Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

[romufc]

I don't think its complacency in the final third. We have struggled to create chances in alot of our games. You cannot win games if you are not piling the pressure on these teams. It was all too easy.

They had a 38 year old in defence for christ sake.

 

[Brophs]

I think that there now has to be a question - and it is obviously at least partly down to the quality of players available to him at present - as to whether we're struggling to break down teams who don't go at us because we need better and more creative players or whether, at least partly, because motivation is a problem against perceived weaker sides. The intensity doesn't look at the same level and that's the responsibility of the staff.

I thought this in Dec 2019 and I think it now, well over a year later. Unfortunately, the players reflect the manager: good when things are happy clappy and a bit lost otherwise.

 

[Withnail]

Isn't that a problem in itself. That is a mindset and shouldn't be allowed to happen.

But it can happen. If it's once-off and we bounce-back then I'm not going to worry about it.

I just think everyone got a little ahead of themselves as we were top of the league and now it's all doom and gloom and Ole is clueless again.

We still haven't played 25 games so talks of the title were premature. City could easily be 5 pts ahead with a game in hand after the next two games.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

But it can happen. If it's once-off and we bounce-back then I'm not going to worry about it.

I just think everyone got a little ahead of themselves as we were top of the league and now it's all doom and gloom and Ole is clueless again.

We still haven't played 25 games so talks of the title were premature. City could easily be 5 pts ahead with a game in hand after the next two games.

I never thought we were going to win the title. City have better players where it matters and have the recent experience of winning trophies. Ole has to pick them up now and the Arsenal game now depends how he is going to set them up. Him keeping Martial on and taking off Greenwood was a right baffler. He has to react quicker to what is happening on the pitch and make the necessary changes, even if it is in the first half or HT. These late subs are infuriating. We have made a lot of progress and the players obviously like him and are playing for him, but we know footballers are me first people and it can change quickly.

 

[Giggsyking]

So we are second in the league and you would sack the manager?

No. I would sack him if he ends up fighting for top 4 again. He offers no trophies. And top 4 fight is not good enough for a club of the size and the prestige of Manchester united.

 

[Black Adder]

He wanted to rotate and rest some of first teamers, that's understandable.

Can't fault him for giving Lindelof, Shaw, Fred and McTominay some off time, we have much harder fixture on Saturday, this was ideal match for others to shine.

What I can't understand is taking Greenwood off when he's was only attacker who looked like scoring, while leaving Martial to walk around the pitch untill the end.

 

[Giggsyking]

82 min to make a tactical change. Fecking idiotic.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

He wanted to rotate and rest some of first teamers, that's understandable.

Can't fault him for giving Lindelof, Shaw, Fred and McTominay some off time, we have much harder fixture on Saturday, this was ideal match for others to shine.

What I can't understand is taking Greenwood off when he's was only attacker who looked like scoring, while leaving Martial to walk around the pitch untill the end.

Didn't have a problem with the team although I would have preferred Cavani to Martial. It was more that once it was obvious the team was not up for it, even Maguire admitted after the game that the intensity was not there, he delayed making changes. Martial should have been left in the dressing room at HT. He has to be ruthless, winners are ruthless, stop giving him another chance to do something. Then the next two changes should have been done not long after. What is he expecting them to do in ten minutes?

 

[Black Adder]

Didn't have a problem with the team although I would have preferred Cavani to Martial. It was more that once it was obvious the team was not up for it, even Maguire admitted after the game that the intensity was not there, he delayed making changes. Martial should have been left in the dressing room at HT. He has to be ruthless, winners are ruthless, stop giving him another chance to do something. Then the next two changes should have been done not long after. What is he expecting them to do in ten minutes?

Agree that Cavani should've started, but was glad to see Martial back in striker position thinking he would make most of it after playing on the left last few matches.

Hope Martial doesn't start against Arsenal, as you've said he must be ruthless with decisions, and this giving second chances to some players just has to stop.

 

[dirkey]

Ole had a bit of a mare last night in my opinion. I could understand rotating. But he really doesn't react quickly enough to what is happening on the pitch. I can understand not making changes when things are going well, and we're piling pressure on the opposition. But that was not happening last night.

As many have said, how Martial stayed on the pitch ahead of Greenwood was just incredible. Cavani basically has to be our first choice striker from now on out, and Martial and Rashford can rotate on the left.

The intensity wasn't there, even after we went behind. I do think we were running hot, to use a gambling term, and our results were better than our performances. I don't think we're genuine title challengers yet, so I think some fans got ahead of themselves when they saw us top.

It'll be interesting to see how we react to this result mind you.

But this was a bad, bad game for Ole in my opinion.

 

[SAFMUTD]

So we are second in the league and you would sack the manager?

I wouldn't sack him right now of course, but will be looking to appoint a new manager in the summer if we find one that we believe will take us to the next level.

I think Ole can consistently makes us a top 4 team, which for the last years results would be good. But on the long run I dont think we should aspire to anything else but the title.

Being honest there are 4 teams at least that are clearly better coached than us. City, Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester.

Do you honestly think Ole could reach current City's level if given more time and players? Because thats the level needed right now to win the league. We are facing world-class managers in Klopp and Pep. With one of them having a better squad than ours.

I think better players would improve us certainly but as a whole we are limited by Ole. Sadly no time or players will suddenly turn Ole into a worldclass coach.

So we have three options here, one is to swallow the tough pill and accept we won't win the league until both Pep and Klopp are gone. Simply accept we won't reach that level and hope that when they go the level will decrease enough for us to be good enough to win it. Another one is to completely outspend them, buying game changers so our team is so stuffed with talent that the gap between the coaches is diminished. Im talking Mbappe, Neymar, Messi, kind of signings. Or we can look for the next gem manager that can challenge them coaching wise.

Since I dont want to accept the first scenario and the second one is pretty unlikely I think we should go for the third.

 

[Garethw]

His in game management is amongst the worst I have ever seen.

It was blatantly obvious that it wasn’t working after the first ten minutes yesterday. But he sits on his hands until the 60th minute before making a change? And that change is to inexplicably take off Greenwood that wasn’t performing badly and is the only player that can competently play RW.

This then means that Rashford gets moved over to the right (where he sucks) to accommodate the awful Martial.

How many more times does he need to pick Pogba and Matic as the midfield two before he realises it just doesn’t work ffs.

We have been awful since the Leeds game and have relied on the individual brilliance of players to win us games. This is is despite Solskjaer and not because of him.

We will not win the title under Solskjaer. That is a fecking pipe dream.

I just hope to God we don’t offer him another contract.

 

[youngrell]

Christ, the vultures have been waiting in the wings for this, haven't they?

I'm not sure the manager gets too much blame for last night, for me.

Everyone saying the selection was wrong, but why? We were all in agreement recently that Matic/Pogba was a good choice against teams that sit back (after Burnley). Everyone expected a rest for Cavani ahead of Arsenal. Everyone wanted Rashford on the left. Everyone wants Shaw rested when possible (if not against the bottom team, then when?). Bailly was injured and we are clearly managing Lindelof's time/injury, so Axel was the natural choice.

I can agree that subs were too slow to come. The midfield lacked energy (the whole team did, actually) and Fred or Scott would have been a good change to make around the same time as Edinson came on.

The players showed such a lack of mental preparation and desire it was shocking. They expected Sheffield United to fold for them, and I'm not sure why because except for the post lockdown game last season, they have always given us a tough game.

When 38 year old Jagielka is outworking 90% of the players in the team, they should be embarrassed.

 

[rotherham_red]

This thread was eerily quiet after the Liverpool win and has jumped 8 pages overnight. We know who the disingenuous agenda posters now are, at least.

This team is still a work in progress and I've been consistent in that belief all the way through. It's why, while everyone else was crowing about a title charge, my main aim was still ensuring Top 4. We just aren't quite there yet as a team. We've improved a heck of a lot, but with the amount of holes we have in our team and squad, getting closer to the big 2 was always the aim, rather than toppling them. We will lose more games as the season goes on and it's up to the team and manager to learn from them. To their credit, they tend to do so more often than not.

The in-game management critique is also ringing a little hollow when you consider how many games we've fought back and won in. It doesn't happen by chance or accident. Yesterday was the first time where it didn't in almost two months (3 months if we're only counting the league) and for people to say that it's 'proof' of the in-game management being poor, is frankly ridiculous.

 

[rotherham_red]

His in game management is amongst the worst I have ever seen.

It was blatantly obvious that it wasn’t working after the first ten minutes yesterday. But he sits on his hands until the 60th minute before making a change? And that change is to inexplicably take off Greenwood that wasn’t performing badly and is the only player that can competently play RW.

This then means that Rashford gets moved over to the right (where he sucks) to accommodate the awful Martial.

How many more times does he need to pick Pogba and Matic as the midfield two before he realises it just doesn’t work ffs.

We have been awful since the Leeds game and have relied on the individual brilliance of players to win us games. This is is despite Solskjaer and not because of him.

We will not win the title under Solskjaer. That is a fecking pipe dream.

I just hope to God we don’t offer him another contract.

Worst you've ever seen, and yet have clawed back 21 points from losing positions - over twice more than the next best team in Liverpool?

 

[Skåre Willoch]

Bad game by all involved, Solskjær included. But contrary to what people say, he did in fact make tactical changes before 80 minutes. Some of you think subs are the only tactical change possible, it seems.

Have a look at how we came out to start the 2nd half. A very different, more direct style of play compared to the 1st half, where we tried to retain possession and break them down slowly. Much more movement, but it didn't work due to being sloppy as feck, and simply not up for it. That is on Ole, as well as the players.

 

[TheGame]

I wouldn't sack him right now of course, but will be looking to appoint a new manager in the summer if we find one that we believe will take us to the next level.

I think Ole can consistently makes us a top 4 team, which for the last years results would be good. But on the long run I dont think we should aspire to anything else but the title.

Being honest there are 4 teams at least that are clearly better coached than us. City, Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester.

Do you honestly think Ole could reach current City's level if given more time and players? Because thats the level needed right now to win the league. We are facing world-class managers in Klopp and Pep. With one of them having a better squad than ours.

I think better players would improve us certainly but as a whole we are limited by Ole. Sadly no time or players will suddenly turn Ole into a worldclass coach.

So we have three options here, one is to swallow the tough pill and accept we won't win the league until both Pep and Klopp are gone. Simply accept we won't reach that level and hope that when they go the level will decrease enough for us to be good enough to win it. Another one is to completely outspend them, buying game changers so our team is so stuffed with talent that the gap between the coaches is diminished. Im talking Mbappe, Neymar, Messi, kind of signings. Or we can look for the next gem manager that can challenge them coaching wise.

Since I dont want to accept the first scenario and the second one is pretty unlikely I think we should go for the third.

Southampton have been struggling of late and I can't see how Leicester are clearly better coached than us. I do think Ole can reach a higher level with the investment in the areas we need. These things do not happen overnight. Another manager, means going back to square one again. Who is the next gen manager you would appoint? Everyone pipes up and wants to get rid of Ole yet doesn't know who they wish to appoint?

We've had 1 defeat since November and yes it was a shite result and performance but god the overreaction on here is just crazy.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

His in game management is amongst the worst I have ever seen.

Imagine saying this when we have come from behind this season to draw or win, more than any team in the PL this season. This suggests his in-game management is very good. Saying it is amongst the worst you have ever seen is therefore ignorant and extreme hyperbole.

You have embarrassed yourself with that comment.

 

[spiriticon]

There are minimum standards to acheive here. If you are a team aspiring to be champions, you can't be losing to 2nd worst premier league team ever Sheffield United at home. Bloody hell, if you are team aspiring to be in the top 6, you can't be losing to 2nd worst premier league team ever Sheffield United at home.

I'm so disappointed in the mental approach to this match. All of them looked like they would rather forfeit the game 3-0 than play the 90 minutes. Fecking joke. What exactly did Ole say in the team talk??

 

[The holy trinity 68]

Before last night we went unbeaten in 14 PL games. 11 wins and 3 draws. The 3 draws were also against Man City, Leicester and Liverpool. A game like last night was overdue. Give the man some fecking credit. Yeah, he got it wrong last night but he has us doing very well this season and the improvement is evident.

 

[DavelinaJolie]

My biggest concern for the first year or so was the lack of cohesion in approach, but I think over time Ole has developed facets of play that are recognisable, but adaptable.

Now my biggest concerns are the reliance on Bruno connected low percentage passes, persistence with an out of form player, and those appalling defensive errors.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

There are minimum standards to acheive here. If you are a team aspiring to be champions, you can't be losing to 2nd worst premier league team ever Sheffield United at home. Bloody hell, if you are team aspiring to be in the top 6, you can't be losing to 2nd worst premier league team ever Sheffield United at home.

I'm so disappointed in the mental approach to this match. All of them looked like they would rather forfeit the game 3-0 than play the 90 minutes. Fecking joke. What exactly did Ole say in the team talk??

Look at some of the losses that City, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester have had this season. They have all lost to rubbish, bottom of the barrel teams, it happens, that is football. Even SAF lost to bottom-of-the-barrel teams and he is the greatest manager of all time.

 

[pocco]

Before last night we went unbeaten in 14 PL games. 11 wins and 3 draws. The 3 draws were also against Man City, Leicester and Liverpool. A game like last night was overdue. Give the man some fecking credit. Yeah, he got it wrong last night but he has us doing very well this season and the improvement is evident.

He still won't be the man to turn us into an elite team again. But whatever, we will get there eventually one day.

 

[Berbasbullet]

Before last night we went unbeaten in 14 PL games. 11 wins and 3 draws. The 3 draws were also against Man City, Leicester and Liverpool. A game like last night was overdue. Give the man some fecking credit. Yeah, he got it wrong last night but he has us doing very well this season and the improvement is evident.

Fair point! We’re in great form despite last night, as long as we bounce back this weekend it isn’t the end of the world.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Southampton have been struggling of late and I can't see how Leicester are clearly better coached than us. I do think Ole can reach a higher level with the investment in the areas we need. These things do not happen overnight. Another manager, means going back to square one again. Who is the next gen manager you would appoint? Everyone pipes up and wants to get rid of Ole yet doesn't know who they wish to appoint?

We've had 1 defeat since November and yes it was a shite result and performance but god the overreaction on here is just crazy.

We have to compare Southampton and Leicester squads to judge. Just to the eye test they develop better football than us attacking wise. They may not have the individual quality we have but the patterns are there for all to see.

You can't see how Leicester is better coached than us? Well they have just one point less than us with what I would call a significant less quality squad than ours. Would you swap full squads with them? Last season and the current one we are pretty much at the same level points wise. So if coaching if around the same level that means squad is too, would you swap?

Its not necessarily going back to square one, we can continue the process, Ole has done some great things but I think he's limited. While I agree this doesn't happen overnight I do think he's been given enough time and has shown no indication that he is a future worldclass level coach. Not that its an easy thing to do of course, but that's the level we are facing.

I dont know who I would appoint, the obvious ones are the revolutionary coaches from Germany, Marco Rose and Naggelsmann. Will they be worldclass for sure? I dont know. But I do know that Ole is not and won't be.

Its like we are competing against Cristiano and Messi, and instead of trying a new youngster we keep persisting with Martial who we have hopes that he'll reach that level if given enough time. It just won't happen, no matter how much time or money, the talent to reach those heights isn't there.

 

[Silverman]

Agree! We need to be proactive though to win the league. City and Liverpool are both not going to be shit all season so being average can be enough.
We need a top coach that can dominate the weaker sides and tactically win the bigger games and avoid 0-0 draws a lot.

He deserve to stay this season and give it a go. We can still win 3 titles, but the way we play makes it easy to have off days that backfires.

That's it. Dominate the weaker sides. Look at City demolish West Brom. We have never been able to do that with Solskjaer in charge.

Anything other than a total collapse in the league will mean that we have at least another full season of him.

People have had more than two years to look at him now, so everyone has to accept that these are no longer snap judgements. He is not part of the Lampard/Arteta generation of managers still learning the job - Ole is the same age as Brendan Rodgers and only two years younger than Pep Guardiola. We know who he is as a manager - his strengths, his weaknesses and the sort of football his teams will play. If you don't think he's up to it, fair enough, really.

I have a lot of respect for Ole but sadly I'd prefer to see him gone. He deserves a lot of respect for where he has us but imo that's the best that we will be able to get to.

 

[rotherham_red]

We are consistently scraping past teams. We came unstuck yesterday as you can’t half arse it every week and keep winning.

You're rewriting history here. Just because we scored one more than the opposition doesn't necessarily mean we scraped past them.

Since Leipzig beat us:

City: draw, non-event
Sheffield Utd away: comfortable win made tricky in the last minutes because of a fluke ricochet off Lindelof
Leeds: battered them
Everton: won comfortably
Leicester: a good team who we were comfortable against but for a silly error in the last minutes
Wolves: a stinker but it almost always is with them
Villa: another good team who we deservedly beat
City in the cup: better team won, though both their goals were set pieces
Watford: meh performance from the reserve team players
Burnley: we were more than good enough for the points and should have by at least two
Liverpool: draw, non-event
Fulham: created more than enough to have won by 3, but poor finishing was the story again. They didn't have a sniff outside of 5 mins in the first half and the last 10 or so mins in the second
Liverpool cup: top performance against a good team

The only games there where you can say we didn't do well in and won were Watford and Wolves. The others were good performances with plenty of effort and endeavour, or against good teams who could give as good as they get.

The problem we have is that we tend to believe our own hype after a good win. That's something that needs to be rectified ASAP, but considering the holes within the team and the squad, and that he's predominantly working with many of the same players who were under Jose, it's something that can and will be rectified in due course.

 

[bsCallout]

The only chance we have of winning this title now is if Ole can somehow get our front 3 firing. It's been poor all season from them, and they get chances.

 

[spiriticon]

Look at some of the losses that City, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester have had this season. They have all lost to rubbish, bottom of the barrel teams, it happens, that is football. Even SAF lost to bottom-of-the-barrel teams and he is the greatest manager of all time.

Yes but this is Sheffield United, who before last night, had a sum total of 5 points to their name all season.

Everybody's been beating the life out of them all year long.

Ole's still done a good job overall, don't get me wrong. But oh my days. Sheffield United.

 

[Bobcat]

His in game management is amongst the worst I have ever seen.

It was blatantly obvious that it wasn’t working after the first ten minutes yesterday. But he sits on his hands until the 60th minute before making a change? And that change is to inexplicably take off Greenwood that wasn’t performing badly and is the only player that can competently play RW.

This then means that Rashford gets moved over to the right (where he sucks) to accommodate the awful Martial.

How many more times does he need to pick Pogba and Matic as the midfield two before he realises it just doesn’t work ffs.

We have been awful since the Leeds game and have relied on the individual brilliance of players to win us games. This is is despite Solskjaer and not because of him.

We will not win the title under Solskjaer. That is a fecking pipe dream.

I just hope to God we don’t offer him another contract.

What kind of logic is that? So our good run up until now was all the players credit, but as soon as we lose its the managers fault?

Also, id like to ask for some kind of proof of this "indivdual brilliance" nonsense that keeps getting spouted. Rashford and Greenwoods goals vs the Scousers, was that individual brilliance? Was Salahs goals individual brilliance? I dont get it. Every goal scored has some level of individual quality to it.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

You are not serious, are you?

Perfectly. How many Sheff Utd players would you have wanted in our starting 11 last night? Zero.

So the team was more than good enough to win. The players were just not at the races.

Blaming Ole for everything culture on here is truly pathetic. Those players were more than good enough to get the 3pts and they let him down.

 

[Zen86]

What kind of logic is that? So our good run up until now was all the players credit, but as soon as we lose its the managers fault?

Also, id like to ask for some kind of proof of this "indivdual brilliance" nonsense that keeps getting spouted. Rashford and Greenwoods goals vs the Scousers, was that individual brilliance? Was Salahs goals individual brilliance? I dont get it. Every goal scored has some level of individual quality to it.

These people have been waiting for a result such as this, like the miserable doom-thriving mushrooms that they are. We're second in the league, doing better than expected, second only to a team which is far stronger than us, and the management are back to being 'clueless' again. Standard caf hissyfit.

 

[Bilbo]

Managers will always get some stick after a defeat. That won't ever change regardless of who is in charge or the manner of the loss. Its rather disheartening to see the same old agenda posters coming out now with the tired phrases about in-game management or patterns of play being an issue - because they haven't been an issue. Its very unfair to come out after a run of 10W, 3D and say that there are systemic issues within the team. That's just being reactionary.

Lets be honest, if City go out and keep on winning relentlessly then we aren't going to keep up with them. We never were. Nobody will. That type of consistency in this league deserves a title if they can keep it going.

However, we have taken another leap forwards this season as a team. That is indisputable IMO. We haven't taken the seismic leap required to go out and win every single game, but we have been and still are in a title run conversation so it would be great if people could remember that and not sit in wait for the next defeat so they can repeat the same criticisms they were using a year ago.

 

[rotherham_red]

Yes but this is Sheffield United, who before last night, had a sum total of 5 points to their name all season.

Everybody's been beating the life out of them all year long.

Ole's still done a good job overall, don't get me wrong. But oh my days. Sheffield United.

No, they haven't. They've lost a lot of their games by one goal. They pushed Liverpool for their win, and similarly City only beat them by the one goal.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

What kind of logic is that? So our good run up until now was all the players credit, but as soon as we lose its the managers fault?

Also, id like to ask for some kind of proof of this "indivdual brilliance" nonsense that keeps getting spouted. Rashford and Greenwoods goals vs the Scousers, was that individual brilliance? Was Salahs goals individual brilliance? I dont get it. Every goal scored has some level of individual quality to it.

The mindset of an Old outer I'm afraid. They wet the bed after 3 games of the season and threw the toys out of the pram and have had to eat humble pie since.

All come flooding back the second we lose. What a shock eh?

They are pathetic.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Managers will always get some stick after a defeat. That won't ever change regardless of who is in charge or the manner of the loss. Its rather disheartening to see the same old agenda posters coming out now with the tired phrases about in-game management or patterns of play being an issue - because they haven't been an issue. Its very unfair to come out after a run of 10W, 3D and say that there are systemic issues within the team. That's just being reactionary.

Lets be honest, if City go out and keep on winning relentlessly then we aren't going to keep up with them. We never were. Nobody will. That type of consistency in this league deserves a title if they can keep it going.

However, we have taken another leap forwards this season as a team. That is indisputable IMO. We haven't taken the seismic leap required to go out and win every single game, but we have been and still are in a title run conversation so it would be great if people could remember that and not sit in wait for the next defeat so they can repeat the same criticisms they were using a year ago.

Well said. Excellent post.

 

[TheGame]

You're rewriting history here. Just because we scored one more than the opposition doesn't necessarily mean we scraped past them.

Since Leipzig beat us:

City: draw, non-event
Sheffield Utd away: comfortable win made tricky in the last minutes because of a fluke ricochet off Lindelof
Leeds: battered them
Everton: won comfortably
Leicester: a good team who we were comfortable against but for a silly error in the last minutes
Wolves: a stinker but it almost always is with them
Villa: another good team who we deservedly beat
City in the cup: better team won, though both their goals were set pieces
Watford: meh performance from the reserve team players
Burnley: we were more than good enough for the points and should have by at least two
Liverpool: draw, non-event
Fulham: created more than enough to have won by 3, but poor finishing was the story again. They didn't have a sniff outside of 5 mins in the first half and the last 10 or so mins in the second
Liverpool cup: top performance against a good team

The only games there where you can say we didn't do well in and won were Watford and Wolves. The others were good performances with plenty of effort and endeavour, or against good teams who could give as good as they get.

The problem we have is that we tend to believe our own hype after a good win. That's something that needs to be rectified ASAP, but considering the holes within the team and the squad, and that he's predominantly working with many of the same players who were under Jose, it's something that can and will be rectified in due course.

Excellant post.

 

[TheGame]

Managers will always get some stick after a defeat. That won't ever change regardless of who is in charge or the manner of the loss. Its rather disheartening to see the same old agenda posters coming out now with the tired phrases about in-game management or patterns of play being an issue - because they haven't been an issue. Its very unfair to come out after a run of 10W, 3D and say that there are systemic issues within the team. That's just being reactionary.

Lets be honest, if City go out and keep on winning relentlessly then we aren't going to keep up with them. We never were. Nobody will. That type of consistency in this league deserves a title if they can keep it going.

However, we have taken another leap forwards this season as a team. That is indisputable IMO. We haven't taken the seismic leap required to go out and win every single game, but we have been and still are in a title run conversation so it would be great if people could remember that and not sit in wait for the next defeat so they can repeat the same criticisms they were using a year ago.

Great post.

 

[spiriticon]

No, they haven't. They've lost a lot of their games by one goal. They pushed Liverpool for their win, and similarly City only beat them by the one goal.

Sure it's only by a goal here and there, but they still lost those games. They had lost 84% of their league games before last night.

I know no PL game is ever easy and we were unlikely to win the league anyway, but there are just some fixtures that you really can't be losing, at home(!), if you want to be taken seriously in the years ahead.

Utter banter.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Look at some of the losses that City, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester have had this season. They have all lost to rubbish, bottom of the barrel teams, it happens, that is football. Even SAF lost to bottom-of-the-barrel teams and he is the greatest manager of all time.

I love how SAF example is always brought up. "Yeah I mean even SAF lost a game after being 2-0 up" "even SAF got knocked out of the UCL in group stage" etc etc yeah sure if you look into a 27 year career you'll find plenty of specific results and can use them as example as if those accidents are somehow ocurrent and its totally fair to compare a 27 year career with a 2 year one. Stop with those comparisons please, it's just insulting to Sir Alex.

Claiming things like that is like justifying Jesse Lingard saying Messi also had a shity game once.