I'd rather United miss out on European football just for next season. It'll be good and less stressful for the squad.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion
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Not many if they knew how spoiled the fans are an how terrible our board and owner are.
How exactly are the fans spoiled? Because they see the club sliding into mediocrity & are outspoken about it? Our fans have been far more tolerant of this decline than any other big club would be. You think this would ever happen to Real Madrid? No, it would never be allowed.
I would still argue that Poch has never been that great in the transfer market. They had a good number of flops such as Janssen, Yedlin, N'Jie, N'Koudou, Aurier and argubaly Ndombele could be aded to the list with him being dropped for a number of games for an apparent poor attitude - something one would imagine would be known in advance of a 60m move. Lo Celso has hardly broken into the team since his summer arrival either.
You mention the issues with their back line, but then why isn't he spotting these glaring issues and doing something to rectify it? The whole back line needs to be replaced inside the next 2 seasons, but they've not started to address it as yet. Call it 'end of their cycle' if you will but it also screams of poor squad planning too.
Back to United and what we can control. Herrera was allowed to be out of contract. This in my opinion is something that should be rectified 12-18months prior to the players contract expiring if we as a club were ever serious about keeping him. Fellaini had become a stick to beat Jose with and a scapegoat for the fans fury, so it was in my opinion right for him to move on even, if he was a useful player overall. Lukaku has openly said he was thinking of leaving us after his 2nd game at the club. He also asked Ole to leave this last summer. Was Ole supposed to block that move and keep players who don't want to be here?
By all accounts we had Mandzukic and Dybala lined up and ready to sign last summer to replace Lukaku and Alexis. It didn't happen. Haaland was in talks with the club, met Ole, came the Carrington and again it didn't happen. Bruno has been close to signing for 6+ months now but it has still not happened. Now you have to ask whether Ole is sat there changing his mind on a player like a yoyo, or those above him who are employed to broker such deals are failing.
Now I am not saying Ole is perfect or shouldn't face criticism, but from where I am sat there is much to be optimistic about. Fans need to accept that we are where we are right now after years of awful investments, and accept we are not going to be challenging for 1-2+ years yet. It is a process (though I hate the expression), we need to root out the players who are not good enough and sat on fat contracts, and they need to be replaced with hungrier players who want to play for the club.
It seems to be a sign of the modern times that everyone is so desperate for what they want, and everything is spun into some negative. Maybe that's just the Twitter fans, but it seems to be spilling on to here too which I always found to be a safe haven away from such dickheads. That's not a dig at you, more the wider Ole Out mob.
Despite the difference of opinion let's just hope Ole sorts us out this season and gets us higher up the table or to a cup win.
The worm appears to be slowly turning. Several articles in the mainstream media being critical of both the board and Ole (see BBC today, the Rashford article). The latter is a new development and this will only increase if results continue going downhill.
More risible drivel from Ole: "We've lost to Liverpool, a team that you all say are fantastic and we've been in the game until the last kick of the ball, and, for me, that's strides forward."
You're way off on Maguire! Not the quickest CB out there, yes, but not "slow" either. If he was at Leicester still they'd be a bit closer to Liverpool than they are now, the fact he failed to add as much as he should here just shows the problems are much more fundamental than a CB or a full back.
Wan Bissaka is a great addition, he might not fit the role in every syster right away, but he's a young player, he'll learn. James might be more utilitarian once we have better players in, we'll see, but it's hardly a poor addition.
Things are not great, but it's not all doom and gloom, there are some positives. With Solskjaer in charge in the future or not he'll certainly leave things in better order than he inherited, at least when it comes to playing squad and wage bill.
Saying stuff like "strides forward" hurts after a defeat against rivals but he's right about us being in the game. One moment could have turned it all around and the mood would have been completely different. Bit luck our way and it could have been 1:1. Given the state of us and them there was a fear we could go down badly, but this didn't happen.
He has to say a few words of encouragment for the team as well, but of course we won't be happy as fans if we go to Liverpool and lose.
It’s all very simple, Ole was never qualified for the job. Woodward in his usual form doesn’t know what he is doing and bows to external pressures from press, ex players etc to give it to him full time.
Is Ole the real issue here? Nope, simply a symptom. The ownership and the guy they have placed in charge are simply running this club into the ground, whether it’s purposeful in some sort of drain all the money out with minimal investment manner or symptom of negligence is of no real consequence as the end result is the same.
I have never blamed him for taking the job but when Ole starts making excuses for the lack of investment it hurts to see and club hero being degraded in this manner. I believe he has been told that players going out would be replaced but it simply hasn’t happened.
Glazers are destroying this football club by running it as a for profit business and Ole is just another in a line of managers left to deal with the bit they neglect the most, the football.
Is Ole the real issue here? Nope, simply a symptom. The ownership and the guy they have placed in charge are simply running this club into the ground, whether it’s purposeful in some sort of drain all the money out with minimal investment manner or symptom of negligence is of no real consequence as the end result is the same.
I have never blamed him for taking the job but when Ole starts making excuses for the lack of investment it hurts to see and club hero being degraded in this manner. I believe he has been told that players going out would be replaced but it simply hasn’t happened.
Glazers are destroying this football club by running it as a for profit business and Ole is just another in a line of managers left to deal with the bit they neglect the most, the football.
Ok Andrew my friend. I challenge you.
Selling Fellaini in January without a replacement. Good or bad?
Accept that Herrera leaves on a free without a replacement. Good or bad?
Selling Lukaku without a replacement. Once again. Good or bad?
Sending Smalling and Sanchez out on loan without quality replacements. Good or bad? (the key word her is qualiy, not some unproven teenager from our academy who plays 10-15 minutes in meaningless cup matches)
Use the majority of our transfer budget on over priced defenders when the rest of the squad was paper thin. Good or bad Andrew? Was this better then maybe maybe keeping Smalling and used that 80 mill a little more wisely.
Running Pogba to the ground. Yes, I know how badly you want to defend this by saying this wasn’t Ole doles fault but hey buddy, her we are. Paul Pogba has been injured since September, more or less. How about that!
Running McTominay to the ground. Good or bad?
His shameful treatment of Rashford. That’s btw a sackable decision by itself. Good or bad Andrew?
Starting this season using a 4231 formation when our only creative midfielders/attackers is Pereira, Lingard and Mata. Only one natural dm in Matic. Stupidity, brainless, idiotic, naive (I like that word, sounds better then idiot) or just plain out of his depth. Take your pick Andrew or are you planning to defend this also?
I‘m not going to mention his pathetic interviews, his post game pressers when he uses every excuses in the book or his naive comments about everything and nothing. I leave that outside the challenge Andrew.
I wrote his motivation is money. Not his ONLY motivation as you read it.
Mark my words Andrew, this guy will walk away in a couple of years with almost 20 millions on his account. Insane money for incompetence if you ask me. Solkjaer is first and foremost loyal to himself. He should be. Secondly to United. If Ole had balls he had called the owners and Woodward out in August. The whole United nation would have backed him to the hilt. There would be riots if Ed had sacked him at that time. Win win situation.
Money, fame and staying as a manager. Cohones amigo.
Life is about choices. Lifetime hero or walking to the bank and checking your account. It’s a choice Andrew. Invest in human capital, legend status or count your numbers in your bank account. Take your pick.
And just so there is no misunderstandings. This is not criticism against Norway or Norwegians, one of the most beautiful countries in the world with lovely people. The Norwegians I know is friendly, nice and almost always in a good mood. So please separate Ole from misplaced nationalism.
How did they have a better squad? Had not Liverpool just sold Sterling too?
Ole took over a squad that ended in second place 6 months before.
I think he wanted the 3 players he got. We should have spent more so I agree with that, but not sure Klopp spent insane money.
Look at Klopps total netspend and you will understand.
So now hanging onto 0-1 defeat until the last few mins is a very positive sign. As I said before, Ole's appointment is the worst thing that happened to this club post SAF.
Bloody hell. At least Moyes looked fecking depressed after all our defeats.
There seem to be no anger about our failed results from him. At least not with the press.
It would be stupid just to play. All fans are upset and it would be better to join them in that, but also talk about what would be needed for improvement. Signings, tactics etc.
Maybe it's wishful thinking and totally misplaced faith, but I just can't imagine Ole managing us next season. I think Poch will be in charge for the first game of next season, and I'm not even a massive Poch fan.
Probably this is just a coping mechanism though.
Probably this is just a coping mechanism though.
Yeah, that's what I think too. Ole won't be our manager next season.
What a defeatist little wanker.
When a manager is actually under no pressure, his employer doesn't claim that he is safe, in sports it's generally the kiss of death. So I wouldn't freak out because the Sun said something that could easily be made up or not actually believed by the club.
Exactly, silence would show more faith in him than coming out with the safe nonsense.
We will anyways
Klopp inherited a dire team and Jose and Ole have spent more than him since he has been here. Do Leicester have a better squad? were you saying this last year when they were 13th in the table or the year before? show me the posts. Leicester's squad quality has been revised with their current performance. we took their Captain and Rashford is better than any of their forwards, Pogba better than any of their midfielders.
This is the type of Ole thinking. Let's avoid europe so we can get away with having a squad with one backup to cover our front 3 and little depth apart from injured central defenders.
Why don't we bloody bring some players in and aim for the top?
To be fair a lot of people said Leicester’s squad was full of quality, which it clearly is and was before they got into the top four.
That's clearly not the club's ambition, otherwise Ole wouldn't be our manager.
True it is shocking how we have stopped trying with him.
With Mourinho we did bring some players in. Maybe not the optimal ones, but he aimed big at least.
Up to the last window when he lost it and didn't get the funds.
It’s weird because he wasn’t saying anything like this when he took over as an interim, he was a lot more bullish and spoke how we would expect him too.
In a way I feel like Van Gaal and Jose were the same, come in, say all the right things, but slowly lose that overtime and end up coming out with rubbish like Ole is now.
Yeah I guess if people say stupid things under pressure you can understand it. Although he seems to show so little ambition.
Klopp has said silly things a lot too, but he wins so gets away with it.
Or maybe what he says is dead right. For him, it is a sign of progression. The team didn’t drop their heads, they tried their hardest. One of the main problems to this team. For years actually.
And another thing.The only thing Ole can do at this point is giving his team positive energy and focus on the things they do right. Imagine our injuries, and now imagine if Heads in the squad wasn’t in it. He is actually doing man management at the highest order. All media talk is on him (and Pogba). No negative attention towards a young squad. Ever stop to think there is a method to this?
The United curse. Eventually all managers turn into David Moyes.
5th in the League. Which is about the level of our squad.
Not sure what the problem is.
Giving away tickets, some people need to chill
Not sure what the problem is.
Giving away tickets, some people need to chill
Really? I think there has always been fight in us even under all our clueless managers.
Under Moyes we fighted in the CL and almost knocked Bayern out.
Fight saved us and won the Fa cup under LVG. Young players like Rashford came in and gave their all.
Guys like Valencia, Young,Fellaini, Herrera has always fighted for the shirt. Even crappy Rooney near the end fighted when he played.
Fight helped us win the Europa league near the end even with Zlatan getting injured.
Martial, and Pogba might be the guys that lack the extreme fight at the moment, but you don't need 11 warriors. What we need is actually more quality to mix it up with the warriors.
We got Matic Fred, Mctominay, James, Rashford who will fight. Bring us that number 10 that can create and dominate games please.
Exactly.
Look, I support Ole as I don't think we can really get up as easily as we think we can. There are no quick fixes.
But, at the same time, if we are to switch managers we must do it right away, there is no point in waiting. Not knowing who is going to be the manager creates uncertainty. Personally I think it's dumb to give Ole money if we're about to sack him, also any player we approach doesn't want to sign for a manager who has his coffers packed. Players like assurances, while other clubs can give guarantees and a plan of development like Dortmund could with Haaland we can't.
So I say either stick with Ole for the length of his contract or sack him now. Not knowing is the worst part for me, even worse than bad results right now.
But, at the same time, if we are to switch managers we must do it right away, there is no point in waiting. Not knowing who is going to be the manager creates uncertainty. Personally I think it's dumb to give Ole money if we're about to sack him, also any player we approach doesn't want to sign for a manager who has his coffers packed. Players like assurances, while other clubs can give guarantees and a plan of development like Dortmund could with Haaland we can't.
So I say either stick with Ole for the length of his contract or sack him now. Not knowing is the worst part for me, even worse than bad results right now.
After 23 games, this is Utd's worst points tally since the 89-90 season. So after 18 months Ole is doing worse than Moyes, LVG or Mourinho. There seems to be no pattern to the style of play - other than to sit deep with everyone behind the ball and hoof the ball forward hopefully for Martial/Rashford/James to run on to. They cant even defend corners properly.
And yet, a lot of supporters seem content with this. Utd have spent over 440m net on players in the last 5 years. Nowhere near as much as City - but way more than anyone else in the league. Personally I'd be expecting a lot more than 34 points from 23 games, and at least to see some entertaining football.
Another thing that struck me is the Utd coaching staff sitting on the bench at the weekend. There was Ole, Carrick and the Phill Neville look-a-like. No top-level coaching experience between them, and yet they're running Man Utd. Incredible.
And yet, a lot of supporters seem content with this. Utd have spent over 440m net on players in the last 5 years. Nowhere near as much as City - but way more than anyone else in the league. Personally I'd be expecting a lot more than 34 points from 23 games, and at least to see some entertaining football.
Another thing that struck me is the Utd coaching staff sitting on the bench at the weekend. There was Ole, Carrick and the Phill Neville look-a-like. No top-level coaching experience between them, and yet they're running Man Utd. Incredible.
Ole doesn't buy players. He may not veto some, but he doesn't just click his fingers and get what he wants.
A sensible club even with a dof will buy players regardless of the manager, because they are bought for the team, not for the manager.
It would be perfectly reasonable to buy say Hernandes today Haaland last week and still sack the manager, because the club still needs players like that.
Our issue in the past was short term views on players that were older to get immediate success, or players aimed at how that manager wanted to play over how the club wants to play.
Strides forward compared to what? 1974?
Just buying players is not a sensible thing to do, it's getting right players in.
If you think Solskjaer is a bad manager why want him to bring in players at all? Makes no sense. He'll just get wrong players in.
5th is not the full story.5th in the League. Which is about the level of our squad.
Not sure what the problem is.
Giving away tickets, some people need to chill
We are 5 behind Chelsea, but we are level with Wolves, a point ahead of Sheffield.
Palace, Everton, and Newcastle are as close to us as we are to Chelsea!
We are as close to Leicester as we are to the likes of Brighton, West Ham, and Watford!
Look at the table from a points perspective rather than just positions.
| Team | Points |
|---|---|
| Liverpool | 64 |
63 | |
62 | |
61 | |
60 | |
59 | |
58 | |
57 | |
56 | |
55 | |
54 | |
53 | |
52 | |
51 | |
50 | |
49 | |
| Man City | 48 |
47 | |
46 | |
| Leicester | 45 |
44 | |
43 | |
42 | |
41 | |
40 | |
| Chelsea | 39 |
38 | |
37 | |
36 | |
35 | |
| Man Utd, Wolves | 34 |
| Sheff Utd | 33 |
32 | |
| Spurs | 31 |
| C Palace | 30 |
| Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle | 29 |
| Southampton | 28 |
| Burnley | 27 |
26 | |
| Brighton | 25 |
24 | |
| West Ham, Watford | 23 |
| Aston Villa | 22 |
21 | |
| AFC Bournemouth | 20 |
19 | |
18 | |
| Norwich | 17 |
I remember when he was asked about Liverpools title challenge back in 2014 and he replied with "I couldn't care less". Now hes on level with Moyes and his inferior attitude.
Anybody else and he would either already have been sacked or be nearly there. But becuase it's Ole he has somehow sold this idea of this squad being terrible, it being a 10 year project, all the underlying great work he's doing which nobody can see, and of course youth & inexperience .
Knowing us, we'll be sat right here in October 2020 scratching our heads at what went wrong before making the tough decisions we should do now.
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