That's your interpretation. And it indicates very clearly where you stand.
When a team isn't performing according to expectations (fan expectations in this case, more than anything), there really isn't anything he can say or do which won't be spun negatively by those intent on finding fault with - well - anything he says or does.
After the Newcastle match Ole apologized to the fans for the performance and said the players need to sort themselves out. He was lambasted for that too (by random Internet fans - and also by Ruud Van Nistelrooy, if memory serves), because it apparently showed how clueless he is (he doesn't know how to fix it - so throws the player under the proverbial bus).
After the last EL loss, he said a few positive things about Lingard - and again he's clueless, because those comments apparently proves he thinks J-lingz is a world beater. He was also pleased with the performance, as such, by an extremely young and inexperienced team - but, no, he shouldn't say that, because that proves he's trying to permanently lower the standards (who the feck is pleased with a loss, etc.).
And this:
is completely unrealistic, for one thing: he will be interviewed after the match and he has to say something. Secondly, if he actually turned up for the post-match session and said "no comment" in response to questions about the performance, how do you think fans like yourself would react? I don't believe for a second you'd sit back and go "yeah, fair enough that - better to say nothing here".
I'm not in the business of bashing the guy for the sake of bashing the guy, but I think the way he has carried himself along with his attitude through interviews and pr has gone a long way in pacifying and lowering expectations/standards of the club along with supporters as a whole. And that my friend shouldn't be acceptable for a club of our stature. He deserves to be called out on it, because Real, Bayern, Pool,Juve or Inter fans wouldn't accept it and neither should we.
I never had any problems with him praising the team after the loss on Thursday. Lingard deserved praise and there were positives to take out of that loss considering the age and level of experience of the team put out.
In regards to your point of him not being able to realistically say nothing, he can easily use tact to serve around the issue as many managers often do, or simply say ''I will deal with in that private''. It makes no sense to be praising players to the press and then think he's bashing them in private.
What I think has happened, is that he's taken the kid gloves approach with the team because he sees them as a very young team going through a process of learning first hand directly through games of what it takes to play at a high level in the prem and getting to know each other. So is genuinely praising them, and being overly positive in the belief that it will build their confidence and obviously is fully aware of the backlash Mourinho received for harshly calling out individuals in public and throwing them under the bus.
That's partially fine and understandable, but we need to remember there are also senior players in the squad that have been at the club for a long time and make up a large portion of the squad who already have the experience and are already too comfortable/complacent and who don't need/shouldn't be molly coddled.
He's gone to the other extreme and become far too positive in spite of the circumstances, partly due to taking the pressure away from the team and partly due to buying himself time in the job. When really he needs to strike a balance as there is always a time and place to be either tough/aggressive or be soft/passive.
Thursday night was the right time to be positive, last weekend against Sheffield United wasn't. Likewise against alkmaar when we got played off the park and was lucky to escape with a draw, the manager shouldn't be coming out and saying we played well and were hard done by and calling for phantom penalties.
indeed. We've got fans defending losing games with such fervor, losing to a rival or seeing them win trophies is rather moot. We're all about personal growth, having a United bleeding manager and doing things the right way. Losing is totally ok so long as it's in the right spirit.
