Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

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MUFC OK said:
Exactly the sort of story that Ole would come out and squash in a presser. That has absolutely no bearing on whether it's true though.

Based on what we're seeing on the pitch I'd be shocked if Carrick/McKenna are top coaches compared to those employed by the most teams in the PL.
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I imagine Ole would gloss over it if questioned directly.

The rhetoric in the media has changed in recent weeks. There seems to be a real push to question our playing style. While many on here have tried to make a meme from patterns of play and other buzz phrases, there seems to be a growing consciousness that we don't look particularly well drilled.

Whether some want to accept it, 3 years in and we absolutely should be seeing some sort of style on the pitch.
 
Eriku said:
I think most fans, whether they be Ole in or out, will agree that we have to be in a real race for real silverware this season. My point is that sarcastic threads adding to a forum already brimming with "Ole’s clueless!" statements isn’t really what’s needed.
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There's a reason why that's now a widely held opinion and it's based on what we're seeing week in/out - without being a fly on the wall it's all we have to go off.

Come match day we're fully behind the manager and team. Those who aren't are not fans.
 
b82REZ said:
I imagine Ole would gloss over it if questioned directly.

The rhetoric in the media has changed in recent weeks. There seems to be a real push to question our playing style. While many on here have tried to make a meme from patterns of play and other buzz phrases, there seems to be a growing consciousness that we don't look particularly well drilled.

Whether some want to accept it, 3 years in and we absolutely should be seeing some sort of style on the pitch.
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I agree, the excuses are running out, and fast. The media are understandably slower to pick up on this (lack of play style) than us fans.

What I find equally worrying is the way games seem to drift away from us. It only takes half a minute to change a game, so why do we see 20+ min spells where nothing much happens at all? The omens are not good, but that can change if we put together a decent run. It just seems incredibly unlikely at present.
 
MUFC OK said:
There's a reason why that's now a widely held opinion and it's based on what we're seeing week in/out - without being a fly on the wall it's all we have to go off.

Come match day we're fully behind the manager and team. Those who aren't are not fans.
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It’s a widely held opinion because people on here don’t do nuance, and haven’t for a good while now. Everything’s either shit, or brilliant.

A clueless coach wouldn’t get one over the likes of Pep as many times as Ole has. Why the feck can’t people say he’s not good enough, but have to trot out statements that are patently bullshit?

I’m glad you’re behind the team come match day, but most days aren’t match days, and almost all I read at the forum I come to to discuss the club we supposedly mutually love, is how clueless Ole is, and how he is pleased to be stealing a living despite not winning trophies. As if Ole is content with us not being in contention.

It makes me question whether I should delete my account after soon to be 15 years. Not saying all this applies to you, but you wanting to add a thread asking people what XI Ole would require to win a trophy is just begging for more of what we already have too much of on here.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
No. Just stop churning shit out for clickbait to idiots who believe it and citing “sources”.

Lazy journalism (sic) for lazy readers.
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Athletic aren't clickbaits, they will report if they have credible sources that tell them valuable information.
 
Eriku said:
It’s a widely held opinion because people on here don’t do nuance, and haven’t for a good while now. Everything’s either shit, or brilliant.

A clueless coach wouldn’t get one over the likes of Pep as many times as Ole has. Why the feck can’t people say he’s not good enough, but have to trot out statements that are patently bullshit?

I’m glad you’re behind the team come match day, but most days aren’t match days, and almost all I read at the forum I come to to discuss the club we supposedly mutually love, is how clueless Ole is, and how he is pleased to be stealing a living despite not winning trophies. As if Ole is content with us not being in contention.

It makes me question whether I should delete my account after soon to be 15 years. Not saying all this applies to you, but you wanting to add a thread asking people what XI Ole would require to win a trophy is just begging for more of what we already have too much of on here.
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We know that Ole can do counter attacking football - evidenced by the results he's got against the likes of City, PSG etc. But the majority of games in the PL are against teams who will try to deploy those very tactics against us. I've seen insufficient evidence that he is clued up in how to win those type of games consistently. We end up looking bereft of ideas and drop far too many points.

Of course he's not content, that doesn't mean he has the answers, though.

It's not a case of being entirely shit or entirely brilliant, it's about the entire package of what his management brings, and after 3 years I think it's fair to make an assessment.

Please tell me how you think Ole is going to turn the majority of those games (Villa (h), Everton (h), Soton (a) this season alone) in which we've dropped points, into wins. If the personnel are good enough then surely, tactically he's not quite getting it right.
 
MUFC OK said:
We know that Ole can do counter attacking football - evidenced by the results he's got against the likes of City, PSG etc. But the majority of games in the PL are against teams who will try to deploy those very tactics against us. I've seen insufficient evidence that he is clued up in how to win those type of games consistently. We end up looking bereft of ideas and drop far too many points.

Of course he's not content, that doesn't mean he has the answers, though.

It's not a case of being entirely shit or entirely brilliant, it's about the entire package of what his management brings, and after 3 years I think it's fair to make an assessment.

Please tell me how you think Ole is going to turn the majority of those games (Villa (h), Everton (h), Soton (a) this season alone) in which we've dropped points, into wins. If the personnel are good enough then surely, tactically he's not quite getting it right.
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I’m NOT saying he’s good enough. I have my doubts. I do, however, know that he’s not CLUELESS. Get me?
 
MUFC OK said:
Really isn't. He's got a near complete team and can't get us playing anything that resembles coherent attacking football. We look as clueless as ever.
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The team is going to look as complete as the manager. The fact remains that we have an incomplete manager, and it doesn't matter who we have in the squad, we will still fall short.

This logic you make is just ludacris, we've had our backside handed to us by sides who are far more incomplete than we are this season and we are 20% in the campaign. You don't need a fully complete world class side to beat Villa, Everton, West Ham, Young Boys. To be convincing against Wolves, or West Ham (again), etc. City walked the league last year with no striker. Tuchel won the CL marking defensive solidarity after Chelsea looked like they conceded goals for fun under Lampard.

Stop excusing the manager's frailties by saying we are short. We have far more fire power and solidarity than what we are showing on the pitch.
 
VP89 said:
The team is going to look as complete as the manager. The fact remains that we have an incomplete manager, and it doesn't matter who we have in the squad, we will still fall short.

This logic you make is just ludacris, we've had our backside handed to us by sides who are far more incomplete than we are this season and we are 20% in the campaign. You don't need a fully complete world class side to beat Villa, Everton, West Ham, Young Boys. To be convincing against Wolves, or West Ham (again), etc. City walked the league last year with no striker. Tuchel won the CL marking defensive solidarity after Chelsea looked like they conceded goals for fun under Lampard.

Stop excusing the manager's frailties by saying we are short. We have far more fire power and solidarity than what we are showing on the pitch.
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My 'logic' was tongue in cheek. I agree entirely that it doesn't matter who Ole has in his squad - we're not winning the PL/CL. There are no excuses for Ole for not challenging this season.

I think you've completely misunderstood the angle of my OP; our shambles of a holding midfield should not prevent us seriously challenging this season. The rest of the team is there.
 
Pretty much everyone in world football, from opposition fans to pundits, knows that we won't win anything with Ole. He is a decent manager but not an elite one, certainly not one capable of challenging guardiola or klopp (not counting a decimated liverpool side from last season). Yet there are some United fans who have this belief that we should stick with him, that despite over $500 million spent over 3 years, he can some how turn it around?

What is this romanticism/infatuation we have with longevity? Why do we think that brining in a new manager would destroy the foundations we have? Is it because we've been so badly scarred from the horrors of LVG and Mourinho (who despite their obviously faults, BOTH won trophies!). And besides, don't we have the structure in the club now with Murtogh and Fletcher that would prevent a manager from ripping up this squad? Just look at our team, we have the likes of Varane, Maguire, Shaw, de gea, Pogba, Bruno, Cavani, Sancho, Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo....I mean those are all arguably world class players! We should not only be playing good football, we should be dominating most matches, certainly against the likes of west ham, villa, young boys, everton!! When will it become apparent to most fans and our board that sticking with Ole is not an option, hiding behind this belief that somehow, he will turn it around. What saddens me is that despite having so many world class players, it will be another wasted season. Another season of cheering on city to win the league over liverpool. We need to act now, we need to hire the right person for this team.
 
Ayoba said:
Pretty much everyone in world football, from opposition fans to pundits, knows that we won't win anything with Ole. He is a decent manager but not an elite one, certainly not one capable of challenging guardiola or klopp (not counting a decimated liverpool side from last season). Yet there are some United fans who have this belief that we should stick with him, that despite over $500 million spent over 3 years, he can some how turn it around?

What is this romanticism/infatuation we have with longevity? Why do we think that brining in a new manager would destroy the foundations we have? Is it because we've been so badly scarred from the horrors of LVG and Mourinho (who despite their obviously faults, BOTH won trophies!). And besides, don't we have the structure in the club now with Murtogh and Fletcher that would prevent a manager from ripping up this squad? Just look at our team, we have the likes of Varane, Maguire, Shaw, de gea, Pogba, Bruno, Cavani, Sancho, Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo....I mean those are all arguably world class players! We should not only be playing good football, we should be dominating most matches, certainly against the likes of west ham, villa, young boys, everton!! When will it become apparent to most fans and our board that sticking with Ole is not an option, hiding behind this belief that somehow, he will turn it around. What saddens me is that despite having so many world class players, it will be another wasted season. Another season of cheering on city to win the league over liverpool. We need to act now, we need to hire the right person for this team.
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You've nailed it with this post. I agree wholeheartedly.

Edit: LVG and Mourinho never had a squad with the riches we currently possess, either.
 
Ayoba said:
Pretty much everyone in world football, from opposition fans to pundits, knows that we won't win anything with Ole. He is a decent manager but not an elite one, certainly not one capable of challenging guardiola or klopp (not counting a decimated liverpool side from last season). Yet there are some United fans who have this belief that we should stick with him, that despite over $500 million spent over 3 years, he can some how turn it around?

What is this romanticism/infatuation we have with longevity? Why do we think that brining in a new manager would destroy the foundations we have? Is it because we've been so badly scarred from the horrors of LVG and Mourinho (who despite their obviously faults, BOTH won trophies!). And besides, don't we have the structure in the club now with Murtogh and Fletcher that would prevent a manager from ripping up this squad? Just look at our team, we have the likes of Varane, Maguire, Shaw, de gea, Pogba, Bruno, Cavani, Sancho, Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo....I mean those are all arguably world class players! We should not only be playing good football, we should be dominating most matches, certainly against the likes of west ham, villa, young boys, everton!! When will it become apparent to most fans and our board that sticking with Ole is not an option, hiding behind this belief that somehow, he will turn it around. What saddens me is that despite having so many world class players, it will be another wasted season. Another season of cheering on city to win the league over liverpool. We need to act now, we need to hire the right person for this team.
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Every season under Ole we have seen an improvement on the last. So long as that holds, don’t you reckon there’s some merit to keeping him on?

People talking as if he’s presided over three seasons of shit with no progress are living in an alternate universe, or just discarding the metrics that ultimately matter.
 
Eriku said:
Every season under Ole we have seen an improvement on the last. So long as that holds, don’t you reckon there’s some merit to keeping him on?

People talking as if he’s presided over three seasons of shit with no progress are living in an alternate universe, or just discarding the metrics that ultimately matter.
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He's definitely not presided over 3 years of shit. He's steadied the ship and built a top top squad. Whether he's capable of taking us to that next step is in grave doubt.

Losing the EL final, a competition we should never have been in unless you believe that we were inferior last season to Leipzig, was unacceptable. We've had an easy start to the season on paper but will likely be out of the title race in 5 games time and are touch and go to qualify from the easiest CL group of all of the English teams.

The only question is whether we act swiftly, for once, or wait until either/both the PL and CL are gone.
 
b82REZ said:
I imagine Ole would gloss over it if questioned directly.

The rhetoric in the media has changed in recent weeks. There seems to be a real push to question our playing style. While many on here have tried to make a meme from patterns of play and other buzz phrases, there seems to be a growing consciousness that we don't look particularly well drilled.

Whether some want to accept it, 3 years in and we absolutely should be seeing some sort of style on the pitch.
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I think the media gave him the 3 windows before judging. Can’t get more fair than that, even Arteta seems to be getting the same as they’ve not really questioned his results last season or early on this season. A few years ago the media were much more reactive.
 
MUFC OK said:
My 'logic' was tongue in cheek. I agree entirely that it doesn't matter who Ole has in his squad - we're not winning the PL/CL. There are no excuses for Ole for not challenging this season.

I think you've completely misunderstood the angle of my OP; our shambles of a holding midfield should not prevent us seriously challenging this season. The rest of the team is there.
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I clearly did :angel:
 
MUFC OK said:
You've nailed it with this post. I agree wholeheartedly.

Edit: LVG and Mourinho never had a squad with the riches we currently possess, either.
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Ole has gotten transfers for €459m over 3 summer windows (+ winter windows when they managed). €329m Net, ~€110m per season.

Jose got €466m over 3 summer windows. €343m Net, ~€113m per season.
LVG got €351m over 2 summer windows. €204m Net, ~€102m per season.


One could of course argue that Ole's "squad riches" have benefited from the past manager spends, but these are the players that remain from each managers purchases:
Moyes: Mata
LVG: Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial
Mourinho: Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly, Nemanja Matic, Victor Lindelöf, Fred, Diogo Dalot, (Lee Grant).

Of those I think the only one everyone agrees is good enough for us is Luke Shaw. (I personally think Pogba is class, I hope he stays, and that Lindelöf is a great 3rd CB. Matic plays an important squad role for now, and Fred is an OK squad player.)
 
Eriku said:
Every season under Ole we have seen an improvement on the last. So long as that holds, don’t you reckon there’s some merit to keeping him on?

People talking as if he’s presided over three seasons of shit with no progress are living in an alternate universe, or just discarding the metrics that ultimately matter.
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I'm honestly struggling to understand how we've made improvements for each of the last 3 seasons. If that were the case we'd not have ended up in the Europa League last season. Improvement would have been making it out of the group stage.

We won trophies with Jose, and gained more points in the league. So far with Ole we've won no trophies and spent vast sums of money, whilst still playing rather poor football. In what way can this be described as improvement?

I get the feeling that when people talk about progress and improvements they're essentially basing it completely on the atmosphere and good vibes being restored after Jose went in to self-destruct mode. Is that really worthy of as much praise as it receives? I mean, all it really takes is to be a decent person and not treat players like shit. Can this alone justify persevering with him for years?

As for building a great squad, just as much, if not more of the praise for that needs to be given to the team negotiating the deals. What I mean by this is, what Ole has done in signing players like Cavani, Bruno, Sancho, Ronaldo, Maguire etc. is hardly revolutionary, they weren't hidden gems that required any special scouting or vision beyond seeing they were obviously good players. I'm not saying he deserves no credit, but when you hear people raving about it as being a reason to keep him, well, it's simply not enough. Signing players is a small part of the job, and not only that, but we have an entire scouting department for this very reason.

Ultimately his job as manager is delegate and utilise the staff around him to build a great team that performs on a level comparable to the elite teams in Europe. This isn't happening, we're not a great team and we are constantly falling short of the standards required. We have a great collection of players that are currently performing at less than the sum of its parts. Great managers can take an average group of players and get them playing above the sum of their parts. A great manager would have this squad competing at the very top. I don't understand why we have so many fans who are happy to settle for so much less than we're capable of.
 
Matriac said:
Ole has gotten transfers for €459m over 3 summer windows (+ winter windows when they managed). €329m Net, ~€110m per season.

Jose got €466m over 3 summer windows. €343m Net, ~€113m per season.
LVG got €351m over 2 summer windows. €204m Net, ~€102m per season.
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On top of this: the prices in the transfer market have been absolutely stupid since Ole took over. Players like AWB, Maguire and DVB would probably have cost 70-80 million less(combined) in the Van Gaal and early Mourinho era.

Ole's spending is nothing out of the ordinary for being a United manager, really. He also had a ridiculous summer in the middle of his tenure(2020) where he didn't get a single starter despite needing at least 3. Imagine if he had a summer similar to this one in 2020 instead? His rebuild would have been done by now and the new players would have had time to settle. If the goal is PL/CL(which it should be), then we really wasted a year.
 
I think united are trapped into a vicious cycle of wanting world class players in every transfer window. This can happen when the club is unable to implement a system to lift the gameplay. By system doesn't mean jose type pedantic life sucking football but something that resembles dortmund, bayern etc. System where you know what type of player you need and how you can get maximum out of him.

Without it united will always find a player or two short because every season will have couple of players showing unpredictable drop in form. And without a structured setup it would be very difficult to bring them out of that slump.
 
Lads just admit he's not good enough as the first team coach.
If he is left there its years of mediocrity and maybe win the odd cup, never in contention for the big titles.
 
AndySmith1990 said:
I'm honestly struggling to understand how we've made improvements for each of the last 3 seasons. If that were the case we'd not have ended up in the Europa League last season. Improvement would have been making it out of the group stage.

We won trophies with Jose, and gained more points in the league. So far with Ole we've won no trophies and spent vast sums of money, whilst still playing rather poor football. In what way can this be described as improvement?

I get the feeling that when people talk about progress and improvements they're essentially basing it completely on the atmosphere and good vibes being restored after Jose went in to self-destruct mode. Is that really worthy of as much praise as it receives? I mean, all it really takes is to be a decent person and not treat players like shit. Can this alone justify persevering with him for years?

As for building a great squad, just as much, if not more of the praise for that needs to be given to the team negotiating the deals. What I mean by this is, what Ole has done in signing players like Cavani, Bruno, Sancho, Ronaldo, Maguire etc. is hardly revolutionary, they weren't hidden gems that required any special scouting or vision beyond seeing they were obviously good players. I'm not saying he deserves no credit, but when you hear people raving about it as being a reason to keep him, well, it's simply not enough. Signing players is a small part of the job, and not only that, but we have an entire scouting department for this very reason.

Ultimately his job as manager is delegate and utilise the staff around him to build a great team that performs on a level comparable to the elite teams in Europe. This isn't happening, we're not a great team and we are constantly falling short of the standards required. We have a great collection of players that are currently performing at less than the sum of its parts. Great managers can take an average group of players and get them playing above the sum of their parts. A great manager would have this squad competing at the very top. I don't understand why we have so many fans who are happy to settle for so much less than we're capable of.
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I think by 'improvement' he means in terms of the squad available and league position. I do agree with the improvement in the overall squad as he's made some brilliant signings and steadied the ship so to speak.

However, in terms of league position I do think we're overrating the last 2 seasons, the first if not for the bounce after signing Bruno and the utter capitulation of Leicester we wouldn't have finished top 4. Last season Liverpool were playing with a back line of academy products for at least 10 games and Chelsea had Lampard for half the season. This season finishing second would be a lot more indicative of improvement than the previous two seasons, I do think we'll finish 4th tbh, I don't see the same opportunities in regards to our competition as there was last season. Tuchel, Klopp and Pep don't have any injury problems and are all better managers, Ole is up against it this season and will do well to come out of it with a job.
 
b82REZ said:
Would you be as angry if the sources claimed all was good and Ole was giving out back rubs as an incentive to get the team playing well?

The Athletic are a well renowned paper that tend to not do clickbaity things.

The murmurings started a few weeks a go, The Athletic have likely reached out to their club sources for some context. It's standard in journalism to not name your source.

While some outlets probably make up their sources, there is nothing to suggest that a reputable outlet such as The Athletic have or would do that as it would have larger implications on their integrity with future stories.
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I’m not angry (not sure where you got that from) and yes… using “sources” annoys me regardless of the story/slant. Football and non-football.
 
Berbaclass said:
If he was sacked now would any other premier league team hire him?
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I'd be very surprised if he didn't have some solid offers when he left us. He's unquestionably shown he's a good manager, even if he might not be good enough to translate what he's built into trophies.
 
Ayoba said:
Pretty much everyone in world football, from opposition fans to pundits, knows that we won't win anything with Ole. He is a decent manager but not an elite one, certainly not one capable of challenging guardiola or klopp (not counting a decimated liverpool side from last season). Yet there are some United fans who have this belief that we should stick with him, that despite over $500 million spent over 3 years, he can some how turn it around?

What is this romanticism/infatuation we have with longevity? Why do we think that brining in a new manager would destroy the foundations we have? Is it because we've been so badly scarred from the horrors of LVG and Mourinho (who despite their obviously faults, BOTH won trophies!). And besides, don't we have the structure in the club now with Murtogh and Fletcher that would prevent a manager from ripping up this squad? Just look at our team, we have the likes of Varane, Maguire, Shaw, de gea, Pogba, Bruno, Cavani, Sancho, Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo....I mean those are all arguably world class players! We should not only be playing good football, we should be dominating most matches, certainly against the likes of west ham, villa, young boys, everton!! When will it become apparent to most fans and our board that sticking with Ole is not an option, hiding behind this belief that somehow, he will turn it around. What saddens me is that despite having so many world class players, it will be another wasted season. Another season of cheering on city to win the league over liverpool. We need to act now, we need to hire the right person for this team.
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We're only 2 points of top and there has been progress every season. Ole is the man.
 
AltiUn said:
I'd be very surprised if he didn't have some solid offers when he left us. He's unquestionably shown he's a good manager, even if he might not be good enough to translate what he's built into trophies.
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His next big job will be Norwegian international team.
 
AndySmith1990 said:
I'm honestly struggling to understand how we've made improvements for each of the last 3 seasons. If that were the case we'd not have ended up in the Europa League last season. Improvement would have been making it out of the group stage.

We won trophies with Jose, and gained more points in the league. So far with Ole we've won no trophies and spent vast sums of money, whilst still playing rather poor football. In what way can this be described as improvement?

I get the feeling that when people talk about progress and improvements they're essentially basing it completely on the atmosphere and good vibes being restored after Jose went in to self-destruct mode. Is that really worthy of as much praise as it receives? I mean, all it really takes is to be a decent person and not treat players like shit. Can this alone justify persevering with him for years?

As for building a great squad, just as much, if not more of the praise for that needs to be given to the team negotiating the deals. What I mean by this is, what Ole has done in signing players like Cavani, Bruno, Sancho, Ronaldo, Maguire etc. is hardly revolutionary, they weren't hidden gems that required any special scouting or vision beyond seeing they were obviously good players. I'm not saying he deserves no credit, but when you hear people raving about it as being a reason to keep him, well, it's simply not enough. Signing players is a small part of the job, and not only that, but we have an entire scouting department for this very reason.

Ultimately his job as manager is delegate and utilise the staff around him to build a great team that performs on a level comparable to the elite teams in Europe. This isn't happening, we're not a great team and we are constantly falling short of the standards required. We have a great collection of players that are currently performing at less than the sum of its parts. Great managers can take an average group of players and get them playing above the sum of their parts. A great manager would have this squad competing at the very top. I don't understand why we have so many fans who are happy to settle for so much less than we're capable of.
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We were 6th when Ole took over. The next season we came 3rd and after that 2nd. Why isn't this progress to you
 
Berbaclass said:
If he was sacked now would any other premier league team hire him?
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Reality is, no I don't think they would. I think struggling teams would look at his Cardiff spell (rightly or wrongly) and stay well clear, while a team hunting for trophies would definitely not hire him.
 
MUFC OK said:
I agree, the excuses are running out, and fast. The media are understandably slower to pick up on this (lack of play style) than us fans.

What I find equally worrying is the way games seem to drift away from us. It only takes half a minute to change a game, so why do we see 20+ min spells where nothing much happens at all? the omens are not good, but that can change if we put together a decent run. It just seems incredibly unlikely at present.
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That boils down to having no game plan, and a manager who is reactive rather than pro-active in terms of making changes needed.
 
JoaquinJoaquin said:
Reality is, no I don't think they would. I think struggling teams would look at his Cardiff spell (rightly or wrongly) and stay well clear, while a team hunting for trophies would definitely not hire him.
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I am not a fan of him as coach/manager at all, but a lot of clubs are stupid. Done a decent job at United, big name, they'll hire.

jamesjimmybyrondean said:
We were 6th when Ole took over. The next season we came 3rd and after that 2nd. Why isn't this progress to you
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It's a very black and white way to look at things. Was last season even better than two seasons ago from the moment Bruno joined?

Chelsea with Lampard, and Liverpool with an awful injury run, made it much easier for us to get 2nd fair play. But it doesnt have to be that it's because we made significant improvements as a team. If we did, maybe we might have managed to get out of the group stage, win the mighty Europa League or just a trophy for our ego.
 
AjaxCunian said:
I am not a fan of him as coach/manager at all, but a lot of clubs are stupid. Done a decent job at United, big name, they'll hire.


It's a very black and white way to look at things. Was last season even better than two seasons ago from the moment Bruno joined?

Chelsea with Lampard, and Liverpool with an awful injury run, made it much easier for us to get 2nd fair play. But it doesnt have to be that it's because we made significant improvements as a team. If we did, maybe we might have managed to get out of the group stage, win the mighty Europa League or just a trophy for our ego.
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Yes, absolutely.
 
Matriac said:
Ole has gotten transfers for €459m over 3 summer windows (+ winter windows when they managed). €329m Net, ~€110m per season.

Jose got €466m over 3 summer windows. €343m Net, ~€113m per season.
LVG got €351m over 2 summer windows. €204m Net, ~€102m per season.


One could of course argue that Ole's "squad riches" have benefited from the past manager spends, but these are the players that remain from each managers purchases:
Moyes: Mata
LVG: Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial
Mourinho: Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly, Nemanja Matic, Victor Lindelöf, Fred, Diogo Dalot, (Lee Grant).

Of those I think the only one everyone agrees is good enough for us is Luke Shaw. (I personally think Pogba is class, I hope he stays, and that Lindelöf is a great 3rd CB. Matic plays an important squad role for now, and Fred is an OK squad player.)
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I mean riches in terms of talent, not net spend. Ronaldo was a free, as was cavani, Varane was a bargain, Greenwood and Rashford are academy products etc.

So when I say the other two never had the riches ole has, I’m purely referring to personnel. Apologies, my choice of wording was misleading.
 
JoaquinJoaquin said:
That boils down to having no game plan, and a manager who is reactive rather than pro-active in terms of making changes needed.
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I agree, my mind is pretty set on that until I see massive improvement. I only reached this point after the Everton game, which is why I’m probably coming across as overdramatic. I’ve seen enough to know this ain’t gonna work.
 
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