Ole Gunnar Solskjær | Managerial Watch

jeff gurr said:
What do you have against Leicester ? The guy is a truly awful manager who has no plan, no style & really no idea.You guys take him back if you love him so much. We don't want or need him.
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I think you might be quite surprised that quite a fair bit of blokes on this forum, myself included, would not be adverse to having Ole back over ETH now that there is a "proper footballing structure" in place.

Ole is the only manager who got us finishing top 3 (3rd and 2nd) in consecutive seasons. No other big name managers, not LvG, not Mourinho, not ETH has been able to do this.
Under Ole, we are often more than match for teams with supposedly "better" managers such Guardiola, Klopp, Tuschel, Poch, Bielsa.
Utd under Ole is the only time post SAF that I genuinely felt excitement watching our games. "4-0 FC" didn't come out of nowhere.
Ole is also great with youth players, had Greenwood not be such an appalling human being we would have one of the hottest prospect along Mainoo and Garnacho in our team right now.
Ole's signings are generally good. He recommended Haaland to Utd back when Ole was managing him at Molde, and went all in to try and secure Jude Bellingham before Dortmund prised him away. It is still debatable if DvdB is Ole's signing.

There are valid criticisms of Ole however - is that he seems to have a limited style (counter-attacking) and his team often have problems against teams that set up with low block defense. There doens't seem to be a plan B; though how much of this is due to the players he has or his tactical nouns is debatable. By comparison ETH hasn't been able to instil a proper style in our team for 2 good years now.

Other common criticism is that Ole has rather poor game management - he has the tendency to use his subs late and sometimes too late to have an impact.
 
jeff gurr said:
What do you have against Leicester ? The guy is a truly awful manager who has no plan, no style & really no idea.You guys take him back if you love him so much. We don't want or need him.
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He’s a far better manager than made out on here. Did a good job at Utd overall was unlucky not to win the Europa League. Think you’ll be pleasantly surprised if he takes over.
 
Eplel said:
It wasn't down to luck, it was down to his tactics.
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Partly. We also massively missed Maguire who was our best defender all season so that was a huge blow. De Gea being is usual poor self was also a large contributor . Even then it’s very fine margins not to win.
 
Personally I don’t think Solskjaer has any ambitions managing a team outside of United and maybe the Norway national team. I think he tried with Cardiff which went miserably and then went back to Molde, which to me says he was comfortable there and didn’t fancy that high level of football management.
 
TrustInJanuzaj said:
Even then it’s very fine margins not to win.
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My point is that we didn't try to win the final. He set the team to strive to get to the penalties instead.
If we'd won on the pens, would you say that he only got that title out of luck?
 
Eplel said:
My point is that we didn't try to win the final. He set the team to strive to get to the penalties instead.
If we'd won on the pens, would you say that he only got that title out of luck?
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Well I completely disagree he set up for penalties. We didn’t play well but there was certainly intent to win, just lacked the quality and messed up in big moments. If he’d won on pens then yes there’s an element of luck, but luck plays a role in all football games.
 
Eplel said:
But would you have come here to say that he was lucky to win the Europa?
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Not really, football is about fine margins. We lost so he got sacked, had he won he might still be here. Not really sure what you’re asking or your point is?
 
Red Comet said:
I think you might be quite surprised that quite a fair bit of blokes on this forum, myself included, would not be adverse to having Ole back over ETH now that there is a "proper footballing structure" in place.

Ole is the only manager who got us finishing top 3 (3rd and 2nd) in consecutive seasons. No other big name managers, not LvG, not Mourinho, not ETH has been able to do this.
Under Ole, we are often more than match for teams with supposedly "better" managers such Guardiola, Klopp, Tuschel, Poch, Bielsa.
Utd under Ole is the only time post SAF that I genuinely felt excitement watching our games. "4-0 FC" didn't come out of nowhere.
Ole is also great with youth players, had Greenwood not be such an appalling human being we would have one of the hottest prospect along Mainoo and Garnacho in our team right now.
Ole's signings are generally good. He recommended Haaland to Utd back when Ole was managing him at Molde, and went all in to try and secure Jude Bellingham before Dortmund prised him away. It is still debatable if DvdB is Ole's signing.

There are valid criticisms of Ole however - is that he seems to have a limited style (counter-attacking) and his team often have problems against teams that set up with low block defense. There doens't seem to be a plan B; though how much of this is due to the players he has or his tactical nouns is debatable. By comparison ETH hasn't been able to instil a proper style in our team for 2 good years now.

Other common criticism is that Ole has rather poor game management - he has the tendency to use his subs late and sometimes too late to have an impact.
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Ole with a good structure above him can challenge for the PL and CL. Not saying he'd definitely win them over an x year period, but I'm confident that he could challenge. Would be an incredibly exciting appointment to have him back, but I know it'll never happen, unless he makes a name for himself at other clubs in the next few years. But it's part of the reason why I really wanted McKenna, so he could continue the project Ole started.
 
Remember the geese said:
The disrespect Ole gets is really quite shocking. You'd have thought he had United in the bottom half and was sacked by Christmas in his first year.
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Yeah, the "character" assassination done on Ole during and after his managerial stint at United has been something.; and the thing is the United fans buying into it has been the worst. Like you said, you'd think United barely survived relegations for the two seasons under Ole with the way people talk about him.
I'll still say till now, its my favorite period of supporting United after SAF.
 
Juicy Juiced said:
Ole relegated Cardiff, but lets swipe that under the rug.
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That was a dreadful Cardiff team and they were going down one way or another. To say that his club management chops are less convincing than Southgate is lunacy.
 
Juicy Juiced said:
Ole relegated Cardiff, but lets swipe that under the rug.
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Yes, he did. And what? You'd be surprised to see how many of the world's best managers would get relegated with one of the worst squads in the league...or not do particularly well with mid-table players at their disposal, like Ancelotti at Everton. I'm not saying Ole is up there with Pep, Arteta and Klopp, but he's a really good manager despite getting relegated with Cardiff.

If Kompany does well with Bayern, will that be a paradox to you?

Do you think Pep would've kept up any one of the three relegated teams of this season?
 
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stevoc said:
Moyes got a team relegated and recovered from that.
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Somewhat poor comparison given his best work was prior to that. He’d already got the reputation from Preston and Everton. So the only question with him was could he make the jump to the elite level.

Ole has had a crack at the top and bottom of the league. The bottom is what is relevant to a newly promoted Leicester, especially one with a points deduction looming, and that is what will worry fans. Plus, although it’s unfair, it will only be a couple of losses and the PE teacher media will resurface and add extra pressure.
 
Rojofiam said:
Yes, he did. And what? You'd be surprised to see how many of the world's best managers would get relegated with one of the worst squads in the league...or not do particularly well with mid-table players at his disposal, like Ancelotti at Everton. I'm not saying Ole is up there with Pep, Arteta and Klopp, but he's a really good manager despite getting relegated with Cardiff.

If Kompany does well with Bayern, will that be a paradox to you?

Do you think Pep would've kept up any one of the three relegated teams of this season?
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The only mistake of his tenure at Cardiff was taking the job in the first place. It was doomed from day 1 and people holding it against him 10 years later is ridiculous. There is such a thing as progress and evolution and he's not the same manager he was back then - not would the squad he'd be taking over at Leicester be as dreadful as the Cardiff one, I imagine.
 
For what it's worth, his Cardiff was terrible in the championship too.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
The only mistake of his tenure at Cardiff was taking the job in the first place. It was doomed from day 1 and people holding it against him 10 years later is ridiculous. There is such a thing as progress and evolution and he's not the same manager he was back then - not would the squad he'd be taking over at Leicester be as dreadful as the Cardiff one, I imagine.
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Agreed. 2014 was a long time ago and a different era of football altogether. His Cardiff stint just isn't that relevant IMO if a club is considering hiring him as their manager.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
The only mistake of his tenure at Cardiff was taking the job in the first place. It was doomed from day 1 and people holding it against him 10 years later is ridiculous. There is such a thing as progress and evolution and he's not the same manager he was back then - not would the squad he'd be taking over at Leicester be as dreadful as the Cardiff one, I imagine.
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People always bring up Cardiff when discussing Ole as a manager and never really talk about how he took charge of a Molde side that had just sacked Uwe Rosler after avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth and led them to their first ever Norweigen league title in his first season then retained it in his 2nd.
 
It’s easy to see why Leicester fans wouldn’t be excited at the thought of Ole, if you think without your United hat on.

He was completely unqualified for the United job but the feel good factor and love he had from the fans played a big part in him settling into the role, he’d have no such luxuries anywhere else.

Ole always talked up his assistants here and with how things have panned out years later, I’d be concerned as a Leicester fan that it was McKenna and Carrick who were doing a lot of the heavy lifting. I’m pretty sure they’d be more on board with either of these two than Ole.

Ole is just a massive risk because he hasn’t worked since he left us nearly 3 years ago and his United stint is difficult to judge due to the factors above.

It is the kind of job that could allow him to prove himself though. If he does well people will look at his United spell with more respect but the opposite holds true too.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
Somewhat poor comparison given his best work was prior to that. He’d already got the reputation from Preston and Everton. So the only question with him was could he make the jump to the elite level.

Ole has had a crack at the top and bottom of the league. The bottom is what is relevant to a newly promoted Leicester, especially one with a points deduction looming, and that is what will worry fans. Plus, although it’s unfair, it will only be a couple of losses and the PE teacher media will resurface and add extra pressure.
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Not at all actually, in fact it's a relevant one.

Two managers that managed one club for a long time. Both failed at United to varying degrees, both got a team relegated. Granted Solskjaer only had half a season at Cardiff as opposed to Moyes who had the benefit of a preseason and a huge transfer window before relegating a team. As well as another disastrous job in between at Sociedad.

But despite all that he came back and not only saved West Ham from relegation. But moved them up the table in subsequent seasons. So a manager can definitely recover from a relegation.
 
RedRocket9908 said:
People always bring up Cardiff when discussing Ole as a manager and never really talk about how he took charge of a Molde side that had just sacked Uwe Rosler after avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth and led them to their first ever Norweigen league title in his first season then retained it in his 2nd.
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People aren't particularly interested in discussing in good faith in general I'd say.
 
RedRocket9908 said:
People always bring up Cardiff when discussing Ole as a manager and never really talk about how he took charge of a Molde side that had just sacked Uwe Rosler after avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth and led them to their first ever Norweigen league title in his first season then retained it in his 2nd.
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That is because it is Norway and it was over 10 years ago. Plenty of managers were successful somewhere in a smaller league, but could not replicate it at a higher or the highest level.
Time is a factor as well. Jose was once great, but he is not a great manager anymore. Ole had a second stint at Molde and won nothing.

So he either peaked early and/or got lucky, but he is not as good today as you make him out to be due to his first Molde stint. That is the past. He needs to take a job, get out there and show us what he is made of nowadays. I am sure he learnt something from his United stint as well.
 
If they hire him that’s a ticket to go straight back to the Championship .
 
I hope he does take over Leicester and gets them relegated, I hate Leicester.
 
Juicy Juiced said:
Ole relegated Cardiff, but lets swipe that under the rug.
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Yeah let’s talk about that.
  • Cardiff had then THE worst team in EPL. No doubt about that
  • Cardiff’s new owner Vincent Tan was batshit crazy. He decides the players he wants to sign and even changed the club logo and shirt colour.
  • SAF explicitly advised Ole not to take the job, especially not as the first in a role that was never set up for success. Ole wanted a challenge anyway.
  • Ole wasn’t first choice, but he was the only choice as other managers didn’t want to take up a job that’s doomed to fail.
  • After he failed, he went to FC Molde and delivered the team’s first champion in their history.
 
Red Comet said:
Yeah let’s talk about that.
  • Cardiff had then THE worst team in EPL. No doubt about that
  • Cardiff’s new owner Vincent Tan was batshit crazy. He decides the players he wants to sign and even changed the club logo and shirt colour.
  • SAF explicitly advised Ole not to take the job, especially not as the first in a role that was never set up for success. Ole wanted a challenge anyway.
  • Ole wasn’t first choice, but he was the only choice as other managers didn’t want to take up a job that’s doomed to fail.
  • After he failed, he went to FC Molde and delivered the team’s first champion in their history.
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Where were his patterns of play™?
 
Pickle85 said:
That was a dreadful Cardiff team and they were going down one way or another. To say that his club management chops are less convincing than Southgate is lunacy.
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You know what is else ignored? The fact that he was awful next season in Championship too. After bringing bunch of players.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
You know what is else ignored? The fact that he was awful next season in Championship too. After bringing bunch of players.
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I thought of that too, but at the end of the day, it's a moot point. We had him for 3 years of playing shit football, what he did in molde or 10 years ago pales in comparison
 
Andycoleno9 said:
You know what is else ignored? The fact that he was awful next season in Championship too. After bringing bunch of players.
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My point is that his managerial chops are more impressive than Southgate's. Disagree?
 
jeff gurr said:
I'm led to believe by comments on this forum that he took no part in training & his only involvement was on the bench on game day. We have a bunch of young players coming through our system who will need a manager who can work with them and improve them. We will need a manager who can teach our young players how to defend a lead & squeak out 1-0 wins. We need a McKenna or Rosenior type manager who is hands on at the training ground. This will be a very tough season with an upcoming points deduction & a limited budget. We will need a top man if we are going to stay up . I don't see Ole as that person.
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So rumours about Ole and training are true, but rumours that McKenna was poor and the players thought his training basic are false?

You can’t have it both ways and I don’t think a fan forum (as good as the Caf is), is the barometer for managerial ability.

As for a “top man” coming to newly promoted team and likely to go back down again, good luck with that…
 
Red Comet said:
Yeah let’s talk about that.
  • Cardiff had then THE worst team in EPL. No doubt about that
  • Cardiff’s new owner Vincent Tan was batshit crazy. He decides the players he wants to sign and even changed the club logo and shirt colour.
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Cardiff had a very decent budget for Ole even in the winter when he took over. He brought in 8 players during that window and the worst team at the time was outside relegation zone.

as for the second statement I find it hard to believe that Tan, decided to bring in 2 United players in Zaha and Fabio and 3 from tippenleague/coached by Ole in our reserves in Eikram, Daehly and some other Norway lads. It kinda looks like Ole signings.
 
Imagine Leicester saying no to Klopp as well, because he got Mainz relegated.
 
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