Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

[Fergie 7ime]

I can’t help but think that Ole is occupying the wrong role. The way he improved the squad is so damn impressive. The long term vision is adamant. But more importantly, for most of the players he brought in, you get the feeling ‘yes, this is a United player’. His vision of building a united squad is spot on. No way around it in my opinion.

But then you see his tactical skills during matches. Or his substitutions when something else is needed.. It just isn’t very convincing, to put it mildly. And then he needs to battle it out with managers like Tuchel, Klopp and Pep… Yeah, good luck.

I think we should replace Ole with a manager who can tactically go toe to toe with these insane brilliants in the PL and place Ole in the technical director role. In the same way Overmars is running things at Ajax. Building an amazing squad and making sure the longevity is there. This way we still take advantage of the brilliance Ole has proven he possesses, but doesn’t have to sit through his brainfarts on matchday.

 

[Karlos PFC]

I do think those are worrying signs that he can't take us to the top or maybe he's just shit in cup games like Conte. He's done well in the league so far so that's what I'm holding on to

He's not shit but he's not great either. He's done an OK job, up until now but I think he reached his ceiling.
From my point of view he's not that great coach, he "succeeded " here for a number of reasons that have to do with him knowing the place and how it used to be and cause he works a bit like a lightning rod for the Glazers and Ed. I don't think that if he went to Barca or Real or Juventus he would last 3 months there, let alone 3,5 years without a trophy.

 

[JustinC00]

not a good look for him when we get outplayed by wolves and brentford with 10 men for half an hour doesn't.

 

[Andrew7582]

I can’t help but think that Ole is occupying the wrong role. The way he improved the squad is so damn impressive. The long term vision is adamant. But more importantly, for most of the players he brought in, you get the feeling ‘yes, this is a United player’. His vision of building a united squad is spot on. No way around it in my opinion.

But then you see his tactical skills during matches. Or his substitutions when something else is needed.. It just isn’t very convincing, to put it mildly. And then he needs to battle it out with managers like Tuchel, Klopp and Pep… Yeah, good luck.

I think we should replace Ole with a manager who can tactically go toe to toe with these insane brilliants in the PL and place Ole in the technical director role. In the same way Overmars is running things at Ajax. Building an amazing squad and making sure the longevity is there. This way we still take advantage of the brilliance Ole has proven he possesses, but doesn’t have to sit through his brainfarts on matchday.

We already have people at the club doing the job which you want to give Ole all of the credit for, the structure was recently changed and seems to be working better now. They identify a list of targets which fit the profile the manager wants and then the club tries to get one of them, with the manager having the power of veto. Do you think the next manager will be happy to let Ole have the final say in who gets bought? This is just sentimentality, trying to find a role for him because we don't have the heart to let him go Besides, it doesn't take any great insight to identify signings like Maguire, Varane, AWB, VDB, Bruno, Sancho, Cavani, Ronaldo, these are some of the most obvious and expensive names on the market, we are not uncovering hidden gems here.

 

[United in sin]

I think we should replace Ole with a manager who can tactically go toe to toe with these insane brilliants in the PL and place Ole in the technical director role. In the same way Overmars is running things at Ajax. Building an amazing squad and making sure the longevity is there. This way we still take advantage of the brilliance Ole has proven he possesses, but doesn’t have to sit through his brainfarts on matchday.

Should Darren Fletcher be demoted or terminated then? That's his role

 

[Majima]

Doesn't matter what kind of philosophy Ole has as long as our fundamental problems continue. Declan Rice or any other new "star" doesn't solve our real problem. Therefore our coaching staff needs fresh new blood. Someone who's tactically up to date, who has modern visions and know how to implement his ideas. We all want Ole to succeed and we have almost everything in place. I hope Ole, or any of his advisers, are brave enough to accept that there must be changes around his staff so we don't fall behind because af tactical reasons. Sir Alex acknowledged when he needed help and I think Ole is mature enough to realize that now its his time to search for new ideas. Doesn't mean he's a bad manager or don't have a clue it just mean he knows his limitations and do what is best for himself and the club.

I don't know but maybe this process is already ongoing but he don't find a new assistant coach with the right profile. If he's not searching then put pride and stubbornness aside and get it done ASAP before is to late. Maybe I'm and old man who's naive and romatic but sometimes in life we all need help to take the next step. Some of you would probably laugh and make fun of this thoughts but those who are brave enough to listen and understand is also those who often end up with success in thier life.

You're totally right, but he's 3 years too late isn't he? This is what i've had the most trouble understanding from the very beginning. Who thought it was ever a good idea to come into Utd, as an amateur at the highest level, and surround yourself with even more amateurs at the highest level? McKenna was a highly regarded youth coach, so one's fine for fresh new blood, but Carrick as well? If you put anyone off the street into that position, I doubt they would have surrounded themselves with as many amateurs as Ole has. We're going up against the best managers in Europe each week, and people wonder why regardless of the stars we bring in, we continue to struggle and get outplayed by teams with lesser resources than us. I wonder why.

 

[Fergie 7ime]

We already have people at the club doing the job which you want to give Ole all of the credit for, the structure was recently changed and seems to be working better now. They identify a list of targets which fit the profile the manager wants and then the club tries to get one of them, with the manager having the power of veto. Do you think the next manager will be happy to let Ole have the final say in who gets bought? This is just sentimentality, trying to find a role for him because we don't have the heart to let him go Besides, it doesn't take any great insight to identify signings like Maguire, Varane, AWB, VDB, Bruno, Sancho, Cavani, Ronaldo, these are some of the most obvious and expensive names on the market, we are not uncovering hidden gems here.

It has absolutely nothing to do with sentimentality. The only thing I noticed is a correlation between better recruitment and Ole being in charge. Sure, he hasn’t unearthed some gems out of nothing. But picking the right players in the front of our eyes even proved difficult in the past. Take Fellaini or Lukaku as examples.

But yeah, maybe there is some nobody at the board level doing the recruitment and he got the hang of his job exactly at the same time as when Ole became manager. That must be it.

 

[Aren86]

Finishing 3rd, then 2nd & now top of the table + 1 loss due to 2 experienced players mistakes = Get rid - Wow!

Some fans are laughable, overly entitled and likely play more fifa than watch football.

Everyone is an expert on tactics all of a sudden sprouting nonsense that works on Football Manager.

This is his 3rd full season, and before we started we was 5th favourites for the league by bookmakers (even post Ronaldo signing), possibly higher as I believe we was joint with Liverpool due to our start.

No-one expected us to win the league before this season, except Ole-Outers to suit their agenda. Should we compete? Absolutely and we did last season too.

Noone expects us to win champions league, but we should most definitely get out of the group stage, we have 5 more games to go, that’s 15 points.

Premature silly statements about tactics and being unable to beat managers across this forum is bizarre. He has beaten top managers in games, but he, just like every other manager (argauably who have more experience) has also failed at situations they should have too - like the Young Boys game.

This is the first time since Fergie we have seen a team that feels like United - exciting talents, some clinical game winners and an array of leaders AND people who want to WIN! That isn’t by fluke, that’s by rebuilding from a team that could have easily turned into the next Banter Fc (Arsenal I mean).

Chelsea & City are favourites for the league, but we must give them a challenge - plus this is probably the best top 5/6 top teams in England we have seen in a while so not winning it, ISNT the end of the world. That is not me settling by the way, that is knowing we are a DM away and still lacking there. City got Grealish, Chelsea adding Lukaku makes them stronger than us.

UCL - I think well do better than most people expect, but if I’m wrong and we screw up the league, he deserves to be held accountable - but we are in September and having meltdowns just so we can feel “right” for doubting the P.E. Teacher, seems a little OTT.

 

[Sviken]

No-one expected us to win the league before this season, except Ole-Outers to suit their agenda. Should we compete? Absolutely and we did last season too.

Noone expects us to win champions league, but we should most definitely get out of the group stage, we have 5 more games to go, that’s 15 points.
held accountable - but we are in September and having meltdowns just so we can feel “right” for doubting the P.E. Teacher, seems a little OTT.

Yes, nobody expects us to win anything because we have an out of depth manager while our rivals have Tuchel, Klopp and Guardiola. See the difference?

 

[hobbers]

No-one expected us to win the league before this season, except Ole-Outers to suit their agenda. Should we compete? Absolutely and we did last season too.

This is the first time since Fergie we have seen a team that feels like United - exciting talents, some clinical game winners and an array of leaders AND people who want to WIN! That isn’t by fluke, that’s by rebuilding from a team that could have easily turned into the next Banter Fc (Arsenal I mean).

Chelsea & City are favourites for the league, but we must give them a challenge - plus this is probably the best top 5/6 top teams in England we have seen in a while so not winning it, ISNT the end of the world. That is not me settling by the way, that is knowing we are a DM away and still lacking there. City got Grealish, Chelsea adding Lukaku makes them stronger than us.

No we didn't, and nope.

We have a squad that's equally as strong or stronger than City, Pool and Chelsea. The difference is the managers. The managers are the drivers behind those bookie odds as well.

This is the first time we have a side that largely looks capable of competing at the sharp end of competitions, which Ole can have some credit for, and all our best players are in their prime ages. De Gea is 30. Varane, Maguire, Pogba 28. Bruno 27. Shaw 26. Ronaldo 36. That's why we can't squander the next 2-3 years if the manager proves to be not up to the task this season.

 

[Andrew7582]

It has absolutely nothing to do with sentimentality. The only thing I noticed is a correlation between better recruitment and Ole being in charge. Sure, he hasn’t unearthed some gems out of nothing. But picking the right players in the front of our eyes even proved difficult in the past. Take Fellaini or Lukaku as examples.

But yeah, maybe there is some nobody at the board level doing the recruitment and he got the hang of his job exactly at the same time as when Ole became manager. That must be it.

Maguire and AWB were already well established targets of the club before Ole arrived and for all we know Bruno was too, you just want to give Ole all the credit because it's Ole. Why are you giving Ole the credit for Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo, and not our actual technical director Darren Fletcher? If Ole was our technical director I bet you would have still given him the credit, and not the manager. It doesn't matter to you what good work other people at the club are doing, in your mind all credit goes to Ole

 

[Mentality Monsters]

Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, and whether or not we go onto lift a trophy, he deserves huge credit for the on field changes we've seen in the last two and a half years.

This was our line-up in his first game against Cardiff.

De Gea
Young Lindelof Jones Shaw
Herrera Matic Pogba
Lingard Rashford Martial

Subs: Romero, Bailly, Mata, Pereira, Fred, Dalot, Fellaini

Injuries permitting, this season we could see

De Gea
Wan-Bissaka Varane Maguire Shaw
McTominay Pogba
Sancho Bruno Rashford
Ronaldo

Subs: Henderson, Lindelof, Dalot, Fred, Van De Beek, Greenwood, Sancho, Cavani, Martial


If Ole didn't make a sub within normal time against Villarreal because he didn't like what was on our bench, then he has no such excuses this season. That squad, on paper at least, is seriously strong. And I'd go as far as to say this is the first season that Ole is now expected to win something.

There's still improvements needed. I'm not sold on AWB - not only does he have his limitations going forward, he's often guilty of ball watching and losing concentration defensively. And of course, midfield.

If we're to fullfil our potential, then Ole needs to address the massive imbalances within the team. As disappointed as I'd be to see Pogba leave, particularly on a free, I do think it would open up a lot of opportunities for us to correct the imbalances within the team should be go. At the moment, he's out on the left because he can't be trusted in a midfield two. When Rashford is back, he'll drop back in midfield to partner one of McTominay/Fred. He's been here 5 years and it's still a conundrum on how to fit him into the team to make use of his ball playing qualities whilst keeping our shape and discipline.

Kind of reminds me of the Roy Keane situation. Whilst he's at the club, we'll always try and find a way to incorporate him into the team. If the decision is taken out of our hands, then it may be a good thing that we're forced to look for a different alternative.

Personally, I don't think we'll win anything major with Ole. I don't know what it is, but for me, I think he's missing that 5%, that intangible that's going to take us to serial winners. He's slow to make subs, and when he does, some of his decisions are utterly bizarre and more often than not, are tactical changes that invite pressure and put us on the back foot. Sounds harsh, but when there's a prize up for grabs, I think he lacks the courage to really commit and go for it.

He deserves huge credit for when he's done so far. Van Gaal and Mourinho left us with a mess, Ole won't. But I don't think he's capable of taking that next step. Hope he proves me wrong though.

 

[rotherham_red]

Just came across this on Reddit.

But apparently Ole is sensitive to criticism...

 

[Raven]

But apparently Ole is sensitive to criticism...

People are dumb, Ole's spent most of his adult life fighting for everything he's got at the world's most prestigious club when any blunder will land you in hot water with fans and the media. Honestly, sensitive to criticism

 

[estel_manutd]

One thing I would like Ole to do to address our midfield deficiencies is to play an extra midfielder (at least away from home and at home against our rivals for the title) - Scott, Fred, and Pogba - when Scott is fit, and when he is not - Matic, Fred, and Pogba or VDB, Fred, and Pogba.

Bruno can play as a supporting striker, with Ronaldo and Greenwood starting out wide and cutting in to the center.

 

[Dr. StrangeHate]

With Pep struggling and us having more world class players than Chelsea and Liverpool, I really hope Ole goes all in this season. No playing for draws.

 

[Olecurls99]

You're totally right, but he's 3 years too late isn't he? This is what i've had the most trouble understanding from the very beginning. Who thought it was ever a good idea to come into Utd, as an amateur at the highest level, and surround yourself with even more amateurs at the highest level? McKenna was a highly regarded youth coach, so one's fine for fresh new blood, but Carrick as well? If you put anyone off the street into that position, I doubt they would have surrounded themselves with as many amateurs as Ole has. We're going up against the best managers in Europe each week, and people wonder why regardless of the stars we bring in, we continue to struggle and get outplayed by teams with lesser resources than us. I wonder why.

Haven't we beaten City more often than they beat us since Ole came in? Not bad for a bunch of amateurs

 

[Olecurls99]

We already have people at the club doing the job which you want to give Ole all of the credit for, the structure was recently changed and seems to be working better now. They identify a list of targets which fit the profile the manager wants and then the club tries to get one of them, with the manager having the power of veto. Do you think the next manager will be happy to let Ole have the final say in who gets bought? This is just sentimentality, trying to find a role for him because we don't have the heart to let him go Besides, it doesn't take any great insight to identify signings like Maguire, Varane, AWB, VDB, Bruno, Sancho, Cavani, Ronaldo, these are some of the most obvious and expensive names on the market, we are not uncovering hidden gems here.

I don't know why you're so determined to take credit from him for the job he's done. He's the primary decider in the players that come in and his recruitment has brought us back from nowheresville.

You seem to think that the club are thinking about letting him go or find another role for him. Why in God's name would they do that? I don't know what world you're in, but in this one we can go back top of the league and have had 2 stomping wins at OT were the atmosphere was electric. Come join us in the real world, it's great.

 

[Andrew7582]

I don't know why you're so determined to take credit from him for the job he's done. He's the primary decider in the players that come in and his recruitment has brought us back from nowheresville.

My issue with the other poster is that he wants to give Ole complete credit for transforming our fortunes in the transfer market in order to justify moving him to a technical director/director of football role, as if no-one else had any involvement in identifying these players. Several of these players were already long term club targets before Ole arrived but he acts as if we wouldn't have targeted these players if it wasn't for Ole being here. When we signed Maguire there was a dearth of quality centre backs on the market at the time, I think there are very few managers that would have said no to Maguire under those circumstances.

You seem to think that the club are thinking about letting him go or find another role for him. Why in God's name would they do that? I don't know what world you're in, but in this one we can go back top of the league and have had 2 stomping wins at OT were the atmosphere was electric. Come join us in the real world, it's great.

I have never indicated any such thing, I don't expect the club to sack him any time soon or move him to a different role so you must be confusing me with someone else. Do you even understand the context of my conversation with the other poster, he is arguing for exactly that, moving Ole to a different role in the club. So if you think it is unrealistic or a bad idea you should tell him not me.

 

[Olecurls99]

My issue with the other poster is that he wants to give Ole complete credit for transforming our fortunes in the transfer market in order to justify moving him to a technical director/director of football role, as if no-one else had any involvement in identifying these players. Several of these players were already long term club targets before Ole arrived but he acts as if we wouldn't have targeted these players if it wasn't for Ole being here. When we signed Maguire there was a dearth of quality centre backs on the market at the time, I think there are very few managers that would have said no to Maguire under those circumstances.



I have never indicated any such thing, I don't expect the club to sack him any time soon or move him to a different role so you must be confusing me with someone else. Do you even understand the context of my conversation with the other poster, he is arguing for exactly that, moving Ole to a different role in the club. So if you think it is unrealistic or a bad idea you should tell him not me.

It was the sentence that said we were keeping him on just for sentimental reasons. That was you. That's what got my goat up.

 

[Fergie 7ime]

Maguire and AWB were already well established targets of the club before Ole arrived and for all we know Bruno was too, you just want to give Ole all the credit because it's Ole. Why are you giving Ole the credit for Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo, and not our actual technical director Darren Fletcher? If Ole was our technical director I bet you would have still given him the credit, and not the manager. It doesn't matter to you what good work other people at the club are doing, in your mind all credit goes to Ole

You make me sound like a Ole fanboy, which I can assure you I’m not. But I do have the feeling he has the final say when it comes to recruitment and not Darren, which is not based on anything but my gut of course. And me wanting Ole in the technical director role has nothing to do with Fletcher, I’m more than happy to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

e has the final say when it comes to recruitment

He does, and this has already been reliably reported by established journalists, no player comes in without Ole's approval, even if said player is an estimated & well known or an unknown one, and in saying so, Ole gets his due credits as well as his share of the blame for the outcome of players signing

 

[Tom Cato]

not a good look for him when we get outplayed by wolves and brentford with 10 men for half an hour doesn't.

Manchester City draws 0-0 with Southampton. At home.

 

[MattofManchester]

Manchester City draws 0-0 with Southampton. At home.

To be fair, they don't have any fans.

 

[NZT-One]

I can’t help but think that Ole is occupying the wrong role. The way he improved the squad is so damn impressive. The long term vision is adamant. But more importantly, for most of the players he brought in, you get the feeling ‘yes, this is a United player’. His vision of building a united squad is spot on. No way around it in my opinion.

But then you see his tactical skills during matches. Or his substitutions when something else is needed.. It just isn’t very convincing, to put it mildly. And then he needs to battle it out with managers like Tuchel, Klopp and Pep… Yeah, good luck.

I think we should replace Ole with a manager who can tactically go toe to toe with these insane brilliants in the PL and place Ole in the technical director role. In the same way Overmars is running things at Ajax. Building an amazing squad and making sure the longevity is there. This way we still take advantage of the brilliance Ole has proven he possesses, but doesn’t have to sit through his brainfarts on matchday.

I like that idea. He has a good influence on the squad that is obvious for anybody, why making sure to try to keep that no matter who the manager is. Granted, the club should know, who is mostly to credit for the big upturn in mostly everything and if that is mostly due to Fletch and Murtough then act accordingly but my feeling is, that Ole has been heavily involved and we would be stupid not to try to keep him somehow in the club in case the unthinkable happens. If we can find a place for Grant and Mata, we should do the same for Ole.

Maguire and AWB were already well established targets of the club before Ole arrived and for all we know Bruno was too, you just want to give Ole all the credit because it's Ole. Why are you giving Ole the credit for Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo, and not our actual technical director Darren Fletcher? If Ole was our technical director I bet you would have still given him the credit, and not the manager. It doesn't matter to you what good work other people at the club are doing, in your mind all credit goes to Ole

Agreed, the people who make the final decision should try to find out, who is mostly responsible for the good stuff. My feeling is, that Ole had a huge say until today, who knows how it will continue. I guess, if for example Fletch would have been so instrumental, the club would have made use of that and we would know by now.

One thing I would like Ole to do to address our midfield deficiencies is to play an extra midfielder (at least away from home and at home against our rivals for the title) - Scott, Fred, and Pogba - when Scott is fit, and when he is not - Matic, Fred, and Pogba or VDB, Fred, and Pogba.

Bruno can play as a supporting striker, with Ronaldo and Greenwood starting out wide and cutting in to the center.

I like that idea as well. It isn't the most sophisticated solution I guess but it could have a great effect. Of course, leaving one of our terrific offensive players out isn't easy but we have subs and are able to increase pressure when the game goes on. Your setups make sense to me.

Haven't we beaten City more often than they beat us since Ole came in? Not bad for a bunch of amateurs

How often did we beat them when it mattered? Sounds controversial but is actually genuine because I think, last season we got the best result in the one game that didn't really matter (to Pep, and seeing the posts in the Bluemoon Meltdown thread he got dogs abuse for it there).

 

[Andrew7582]

It was the sentence that said we were keeping him on just for sentimental reasons. That was you. That's what got my goat up.

Oh I think you misread my post, i'm not accusing the club of keeping him for sentimental reasons, i'm accusing the posters who have lost faith in him as a manager but still want to find a different role for him just so he can stay inside the club in some capacity.

 

[BusbyMalone]

 

[Dinghy]

29.

 

[Wumminator]

Massive shame about the Young Boys result because I feel like our league games and form are really kicking on.

Really thought we’d be in for a big hard game after the first twenty but we come back into it well.

We simply need to start scoring goals off corners as well.

 

[Lewnited]

Changed the game today, Matic a less obvious sub but picked out a key pass in a key moment, come on!!

 

[bond19821982]

I was so waiting to give him shit for bringing lingard on for Pogba when we needed a goal. Fair play and it was a brave decision. Sometimes you just need balls to do that.

 

[edgecutter]

He got away with that one today. We were incredibly poor for the talent we have on the pitch. West ham were missing players and had a game on Thursday, and once again we made hard work of it.

Great win, but the performances don't make me believe we will challenge.

 

[Dinghy]

In a few weeks the outers will claim that we got lucky and West Ham deserved a win.

Edit: Or already today.

 

[BoulderDevil]

An ole masterclass. The subs and timing were spot on. Brave to choose Jesse ad matic but Ole nailed it. Credit where it is due. Those who say he doesn’t know what he is doing are just a joke now. Big points today

 

[Sylar]

This thread is going to be quiet eh?

I swear after Tuesday we had about 15 pages by now

The matic sub was good as we needed that incisive pass

 

[Yagami]

If he could get us to wake up and play like we did for those 5 minutes between their goal and ours for longer periods, and without needing us to go a goal down to do so, we'd blitz teams.

 

[BoulderDevil]

He got away with that one today. We were incredibly poor for the talent we have on the pitch. West ham were missing players and had a game on Thursday, and once again we made hard work of it.

Great win, but the performances don't make me believe we will challenge.

And ole changed the game with his subs. Admit it

 

[edgecutter]

In a few weeks the outers will claim that we got lucky and West Ham deserved a win.

Edit: Or already today.

Ah please, that performance was again very similar to a lot of our games this season. Bar the Jesse moment we looked clueless for a lot of that second half.

 

[SeanyC]

Just can’t help but think with the talent we have we should be blowing teams away…especially The Hammers who played on Thursday and are not a young team. Anyways BRILLIANT RESULT!

 

[Van Piorsing]

As always - deadly 2nd half, Moyes got f*cked this time... but why, why, why we have to start almost every game like we're playing against prime Barcelona !?