Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

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Dec9003 said:
Agreed, I just think the first lineup has big problems too.
I think we need a centre mid mostly, whether we get an attacking one like Eriksen or we go for a more central one doesn't make much difference I don't think; we just need some quality there.
If I were Ole I'd be tempted to bring Garner into the side on Saturday.
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Yeah, first line up had big problems and lot of under performing players. Offloading them was the right decision. It's just that there is a good chance lack of CM/RW might hurt us. Also if we are playing 4-2-3-1 then better attacking mid would have made such a big difference.

Lets hope our young players step up this season.
 
Kostov said:
Not sure what to take out of it, he ranks the worst out of the 4 managers we have had post Fergie, after 32 games that is.
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And he may very well be the first Manchester United manager ever since Fergie to actually have to witness Liverpool lifting the Premier League trophy, too... Now that is a nightmare.
 
As a Norwegian who's watched quite a few Molde games, I'll admit that I never understood why you hired Solskjær. He may still surprise, but in my opinion he never stood out as special among the managers in that league. Although I do think it's more difficult to judge a manager than a player, if there was one manager that has seemed special in the Norwegian league it was Ronny Deila when he won the league with his team, and he crashed and burned with Celtic. That was someone I really believed would succeed, but as the years have gone by I've accepted that it isn't enough to be a really smart person football-wise. It doesn't help to have great ideas if people don't believe that you do. If Emery fails, that will be why - he's not a very convincing/inspiring personality. With Ole it's a bit of both. Initially people believed him simply because they'd lived with Mourinho for the last couple of years, which must've been awful. Now, I don't really think the players think this is a top manager, and in my opinion this isn't even a case of him having great ideas that the players don't believe in - he just does not have a great (great as in among the best) football mind.
 
Is he worse than Moyes? I do not think so. Moyes had a squad that was the Champions and was way much better than what Ole has yet he ended up at 7th.
 
espnluk said:
As a Norwegian who's watched quite a few Molde games, I'll admit that I never understood why you hired Solskjær. He may still surprise, but in my opinion he never stood out as special among the managers in that league. Although I do think it's more difficult to judge a manager than a player, if there was one manager that has seemed special in the Norwegian league it was Ronny Deila when he won the league with his team, and he crashed and burned with Celtic. That was someone I really believed would succeed, but as the years have gone by I've accepted that it isn't enough to be a really smart person football-wise. It doesn't help to have great ideas if people don't believe that you do. If Emery fails, that will be why - he's not a very convincing/inspiring personality. With Ole it's a bit of both. Initially people believed him simply because they'd lived with Mourinho for the last couple of years, which must've been awful. Now, I don't really think the players think this is a top manager, and in my opinion this isn't even a case of him having great ideas that the players don't believe in - he just does not have a great (great as in among the best) football mind.
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If he wasn’t an ex player he wouldn’t be our manager.
 
espnluk said:
As a Norwegian who's watched quite a few Molde games, I'll admit that I never understood why you hired Solskjær. He may still surprise, but in my opinion he never stood out as special among the managers in that league. Although I do think it's more difficult to judge a manager than a player, if there was one manager that has seemed special in the Norwegian league it was Ronny Deila when he won the league with his team, and he crashed and burned with Celtic. That was someone I really believed would succeed, but as the years have gone by I've accepted that it isn't enough to be a really smart person football-wise. It doesn't help to have great ideas if people don't believe that you do. If Emery fails, that will be why - he's not a very convincing/inspiring personality. With Ole it's a bit of both. Initially people believed him simply because they'd lived with Mourinho for the last couple of years, which must've been awful. Now, I don't really think the players think this is a top manager, and in my opinion this isn't even a case of him having great ideas that the players don't believe in - he just does not have a great (great as in among the best) football mind.
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when you look at managers like Pep, Klopp and even Jose you see there is a system and a philosophy behind the way they try to play. Ok, Pep just tweaked what Cruijff did and to be honest I have not watched any matches of City for a long time but I saw their game against Spurs and it did bring back memories of the Cruijff Barcelona. You can see the diamond in most aspects as they moved about. The diamond according to Cruijff is not what it looks like formation before the kickoff but the whole aspect of the game in the player in possession have three options of passing the ball to a team mate. That means one of the three players are always free to receive a pass. The way City try to move when they do not have the ball is the same way he wanted to play football when he brought the revolution to Barcelona. Klopp has a more direct game.
I think the problem with Pep is that thinks no other team can outplay his team while Cruijff was realistic and had better defenders, certainly at CB.

Ole does not have anything so far apart from trying to release our fast forwards. I think eventually he will get found out tactically and would leave by mutual consent.
 
People actually defending Mourinho... oh god.

Let's not compare him to PL managers other than our own disastrous ones, otherwise you'll look foolish.
 
passing-wind said:
Ole's only silver lining is that he's cutting out all the dead wood, on the pitch he's not done enough to bridge the gap between top four and challenging. I think this is something fans are missing, if you aim for top 4 you'll get a team that is of that calibre (5th, 6th, 7th) there's not a huge difference between Wolves, Everton, Chelsea ourselves and Arsenal. We need to be aiming for the top 3 / 2nd, not only in games but also in recruitment, tactical layouts, coaching, the temperament Ole implements in the players etc. 4 points from our opening three games is absolutely disgraceful, does the football we have witnessed indicate we are anything beyond the capabilities of top 4 ?

The impetus on coaching in the league and the level of competitiveness is now similar to the discipline exemplified in a sport like boxing, if you turn up to fight night without a respectable camp it will show in the performance. We can't afford to have off days in the English league it will always result in disappointment. City and Liverpool success comes in having a more advantageous mental edge than any of the club's in the league above the extent of quality because they are consistent, they've won the game before kick off has started.

I have to question Solskjaer and the coaching staff because in almost 7 months we are still clueless against teams who sit deep. People need to understand you don't need the likes of Modric, Busquets and De Bryune to unlock defences it comes from coaching instructions how to force the opposition into making spaces to then be exploited. I've seen Chelsea look more expansive in possession under 3 games during Lampard's tenure than anything witnessed under Ole.
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That's what a rebuild is. First you get rid of unwanted players, then you recruit new ones, then you hopefully translate that into success on the pitch. The only manager in the PL i have seen hit the ground running is Jose in Chelsea, and he is kind of the "instant success, but no longevity" type of manager
 
Would United allow DDG to sign a multi-year deal that could make him the highest paid player at the club knowing that is contract would be near impossible to move, especially for a goalkeeper who has made more clangers the past 12 months compared to the last 7+ combined years? It would go against this shift of thinking as we see Lukaku, Sanchez and Herrera go.

Dean Henderson signed an extension with United before going on loan to Sheffield United. He would be the direct replacement for DDG summer 2020 or summer 2021. Much cheaper player who has the benefit of growth under United's youth movement.

Then there's Paul Pogba. Would he want to be at United as the elder, World Cup winning statesman to lead United back into CL positions, let alone trying to compete against City and Liverpool for the league within 2 years time?

That's what faces Ole in the coming two years. Clearing out Sanchez, Lukaku, Smalling and a few others are easy. Pogba and DDG not so much.
 
I'm away and haven't been keeping up to date with the news as regularly as normal. But as soon as i heard that Sanchez and now Smalling are leaving, it became very apparent to me that we've sacrificed this season.

There was an article recently that said Ole has been given impunity this season no matter where we finish. Although we'll still hope for top 4, there's no way it is an expectation any longer this season.
 
pocco said:
I'm away and haven't been keeping up to date with the news as regularly as normal. But as soon as i heard that Sanchez and now Smalling are leaving, it became very apparent to me that we've sacrificed this season.

There was an article recently that said Ole has been given impunity this season no matter where we finish. Although we'll still hope for top 4, there's no way it is an expectation any longer this season.
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Got a link to the article?

Sacrificing a season should be utter nonsense from the club's point of view though.

This isn't the NBA/NFL where a poor season grants you a better pick in a draft lottery.
 
Is he sacked yet? Most of the mental cases here are checking gor the news every hour, instead of seeing the bigger picture and let him develop our young squad.
 
Amarsdd said:
People have been talking from the pov of football, but I just want to mention a more subconscious side that has seen Ole so nonchalantly disrespected by the fans and the media and his contributions under-appreciated. Everyone can see Ole is slightly in the introvert spectrum from his shy demeanor in his press conferences and interviews (not sure if it's him or that because English is not his first language). I have seen many examples of that in the workplace whether it be business or academia. People under these sort of characters have more respect for them, but people superior or people from outside looking in always have the feeling (consciously or subconsciously) they can bully them. I have seen United fans here call him a "clown", "puppet", "norwegian level manager", "incompetent" etc etc. I have seen the pundits/journos call him "weak", "has no control", "sacked before christmas" etc. Do these people have any clue what's going on in the dressing room, what's going on in the training or even how much control he has on transfers? No. I can guarantee you, if Ole spoke with the arrogance and confidence of lets say Jose but with the same results and performance as Ole, he won't be getting this level of disrespect in both the fanbase and the media.

Let's just take Lampard for an example considering both Ole and Lampard are around the same level right now. Lampard always looks very confident and well-spoken in the media. And now let's look at his results and performance in three games. Ole has the 3rd best xG and the best xGA in the league i.e 3rd most chances created and the least number of chances created against us. Whereas Lampard has 9-10th best xG and XGA (https://understat.com/league/EPL ). So I was quite shocked to hear the same pundits/journos and people here that is disrespecting Ole, now calling Lampard "will be great for Chelsea", "I like Lampard as a manager", etc after a close win against Norwich.

So, I think Ole public-facing shy demeanor plays some part in the level of disrespect he seems to be getting everywhere whether it be consciously or subconciously.
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Check out Derby's xG stats from last year and you'll see that Lampard should consider himself extremely lucky to be Chelsea's manager.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
Got a link to the article?

Sacrificing a season should be utter nonsense from the club's point of view though.

This isn't the NBA/NFL where a poor season grants you a better pick in a draft lottery.
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To me it's simple, will the players we have let go have made any real difference in our battle for top four? Most of those olayers have been here for ages. It's better to bite the bullet now. We have the highest wage bill in the country ffs!
 
Saw a car today with the end of the reg plate being 'OGS', I've taken that as a sign that we're going to win the league.
 
Enigma_87 said:
It wasn't 200m+ net though was it?

I recall him spending 110-120m pounds per season net, which for our club and the crazy times we are in is probably about right...
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He spent around 300m+ pounds net. That is a staggering amount for the shambles he left the club in.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
This is one huge myth. Klopp spent 450mil euros in Liverpool.
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Conveniently ignoring Klopp sold his best player at the time for 140m.

Andycoleno9 said:
In first season 100%. In second 90%. In third season no.
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Revsionist history. The only position he didn't get was a CB. As much as people try to ignore it, Mourinho signed Fred and Dalot. So this notion he wasn't backed at all in this last season is pure fiction. He just wasn't allowed to waste money on the likes of Boateng and Toby.
 
Ole needs time to make himself a proper top manager, and we should give him that. The way he wants us to play feels like the right way and I'm really positive on what he's done during his first real transfer window. It seems like he has a blueprint on what he wants going towards the future and that makes me exited. However, you do need to see progress in his management during that time. Especially on his in-game-management. When things don't go as planed and he needs to make the right decision on the spot - he's failed thus far. It's not all about how the players react when going a goal down or loosing the control of the game after an equaliser. It also has much to do with how the manager reacts.

He failed to react after Wolves equaliser. His first substitution came to late and Mata was the wrong player. Then the double substitution at the 88th minute? What was that? If he really wanted to get those two points back, then those substitutions should have been done first and way earlier.

Against Palace he picked the wrong starting eleven. He never should have allowed Shaw back on. We obviously needed a real playmaker to come on for Lingard, but he subbed on Greenwood and moved Rashford central instead. All completely wrong decisions.

In my view, these decisions cost us the five points. Not the penalty misses.

If Ole picks the wrong team again today or fails to correct it during the game, that's a really worrying thing as it would be perceived like he's not learning from his mistakes and not developing. And every time I don't see Gomes name in the team on a match day I add a bit of grudge towards Ole. Still a long season to go, so plenty of time for Gomes to get his chance and take it. It's bound to happen. Just hope it's sooner rather than later.
 
Don't get what he said in the press conference yesterday, if Smalling and Sanchez had a future at United then why in gods hell have they been allowed to leave this season given the squad depth.
 
Devil81 said:
Don't get what he said in the press conference yesterday, if Smalling and Sanchez had a future at United then why in gods hell have they been allowed to leave this season given the squad depth.
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They don't have a future.
 
Devil81 said:
Don't get what he said in the press conference yesterday, if Smalling and Sanchez had a future at United then why in gods hell have they been allowed to leave this season given the squad depth.
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Probably because they want to play and arent even first choice backups, despite the first team players making mistakes and our team looking like 6th place might be hard to get
 
Devil81 said:
Don't get what he said in the press conference yesterday, if Smalling and Sanchez had a future at United then why in gods hell have they been allowed to leave this season given the squad depth.
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He's being diplomatic towards players who are still technically ours. He obviously doesn't see them in our future plans.
 
Devil81 said:
Don't get what he said in the press conference yesterday, if Smalling and Sanchez had a future at United then why in gods hell have they been allowed to leave this season given the squad depth.
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Pinch of salt.

Don't take everything at face value.
 
Trimming down the squad is exciting when it leads to exciting talent getting chances. We're using it for give the likes of Periera, Lingard and Mctominay chances. Not exactly players that get you on your feet. But what can we do bit hope they all do well.
 
Soskjaer must be supported. He must get the time this club needs for rebuilding. It's not that he needs the club, it's that the club needs him. Remember all those Ferguson out signs in sir Alex' first 5 seasons? Some will say he took us over in a worse of time but how is this time any good for the club? In many ways it's much easier to fall down now, there are top 6 clubs now where was only top 2 or 3 in the old days. 4 PL clubs played European finals last season and another one has won the league. That's a lot to contend with, anyone who thinks there is a man with a magic wand out there is seriously deluded. Such man might only be sir Alex but he is too old and it wouldn't be possible for him, nor we could ask him to endanger his health in order to see us through this.
This club needs time, Solskjaer will come good but as long as we have rappers and primadonas linked with the club in any way don't expect too much. It's too much to weed out right away but he got off to a decent start regarding this. Don't look at the current results, look at what he does and how it relates to the future of the club.
 
We are clearly a better side. If people cant see the progress I dont know what to say.
 
We can finally see a game plan, he’s clearing out the deadwood/negative players and going with youth, he needs backing.

The football is alright, we’re going at teams and we’ve been very unlucky, we should be on 9 points going into this game.

He can only do so much though, he needs players. If the board aren’t going to add new players then it’s all for nothing.

Clearly on the right track both on and off the field but we need to sort out 6 years of terrible decisions, it just can’t be fixed over night he needs time.
 
His vision is so, so obvious. Just look at the lads he brought in and what qualities they have. Look at the players he’s binned off in the last three weeks.

But we don’t have the midfield for it. It’s going to be tough, old season but I’ve seen enough in three and a half games to stick with the game plan. But he needs midfielders that value the ball. He needs a proper right winger.

The defence wants to play football. The team wants to press and attack. But it’s imperfect and, at times, all over the place. But there’s something there.
 
What does he say at half time?

Every time we 1-0 up front we come out worse.
 
That's why you don't sell Smalling. Lindelof has done nothing to prove that he's worthy of being automatic first choice starter, or inf act a better CB than Smalling.

First Blind, now Smalling. The silly decisions continue.
 
Bojan11 said:
What does he say at half time?

Every time we 1-0 up front we come out worse.
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Hold on? Hit them on the break? We're useless at dominating teams. Being plucky counter attackers suits us. And nobody becomes the best like that.
 
Clueless again. Counter attacking tactics against one of the worst teams. He has to go !
 
amolbhatia50k said:
That's why you don't sell Smalling. Lindelof has done nothing to prove that he's worthy of being automatic first choice starter, or inf act a better CB than Smalling.

First Blind, now Smalling. The silly decisions continue.
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I agree. I don't know how good Lindelof was for Benfica but I'm not even remotely impressed by him.
 
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