Do we have a worse squad than Southampton, Crystal Palace, West Ham , Newcastle, Bournemouth, Sheffield United, Aston Villa or Watford, etc.? Could go on here
Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion
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Do we have a worse squad than Southampton, Crystal Palace, West Ham , Newcastle, Bournemouth, Sheffield United, Aston Villa or Watford, etc.? Could go on here
Brendan Rogers has shown that a new manager can indeed step in and make a big difference with a previously underperforming team.
But there are different levels of uncertainty between proven managers and Norwegian league managers. So, on top of everything else that is rotten and dysfunctional at the club, why pile on an additional layer of risk by hoping for some fairy tale ending?
The fairytale ending is expecting a new manager to do anything with this squad and under this management structure. It’s like sticking a plaster on a severed limb.
Yeah, 'cause our squad is a lot better than those, and we bloody should be with the money we've spent. Doesn't stop us from serving up some atrocious football and terrible results against those teams mind you. This is where people's grievances come from. Nobody expects us to challenge for the title, hence why the "this squad isn't good enough" argument is nonsense. It's not good enough for the title, no. But it's better than what we're being shown on the regular.
Yeah, big achievement.
Saf won under glazers.
Not defending glazers, but a proper manager can win title with the same board. We're not talking about 20 years of dominance, but to think you cant string 5 yard passes because of the board and owner is an easy excuses.
We’ve been absolutely awful, and we’ve put in some good performances. We’re hugely inconsistent. That’ll continue to be the case until we get some quality in the squad, regardless of who the manager is.
Not really no
That’s still not an argument for Ole. It’s basically saying we are fecked regardless and no one could do any better so we might as well have the smiley ex-player who talks about the good old days a lot.
Ole didnt inherited this squad. He inherited a squad that 6 months ago finished runner up.
120m and another 12 months after, it's the worst squad in 30 years
?
Pointless making Fergie comparisons, unless you’re willing to give Ole a few more years to sort things out. And you do know it’s the players out on the pitch who are failing to string simple passes together don’t you?
No, it’s saying our squad isn’t very good and we need better players
Who’s faults that? He’s the only manager to remove the ‘deadwood’ so die on your sword. No one told him to get rid of Fellani and Lukaku. But he could do with them name.
Funny how everyone who’s leaving is going on to play better (not blaming him for that).
But I’m not backing him because he’s crap worse manager we’ve had and the proof is in the results. The longer we have him the longer we fall. Next year he will improve on his awful record as a manager.
If you hold the belief that Ole is the best we can do and he's the man for the job, then yeah. That's the only way that line of reasoning makes sense.
So you’re saying we don’t need to sign any players?
Are you taking the piss mate?
I didn't know Cathy Newman posted on the caf.
I hope ole got 6 years. I really do.
If he made it great. If he doesnt then maybe our romantism can finally be cured.
If he's sacked next year no matter who comes in the fans would be divided all over again. He's not given time, money, etc.
He's saying we need new players and a new manager
Ahh, no. That's not what i'm saying at all. I already implied above that our squad isn't good enough to compete for the title and against teams like Liverpool and City (where we need to be), ergo, we need better players in to make it so.
What i take umbrage with, is the comeback of "the squad isn't good enough" after any sort of criticism, grievances or doubts people have over Ole, our performances and our results. It's the default comeback, regardless of who we just stunk the place out against. It's nonsense. It would only make sense if people were being completely unreasonable which, for the most part, they aren't.
Also, saying that nothing will change with us currently regardless of who's in charge implies that Ole is the best there is for us and that this squad is functioning at its peak.
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I haven’t said Ole is the best there is, I’m saying most of the squad is rubbish and will continue to be rubbish. He’s made mistakes and I’ve got doubts, however the biggest issue is the squad and the lack of quality within it, all the more so once you start throwing injuries in.
We need to invest significantly over the summer, more so than in any other year. If we don’t then it well and truly confirms that the ownership just plain aren’t interested in competing for trophies. That’s my main concern, as no manager is going to turn this shitshow around without it.
We are totally fecked. Fans believing the delusion that Solskjaer will magically turn this around is mind boggling.
I know it's Neil Custis and The Sun, but he has a piece saying the players are turning slightly at the lack of tactics, and I don't know if this quote has been brought up in this thread yet, be quotes Solksjaer as having said;
Solskjaer said: “We have our own style and we need to play with pace and power.
“At Manchester United we are a team who attack quickly. I noticed that tippy-tappy comment. It was not aimed at them but at my players.
“I don’t want them playing that sort of football, I want them playing proper football.” Well that proper football did not work on Tuesday.
Forgive me if this has been mention led before but... This has to be a joke from Ole surely? He doesn't wan't any sort of technical football he's just after pace and power and calls it "proper football"
Wow, just wow, no wonder half the fanbase is deluded if he says deluded stuff like this
It's from here
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10700790/man-utd-solskjaer-tactics-city/
Solskjaer said: “We have our own style and we need to play with pace and power.
“At Manchester United we are a team who attack quickly. I noticed that tippy-tappy comment. It was not aimed at them but at my players.
“I don’t want them playing that sort of football, I want them playing proper football.” Well that proper football did not work on Tuesday.
Forgive me if this has been mention led before but... This has to be a joke from Ole surely? He doesn't wan't any sort of technical football he's just after pace and power and calls it "proper football"
Wow, just wow, no wonder half the fanbase is deluded if he says deluded stuff like this
It's from here
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10700790/man-utd-solskjaer-tactics-city/
I don't think most supporters think he will "magically turn this around", I think they either 1) believe sacking now accomplishes nothing, or 2) believe he is attempting to build something for the future, using young players whose performances will vary a lot, with enough positive signs to continue with it for now.
Puts it to bed. It's by design. Our rudimentary play style isn't because of a lack of technical optionsbut rather a conscious decision to play kick and rush football by a dinosaur coaching staff.
Imagine referring to these tactics as 'proper football'. His press briefings are worse than Moyes. Every postgame is another clueless, heck almost unintelligent utterance
You haven't explicitly said that Ole's the best there is, as in you haven't used those exact words. The point i'm making (and tbf i wasn't even replying to you when i made my original comment in here - it was to someone else), is that simply saying that absolutely nothing will change even if we bring in another manager, implies that he is the best there us for us at the moment and this squad is playing to its peak. That's what the implication is there.
Also, saying no manager is going to change this "shitshow" as it is now, is myopic. It sort of ignores the main problem that many people have when they bring up their grievances of Ole, and that's the fact that they (and me) don't think that he's the man to take us forward. That's the fundamental thing here. Regardless of the squad now (and it's not as disastrous as many are making out) i just don't see how Ole is the best that we can get, and the man who will propel back to where we need to be.
It's not just simply focusing on the now (although i DO think we can improve on that), it's also looking to the future a bit more and asking "is he the man who's going to take us back to where we need to be?" That would be a no for me (as it would be many others). Would love to be wrong as i obviously love the guy. But just don't see it.
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Your the one being dishonest 'the mess' WAS Mourinho when he left the 'the mess' left, that's how OGS got the job.
Well it's not encouraging but regarding Tuesday we very much missed Martial up front, McTom in the middle and Maguire at the back compared to last time we played them. Also Lingard had a rare good game against City away. Our front three of James, Rashford and Martial do well together and were for once supported by Lingard. not trying to defend Ole's tactics or ethos on football but Pep was given a free game, it was comical how we were with a rusty Jones, Pereira in midfield and Lingard giving the ball away with no Martial.
Feel like I just saw this exact comment on Reddit. Regardless, I agree.
The first two quotes were (somewhat) mentioned after the Newcastle game. The question was which United should we expect to see against Burnley, given the inconsistency in our performances all season. He answered that it's already been explained what type of football we want to play and added that we can't play tippy-tappy football and that, at the moment, we can't play like City. We must show energy, urgency and drive instead.
So, the first two sentences are correct but taken completely out of context.
The third one is probably another fine example of Sun's journalism.
Link to reddit discussion thread? Would like to see the reception and replies
This
I f**cking hate the glazers(l always have them in my prayers, not in a good way) but of course, a great manager(Klopp)could win despite the glazers, the only team that has outspent us is City, our budget plus a very good manager, we should never be out of the top four. A very good manager and some luck we good easily win a title.
Can't see this posted anywhere, excellent article from 365, should upset a few with too many home truths, enjoy (or despair)…
But what, in 2020, do we know of this Proper Football?
Mainly, it’s that anyone still using that expression has being paying little attention to the way the game has changed. Football has broadened in unimaginable ways, even in a nation this insular. As recently as Wednesday night, an Aston Villa manager and a Sky Sports reporter were having a cheerful pre-match conversation about the use of a False No.9.
Twenty years ago that would have left most of us staring blankly at the television and frozen in open-mouthed confusion. Today, not so much. It’s accepted now that there’s no one way of doing things, that there’s no single way of playing. Everyone is drawing on inspiration from everywhere. Well, almost everyone.
In the beginning, Solskjaer’s loyalty to The Way Things Were was quite charming. Given that he was succeeding Jose Mourinho, a notorious cultural arsonist, his good ol’ days routine was actually restorative and probably even necessary.
But now it’s a year later. That initial goodwill has largely receded and with Manchester United bouncing rhythmically between only vague competence and passive uselessness, Solskjaer is starting to sound like a man completely out of time. Worse, actually, because he’s employing arguments which were used – for years and years – by those seeking ignorant shelter from England’s international decline.
It’s that same unfailing belief in something which doesn’t really exist. “There’s an English way of doing things and somehow,” insists the cliche with the St George’s Cross stencilled on his face, “despite all evidence to the contrary, that will always be a guarantee of superiority.”
Solskjaer isn’t quite saying that about United, but it’s becoming easier to draw lines between what he says in public and the limitations his side display on the pitch. It’s also interesting to note the difference between his ideals – pace and power – and the reality of their best performances. United don’t dominate anyone, even when they win. Some of their more notable results this season have depended on high energy, certainly, but not the kind of alpha, king-of-the-hill forcefulness to which Solskjaer alludes.
In fact, it could even be fair to say that United’s most common approach is to pray that their opponent under-estimates them. Their hope on Tuesday night, in the derby defeat at Old Trafford, seemed to be that Manchester City would commit all the same mistakes they did at the Etihad. They did not.
It cannot be coincidence that some of their biggest wins under Solskjaer have come when they’re least expected. Perhaps with their little moments of vigour and sly counter-attacking, they’re just football’s version of that thing – Eel? Ray? Shark? – that lies on the ocean floor, pretending to be dead and waiting for the right dopey fish to swim through its jaws.
That seems to be the strategy. The hope is that rival teams turn up so drunk on complacency (Tottenham) and schadenfreude (Liverpool) that United can nick a few goals while nobody’s watching and snatch the ascendancy.
The great irony, though, is that for someone who idolises Sir Alex Ferguson, Solskjaer doesn’t seem to have paid much attention to his work. United’s success during that period depended on Ferguson’s personality and his management of a talented group of players; but whatever lip service he may have paid to a United Way, he certainly couldn’t be accused of having a one-tone career.
Ferguson had the humility to recognise when his views of the game needed to be updated. That can be seen in the players he used, signed and sold, the formations he employed and even in the different assistant managers he appointed. Under him, Manchester United may not have quite been in a constant state of reinvention, but Ferguson was highly reactive to how football changed around him and, as a result, his various teams could never have marched – even loosely, even now – under the same banner.
At the moment, Solskjaer has no banner. There is no style, no anything. This United are only ever what their opponents’ flaws allow them to be. Perhaps we’re guilty of ascribing too much meaning to a flippant remark, but maybe that inertia is bred by the strange, binary situation which exists in his mind – the thick line between how United are ‘supposed’ to be playing and the brands of football being promoted by all the other, more successful teams.
He doesn’t want the ball. He doesn’t covet possession. He doesn’t want his team to stretch other sides with their rapid circulation and purposeful movement. He seems to reject principles which have become commonalities among all the leading protagonists in European football. Clearly, given their size, history and worth, that’s a stage that Manchester United would like to share.
By no measure, either in the way he thinks and talks about the game or the football he appears able to coach, does he seem like the right person to deliver that parity.
That sort of football, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is the version popularised by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side at the beginning of the last decade. With those passes. And that movement. And all of those goals.
But what, in 2020, do we know of this Proper Football?
Mainly, it’s that anyone still using that expression has being paying little attention to the way the game has changed. Football has broadened in unimaginable ways, even in a nation this insular. As recently as Wednesday night, an Aston Villa manager and a Sky Sports reporter were having a cheerful pre-match conversation about the use of a False No.9.
Twenty years ago that would have left most of us staring blankly at the television and frozen in open-mouthed confusion. Today, not so much. It’s accepted now that there’s no one way of doing things, that there’s no single way of playing. Everyone is drawing on inspiration from everywhere. Well, almost everyone.
In the beginning, Solskjaer’s loyalty to The Way Things Were was quite charming. Given that he was succeeding Jose Mourinho, a notorious cultural arsonist, his good ol’ days routine was actually restorative and probably even necessary.
But now it’s a year later. That initial goodwill has largely receded and with Manchester United bouncing rhythmically between only vague competence and passive uselessness, Solskjaer is starting to sound like a man completely out of time. Worse, actually, because he’s employing arguments which were used – for years and years – by those seeking ignorant shelter from England’s international decline.
It’s that same unfailing belief in something which doesn’t really exist. “There’s an English way of doing things and somehow,” insists the cliche with the St George’s Cross stencilled on his face, “despite all evidence to the contrary, that will always be a guarantee of superiority.”
Solskjaer isn’t quite saying that about United, but it’s becoming easier to draw lines between what he says in public and the limitations his side display on the pitch. It’s also interesting to note the difference between his ideals – pace and power – and the reality of their best performances. United don’t dominate anyone, even when they win. Some of their more notable results this season have depended on high energy, certainly, but not the kind of alpha, king-of-the-hill forcefulness to which Solskjaer alludes.
In fact, it could even be fair to say that United’s most common approach is to pray that their opponent under-estimates them. Their hope on Tuesday night, in the derby defeat at Old Trafford, seemed to be that Manchester City would commit all the same mistakes they did at the Etihad. They did not.
It cannot be coincidence that some of their biggest wins under Solskjaer have come when they’re least expected. Perhaps with their little moments of vigour and sly counter-attacking, they’re just football’s version of that thing – Eel? Ray? Shark? – that lies on the ocean floor, pretending to be dead and waiting for the right dopey fish to swim through its jaws.
That seems to be the strategy. The hope is that rival teams turn up so drunk on complacency (Tottenham) and schadenfreude (Liverpool) that United can nick a few goals while nobody’s watching and snatch the ascendancy.
The great irony, though, is that for someone who idolises Sir Alex Ferguson, Solskjaer doesn’t seem to have paid much attention to his work. United’s success during that period depended on Ferguson’s personality and his management of a talented group of players; but whatever lip service he may have paid to a United Way, he certainly couldn’t be accused of having a one-tone career.
Ferguson had the humility to recognise when his views of the game needed to be updated. That can be seen in the players he used, signed and sold, the formations he employed and even in the different assistant managers he appointed. Under him, Manchester United may not have quite been in a constant state of reinvention, but Ferguson was highly reactive to how football changed around him and, as a result, his various teams could never have marched – even loosely, even now – under the same banner.
At the moment, Solskjaer has no banner. There is no style, no anything. This United are only ever what their opponents’ flaws allow them to be. Perhaps we’re guilty of ascribing too much meaning to a flippant remark, but maybe that inertia is bred by the strange, binary situation which exists in his mind – the thick line between how United are ‘supposed’ to be playing and the brands of football being promoted by all the other, more successful teams.
He doesn’t want the ball. He doesn’t covet possession. He doesn’t want his team to stretch other sides with their rapid circulation and purposeful movement. He seems to reject principles which have become commonalities among all the leading protagonists in European football. Clearly, given their size, history and worth, that’s a stage that Manchester United would like to share.
By no measure, either in the way he thinks and talks about the game or the football he appears able to coach, does he seem like the right person to deliver that parity.
A good top class manager and some new players will win trophies. Look at Jose's second year when we were 2nd. We did not have a world class defence and we had Pogba and Fellaini and sundries in midfield. No proper right or left back sand still we got 2nd while City had an outstanding season. Now we have at least one proper CB and a good right and left back. Fred is playing much better too. Get a new defensive midfield player and a creative midfield player and a good header of the ball and with a COMPETENT manager we will trophies.
Have a day off, will you!? Your drivel repetitive posting is beyond spamming at this point..
W‘Ole at the wheel has a 27% win record at United, he took Cardiff down with a 30% win rate. There are still ’top reds’ backing him. 
I don’t think this squad is any better than scrapping for 4th place, which is more or less where we are now. I’m curious to hear where you think this squad should be?
After a year playing some sort of cohesive football maybe?
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