Blaming Ole is crazy at this point since most of us already knew what the issues were to begin with. Ole came in, masked some of these issues and injuries forced him into a situation mourinho has found himself in often. There are several issues in the squad.
1. Lack of quality- this is the obvious issue. When you watch the former united teams, the first thing you notice is the fluidity and lack of hesitation in the play. This hesitation has been a feature of our play since the latter end of Fergies tenure, and its no coincidence that it came with the signings of Jones, Smalling, Young and Valencia. Its a lack of ability to make quick decisions, and has hurt us both defensively and in attack, as we are always forced to attack against set defences. We need to replace these areas in our first xi- right back, right wing, centre midfield and we need a centre back. The next two to three windows will need us to replace players in these positions, and sell players that lack ability on the ball. Players like Vidic and Neville were actually good on the ball, moreso than people remember.
2. Fitness- We have massive issues with fitness in the squad. We suffered with fitness issues in Mourinho seasons, and this season was no different. There is clearly something wrong in the fitness levels of the players, and this has to be addressed in preseason, considering how long our seasons are.
3. Depth- One of the most frightening things that occured this season was how poor we looked with Ole after the international break where some of the inital first team players got injured. Smalling coming back into the first 11 brought a halt to how quickly the ball moved into the attacking areas, Lukaku returning led to an end in our pressing game. Herrera and Matic getting injured brought an end to the intensity in midfield. It is not a coincidence that this occured, and is an area where we need to focus on in the next few windows after this initial one.
Ole has a big job to do, but I think he is more willing to do it than any other manager we have had since Sir Alex. Both Mourinho and Van Gaal were looking to enhance their legacies, and would force through short term fixes or consistently failing philosophies to enhance their star, but Ole is the only one of these managers that I truly feel cares about the club and its well being, and would be willing to do what it takes to get us back to where we need to be. We have the money, we have the infrastructure, we have some talent, and we have some youthful players coming through, so there are pieces to work with. He just needs patience from the fans and support from the boardroom.
I'm on the negative, because I believe it's better for us in the long term, but in the short term sounds like I hate Ole and want him to fail - which is of course bollocks. Regardless if I'm right or wrong on this I'd still want us to buy good players in the Summer and win games come September. I'd gladly accept you to be right at the end and he goes on to become a success, but I really can't see it. I'm more practical in my views and rarely go emotional, and I don't see any practical reasons for the appointment.
