Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | W15 D2 L4

[edcunited1878]

Rashford wasn't confined to the left. He just had an off game and we need to accept that. His clear chance in the first half was unacceptable for his form, it was very bad.

His touches around the box were heavy and he was a tad too fast when he needed some composure to hold the ball a bit, look for some runners or shift the ball if he was stood up. Made good runs and movement without the ball, final phase for him was poor. So be it, he's one of the last of our worries.

United had their chances to win when considering individual performances were not good, clear mistakes for Burnley's first goal and resolute defending/cynical fouls by the entire Burnley team. Plus Heaton made a few stupid saves that I'm sure he wont be making over the weekend.

 

[Bobcat]

Its interesting isn't it? We had no clue as to what our best 11 was until Ole showed us. Now we expect them to play every game.

There was a huge clamour on the CAF for giving everyone a chance, a 'fresh start.' Claims of mediocrity for Fred and Andreas were slammed. They haven't done well and Ole gets hammered for being naive and 'changing a winning formula.'

Its absolutely mind boggling, especially when you look at our upcoming fixtures. Everyone rotates, its what you have to do over a long season if you want to compete on multiple fronts.

What this shows more than anything is that we have spunked a lot of money over the last three years and have little to show for it in terms of squad depth. Young is not good enough to be first choice backup and neither is Valencia. Shaw looks alright, but is injury prone and his end product is awful. If Lindelôf gets injured we are fecked since hes the only CB thats not a madman/made of glass.

Our MF three picks itself and is pretty damn good imo, but the likes of Perira, McTomminay and Mata is not good enough. Attack is also fine, but if Rashford/Martial are out we really see a dip in quality

 

[Feed Me]

I'm really disappointed with the result yesterday but the lack of performance says more about the players than manager IMO. It only took one draw for some posters to come out of the woodwork suggesting that maybe Ole isn't cut out for it and that we need Poch in ASAP. Newsflash - teams sometimes don't win football matches. We are 8 wins and 1 draw from the last 9 games, which is title winning form, he's improved the team's defensive play and we do look more menacing in attack, although still room for improvement in both areas. It is also a pleasure to be associated with the club again after the horrendous, toxic atmosphere that the previous cnut created. I'd love the group of Ole, Phelan, Carrick and McKenna to continue long term.

 

[11101]

Their own game? Surely you aren't talking about long balls and setting up to defend, or? I think we had too many crosses etc. But the reality is we were set up in a way that it was all up to our players to beat what Burnley put up in front of us. We had chances to kill the game off, but the players didn't all have it in them today. I certainly think we was supposed to play with more tempo, as we saw in a few instances, it just didn't happen enough due to our players. Ole knows that now, and it will surely effect some of the players later on.

Also we needed to rest players and not only that but we need all these players to play a part if we are to do anything serious this season.

We set up to match them at a physical game. We were content to let them come through the middle and beat them man v man in defence, and equally happy to play aerial balls into our forwards. It was never going to work.

The players we had in rotation forced that hand a bit but hopefully Ole now sees how weak the squad is.

 

[Red-Man-Walking]

Another day Rashford doesn't miss a sitter, Heaton doesn't do a De Gea impression and make some outstanding fingertip reaction saves, and we bury them by 5 or more. This isn't in the same league as games we've drawn under LVG and Mourinho, we created enough to win twice over if we took our chances better.

 

[SirAF]

Another day Rashford doesn't miss a sitter, Heaton doesn't do a De Gea impression and make some outstanding fingertip reaction saves, and we bury them by 5 or more. This isn't in the same league as games we've drawn under LVG and Mourinho, we created enough to win twice over if we took our chances better.

To be fair, this was quite similar to some of the drawn home matches we saw in the fall of 2016. A couple of keepers produced similar performances against United back then.

 

[JohnnyKills]

We've got a torrid run of fixtures coming up and we can't play the same team every time. Last night seemed the most feasible opportunity to rotate and give certain players a rest. The fact that it didn't work is down to the players who came in, not OGS.

 

[JohnnyKills]

The time to rest players was against Arsenal on Friday, today was the more important of the two games. I said it in the build up to the Arsenal game

We did rest players against Arsenal. Rashford and Martial only had to play 30 minutes each.

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

For all those Arsenal fans that think it's really SAF pulling the strings:

Spoiler

 

[SER19]

I'm really disappointed with the result yesterday but the lack of performance says more about the players than manager IMO. It only took one draw for some posters to come out of the woodwork suggesting that maybe Ole isn't cut out for it and that we need Poch in ASAP. Newsflash - teams sometimes don't win football matches. We are 8 wins and 1 draw from the last 9 games, which is title winning form, he's improved the team's defensive play and we do look more menacing in attack, although still room for improvement in both areas. It is also a pleasure to be associated with the club again after the horrendous, toxic atmosphere that the previous cnut created. I'd love the group of Ole, Phelan, Carrick and McKenna to continue long term.

I dont get how people dont quite grasp this. Your average title winning team probably drops points somewhere between every 3-4 games but every dropped point leads to catastrophe. Its annoying bit we can only move on to the next one. Beat liverpool at old Trafford and this will be long forgotten

 

[beedoubleyou]

I cannot believe I am waking up to fans criticising Ole for playing Manchester United's most expensive, and one of the leagues most prolific strikers of the last 5 years in his correct position against Burnley.

Some right numpteys on here.

 

[AndersB]

I agree that's not a a tactical problem. We had seen this game several times before. Start lax, jogging around, concede, panic and start putting loads of crossing. How many times has this happened for us ? Crossins is a sign of desperation and panic, not a tactical option.

When the players direct the ball out to Young again, again and again (to the left much less), only for him to whip it in (quite poorly last night), then it is definitely a tactical decision on some level. My main issues with that was 1. It's Burnley, and especially 2. We took our main aerial threat off, and replaced him with a 5f6" tall guy who didn't seem to know what his role was.

As one poster mentions - "we scored two goals, how did it not work?". That argument makes no sense. We got a soft penalty a bit out of nowhere, and then Lindelof scored (admittedly from a Sanchez rebound), but that was in the last minutes of stoppage time, with siege mentality and desperation from Burnley, and the boost of the first goal. Very different from scoring the first.

I just don't see the point of taking off Lukaku when his services as target man are practically not needed anymore, playing more to his strengths after he is gone. It's not just being "desperate" on our part (City would not do that). Anyway, -that- is the conflicting message, imo.

 

[Makelele]

United fans used to be the most sensible and logical fanbase. How quickly things turn. You lot have become so melodramatic, reacting to every game as if its the CL final that was played.

 

[Bilbo]

This forum can be as toxic as Mourinho sometimes. There is no criticism required towards anybody this morning. Burnley defended excellently - these matches sometimes happen. The team showed great character to come back and salvage something.

 

[FootyGirl88]

 

[tieunhilang]

We were on a 8 games winning streak, it had to end somewhere. To expect us to win all games is not realistic considering the state We were in just two months ago.

Now, He's shown if his team can do a comeback as well. That is very important. He's passed all the test for me, only how He deals in transfer windows remain a question. Unfortunately We may never see that happens.

Imagine Woodward waving good-bye to Ole in the summer, only to bring in Allegri/Simeone. Old Trafford would riot!

 

[GhastlyHun]

9 games unbeaten, scored 2 within 10 minutes to secure a point that seemed super unlikely at 80 minutes - the result is certainly still a good one in the end.
Can't say anything about mistakes with the line up or tactics as I didn't watch the game.

 

[hocane]

As much as i've praised him since he arrived i have to criticize him for this draw, this is all on him. Naive team selection.

What team should have played:

----------------De Gea---------------

Young------Bailly----Lindelof---Shaw

------------------Matic-------------------

--------------Herrera----Pogba-----------

Lingard----------Rashford------Sanchez

If played this team we would have won, 100 %

 

[ReddBalls]

9 games unbeaten, scored 2 within 10 minutes to secure a point that seemed super unlikely at 80 minutes - the result is certainly still a good one in the end.
Can't say anything about mistakes with the line up or tactics as I didn't watch the game.

Untited dominated the game thoroughly. 28 shots on goal, but unfortunately no one managed to score before the penalty. Only weakness of United mentioned in whoscored's match report is "commited a high number of personal errors". But off course the result was on the manager

 

[Coxy]

As much as i've praised him since he arrived i have to criticize him for this draw, this is all on him. Naive team selection.

What team should have played:

----------------De Gea---------------

Young------Bailly----Lindelof---Shaw

------------------Matic-------------------

--------------Herrera----Pogba-----------

Lingard----------Rashford------Sanchez

If played this team we would have won, 100 %

Fully agree.

 

[Kapardin]

Untited dominated the game thoroughly. 28 shots on goal, but unfortunately no one managed to score before the penalty. Only weakness of United mentioned in whoscored's match report is "commited a high number of personal errors". But off course the result was on the manager

The manager was not blameless either. Sanchez should have started on the left with Rashford up top. McTominay or Fred instead of Pereira.

Of course, Rashford bottling chances didn't help, but let's not excuse Ole's shortcomings in his approach for the game just because we like him more than Mourinho.

 

[ReddBalls]

The manager was not blameless either. Sanchez should have started on the left with Rashford up top. McTominay or Fred instead of Pereira.

Of course, Rashford bottling chances didn't help, but let's not excuse Ole's shortcomings in his approach for the game just because we like him more than Mourinho.

Yeah, United would obviously win if Solskjær managed the way the mighty Kapardin at RedCafé would

United had 28 shots at goal. 28. Twentyeight. The fault was not with the way the team was set up. The players failed to execute.

And if not for Perreira, Burnley wouldn't had a sniff at all.

 

[JustAGuest]

A lot of kneejerk reactions in here. Claiming another team selection would have won the game, and using it to criticise the manager, is really naive. Fact is the team created more than enough chances to win the game. These type of games will happen no matter how good the manager is.

 

[Kapardin]

Yeah, United would obviously win if Solskjær managed the way the mighty Kapardin at RedCafé would

United had 28 shots at goal. 28. Twentyeight. There was nothing wrong with the way the team was set up. The players failed to execute.

Jose's United had 30 shots against Tottenham. 30. We lost 3-1.

The team was set up wrongly. Rashford is not a LW. Alexis should have started. Fred or McTominay should have started.

And its' not just "mighty me" who thinks Ole was tactically off. Is it now off limits to criticize a manager if we aren't managers ourselves? By that logic, nobody can discuss football at all.

 

[Shez]

Thoroughly enjoyed the game. On another day we could have easily one, particularly the chances Rashford got. We were literally parked in their half for 80% of the game. Observations from being at OT: Jones should be no where near the team... he is a walking calamity. If he was a horse people would be clamoring for him to be put down. Secondly, Lukaku is fecking lazy - and no this is not a lazy black player stereotype. Pogba was amazing - running around, trying things. But Lukaku put in minimal effort. The TV doesnt capture the amount of times Lukaku is just standing around doing nothing. Not jumping or running the extra five yards to put pressure on players. Everyone around myself was fecking pissed with him throughout the game as well. We were also pretty complacent - putting together a string of good passes, heading into the right direction before someone would balls it up in the end by a sloppy touch or misplaced pass. Can't put that on Ole.
And also feck Jon Moss. It seemed like he was enjoying giving everything to the away team and ignoring the home fans, not even bothering noting the hundredth time Heaton did the same thing to waste time. How Heaton got away with taking the mickey is beyond me.
Can't believe the hate Ole is getting on here - think we were pretty solid tactically. We have to switch things up with fatigue sinking in - our fixture pileup both before and after is insane; Martial getting injured in the build up didnt help ofcourse. We need to start trusting the bench more going forward and make do with the quality we have - for better or for worse. One thing you cant fault the team for is that they played out of their skins except for Lukaku. Oh also, we literally threw the kitchen sink at them. A couple of minutes more and we could have snagged a winner

 

[Andy_Cole]

A lot of kneejerk reactions in here. Claiming another team selection would have won the game, and using it to criticise the manager, is really naive. Fact is the team created more than enough chances to win the game. These type of games will happen no matter how good the manager is.

I agree with the ‘knee jerk’. However let’s hope Ole learnt from his mistake.

 

[macheda14]

Jose's United had 30 shots against Tottenham. 30. We lost 3-1.

The team was set up wrongly. Rashford is not a LW. Alexis should have started. Fred or McTominay should have started.

And its' not just "mighty me" who thinks Ole was tactically off. Is it now off limits to criticize a manager if we aren't managers ourselves? By that logic, nobody can discuss football at all.

Not a LW yet had two of our best chances. Alexis should have started, yet Rom got 2 assists against Arse - deserving a start. Ole recently came out saying Pereira has been training really well. Herrera and Lingard were rested because they have been playing a lot of games at a high intensity recently.

The players were at fault for starting the game slowly thinking they had already won as Pogba came out and said.

 

[SirAF]

Not a LW yet had two of our best chances. Alexis should have started, yet Rom got 2 assists against Arse - deserving a start. Ole recently came out saying Pereira has been training really well. Herrera and Lingard were rested because they have been playing a lot of games at a high intensity recently.

The players were at fault for starting the game slowly thinking they had already won as Pogba came out and said.

Didn’t Pogba say something similar earlier in the season? Worrying.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

The manager was not blameless either. Sanchez should have started on the left with Rashford up top. McTominay or Fred instead of Pereira.

Of course, Rashford bottling chances didn't help, but let's not excuse Ole's shortcomings in his approach for the game just because we like him more than Mourinho.

Come on. Hindsight is easy. We're about giving players a chance. Loads of us have been crying about how Pereira never got a shot. Ole gave him one at home in an in-form team against a team fighting against relegation. It could have gone either way but the kid fecked it up. Now we know he's not good enough and we can move on. McTominay and Fred up next.

Also, playing Lukaku up front against a physical team like Burnley wasn't a strange thing to try at all. Especially after he got two assists last time he played. It didn't work out. We had an off day. We move on.

 

[Jonas Hagman]

I think it looked like Rashford was the player that needed a rest at least more than Lingaard.. Maybe it was a mistake not to start with Sanchez in this one who knows and who cares let's move on and learn, Ole is getting to know the team better with this kind of performance I think it's a positive side of it..

 

[Kapardin]

Not a LW yet had two of our best chances. Alexis should have started, yet Rom got 2 assists against Arse - deserving a start. Ole recently came out saying Pereira has been training really well. Herrera and Lingard were rested because they have been playing a lot of games at a high intensity recently.

The players were at fault for starting the game slowly thinking they had already won as Pogba came out and said.

Sure, Rashford did get chances and he bottled them. Never said the players weren't at fault. But as a LW, he doesn't seem to time his runs properly and it affects his overall game. As a ST, he might have gotten 2-3 more chances to finish better, he looks more comfortable in that position.

If Ole thought Lukaku merited a start, it should come at the expense of Rashford. We have seen enough of this shoe-horning Rashford at LW, it doesn't work. Rotate Lukaku with Rashford, there are enough games for both of them.

Saying Ole got some things wrong doesn't mean he is shite or anything. I want him to get the permanent job. But let's also be objective.

Come on. Hindsight is easy. We're about giving players a chance. Loads of us have been crying about how Pereira never got a shot. Ole gave him one at home in an in-form team against a team fighting against relegation. It could have gone either way but the kid fecked it up. Now we know he's not good enough and we can move on. McTominay and Fred up next.

Also, playing Lukaku up front against a physical team like Burnley wasn't a strange thing to try at all. Especially after he got two assists last time he played. It didn't work out. We had an off day. We move on.

For my part, I had my doubts about Pereira and wanted him to play in cup games first. He never excelled even at Granada or Valencia, which is when I started to think he wasn't all that. But anyway, as you say, I don't grudge the draw, considering how well Ole has done, and certainly players were also at fault. Ole himself recognizes the flaws, which is a plus, and I am confident we will finish this season on a high (either top 4 or a trophy or atleast a monster run even if we finish 5th due to other factors).

 

[reelworld]

Did he? We created loads. We just werent clinical. 1 individual mistake from a youngish player that he was giving a chance to when rotating costed us, it happens. You live and you learn. You dont not give players these chances because they might make mistakes. The second we stop doing that is when we abandon the values that Sir Matt built this club on.

Not sure he got the subs wrong? Sanchez and Lingard both had positive impacts IMO.

People act as if Sir Alex had a perfect record at United and now go into hyper detail the second we drop points. We can drop points without it being a bad decision from the manager. We need to rotate, now was a good game for it. Didnt work out. Move on.

spot on.
I'm amazed at how many people criticized Ole for last night. In hindsight he should make better decision, but at the time he made the decision, it's very reasonable and make sense. Learn from that and move on.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Do we really need to play 4-3-3 every game? Surely, yesterday, we should have simply had Matic and Pogba in midfield.

 

[JoseandMkhiarespecial]

Poch gets a free pass to lose games through a thin squad and injuries to key players.

Ole had Herrera and Lingard with niggles last night as they run so much when they give their all playing for him. Martial also had an injury.

So he had to replace them with Perreira who is Arsenal level, Mata who is Arsenal level, and Rom for Martial.

It's not Ole's fault he has a thin squad and that Jose seemed to tell Lukaku to put 10 kilos or 15 kilos on and lose his pace.

 

[JoseandMkhiarespecial]

Do we really need to play 4-3-3 every game? Surely, yesterday, we should have simply had Matic and Pogba in midfield.

We had 2 in midfield near the end and looked like Arsenal in there with Burnley gaining possession and running through the midfield

 

[hocane]

Poch gets a free pass to lose games through a thin squad and injuries to key players.

Ole had Herrera and Lingard with niggles last night as they run so much when they give their all playing for him. Martial also had an injury.

So he had to replace them with Perreira who is Arsenal level, Mata who is Arsenal level, and Rom for Martial.

It's not Ole's fault he has a thin squad and that Jose seemed to tell Lukaku to put 10 kilos or 15 kilos on and lose his pace.

That doesn't excuse him for leaving Bailly out, our most talented cb out of the squad.

 

[Catt]

I'm reserving judgement whether he's good enough to be made permanent manager until the end of March, that's when we'll know whether we're good enough.

We could easily drop points in our next 2 league games, which would more than likely mean no top 4.

Best to wait. I Was sceptical when he got the job and still am.

Should add that I really hope he succeed and get the job permanently.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

We had 2 in midfield near the end and looked like Arsenal in there with Burnley gaining possession and running through the midfield

No we didn't. Burnley had 20% of the ball over 90 minutes. Possession wasn't an issue.

 

[Devil81]

The comeback shown we have the fight to compete for the manager, he made the correct changes and it work out well.

We were never going to win every match.

 

[TMDaines]

This forum can be as toxic as Mourinho sometimes. There is no criticism required towards anybody this morning. Burnley defended excellently - these matches sometimes happen. The team showed great character to come back and salvage something.

Burnley did not defend excellently. They conceded way too many chances to expect to get anything from the game. Heaton was great, but United otherwise undid themselves with poor finishing and two defensive errors, whilst otherwise playing really well.