looking for work are Conte and Zidane, but despite both being significant upgrades on Solskjaer, I'm not sure either are right for us at the present time.

Ole likely has at least another season or two at the helm, so other candidates will probably have emerged by the time the club is actually in the market for a new manager.

I'd honestly prefer the Blanc link to resurface instead of any of those two names.

 

[estel_manutd]

We can't hire Conte and make the same mistakes we made after Moyes. If we decide to replace Ole, it has to be someone who plays the United way (youth + attacking football). Also, if we sack Ole, we have to move towards a DOF model.

To be clear, I am not in favor of sacking Ole - he deserves until January. However, if we lose or draw the next two, we should reevaluate.

 

[tomaldinho1]

I think it’s destined to happen to be honest, but it all depends on how bad the fallout is from him getting sacked at PSG. I’m just hoping that this is a big learning curve for him where he’s making all the mistakes he’s going to make and when he inevitable becomes our manager he’ll be better at handling the expectation and squad.

Michels was a PE teacher, maybe that’s ironically what we need. That said so was LVG.

 

[elnorte]

Among the problems you list are goalkeeper (where we're okay), centre back (where we're strong), Pogba (who would typically be viewed as an asset rather than a liability), right-wing (where we have two of the most talented young players in Europe in Sancho and Greenwood) and centre forward (where we have Ronaldo, Cavani, Greenwood, Martial and even Rashford at a push).

There how many squads stronger than us in all of Europe? Five? Six? Arguably less. Our team is stacked with talent. A few problem positions, sure, but that's common for most teams. Yet you're making us sound like we need a complete rebuild.

The fact that these positions cause such divisiveness among the fan base is proof enough that there are issues.

De Gea might have found a bit of form again after years of generally being off it but he isn't getting any younger and there is no guarantee over Henderson whatsoever.

The fact that the club made Maguire the most expensive central defender in the world is ridiculous to the point of being difficult to believe. There's zero justification why a player that cost such an extortionate fee would also possess this worryingly high propensity for basic errors. It won't be long before any new manager has to seriously consider how to deal with this and doing so isn't going to be easy.

Pogba is a problem for any manager as firstly you don't know whether he is staying or going. Secondly even if he signs a new contract, his best performances since he has been here have been fleeting and therefore it's then the very challenging task of trying to get the best out of him on a consistent basis.

Sancho was meant to finally resolve our right side attacking issues after years of it being plain ignored. Instead he's looked utterly out of his depth since he arrived and people are even now saying he's better on the left where supposedly we're well stocked.

Greenwood may be talented but to say one of the most in the world is a stretch at this point in time. Absolute no certainty he can make the right side his own and even less so the centre forward position.

Ronaldo is one of the true greats but you already have plenty of 'respected' posters and pundits asking whether he'll be more of a hindrance than a help this season. You can understand this perspective at least a little given his age and that a decline at some point is inevitable. Once this happens, again tough decisions have to be made - most likely having to buy a new striker since Cavani isn't any kind of longterm solution either!

Basically this isn't a team or squad, in its current incarnation, capable of winning the league.

 

[Hugh Jass]

The fact that these positions cause such divisiveness among the fan base is proof enough that there are issues.

De Gea might have found a bit of form again after years of generally being off it but he isn't getting any younger and there is no guarantee over Henderson whatsoever.

The fact that the club made Maguire the most expensive central defender in the world is ridiculous to the point of being difficult to believe. There's zero justification why a player that cost such an extortionate fee should have such a worryingly high propensity for basic errors. It won't be long before any new manager has to seriously consider this either.

Pogba is a problem for any manager as firstly you don't know whether he is staying or going. Secondly even if he signs a new contract, his best performances since he has been here have been fleeting and therefore it's then the very challenging task of trying to get the best out of him on a consistent basis.

Sancho was meant to finally resolve our right side attacking issues after years of it being plain ignored. Instead he's looked utterly out of his depth since he arrived and people are even now saying he's better on the left where supposedly we're well stocked.

Greenwood may be talented but to say one of the most in the world is a stretch at this point in time. Absolute no certainty he can make the right side his own and even less so the centre forward position.

Ronaldo is one of the true greats but you already have plenty of 'respected' posters and pundits asking whether he'll be more of a hindrance than a help this season. Makes at least somewhat sense given his age and that a decline at some point is inevitable. Once this happens, again tough decisions have to be made - most likely having to buy a new striker since Cavani isn't any kind of longterm solutions either!

Basically this isn't a team or squad, in its current incarnation, capable of winning the league.

This is just silly. We have one of the top five teams in the world of football.

We dont play like we do, which is on the manager.

 

[Rory 7]

When Poch doesn’t win the CL at PSG he’ll be sacked. And we go foe him then. Ole survives til then.

 

[elnorte]

This is just silly. We have one of the top five teams in the world of football.

We dont play like we do, which is on the manager.

So then we're in a top five along with City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich? Over the course of a season, United won't match up to all of them well enough to win the league or a Champions League for that matter. That's down to diffienicies with both the manager and players.

 

[Kush]

Some of the suggestions in here...

Really slim pickings out there. We should've been decisive when top managers were free and available in the past. It's going to be difficult to get one now.

We made a mistake not making a play for Flick/Nagelsmann when they were leaving last year. A well run club would've been pro-active in this regard, but ours rewarded Ole with a 4 year deal. So, I guess they believe in his vision.

 

[devilish]

In my opinion the next manager should be

A- Someone who plays a style of game similar to what Ole had built the squad for. That means attacking football who rely on wingers.
B- Someone who appreciates youth talent. We've got too much top young talent to have a new guy throwing it away.
C- Preferably someone who understand the EPL or at least follows it.

 

[Revan]

This is also true. Your analysis and mine are not mutually inconsistent. The key thing is that City have spent far more over time and have made their purchases with football success as their primary objective. Chelsea vary with the whims of their owner. LIverpool got lucky with Klopp and will collapse back into mediocrity when he leaves or loses his mojo.

City has not spent far more. Since Ole came, we have a higher net spent than them. If you also consider the last 5 years, we again have a higher net spent than them. We also have a higher salary.

So no, City have not spent far more.

And Chelsea is not even close.

So while it might be a good mental therapy to say that so we don’t feel bad about our lack of success compared to them, it is not based on real data.

 

[Revan]

Ole won't be sacked unless we miss top 4. These calls to sack him with us sitting level with City and Chelsea and 1pt of top spot are absolutely ridiculous.

We have the worst 'fans' in world football. What are you achieving with this agenda? Club have just given him a 3yr deal and backed him in the market so he's not being sacked.

Get behind him or go do something else until he's gone. You're worse than rival fans.

I agree that we have the worst set of fans in world football. Full of manager’s worshippers who think that the club is a shrine to the manager, rather than the manager being an employee of the club.

 

[glazed]

City has not spent far more. Since Ole came....it is not based on real data.

Since 2008 though...
Total net spend:
Man Utd – £817.1million
Man City – £1,270.8billion

https://www.planetfootball.com/quic...citys-total-net-spend-over-the-last-12-years/

 

[LoneStar]

We have to utilize the time we have Ronaldo. We should not have renewed his contract so fast. We should have waited 1st.

Exactly, we'll have one or two peak seasons from him. Need to win something by then. I'm sure he wouldn't have joined United to guide us to top 4 either.

 

[tob]

Next manager: Graham Potter.

 

[Hugh Jass]

So then we're in a top five along with City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich? Over the course of a season, United won't match up to all of them well enough to win the league or a Champions League for that matter. That's down to diffienicies with both the manager and players.

Yea and those four teams cannot all win the CL or PL. Last i looked only one team can win both.

It is ridiculous what you posted, basically we need a whole new team and should be beating every other team in the top five in europe by four goals each. Not going to happy no matter what squad a team has.

 

[elnorte]

Yea and those four teams cannot all win the CL or PL. Last i looked only one team can win both.

It is ridiculous what you posted, basically we need a whole new team and should be beating every other team in the top five in europe by four goals each. Not going to happy no matter what squad a team has.

?

 

[Revan]

Since 2008 though...
Total net spend:
Man Utd – £817.1million
Man City – £1,270.8billion

https://www.planetfootball.com/quic...citys-total-net-spend-over-the-last-12-years/

What does it matter since 2008? United’s player we signed the earliest are De Gea and Jones in 2011. For City’s, I guess Fernandinho in 2013. We could go and do net spent since 1890 if you want but it is pointless. Both teams signed almost every player in the last 5 years.

But even if you want since 2008, we were champions while City was a team battling relegation. Of course they had to initially spend more to catch up. Since we have been of a similar quality (2012 or 2013), we have both spend roughly the same, but they have been far more successful. So this, we are competing against teams with unlimited resources is pure bullshit considering that we are spending as much as them, and in almost every transfer both sides were interested (Pogba, Alexis, RVP, Maguire, Ronaldo), we got the player.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

No, but you need to be process-oriented, not results-oriented. I’ve read very little about why Zidane would be a good choice, other than the fact he has won stuff with Real Madrid. Why was Zidane successful at Madrid? What makes him likely to be a success elsewhere?

Sure, let's endure more crap from Louis van Gaal instead of looking to get out of the horrible vicious circle that we were in. After 3 years, we have given plenty of room to the so-called process. But yesterday was the epitome of everything that we have disliked about Ole so far and that he should have addressed a while ago. If we haven't seen progress from HIM (Ole) on the coaching front after 3 years, when do you expect him to turn a new leaf? The answer is very simple: never.

People still hoping and expecting that Ole would turn into another Fergie are giving me a headcache. How deluded can people be instead of understanding that no job in football warrants such longevity anymore? Reality is what it is, and there is no way to avoid that.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

Ole won't be sacked unless we miss top 4. These calls to sack him with us sitting level with City and Chelsea and 1pt of top spot are absolutely ridiculous.

We have the worst 'fans' in world football. What are you achieving with this agenda? Club have just given him a 3yr deal and backed him in the market so he's not being sacked.

Get behind him or go do something else until he's gone. You're worse than rival fans.

Stop that Top Red shite already. That is the real mess within this fanbase.

 

[TMDaines]

Sure, let's endure more crap from Louis van Gaal instead of looking to get out of the horrible vicious circle that we were in. After 3 years, we have given plenty of room to the so-called process. But yesterday was the epitome of everything that we have disliked about Ole so far and that he should have addressed a while ago. If we haven't seen progress from HIM (Ole) on the coaching front after 3 years, when do you expect him to turn a new leaf? The answer is very simple: never.

People still hoping and expecting that Ole would turn into another Fergie are giving me a headcache. How deluded can people be instead of understanding that no job in football warrants such longevity anymore? Reality is what it is, and there is no way to avoid that.

Sorry, what sort of argument is this for Zidane?

 

[Ralph1386]

I'd honestly prefer the Blanc link to resurface instead of any of those two names.

I like Blanc and he’s already played for us. No manager is guaranteed to succeed though, whomever we appoint.

 

[Tee27]

Conte is the one that springs to mind straight away given he’s available and what he’s brought to the clubs he’s managed.

He seems a difficult character though and seemingly brings a sense of toxicity at times so that’s why unsure about him.

Would be interesting to see someone like Marco rose, Germany seem to have a few good young managers lately.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

Sorry, what sort of argument is this for Zidane?

Zidane CAN actually command a number of big egos and draw them towards the same goal, and he has done it within an environment that is objectively 10 times more toxic than Manchester United. And even if he ended trophyless last season, he found a way to take his team down to the wire. You may have a problem with being results-oriented, but that is what the essence of professional sports is.

We have 4 years of feck all in silverware, and that is the monkey growing into a gorilla on the club's back. Top clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and (perhaps less now because of financial issues) Barcelona would not tolerate that just for the sake of a process. If you can't see that we have reached crossroads with Ole and his never-changing bag of limitations, then I'm wasting my time debating with you. I've made peace with myself upon the notion that there will never be any other manager even attempting to do what Fergie did by staying at the same place and reaping successes with the same club, and that is what a large portion of this fanbase should expect. There may be and can be long-term stability at the club among players and other administrative positions, but the manager (more so a head coach nowadays) is no longer one of those in football. Romanticism leads to nowhere.

 

[Amir]

Well said. A lot of people on here appear to think Ole is totally responsible for all our woes but I believe we still have glaring problems in the squad. I could highlight them here but it would take a long time. I admit not everything is right with Ole’s decision making but I don’t think ANY manager could walk into OT and just transform this team. All the talk about how wonderful Fergie was is irrelevant because some of the teams challenging now were rubbish in most of Fergies time.

If we have problems with our right back, central defence, right wing and strikers after having spent tons of money on players Solskjaer wanted for those positions, who is responsible?

 

[glazed]

What does it matter since 2008? United’s player we signed the earliest are De Gea and Jones in 2011. For City’s, I guess Fernandinho in 2013. We could go and do net spent since 1890 if you want but it is pointless. Both teams signed almost every player in the last 5 years.

I guess because net spend takes account of players both sold and bought in that time. So Ronaldo was sold in 2009 and the money was spent on buying Aguerro ... oh wait no it was spent on yachts for the Glazers.

 

[soapythecat]

Next manager has to have an attacking style of play to make the football enjoyable and it would suit these players. We stifle too many players with our current set up formation. Conte and Zidane don’t sit right with me, not sure why but just don’t see them as a long term United solution. Given how we took a huge gamble on Ole with no PL experience, I’d quite happily switch to Graham Potter. Knows the league, has a very clear and credible style of play that is quite effective with a really low key squad. I think he’s be a great manager for us. Don’t see how his methods could be any worse than Ole and his useless coaching team.

 

[Bestofthebest]

So every one appears to be making comparisons with Fergie when he arrived from Aberdeen. Accepted he did really well with the team in Scotland but he struggled at first with United and actually went 7 years before his first major trophy and was very near to being sacked. In the meantime he made some incredibly poor purchases, the worst being Ralph Milne, often called the sheepdog, plus Tommy Jackson from Nottingham Forest who was like a telly tubby as well as persisting with Tom Cleverley for god knows how long. Sure he got it right big time eventually but it took quite a while and the competition was no where near as good as it is now. If anyone thinks we could get a manager who arrived and won a trophy in his first year I think we would be lucky if it was the League Cup. I believe any new manager would take minimum of three years from our present situation to have a chance of winning the PL.

 

[Mercurial]

Next manager: Graham Potter.

He is very likeable, plied his trade here in Sweden before and was very popular, not sure he has progressed to top level yet. His personality is great never the less.

 

[Infra-red]

In my opinion the next manager should be

A- Someone who plays a style of game similar to what Ole had built the squad for. That means attacking football who rely on wingers.
B- Someone who appreciates youth talent. We've got too much top young talent to have a new guy throwing it away.
C- Preferably someone who understand the EPL or at least follows it.

Unsure about C, but Ten Hag would appear to be a good fit for A & B.

His Ajax side certainly likes to attack - they have scored 29 goals in their last 6 games (conceded 1).

 

[Mylock]

Whoever comes in has the talent to take this team to the next level and start winning silverware. Ollie has bought some excellent players and moved on some of the deadwood, but I've never thought that he had what it takes to get us to the next level. Ollie was a caretaker manager that was given the job prematurely after a great run. He'll always be a legend at the club, but ideally, he is a great figurehead or director of Football material but not as the manager. He's not ruthless enough and has failed tactically on so many occasions. Ollie is a great man but regrettably not a great manager.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

If and when there is a new manager, he will have problems to resolve all over the pitch:

Goalkeeper
Right back
Central defence
Central midfield
Pogba
Right wing
Striker

It's not a case of this being a ready made squad that just needs the right manager.

This is complete nonsense

Some of you think we should have 22 world class players in the squad before we can judge a manager.

So fecking ridiculous.

 

[Bastian]

So every one appears to be making comparisons with Fergie when he arrived from Aberdeen. Accepted he did really well with the team in Scotland but he struggled at first with United and actually went 7 years before his first major trophy and was very near to being sacked. In the meantime he made some incredibly poor purchases, the worst being Ralph Milne, often called the sheepdog, plus Tommy Jackson from Nottingham Forest who was like a telly tubby as well as persisting with Tom Cleverley for god knows how long. Sure he got it right big time eventually but it took quite a while and the competition was no where near as good as it is now. If anyone thinks we could get a manager who arrived and won a trophy in his first year I think we would be lucky if it was the League Cup. I believe any new manager would take minimum of three years from our present situation to have a chance of winning the PL.

So you mention some of the worse decisions of Fergie, while also acknowledging that the environment now is way more competitive than it was back then. And then conclude that it would take any new manager a minimum of three years from now to win the league.

Where are you going with this? That Ole should be given more time because Fergie made some bad calls back in the day, but eventually came good and even so, it took a long time and now the competition is harder?

Let's get a wider context. Fergie took over a team in a lot worse position, no question. Less of a draw, nowhere near the financial behemoth the club is now (thanks to Fergie), and ages since its last success. He didn't just do "really well with the team in Scotland". Come on. He won the league there 3 times, the Scottish cup multiple times, and the European Cup Winners' Cup. That's not "very good", that's phenomenal. There is absolutely nothing that suggests Ole has a speck of dust similar to SAF as a leader or as a manager.

Then there's this speculation presented as some foregone conclusion - that it will take 3 years from now to win the league. How many years was it going to take Chelsea to win the CL when Lampard got sacked? And it's not exclusively about winning the league, but about credibly fighting for it and not shying away from that transparent immediate target. I think a top manager will openly have that immediate ambition and get this team going full tilt.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

The constant comparisons to SAF are criminal.

What he did at Aberdeen before arriving at United was something only a few managers in the history of the game could do, and maybe he was the only one capable of doing it.

The situations are nowhere comparable.

 

[elnorte]

This is complete nonsense

Some of you think we should have 22 world class players in the squad before we can judge a manager.

So fecking ridiculous.

No. We can judge Solskjaer as not good enough now if you wish too.

Clearly the best teams in history have had some players that are better than others and not all have been world class.

Any new manager coming in will look it all of these positions and judge whether there are issues to resolve appropriately and on a case by case basis.

However, I would say with a reasonable degree of certainty that regardless of who it is, one conclusion he will not reach is that the squad is good enough in its current form.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Ole won't be sacked unless we miss top 4. These calls to sack him with us sitting level with City and Chelsea and 1pt of top spot are absolutely ridiculous.

We have the worst 'fans' in world football. What are you achieving with this agenda? Club have just given him a 3yr deal and backed him in the market so he's not being sacked.

Get behind him or go do something else until he's gone. You're worse than rival fans.

Surely there has to be quality control warnings for this type of thing?

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

No. We can judge Solskjaer as not good enough now if you wish too.

Clearly the best teams in history have had some players that are better than others and not all have been world class.

Any new manager coming in will look it all of these positions and judge whether there are issues to resolve appropriately and on a case by case basis.

However, I would say with a reasonable degree of certainty that regardless of who it is, one conclusion he will not reach is that the squad is good enough in its current form.

And why is the squad not good enough compared to City, Chelsea and Liverpool?

We finished above Chelsea and Liverpool last season and had a better transfer window than either did.

 

[sullydnl]

If you're looking to find a new manager, you have to look at what you require at the club and what a given candidate will actually bring.

The things Zidane won at Madrid are irrelevant, because he doesn't bring those trophies with him. Same with any other manager. You can draw some idea as to their approach from those successes but it's the approach itself you have judge.

Are they hands on coaches? If so, what sort of style of play, formations and structures will they be implementing? What will their team look like in terms of build-up play, progression, creation, attacking & defensive transitions, high/mid/low blocks, set-pieces etc? Or, if they're managers who delegate, who will they be bringing with them to delegate to? What's their approach to the above? Beyond coaching, what's the manager's approach to youth players? What profile of signings do they look for? How suited is our current squad to their ideal set-up? Etc, etc.

The devil is in the details. The actual processes of the regime they'll bring with them are what should determine who you hire, because they're what will determine whether they're a success or not. Not how big a name they are, whether they're a "born winner" (which is a meaningless cliche), whether they happen to be one of probably several people who are better than our current manager or whether they're one of several people who definitely have a better CV than our current manager. "I want Zidane because he's won the CL multiple times, unlike Solskjaer" means a lot less than "I want Zidane because his teams play like X, he will improve our coaching in terms of Y, he usually sets up in Z formation which suits us because...."

When I see people basically saying any of Zidane, Conte, Ten Hag, etc. will do it suggests they don't really know what they want as those are all very different managers.