2 individual mistakes(Rashford and Pereira) cost us a point. We did have a go at them and got two goals in the end. Heaton pulled off a worldie. No point crying over this game. On to the next.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | W15 D2 L4
- Thread starter Tom Van Persie
- Start date
It wasn't very realistic but I expect there will be a few coming in the summer, as normal.
As do I hope he succeeds but his tactical prowess will come under scrutiny a lot more in the games at the end of Feb and the whole of March, that's when we'll see if he's the right candidate for the job. The players on the fringe of the first team also need to prove they're worthy of keeping beyond the summer.
Our problem with the managerial situation is that Spurs will drag their heels over Poch, if it drags too far into the summer then we'll be left to rush into the summer market like when LvG took over. Plus, a new manager will also want to assess the squad, players like Jones, Young, Valencia, Mata and Rojo might get another season to prove themselves, this we can't afford as we need players who are going to improve us.
He was sacked because he didn't deliver on the pitch and had the team play dour, Stoke football.
Honestly no need to assess Val, Jones, Rojo etc. If you have paid somewhat attention to the game in the last two years you'd know they should be on their head out.
Wasn't it Paul Jewell while at Wigan when they were in the PL?
Hopefully this will kick off another great run.
We were never going to win every game, and a draw is better then a loss... and a draw in this fashion is probably the best possible kind of draw.
We were never going to win every game, and a draw is better then a loss... and a draw in this fashion is probably the best possible kind of draw.
Yet Valencia and Jones played regularly under every manager since SAF and under SAF, these players should've been upgraded 2 seasons ago minimum. Same problems are coming home to roost with our squad, they're either not good enough, their legs have gone or played out of position.
Jones need to go for injuries alone, Val's legs are gone, Rojo injured and not good enough. Get rid of Darmian and Fellaini? as well and we're in for a nice spring cleaning.
Val was obviously good enough in the past and Jones although promising, maybe injuries ruined what SAF saw in him.
In fairness to Ole, he's operating with minimal margin for error because we were so far from competing for top 4 prior to him taking over. He's taken on a team with low morale and got them back to winning ways.
If anyone offered us 8 wins and a draw from these 9 games we'd have taken the hand and all off the. Bigger tests lie ahead but he is performing way above expectations
If anyone offered us 8 wins and a draw from these 9 games we'd have taken the hand and all off the. Bigger tests lie ahead but he is performing way above expectations
No criticism from me, our finishing was poor last night, not much Ole can do about squandering chance after chance. We could have and should have been out of sight by half time, the longer you have a game at 0-0 against a team like Burnley, the more encouraged they get. The fight we shown at the end is exactly what we've all come to expect from United. The game isn't over until it's over. I know one thing for sure, Pochettino or any other manager wouldn't have got a draw from a position of 0-2 down.
Was interesting to see Mike Phelan's reaction at full time, he was clearly upset with something and him and Solskjaer were agreeing on it.
Also, we can't win every game, we had to drop points at some point. This also applies to our rivals.
Was interesting to see Mike Phelan's reaction at full time, he was clearly upset with something and him and Solskjaer were agreeing on it.
Also, we can't win every game, we had to drop points at some point. This also applies to our rivals.
I'm gonna cut him some slack, he's hardly put a foot wrong since he came here. Not the time to rip into him as he's still learning about the squad. Far bigger tests await him in February so I'm curious to see how it all pans out.
Coming to last night, we couldn't play more into Burnley hands. Didn't capitalize one of the few mistakes they made in 1st half, capitulated ourselves to hand them the lead and then once again few minutes later. Despite all these mistakes we still salvaged a point and if Moss wasn't a fat cnut we could have gotten all 3 as Burnley were in full panic mode in the end.
Coming to last night, we couldn't play more into Burnley hands. Didn't capitalize one of the few mistakes they made in 1st half, capitulated ourselves to hand them the lead and then once again few minutes later. Despite all these mistakes we still salvaged a point and if Moss wasn't a fat cnut we could have gotten all 3 as Burnley were in full panic mode in the end.
"One of the reasons"
Yes dear, I saw that
WWWWWWWWD is no disaster in anyone's books.
We conceded some sloppy goals but had a nice fightback to rescue a point. This is fine if it's a rare occurrence - City lost yesterday and are a much better team (for now) than us for example - and top 4 is still on. Hopefully this will light a bit of a fire in some of the players who went missing a bit yesterday.
We conceded some sloppy goals but had a nice fightback to rescue a point. This is fine if it's a rare occurrence - City lost yesterday and are a much better team (for now) than us for example - and top 4 is still on. Hopefully this will light a bit of a fire in some of the players who went missing a bit yesterday.
A bump if we manage to turn it around again against Leicester and Fulham. So disappointing though not to win but perhaps five more minutes would've seen us score a third.
Ole stayed true to his word. He said everyone will get their chance and that's whats happened. No idea why people are shocked.
everyone has been given their chance so nobody can complain. Going forward I trust his judgement on the players. After all Fellaini is being shipped out in less than 6 weeks.
everyone has been given their chance so nobody can complain. Going forward I trust his judgement on the players. After all Fellaini is being shipped out in less than 6 weeks.
I agree.
Was good enough, we should've been proactive in replacing him early and not reactive, that's why we have so many players who aren't good enough.
True, and three managers since 2013 has contributed to that. We shouldn't renew a few of these now and get them off the books.
Thanks for posting this. Great to see someone else not immediately descending into the pit of doom over one result.
If we win the next 2 games we are in a stronger position than any of us could have dreamed of after getting beat by Liverpool.
This is definitely something being missed here. 85+% win rate is pretty fecking good so far and it should have been a win last night only we couldn’t finish our dinner (the main issue, rather than the defence).
Even if he finishes this season with a win rate of 70-75%, that’s going to be really good given what he walked into. He’ll be competing for trophies next season if he keeps it up.
Off course you can criticize the manager, but everything you throw out there are assumptions based on hindsight. Burnley took the lead because United did not take their clear cut changes and because of an individual error by Perreira. That happens sometimes, and it could still happen regardless of the personell changes you suggest. Solskjærs tactics made United dominate the game in every possible measure. Based on recent history you would expect players like Rashford, Pogba and Lukaku to score goals when you dominate like that.
I didn’t like the balance of the squad when it was announced and I thought Ole expected far too little from Burnley. It was a bit of a naive show on the backroom’s part, even though Ole claimed there were injuries in the squad and players were ill. The subs were 50-50. Sanchez is simply not a game changer when the team needs a boost of energy. Our tempo was down, he came and did nothing. Perhaps Fred might have been a better choice over Andreas and Jesse for Rom who was dreadful. Rom gets easily intimidated for a big man and then drifts. Ander would have jabbed back at their mid-field which might have pushed them back.
Ole still gets the job for me but I think he does need at least five players to reinforce the central spine.
Ole still gets the job for me but I think he does need at least five players to reinforce the central spine.
Absolutely. I feel a bit pee'd off with some of the negative posts on here today. It wasn't a great match, we couldn't find a way through a well organised team and we dropped two points. But once more it was like watching Utd of old. There were plenty of these matches and the manner of the comeback was great.
How come people don't seem to get that the players need rest through the season and Ole needs to check which players are up for the task in harder games? This was the perfect game for Pereira and others, at home in a team with 8 wins in a row.
Some just blew it.
Some just blew it.
Exactly. Fergie never won the league by playing the same 11 every game. He rotated plenty, but the squad players were all up to the job.
Last night just proved the alternative options aren't up to scratch. We need to sign 3-4 more players and push out the not required.
This post completely forgets SAF could motivate and get players to play at a level others simply cannot. Our teams were full of players 'not up to scratch' under him and still won...jesus some of his teams were laughed at (Arsenal in the cup line up) and still won.....course they lost as well, but the general point remains.
It’s clear the players want to play for him though and that is half the battle. I reckon we should sign Ole but not go mental and give him a massive contract, give two years and see what he can do.
I find it strange to read some comments about the team or the line up, after a game that we fully controlled for 90 minutes. We've played worse than this in some games during our winning run, losing the control at some point and receiving waves of attacks. Yesterday we were in total control and messed it up in two isolated moments, but the players on the field and the overall performance should have been enough to get us the 3 points quite easily.
My only criticism yesterday would have been to bench Lukaku when we needed goals, against a team packing the box with tall and strong defenders. But we created our chances after that, scored two goals without him so it wasn't bad after all.
I praise Solskjaer for giving Pereira an honest chance, for all the good things it represents. First of all he tries to protect one of the players who came through our ranks, to see if it can work in the right context before losing him for nothing. A squad is never built only by buying world class players, so it's not a bad thing to try and take profit of the talent that emerges from the youth system. If every player was going to have a chance under Ole, Pereira shouldn't be different.
Secondly, he started Andreas the same day Fellaini seems to be close to leaving, exactly the opposite that would have happened under Mourinho. The way I see it, it's a clear message about the kind of team he's starting to draw. Class, technique, above the physicality. The offensive side above the defensive one. Without ignoring defending and the physical side of the game, of course, but priorities have changed. If Pereira doesn't respond well in the next months, I guess another one will come in the same or similar mould.
Also, we send a message to the youth players - they will have a chance if they show talent, discipline and the right attitude. It would be easier for Solskjaer or anyone else to bring a more experience player to the field or the typical workhorse to perform short term, and avoid silly mistakes like the one he did yesterday. But in the long term it's much better to leave some margin for the youth, and avoid a situation like City nowadays where they are losing shining talents for fun.
Solskjaer and the current staff seem to me like the kind of 'club people' who take care of the club interests above their own short term interests. For me things like these are invaluable, and give me confidence to imagine the likes of Gomes, Chong, Greenwood and Garner being introduced at some point.
This is why I think it's important to have some perspective when we don't win a game, because there's some people (I don't mean only this forum but in general) who gets upset very easily. Solskjaer is managing a team he hasn't built, nor he hasn't manage in a full preseason. A team that have been playing very differently to his principles. He needs to know the players deeply, how they are indoors and how they react in different situations of the game, or handling the pressure as well.
With all this considered, and the shitty season we were having where everything seemed lost in December, we find ourselves with 8 wins and 1 draw, enjoying offensive football after years of dross, and having positive expectations about the season and the future. Players like Pogba, Martial, De Gea looking to sign new contracts. To be honest I didn't expect nothing from the season, so I consider every positive thing an unexpected gift and we had many in the last month.
Of course I respect everyone's opinion but I don't understand those who come here just to say how he's doing this or that wrongly, and nothing else. Obviously every coach and player can be criticized, but if there's someone who deserves a big margin to try things and make mistakes, this is Solskjaer and the staff in the current situation. And it's not like they are doing many mistakes by the moment in my opinion, so hats off to them.
My only criticism yesterday would have been to bench Lukaku when we needed goals, against a team packing the box with tall and strong defenders. But we created our chances after that, scored two goals without him so it wasn't bad after all.
I praise Solskjaer for giving Pereira an honest chance, for all the good things it represents. First of all he tries to protect one of the players who came through our ranks, to see if it can work in the right context before losing him for nothing. A squad is never built only by buying world class players, so it's not a bad thing to try and take profit of the talent that emerges from the youth system. If every player was going to have a chance under Ole, Pereira shouldn't be different.
Secondly, he started Andreas the same day Fellaini seems to be close to leaving, exactly the opposite that would have happened under Mourinho. The way I see it, it's a clear message about the kind of team he's starting to draw. Class, technique, above the physicality. The offensive side above the defensive one. Without ignoring defending and the physical side of the game, of course, but priorities have changed. If Pereira doesn't respond well in the next months, I guess another one will come in the same or similar mould.
Also, we send a message to the youth players - they will have a chance if they show talent, discipline and the right attitude. It would be easier for Solskjaer or anyone else to bring a more experience player to the field or the typical workhorse to perform short term, and avoid silly mistakes like the one he did yesterday. But in the long term it's much better to leave some margin for the youth, and avoid a situation like City nowadays where they are losing shining talents for fun.
Solskjaer and the current staff seem to me like the kind of 'club people' who take care of the club interests above their own short term interests. For me things like these are invaluable, and give me confidence to imagine the likes of Gomes, Chong, Greenwood and Garner being introduced at some point.
This is why I think it's important to have some perspective when we don't win a game, because there's some people (I don't mean only this forum but in general) who gets upset very easily. Solskjaer is managing a team he hasn't built, nor he hasn't manage in a full preseason. A team that have been playing very differently to his principles. He needs to know the players deeply, how they are indoors and how they react in different situations of the game, or handling the pressure as well.
With all this considered, and the shitty season we were having where everything seemed lost in December, we find ourselves with 8 wins and 1 draw, enjoying offensive football after years of dross, and having positive expectations about the season and the future. Players like Pogba, Martial, De Gea looking to sign new contracts. To be honest I didn't expect nothing from the season, so I consider every positive thing an unexpected gift and we had many in the last month.
Of course I respect everyone's opinion but I don't understand those who come here just to say how he's doing this or that wrongly, and nothing else. Obviously every coach and player can be criticized, but if there's someone who deserves a big margin to try things and make mistakes, this is Solskjaer and the staff in the current situation. And it's not like they are doing many mistakes by the moment in my opinion, so hats off to them.
Ole is doing great, and coming from 2-0 down is an achievement, but I just feel last night he tinkered with the squad rotation too much and the result came back to bite him. I'm sure he'll quickly learn that lesson.
I see it the same way. Players fighting for a place in his team is exactly the spirit I want to see. A 2 year deal would be ideal. If it doesn't work out like we want it to, we don't have to pay 20m+ to get rid of him (even when I hope that this will not be the case)
Very good post @Phil Osophy
Just like everyone knew it wouldn’t work with Alexis and Lukaku against Arsenal? Rashord played on the left because he is more versatile than Lukaku, still doesn’t absolve him for the horrendous finish. Had we been more clinical/decisive in the first half we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
Lukaku plays down the middle because thats his natural role and why we spent 75m on him. Its not Ole’s fault that he is not very good at his role. Having said that, Lukaku had a fairly decent game yesterday and certainly wasn’t the reason we dropped points. That would be the clueless defence and a young midfielder who made a mistake.
Couldnt we just give him an extension of a year on his current one ?
Great post Phil Osophy! I'm really surprised by some of the stuff on here today. We definitely have won by playing worse than that, many times over the years.
No beef with Mata, but over the past couple of months we've been playing with pace and importantly, a balance to the team. When we bring Mata he kinda goes all over the place affecting balance, and then obviously has no pace.
This has a negative effect on our overall play...he should be playing in the middle (where though? He's not taking Pogba's place or striker), and only once we are a couple of goals up and in control.
Is that harsh?
This has a negative effect on our overall play...he should be playing in the middle (where though? He's not taking Pogba's place or striker), and only once we are a couple of goals up and in control.
Is that harsh?
We're rediscovering our edge and I'm loving it.
Lingard (of all people!) almost starting a fight against Arsenal.
Mata (again, of all people!) throwing the ball in dissent.
And Lindelof describing himself as 'mad' despite yestereday's impressive comeback.
We've been too passive and too nice for too long. It's great to see us so desperate to win at all costs.
I remember hearing anecdotes about training sessions from England national team back in the day. Apparently, you could always tell the United players from the Chelsea/Arsenal/Liverpool/etc players because our lads were ridiculously competetive in every little thing we did, regardless of how insignficant. The 5-a-sides were a casual way of passing the time for everybody else. But Scholesy, Rio, Beckham, et al would go in hard on every challenge because losing wasn't an otption.
All credit to Ole for bringing back that Fergie spirit.
Lingard (of all people!) almost starting a fight against Arsenal.
Mata (again, of all people!) throwing the ball in dissent.
And Lindelof describing himself as 'mad' despite yestereday's impressive comeback.
We've been too passive and too nice for too long. It's great to see us so desperate to win at all costs.
I remember hearing anecdotes about training sessions from England national team back in the day. Apparently, you could always tell the United players from the Chelsea/Arsenal/Liverpool/etc players because our lads were ridiculously competetive in every little thing we did, regardless of how insignficant. The 5-a-sides were a casual way of passing the time for everybody else. But Scholesy, Rio, Beckham, et al would go in hard on every challenge because losing wasn't an otption.
All credit to Ole for bringing back that Fergie spirit.
Lukaku is better on the right than in the middle so yeah him playing there vs Arsenal made more sense in terms of getting the best out of him. Playing him in the middle isn't gonna suddendly gonna get him playing at his best. Playing Rashford on the left is rarely efficient.
It ain't rocket science, you play your players where they are most suited.