Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

[Member 90887]

The amount of salty posters in here is crazy.

Just give credit where it's due. You'll have plenty of chances to call for his head the next games.

 

[TheGame]

It's interesting because the system means we don't have to pretend that we have wingers and we can pack the central areas where we're probably strongest and take a bit of the heat off the midfielders. Even with Pogba back though, Young and AWB are hardly the most creative wingbacks so i think we might struggle to create.

Think Ole definitely got it right with the formation today but i'm not sure if this will work against the lower league teams. Anything is better than the 4-2-3-1 though.

I think our lack of wingers means we can switch between this and 4-3-3 if Rashford, Martial and James are fit. I think James is being overused in his first season and we risk burnout with him.

 

[TheGame]

Even more defensive than Mourinho. 32% possession at home.

We were topping the possession stats with LVG but getting no where. What did Liverpool do with their 68%?

 

[Kurton]

He is showing exactly what he is, a manager suited for lower table teams. He is excellent at setting up team to soak up pressure and hit on the break, but he can't even set up the team enough to not concede the customary one goal lead we get. At least these lower teams can hold on to a lead to see out the match. Can we just score more than one goal from once

 

[McGrathsipan]

lads we have about 5 decent players.
Thats the fact - if Ole gets the time to build a team he might be getting better results

We just have to be patient now. We are not getting top 4. We are not getting relegated. We need to get better players.

Defence is on the way to being quite good.
Midfield and Upfront - we need a complete overhaul.

 

[Tyrion]

We were topping the possession stats with LVG but getting no where. What did Liverpool do with their 68%?

Exactly. Who cares about the possession? We're not as good as we were under Mourinho. That's the problem.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Exactly. Who cares about the possession? We're not as good as we were under Mourinho. That's the problem.

That’s because we don’t have ibrahimovic.

 

[Tom Cato]

Even more defensive than Mourinho. 32% possession at home.

You pick and choose your tactic. If we're not lying to ourselves, Liverpool have a FAR better squad than we do right now, and they are in a wild streak of form. They have litearlly been the best football team in the world since the season started. We played this match the way we could while also getting something from it. In this case we were 10 minuts away from winning it.

MUFC have the third best possession metric in the EPL this season. Us being defensive has only been the case against Liverpool so far (for reasons above). The only teams who have a better possession game than us this season? Manchester City, and Liverpool.

 

[AneRu]

It's interesting because the system means we don't have to pretend that we have wingers and we can pack the central areas where we're probably strongest and take a bit of the heat off the midfielders. Even with Pogba back though, Young and AWB are hardly the most creative wingbacks so i think we might struggle to create.

Think Ole definitely got it right with the formation today but i'm not sure if this will work against the lower league teams. Anything is better than the 4-2-3-1 though.

I think we can make it work with Pogba and Shaw back. Play Axel instead of Rojo and allow him or Maguire to push forward, with the likes of McT making runs into the box and Rashford/Martial as a two upfront. Just accept that we arent good enough and play for low scoring games and a being miserly in defense.

 

[Tom Cato]

Exactly. Who cares about the possession? We're not as good as we were under Mourinho. That's the problem.

You should definitely care about that. Having possession means you're doing a lot of things right. It also puts you in position to score goals, its up to the players to get through the blockades.

If you sit at 35-40% possession, all you are doing is playing breakaway and catch up, while not controlling the game at all. You're looking for a lucky break.

 

[Mainoldo]

Today was okay. But the more time he gets the more damage the next man has to fix. Let's just hope we can keep gathering points. 1-0..... to UNITED.

 

[saivet]

Thought he set the team up well today and we played well in the first half with our WBs pushing high and Rashford and James playing as wide forwards.

We lacked a bit of quality, but the right sort of play was being played in the first half.

 

[predator]

I'm struggling to give him too much credit for us drawing against a liverpool team who weren't great, at Old Trafford, despite how bad we are.

We couldnt even keep hold on to the win ffs. They were always going to score from 70 mins + and they did.

I am surprised by the result because of how poor liverpool were, missing Salah. I dont expect us to to win these sorts of games because of the squad we have but to give Ole credit like he is some sort of tactical mastermind is baffling.

The standards have well and truly dropped.

 

[McGrathsipan]

When did common sense completely disappear? Jose's comments are spot on. Any fair minded person should be able to see that.

They were highly motivated, well set up and well drilled. It was a very professional commited performance.

We started with Young, Rojo, Fred and Pereira yet almost beat the European champions on a 17 game winning streak. Everyone said we'd get smashed 5-0 then they complain when we get an unlucky draw. I don't get it and I'm sick of trying to.

Agreed totally.

 

[Kemizee]

Of course its not - he is tactically very good - but there is only so much he can do with these players.

Is this assertion based on today 's game or his tenure here?

 

[Stadjer]

Is it really that hard to set up a team like this? Loads of the lower table teams do it. He didnt outclass Klopp tactically like some posters claimed. A tactic like todays tactic isnt too hard to come up with. Mourinho used it with great effect in the past, Raneiri won the league with it and Hodgson plays with that tactic every week. Defenders defend, midfielders defend most of the time and kick the ball deep to two extremely quick forwards. Crystal Palace played the same way against City yesterday for example...

Finding a tactic to create chances and win against teams who parked the bus (like CP or like our tactic today) is more impressive. It is really hard though since defending is much easier than attacking. In the end it does come down to individual quality of the players. Guardiola didnt have a special tactic against CP but won because a great cross from Silva and a good finish from their striker.

Im not in the Ole out camp or anything but to claim he proved that he is a great manager because of todays game also is a bit much.

 

[SGA]

Still find it weird when you see Ole getting interviewed as Manchester United manager. Didn't feel right at the start, still doesn't feel right now. Cheers Ole, the doors that way!

 

[Bratt]

Today was okay. But the more time he gets the more damage the next man has to fix. Let's just hope we can keep gathering points. 1-0..... to UNITED.

Quite the opposite in my opinion.
For the first time since SAF we actually have a manager that doesn’t give the next manager a lot of damage to fix. It’s clear to me that there’s a long term plan here, and I like that, compared to what we’ve seen from the previous three.
If he’s good enough on the other parts of the game is still a big question though.

 

[Leftback99]

Is it really that hard to set up a team like this? Loads of the lower table teams do it. He didnt outclass Klopp tactically like some posters claimed. A tactic like todays tactic isnt too hard to come up with. Mourinho used it with great effect in the past, Raneiri won the league with it and Hodgson plays with that tactic every week. Defenders defend, midfielders defend most of the time and kick the ball deep to two extremely quick forwards. Crystal Palace played the same way against City yesterday for example...

Finding a tactic to create chances and win against teams who parked the bus (like CP or like our tactic today) is more impressive. It is really hard though since defending is much easier than attacking. In the end it does come down to individual quality of the players. Guardiola didnt have a special tactic against CP but won because a great cross from Silva and a good finish from their striker.

Im not in the Ole out camp or anything but to claim he proved that he is a great manager because of todays game also is a bit much.

You've said it yourself there. Breaking down such teams requires extra quality which we lack. It's no coincidence Liverpool struggled today with Salah missing.

 

[Mainoldo]

Quite the opposite in my opinion.
For the first time since SAF we actually have a manager that doesn’t give the next manager a lot of damage to fix. It’s clear to me that there’s a long term plan here, and I like that, compared to what we’ve seen from the previous three.
If he’s good enough on the other parts of the game is still a big question though.

Let's be honest. When the next manager comes in what does he take on from Ole? He'll probably change his CB partnership. McTomminay could well revert to a bench player, we'll buy a striker and probably 2 wingers.

That seems like a lot of work to me. Plus Pogba is gone.

Oh yeah what long term plan do you see? I don't see anything, but i'm open to views i might be missing.

 

[Kemizee]

There are some quite sane and rational comments today. It looks like there is a full spectrum of attitudes towards Ole. At one end, those that will never give him credit even if we start winning and playing better. At the other end, those who will defend him even if we end up in a relegation battle (prizes for the first to say “we are already in one”). If I ask myself honestly, I’m more or less at the latter extreme. I’ve seen and heard enough to back Ole to the bitter end. At this point I appreciate I’m in the minority with that but I certainly did not feel this way under our previous three managers. I really think Ole is the man for tackling the biggest issue - the club culture. That means more to me than winning (although winning would be frickin’ welcome).

What does this mean in essence?

 

[Mainoldo]

What does this mean in essence?

Nobody know's. It's like the United way... It's all a Myth.

 

[Kemizee]

Totally agree with this. I would have taken a 1-1 before kick off, and the fact that we actually played well and deserved a bit more than a draw is a bonus. I don't think we are that far away from being a decent team. Martial, Shaw and Pogba will likely make our starting line up stronger so plenty to look forward to.

You will be surprised when they all return that there will be nothing to look forward to. After all, they were all playing together before their injuries and we didn't exactly light up the place. Pogba seems disinterested and is seeking a move away. Martial with his usual lacklustre, languid body language and Shaw with his fitness regime which takes a while. We are in deep trouble mate.

 

[Bratt]

Let's be honest. When the next manager comes in what does he take on from Ole? He'll probably change his CB partnership. McTomminay could well revert to a bench player, we'll buy a striker and probably 2 wingers.

That seems like a lot of work to me. Plus Pogba is gone.

You think he’ll drop or sell James, AWB and Maguire?
You think he wish Lukaku, Sanchez, Smalling etc were still here?
I don’t, I think Ole is doing us good for the long term, and I really hope he gets a couple more transfer windows.
As I said, I don’t know if he is the manager to take us where we belong again, but I like the way the club seems to be going regarding transfers more than I’ve done in years.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Oh so when he’s right he’s still wrong? feck me

I think you need to re read my post. He got it right. But it was not a tactical masterclass (that's a clue for you).

 

[reddevil702]

feck off he took the game to them. Go support some one else

5 defenders on the field and he took the game to Liverpool. Credit to Ole for getting the players to buy into his plan today and getting them to play, but let’s not lost go overboard. Tactically we essentially parked the bus and waited to hit them on the counter. It’s not some tactics masterclass. The problem is Ole wants to play this same way against lesser teams.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Oh I see. So he got it right but he’s still shit cos he could do nothing else?! He could have done a million different things today. Could have parked the bus like Jose used to. Give him credit where it’s due for feck sake

We are always setup to do well against teams that attack us. When teams do not attack us we struggle and tend to lose.

We have one plan, if it works great, if it doesn't we're fecked.

Please remember that fact when watching the rest of the season.

I won't hold my breath for an apologetic PM from you in a few months.

 

[Mainoldo]

You think he’ll drop or sell James, AWB and Maguire?
You think he wish Lukaku, Sanchez, Smalling etc were still here?
I don’t, I think Ole is doing us good for the long term, and I really hope he gets a couple more transfer windows.
As I said, I don’t know if he is the manager to take us where we belong again, but I like the way the club seems to be going regarding transfers more than I’ve done in years.

Your talking like James is Mo Salah. Not everyone is excited by just raw pace you need to have something about you. Maguire's a good defender but we'll see if we ever get to that level we want to be. AWB needs to improve his attacking but quality RB.
I don't know about the players sold but he will surely want to see those positions fixed.
Okay so it's the transfers that you like. So you don't think there was any manager in the world that couldn't have brought us Maguire and AWB? James i just disregard as i could name probably 10 wingers i'd rather have than him right now. But I like his pace and effort.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Why is it that if you don't gush over Ole you get some posters crying about "credit where credit is due"? He got a draw and is now 12th in the league FFS.

I love Ole. Yes, he drew today. Yes, it would be nice if he could lead us back to glory. Yes, Woodward has screwed him (with lack of transfers and spend) and he is the biggest problem at the club along with the Glazers. But Ole is obviously out of his depth.

 

[dwd]

Why is it that if you don't gush over Ole you get some posters crying about "credit where credit is due"? He got a draw and is now 12th in the league FFS.

I love Ole. Yes, he drew today. Yes, it would be nice if he could lead us back to glory. Yes, Woodward has screwed him (with lack of transfers and spend) and he is the biggest problem at the club along with the Glazers. But Ole is obviously out of his depth.

13th

 

[AC1689]

Sorry am I missing something here?!

We've won two out of nine games in the Premier League.

Two. Out. Of. Nine.

When did this ever become acceptable?! Apparently if a club legend is at the helm. Otherwise methinks it definitely would not.

You cannot overstate how bad this is. At all.

Today changes nothing, nor should it. We still cannot score more than one goal in a match, we still cannot hold on to a lead for a full 90 minutes, and we are 13th in the league after 9 games.

 

[el3mel]

Just noticed we only scored 10 goals in the first 9 matches of the league. That's really a horrendous number. On this rate we might give LVG's second season a competition for our worst recent seasons in terms of goals scored. We scored 49 goals only this season in 38 matches. Let's see how many we'll score this season.

 

[Paxi]

tells you everything you need to know when the lads a rallying behind a 1-1 draw vs Liverpool. Standards have fallen alright.

It’s all okay though cause some top reds will post how everything is alright in that stupid thread of theirs in the general.

 

[Kurton]

You think he’ll drop or sell James, AWB and Maguire?
You think he wish Lukaku, Sanchez, Smalling etc were still here?
I don’t, I think Ole is doing us good for the long term, and I really hope he gets a couple more transfer windows.
As I said, I don’t know if he is the manager to take us where we belong again, but I like the way the club seems to be going regarding transfers more than I’ve done in years.

A new manager might drop or sell all his buy and here's some scenarios. AWB is great defensively but pretty crap in attack, if the new manager is more attack minded he'll want more attacking output from his full-backs. Maguire is slow and new manager might want more faster CB to play a higher defensive line. James is good for counter attacks but is not good enough to beat defenders with dribbling. There is no guarantee a new manager will prefer Ole's buys.

Plus they can still turn shit like all previous buys, we seen to have deemed them as success from only 10 or so games. Just 2 seasons back we were raving about Mkhi and his assists and we all know what happened.

 

[Grande]

Fascinating to turn over from the telly after hearing football coaches and former professionals 9 out of 10 say they thought Solskjær did well tactically with the starting line up and with the tactical answers to Klopp’s tactical changes, particualerly given that Liverpool’s starting 11 was better than United’s in 10 out of 11 positions. They even gave reasons for their evaluation.

And then to come here and read 9 out of the last posts here taking the occasion to say they weren’t impressed at all because ... no reason, really.

Oh, I know, pundits don’t really know much about the game. (But couch moaners do.)

I think if people want to have a long, good moan about us playing badly when we do, they should own up to taking some time pointing out the good stuff when there is some. Otherwise it looks like they have an agenda.

 

[dove]

Sorry am I missing something here?!

We've won two out of nine games in the Premier League.

Two. Out. Of. Nine.

When did this ever become acceptable?! Apparently if a club legend is at the helm. Otherwise methinks it definitely would not.

You cannot overstate how bad this is. At all.

Today changes nothing, nor should it. We still cannot score more than one goal in a match, we still cannot hold on to a lead for a full 90 minutes, and we are 13th in the league after 9 games.

Well, there are people on this forum who are convinced we have a worse squad than Newcastle so I guess 13th place is an overachievement from Ole and we should tie him to a 6 year contract just in case other European giants notice the amazing job he is doing here.

 

[friendlytramp]

Is it really that hard to set up a team like this? Loads of the lower table teams do it. He didnt outclass Klopp tactically like some posters claimed. A tactic like todays tactic isnt too hard to come up with. Mourinho used it with great effect in the past, Raneiri won the league with it and Hodgson plays with that tactic every week. Defenders defend, midfielders defend most of the time and kick the ball deep to two extremely quick forwards. Crystal Palace played the same way against City yesterday for example...

Finding a tactic to create chances and win against teams who parked the bus (like CP or like our tactic today) is more impressive. It is really hard though since defending is much easier than attacking. In the end it does come down to individual quality of the players. Guardiola didnt have a special tactic against CP but won because a great cross from Silva and a good finish from their striker.

Im not in the Ole out camp or anything but to claim he proved that he is a great manager because of todays game also is a bit much.

17 game winning run ended suggests not everyone can deliver it. Ole deserves credit

 

[Red_toad]

Shame his squad is so paper thin of anything other than central defenders and goalkeepers. We really needed a mobile midfielder to come on, but they were both already on the pitch. Substation lost us the game, Rashford was doing an excellent job even though he was shot. Once Martial came on Liverpool relaxed and started to play, as the knew Martial wasn’t going to be the same threat and our team retreated.

 

[Nicoseth]

Today was evidence of Ole's ongoing work. It's been frustrating at times but I guess this is what culture change looks like at a club. Today I could see that with the likes of Dan James and other young, hungry players we will be competitive before long. As Ole said - we're a few players light right now. If we can correct that to some degree in January we could have a good second half of the season.

 

[Chairman Steve]

He has to start beating some teams if he wants to stay. 2 wins from 9 league games is still appalling and shouldn’t be ignored because we got a draw against Liverpool at home.