Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

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Who would you play instead of him?

I mean we have a squad, its up to the manager to work out a system that works best with the players at his disposal.

Pep changes formation w/o striker
Tuchel came in and changed formation to suit the players

That is the job of the manager. Donny has barely played a game, Matic can play in that position

What is the point when you know Fred is going to cost you points?
 
Don’t think that helps anyone coming out with got to win trophies or you’re sacked, at this time it was better for him to say nothing than do that video.
He is a pundit and it literally paid to give opinions, why does he need to be helpful?

What he said was also hardly controversial.
 
He is a pundit and it literally paid to give opinions, why does he need to be helpful?

What he said was also hardly controversial.
He didn’t win much trophies at Valencia maybe he could understand the perils of management a bit more.
 
Some of Ole's transfers have been good, some havent, hit and miss. Cant be denied the board really backed him though.

I dont think he gets enough stick for selling Lukaku in favor of Martial. That one backfired horribly.

Then theres Donny, Diallo, AWB still a bit of a questionable buy IMO.

Bruno was our best transfer though perhaps ever, one of the best transfers ever we did. Remember that we were like 7th or 8th before he joined and we were on track to miss Europa League too. Totally tumescent then Bruno changed everything over night.

In hindsight Ole was backed way more than Mourinho, Ole was allowed to sell Lukaku, Mourinho wasnt allowed to sell Martial and build around Lukaku. The level of favoritism Ole gets is unreal.

On the bolded part, he sold Lukaku to give Greenwood more game time and that worked out tremendously. Also Martial actually got 17 PL goals and 23 in all comps that season.

Not gone as well for Martial since but it made sense.
 
This is unfair on dyche, he has achieved a lot more than the other two given his relative resource

Yeah, but he is limited for a top club. I think Ole could do fine with a midtable club a bit like Moyes, but we should aim higher as Man United. Oles level with us is top 4 when we should push for the title with the other big clubs.
Hope he prove us wrong, but it do not look like it.
 
Yeah, but he is limited for a top club. I think Ole could do fine with a midtable club a bit like Moyes, but we should aim higher as Man United. Oles level with us is top 4 when we should push for the title with the other big clubs.
Hope he prove us wrong, but it do not look like it.

Personally I dont think Ole is a mid table level manager either. Sure what he does he prefers playing on the counter so it fits a small team better but unlike Moyes he has no track record of doing it well and organizing a team at all so I dont see it personally. Movement and organization, team being cohesive, Ole just doesnt have it. Moyes does. Moyes is miles better IMO.

My first thought when Ole took over and I started to view him as a manager was that he just doesnt have it and he is not cut out to be the manager. For one I have this thing where I believe only former midfield players really make great managers but that can be a me thing. However I just didnt see the necessary character or intelligence in Ole. Hes a nice guy and uses niceness to his advantage, certainly worked when we asked for an antidote to Mourinho but theres certain eccentricity, character etc that comes with intelligence of a top manager. Ole just isnt the guy. He doesnt have that intelligence.

For me thats how I viewed it from the start. Feel good thing with Ole, yeah we got that. And as much as the board dreads characters like LVG and Mourinho now, well thats a part of the package, thats how great managers are they cant be controlled and they tend to be eccentric..comes with the territory. Its sorta why I think board would rather give Ole a year and wait for the Ajax manager to be available cuz he seems nicer rather than hiring Conte who is really only one available now, the board doesnt want a character like that IMO.
 
Look at City's midfield yesterday:

KDB - Rodri - Silva

Neither KDB nor Silva are defensive midfielders, in fact they are they polar opposite, very much attacking. But they play with a cohesion, know when to press etc. I see no reason why this midfield cant work, or at the very least, we try it:

Bruno - Matic - DVB

Bruno can press, so can donny. Matic, despite what everyone says, is our best DM. Yes his legs are gone but he is still head and shoulders better than McFred in that position. If Ole doesn't fancy DVB, he could always play Fred or Pobga in that position. His obsession with playing 2 sitting midfielders, neither of which are actual DM's, will be his downfall.
Yep, agreed. See this is the thing - our midfield gets talked about like it's absolute poverty, but in reality I'd expect most top managers would be able to build a functional and creative unit out of the options we have available.

The idea that the McTominay and Fred partnership is the only thing standing between defensive solidarity and getting overrun every game is an outlandish one.
 
Needs to get selections and substitutions right. Winning 1 game with right substitutes in just not enough, when you take in the games with wrong selections and wrong substitutions in so many others.
 
Look at City's midfield yesterday:

KDB - Rodri - Silva

Neither KDB nor Silva are defensive midfielders, in fact they are they polar opposite, very much attacking. But they play with a cohesion, know when to press etc. I see no reason why this midfield cant work, or at the very least, we try it:

Bruno - Matic - DVB

Bruno can press, so can donny. Matic, despite what everyone says, is our best DM. Yes his legs are gone but he is still head and shoulders better than McFred in that position. If Ole doesn't fancy DVB, he could always play Fred or Pobga in that position. His obsession with playing 2 sitting midfielders, neither of which are actual DM's, will be his downfall.
City's midfield works because there is a system in place and players know what they are supposed to do.
 
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City's midfield works because there is a system in place and players know what they are supposed to.

Do you think Ole just tells the players to just go out there and play?

I know it won’t happen because it’s been asked before and United turned it down, but I’d love for United to do an All Or Nothing Amazon Prime doc, just purely to highlight the tactics Ole is implementing, just purely so it will silence those who think Ole just has no clue what he’s doing. He has a UEFA license for chirst sakes, he’s not some sort of bum
 
Personally I dont think Ole is a mid table level manager either. Sure what he does he prefers playing on the counter so it fits a small team better but unlike Moyes he has no track record of doing it well and organizing a team at all so I dont see it personally. Movement and organization, team being cohesive, Ole just doesnt have it. Moyes does. Moyes is miles better IMO.

My first thought when Ole took over and I started to view him as a manager was that he just doesnt have it and he is not cut out to be the manager. For one I have this thing where I believe only former midfield players really make great managers but that can be a me thing. However I just didnt see the necessary character or intelligence in Ole. Hes a nice guy and uses niceness to his advantage, certainly worked when we asked for an antidote to Mourinho but theres certain eccentricity, character etc that comes with intelligence of a top manager. Ole just isnt the guy. He doesnt have that intelligence.

For me thats how I viewed it from the start. Feel good thing with Ole, yeah we got that. And as much as the board dreads characters like LVG and Mourinho now, well thats a part of the package, thats how great managers are they cant be controlled and they tend to be eccentric..comes with the territory. Its sorta why I think board would rather give Ole a year and wait for the Ajax manager to be available cuz he seems nicer rather than hiring Conte who is really only one available now, the board doesnt want a character like that IMO.

Agree completely with all this.

But Zidane is around now…
 
Do you think Ole just tells the players to just go out there and play?

I know it won’t happen because it’s been asked before and United turned it down, but I’d love for United to do an All Or Nothing Amazon Prime doc, just purely to highlight the tactics Ole is implementing, just purely so it will silence those who think Ole just has no clue what he’s doing. He has a UEFA license for chirst sakes, he’s not some sort of bum

Even coaches at conference level clubs have that, it's not that hard to get.
 
He didn’t win much trophies at Valencia maybe he could understand the perils of management a bit more.
Jesus christ the state of this

So by your logic only people that have won major trophies as manager can say ither managers need to win things?

If anything gary, like all the other former united players is being very gentle with ole
 
Yep, agreed. See this is the thing - our midfield gets talked about like it's absolute poverty, but in reality I'd expect most top managers would be able to build a functional and creative unit out of the options we have available.

The idea that the McTominay and Fred partnership is the only thing standing between defensive solidarity and getting overrun every game is an outlandish one.

Everyone’s hating on Fred now but he did have a very good period during which it wasn’t uncommon to hear him referred to as our Kante. That’s obviously an equally outlandish claim but Fred isn’t nearly as bad as he’s looking right now. I personally think it’s down to poor tactical instructions exacerbating poor form.
 
Jesus christ the state of this

So by your logic only people that have won major trophies as manager can say ither managers need to win things?

If anything gary, like all the other former united players is being very gentle with ole
He’s piling pressure on where it doesn’t need to be and this is after Ole called him out last week, I think Neville could easily not have said nothing at all. To win a trophy this season would have to be CL or PL which is a big ask so that leaves FA cup. He’s as well as putting the first nails in the coffin I don’t think there’s no need for it..
 
Do you think Ole just tells the players to just go out there and play?

I know it won’t happen because it’s been asked before and United turned it down, but I’d love for United to do an All Or Nothing Amazon Prime doc, just purely to highlight the tactics Ole is implementing, just purely so it will silence those who think Ole just has no clue what he’s doing. He has a UEFA license for chirst sakes, he’s not some sort of bum
Exactly how difficult do you think it is to get one of these licenses? Literally any footballer, who has played some professional football can get this license. Mind you, I am not calling Ole a bum. But please don't store any value in having this license.
 
Exactly how difficult do you think it is to get one of these licenses? Literally any footballer, who has played some professional football can get this license. Mind you, I am not calling Ole a bum. But please don't store any value in having this license.
Where you do need to know your stuff to get one of those licenses it’s mostly a money racket that takes you several thousand to get, that’s why footballers get them so easy and I’ve always wondered how they do because it says you have to coach underage a couple of years before moving onto B License which I don’t see a lot doing.
 
Eh? If we’re in a title conversation now then clearly we were going into Mourinho’s second season also.

Not really, that season we were not a great team but we were perhaps only being discussed as an outside chance because of the 'Mourinho effect'. He was playing with a team who finished 6th, with a couple of additions.

From October onwards, it was clear that there will only be one winner that season. We just ended up being best of the rest.
 
Do you think Ole just tells the players to just go out there and play?

I know it won’t happen because it’s been asked before and United turned it down, but I’d love for United to do an All Or Nothing Amazon Prime doc, just purely to highlight the tactics Ole is implementing, just purely so it will silence those who think Ole just has no clue what he’s doing. He has a UEFA license for chirst sakes, he’s not some sort of bum
There's no evidence that we play with any sort of tactics on the pitch. What game plan do you see? Why do we always have a slow start? Why do we keep relying on individual brilliance to bail us out everytime? When was the last time we controlled a game and won comfortably? When was the last time he used his subs to change the game in time?

Yeah, he has a UEFA license so he must be really good with tactics is a very bad argument. Try to see what we actually do on the pitch and not go with the emotions. There are weaknesses in our performances for everyone to see for far too long and none of that, I repeat, NONE of that has been addressed.

We are wasting all the talent in this squad with him incharge. He has taken us as far as he can and we can do with an upgrade. This club is not a nursery school for managers where they keep making same mistakes and expect to get away with it everytime.
 
There's no evidence that we play with any sort of tactics on the pitch. What game plan do you see? Why do we always have a slow start? Why do we keep relying on individual brilliance to bail us out everytime? When was the last time we controlled a game and won comfortably? When was the last time he used his subs to change the game in time?

Yeah, he has a UEFA license so he must be really good with tactics is a very bad argument. Try to see what we actually do on the pitch and not go with the emotions. There are weaknesses in our performances for everyone to see for far too long and none of that, I repeat, NONE of that has been addressed.

We are wasting all the talent in this squad with him incharge. He has taken us as far as he can and we can do with an upgrade. This club is not a nursery school for managers where they keep making same mistakes and expect to get away with it everytime.

Plenty of times. The Fred/Lingard sub against Villareal for one.

 
Plenty of times. The Fred/Lingard sub against Villareal for one.


So that's one game. Where we won it in the final minute after getting outclassed the entire game. How about Villa? Everton? West Ham? Southampton? Even West Ham in the league needed a last minute penalty save to get us a win. What about that tactical masterclass from him in the EL final? We have underperformed in all but 2 home games this season.

How about not cherry pick games and look at the whole picture (something that's not a good look on Ole)?

I am not sure why people would back him now considering there's no improvement in our performances and when he was heavily backed in the market. People are so immersed in the romanticism aspect re. Ole that they don't care about the club's success. Zero trophies since May 2017 is not the Utd way everyone talks about.
 
So that's one game. Where we won it in the final minute after getting outclassed the entire game. How about Villa? Everton? West Ham? Southampton? Even West Ham in the league needed a last minute penalty save to get us a win. What about that tactical masterclass from him in the EL final? We have underperformed in all but 2 home games this season.

How about not cherry pick games and look at the whole picture (something that's not a good look on Ole)?

I am not sure why people would back him now considering there's no improvement in our performances and when he was heavily backed in the market. People are so immersed in the romanticism aspect re. Ole that they don't care about the club's success. Zero trophies since May 2017 is not the Utd way everyone talks about.

For the WHU game, I'd say the game should have been done way sooner considering the fact that we were denied 2 pens and we missed a couple of 1 v 1s.

For the cherry picking part, our subs scored most goals last season, we got most points from losing positions as well. Even in terms of subs winning us points, we were tied 1st. So not sure if the stat is being cherry picked
 
For the WHU game, I'd say the game should have been done way sooner considering the fact that we were denied 2 pens and we missed a couple of 1 v 1s.

For the cherry picking part, our subs scored most goals last season, we got most points from losing positions as well. Even in terms of subs winning us points, we were tied 1st. So not sure if the stat is being cherry picked
Okay, lets take that back then. Guess conceding first and trying to make a comeback is the only gameplan working in favor of us. Ole in.
 
You can't now move the goal posts that your point has been disproven
I'm not trying to do so. I have clearly said that I'm taking that back.

I'm just amazed at the clear disregard for other points I made. Fans like you deserve mediocrity because its acceptable for you.
 
Do you think Ole just tells the players to just go out there and play?

I know it won’t happen because it’s been asked before and United turned it down, but I’d love for United to do an All Or Nothing Amazon Prime doc, just purely to highlight the tactics Ole is implementing, just purely so it will silence those who think Ole just has no clue what he’s doing. He has a UEFA license for chirst sakes, he’s not some sort of bum

Of course not, but it’s all relative in the same vein as player standards.

You watch a Championship player against a top club and they look dreadful, however the reality is that they are still brilliant footballers. They’d run absolute rings around me and my mates down the park on a Sunday, for example.

The same applies to Ole. In truth he’s probably a better manager than the majority of managers in the country, but just because he’s not actually ‘clueless’ doesn’t mean he’s good enough at the level he’s employed at.

The issue is that he is clearly out of depth and the ‘great man manager’ image is melting away, fast.
 
I'm not trying to do so. I have clearly said that I'm taking that back.

I'm just amazed at the clear disregard for other points I made. Fans like you deserve mediocrity because its acceptable for you.

You said that @UnitedSofa was cherry picking games, and you wrote down a bunch of games that we didn't win. I just pointed out that if we take a bigger sample than what you've quoted, the story comes back to what UnitedSofa had said.

There is no disregard for any point. Re playstyle, no one is going to say we've been good, however we like to cherry pick instances where we got lucky - Pen save, Davies offside, Wolves game. But then let's include games where we were unlucky as well - number of pens not given, goals vs WHU and Southampton being unlucky deflections that were possibly easy saves. The thing is, our luck and bad luck has so far been cancelled out pretty much. Both the sides would like to point out instances to suit their agenda
 
People keep saying he's not the right guy to win us things. I don't know about that but let's not deny the fact he had transformed us from a team that our only wish was to get into top 4 each season to the now where we'd be disappointed if we can't win the title this season. I don't know what the next manager would bring. Maybe he'll be the right one to win us things. Maybe he'll be another disaster like Jose, LVG, Moyes. We'll have to start all over again and our wish is back to getting into top 4 each season. No one knows. But chance is, imo a disaster is much more likely looking at how we're run, our board and the history of their decisions.
The reason we'd be disappointed is he's been backed handsomely and this squad should be challenging until the end of the season. Let's see at the end of November - I suspect by then that most would be happy if we merely secure top 4 again - the title will be long gone.
 
Is anyone still annoyed about Ole smiling? I am.
He's feeling the pressure - he got up and shouted instructions for the first time in months and then because that's not his style he was immediately excessively nice - smiling and giving the thumbs up. He knows he's down sh*t creek with no idea how to turn it around. The bizarre reactions will continue.
 
You can't now move the goal posts that your point has been disproven
How's that moving a goal post , when the original point stands ? Ole has taken as far as he can. Pretty much out of title race after 5 -6 games and now fighting for top 4, once again.

Remember this time we have the GOAT and 2 more world class signings.
 
You said that @UnitedSofa was cherry picking games, and you wrote down a bunch of games that we didn't win. I just pointed out that if we take a bigger sample than what you've quoted, the story comes back to what UnitedSofa had said.

There is no disregard for any point. Re playstyle, no one is going to say we've been good, however we like to cherry pick instances where we got lucky - Pen save, Davies offside, Wolves game. But then let's include games where we were unlucky as well - number of pens not given, goals vs WHU and Southampton being unlucky deflections that were possibly easy saves. The thing is, our luck and bad luck has so far been cancelled out pretty much. Both the sides would like to point out instances to suit their agenda
Agreed, but all he had to say was about the subs part after which I corrected myself(I still disagree. Throwing your best players from the bench and changing a game tactically using subs is different but I don't want to derail the thread). He had no responses to other stuff.

All I am saying is that the performances have been very bad given the quality of our squad. We keep doing the same things and it appears that we do nothing to address our weaknesses.

It does not take 3 years for a coach to implement an identity. I don't see any based on evidence.
 
We are lucky to get a draw from Everton at home, who at the end should have won it really because we cannot defend.

How can you play 2 DM's and look completely open at the back.

Sign a RW after chasing him for 2 years not to start him.

Absolutely rubbish management, below par coaching and unacceptable results is what Ole brings.
 
I just cannot understand how people can look at the way we play and think this team is definitely going somewhere.

The below graphs are averages of the last 10 matches. So the number at data nr 61 represents match 51 to 61, nr 62 represents match 52 to 62 etc. Red line is the average performed by the Premier League winner the last 7 years. Grey line is the average performed by the 4th placed team the same 7 years.

I just struggle to see the progress we should be seeing considering the amount invested in the team and the time given to the manager.


Graphs-progress.png
 
He's feeling the pressure - he got up and shouted instructions for the first time in months and then because that's not his style he was immediately excessively nice - smiling and giving the thumbs up. He knows he's down sh*t creek with no idea how to turn it around. The bizarre reactions will continue.
Very well observed. I am Ole in but I don't pretend it is because he is a great "Man Manager". He is riding on top of goodwill that fans have for him.
 
Look at City's midfield yesterday:

KDB - Rodri - Silva

Neither KDB nor Silva are defensive midfielders, in fact they are they polar opposite, very much attacking. But they play with a cohesion, know when to press etc. I see no reason why this midfield cant work, or at the very least, we try it:

Bruno - Matic - DVB

Bruno can press, so can donny. Matic, despite what everyone says, is our best DM. Yes his legs are gone but he is still head and shoulders better than McFred in that position. If Ole doesn't fancy DVB, he could always play Fred or Pobga in that position. His obsession with playing 2 sitting midfielders, neither of which are actual DM's, will be his downfall.
Because for that midfield to work, some actual coaching work needs to be done. So for us it would never work.
 
Look at City's midfield yesterday:

KDB - Rodri - Silva

Neither KDB nor Silva are defensive midfielders, in fact they are they polar opposite, very much attacking. But they play with a cohesion, know when to press etc. I see no reason why this midfield cant work, or at the very least, we try it:

Bruno - Matic - DVB

Bruno can press, so can donny. Matic, despite what everyone says, is our best DM. Yes his legs are gone but he is still head and shoulders better than McFred in that position. If Ole doesn't fancy DVB, he could always play Fred or Pobga in that position. His obsession with playing 2 sitting midfielders, neither of which are actual DM's, will be his downfall.


Its called coaching. We have a team of coaches who cannot coach a team.

The other problem is, Fred and McT know that to get in the team, they just have to run around and listen to the manager, they will get picked.

They can have the worst games of their career, still get picked, have another bad game and still get picked, just because they run. It has been the theme through his reign.

Then he goes and signs players for positions we lack, end up not playing them. I actually think the tactics are get it to Bruno and see from there how we can build.

I watched Brighton outplay Arsenal, the passing, movement, is the type of coaching I want us to have.
 
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