TheRedDevil'sAdvocate
Full Member
Good post. Really good.
Only thing I take exception to is the under-coached part, the fact that he’s stood ‘toe-to-toe’ with Peps approach whilst continuing to falter in games we’re expected to dominate points to his inability to coach well for me. We tend to sit back against Peps side & look to Rashford/Martial to do something on the counter - it’s not particularly creative but in fairness has been effective.
You’re bang on that we’re only ever as good as the opposition allows though, I only think that reinforces how poorly coached we are. We enter the field with a better man for man 11 in most games yet it’s the oppositions tactics that dictate the game mostly. We keep trying to replicate the SAF period without the main ingredient, SAF - sentimentality aside, no one can make an argument based on what’s happened on the pitch for OgS.
Thank you!
I don't believe he's that bad, honestly. In fact, if we lose hands down against an opponent whom we'll face soon afterward, i would bet money that Solskjaer will get a result in the second game. But that's where the problem lies, we shouldn't have to do this so often. In some ways, his persistence this season on the 4231, on McFred etc. is a sign that he understands this too. He has to make his plan work. I have my reservations, not about the quality of the players, but more about the team as a collective. But, as others have mentioned, after so much time and money, the buck stops with the manager. He can't claim that this is not his team.
I think in ways thats not always helpful. Theres no coherence to the selection. Theres talk in another thread of next manager and people asking what kind of coach we should be looking to next. We cant really play possession football - Pogba, Bruno, Rashford are all very direct. Fred is very inconsistent. We cant play high press with Ronaldo - theres others not really suited to it but that would be the primary obstacle. I'm sure theres other less extreme examples of tactics but it feels like its quite hard to put out a selection that doesn't have a serious weaknesses in one area or another to exploit. And it feels like the number of ways to hurt the opposition is too limited for there not to be a really obvious way too defend against and limit the damage of (say sitting back and loading the box up when Martial / Rashford are our strikers).
Thanks! I agree with this. You described my fears and my worries perfectly there.
@BlueHaze Cheers, you are very kind.