Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | W15 D2 L4

Is Ole a good appointment?

  • Total voters
    2,659
It really was a disgrace that he wasn't sacked the morning after that Sevilla presser.

He belittled everything the club stands for, publicly and loudly because he was too thin skinned to take any responsibility on himself.

Above Moyes, Van Gaal, sacking the backroom staff, signing this player or not signing that. Allowing Jose to continue in his role after that outburst is the worst decision the club have made since Sir Alex retired.
 
I remember thinking Mourinho's post match comments after the Sevilla game were utterly disgraceful but I'd forgotten just how astonishing they were.

How the feck did he not get sacked the minute he left that press conference?

What an unprofessional arsehole he was.
 
diarm said:
It really was a disgrace that he wasn't sacked the morning after that Sevilla presser.

He belittled everything the club stands for, publicly and loudly because he was too thin skinned to take any responsibility on himself.

Above Moyes, Van Gaal, sacking the backroom staff, signing this player or not signing that. Allowing Jose to continue in his role after that outburst is the worst decision the club have made since Sir Alex retired.
Click to expand...
It's quite obvious how very far we had drifted with Ole now in charge. The presser should almost be added the curriculum for the board, managers, staff and even players on what United is not.
 
VG, Norways biggest newspaper, today asks if United are being "tricked" by the the clubs luck since Solskjær came in. And that perhaps we are not creating enough and should concede more. It's important to not make decisions solely based on emotions.
 
Catt said:
VG, Norways biggest newspaper, today asks if United are being "tricked" by the the clubs luck since Solskjær came in. And that perhaps we are not creating enough and should concede more. It's important to not make decisions solely based on emotions.
Click to expand...

I agree in general that we have been a bit lucky. Agree that we have been scoring without necessarily opening up teams for chances particularly since the injuries. But I feel like our defense has played well and not let other teams have much chances due to increased work rate.

Even if we have been lucky with the results, it's still a great job Ole has done. In fact I would give him the job not for the results but for what he has done for our spirit, work rate and how he has improved players and getting so much more out of players like Shaw/Lindelof/Herrera/Lukaku.
 
mav_9me said:
I agree in general that we have been a bit lucky. Agree that we have been scoring without necessarily opening up teams for chances particularly since the injuries. But I feel like our defense has played well and not let other teams have much chances due to increased work rate.

Even if we have been lucky with the results, it's still a great job Ole has done. In fact I would give him the job not for the results but for what he has done for our spirit, work rate and how he has improved players and getting so much more out of players like Shaw/Lindelof/Herrera/Lukaku.
Click to expand...
Some lucky results mixed with good play.
I do feel that giving it to Ole can go either way after the summer. He obviously need a good pre - season and get in the players he wants.

I have expressed my concern about Ole before but obviously hope I'm dead wrong.
 
I'd rather have a lucky manager than a good one.
 
Catt said:
VG, Norways biggest newspaper, today asks if United are being "tricked" by the the clubs luck since Solskjær came in. And that perhaps we are not creating enough and should concede more. It's important to not make decisions solely based on emotions.
Click to expand...

So they've seen people mention xG.
 
I'm not concerned about Ole. Give him time and he'll come good. If it looks like going tits up the club will just go back to the managerial roundabout anyway....

Here's hoping for some stability.
 
Catt said:
VG, Norways biggest newspaper, today asks if United are being "tricked" by the the clubs luck since Solskjær came in. And that perhaps we are not creating enough and should concede more. It's important to not make decisions solely based on emotions.
Click to expand...
Can't say I haven't noticed. Our quality in possession tapered off and that was never more obvious than against PSG. There are some mitigating factors that make one give Ole the benefit of the doubt though. Some of it is by design. We let teams have the ball. It's also by design that we look lethal everytime we counter. Another factor is the combined lack of technical quality from our central midfield and centreback paring would make it hard for most managers to dominate any game. We are a composed CM or CB away from where we should want to be
 
Anyone have an active bet for the new permanent united manager?
How much is at stake and what manager did you bet on?
 
You dont win 14 games from 17 including a club record 9 consecutive away wins just by luck.
 
People are having a hard time believing what they are seeing. Surely the results speak for themselves though? This isn't luck, it's Ole.

Yes... It's Ole. He's actually good at this.
 
Catt said:
VG, Norways biggest newspaper, today asks if United are being "tricked" by the the clubs luck since Solskjær came in. And that perhaps we are not creating enough and should concede more. It's important to not make decisions solely based on emotions.
Click to expand...

You should read the article.
 
Acquire Me said:
You should read the article.
Click to expand...
I did but it raises some important questions. We have seen some really good football being played last three months but we have also had a good chunk of luck, and the only way we will find out is when he gets the job long term.
 
Catt said:
I did but it raises some important questions. We have seen some really good football being played last three months but we have also had a good chunk of luck, and the only way we will find out is when he gets the job long term.
Click to expand...

Apart from Spurs I don't remember any game in league where we were lucky. Even against Spurs I argued we weren't lucky, we created better chances for 60 mins. In any case if we were lucky vs Spurs then we were unlucky against Burnley.
 
Catt said:
I did but it raises some important questions. We have seen some really good football being played last three months but we have also had a good chunk of luck, and the only way we will find out is when he gets the job long term.
Click to expand...

We've also seen a lot of bad luck. There's a balance, some good, some bad.
 
Under Ole we've drawn Arsenal Chelsea and Wolves away in the cup.

We've also spent the last 4 or 5 games missing 9 or 10 players.

That doesn't seem very lucky to me.
 
Last edited:
Catt said:
Some lucky results mixed with good play.
I do feel that giving it to Ole can go either way after the summer. He obviously need a good pre - season and get in the players he wants.

I have expressed my concern about Ole before but obviously hope I'm dead wrong.
Click to expand...
Good managers create their own luck. Just like SAF. It's the change in mentality that has made us lucky.
 
roonster09 said:
Apart from Spurs I don't remember any game in league where we were lucky. Even against Spurs I argued we weren't lucky, we created better chances for 60 mins. In any case if we were lucky vs Spurs then we were unlucky against Burnley.
Click to expand...

That's true too.

I want to further clarify what I said above regarding scoring goals without necessarily creating a lot of chances. Lukaku's goals against Southampton are examples of goals out of nothing and not from chances really. Having said that which team apart from City create many chances? Liverpool are up there not too different to us.
 
Yes, luck runs out and good managers turn bad. That's football. On the other hand, people who can not appreciate the difference made by 1 singel man (Ole) in less than 3 months do not know anything much about football, to say the least. When Ole came in, we are looking at the Watford and Wolves results. Within 3 months wins away against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and PSG are talked down as something that "should be expected from Manchester United Football Club". If a transformation from looking at the Watford results to going beyond Sir Matt and Sir Alex in winning 9 away games in a row (incl. a CL history makingin one) is not a valid argument for Ole as our permanent manager, there will never be any.
 
mav_9me said:
That's true too.

I want to further clarify what I said above regarding scoring goals without necessarily creating a lot of chances. Lukaku's goals against Southampton are examples of goals out of nothing and not from chances really. Having said that which team apart from City create many chances? Liverpool are up there not too different to us.
Click to expand...

Goals we conceded are once in a season type goals. I agree partially that we should create even better chances but we also have to consider our injuries.
 
As probably been mentioned lots of times stats don't give context to games, I don't mind xg stats but if you just look at them independently then you only get half the picture.

We've played most of our difficult games away, so more counter attacking.

We've taken the lead in lots of games which means the onus is on the other side to come at us.

We've dropped off in later part of games due to fitness (identified by ole).

We lack some quality or a player with ability to control possession in midfield to enable use to keep the ball better. (identified by ole).

We were a bag of shite defensively when ole arrived with no confidence. Defensive units form overtime so in the meantime you will give away chances that you shouldn't.

We were at bag of shite in attack with no confidence when ole arrived with patterns of play, link or cohesion. Again these things come with time.

We've had some luck and some good goalkeeping, weve also been unlucky and some good goalkeeping against us. Swings and roundabouts.

All in all it doesn't mean Ole will definitely be a success but we are heading in the right direction and if you want fine negatives you'll find them.
 
GJNJ said:
As probably been mentioned lots of times stats don't give context to games, I don't mind xg stats but if you just look at them independently then you only get half the picture.

We've played most of our difficult games away, so more counter attacking.

We've taken the lead in lots of games which means the onus is on the other side to come at us.

We've dropped off in later part of games due to fitness (identified by ole).

We lack some quality or a player with ability to control possession in midfield to enable use to keep the ball better. (identified by ole).

We were a bag of shite defensively when ole arrived with no confidence. Defensive units form overtime so in the meantime you will give away chances that you shouldn't.

We were at bag of shite in attack with no confidence when ole arrived with patterns of play, link or cohesion. Again these things come with time.

We've had some luck and some good goalkeeping, weve also been unlucky and some good goalkeeping against us. Swings and roundabouts.

All in all it doesn't mean Ole will definitely be a success but we are heading in the right direction and if you want fine negatives you'll find them.
Click to expand...

Yep. I think Ole's success so far is making people have unrealistic expectations of where the team is. He's doing brilliantly with what we have, and has said, repeatedly, that we need to improve certain things. These kinds of statements (we've been lucky - we haven't btw & that we need to change this and that) seem to be made from a standpoint of 'this is where we are and where we're staying' when everything coming out of the club suggests the exact opposite. Ole has pointed out the areas we need to improve, he's said we need a few more players. I just don't get the 'oh we can't keep this up, we need this and we need that' handwringing. We already know we're not the finished article, and when the manager himself keeps saying it, why do we need to keep having this conversation? Is it literally just for the sake of people being able to say 'I told you so!!!!' when we inevitably lose another game?
 
mav_9me said:
I agree in general that we have been a bit lucky. Agree that we have been scoring without necessarily opening up teams for chances particularly since the injuries. But I feel like our defense has played well and not let other teams have much chances due to increased work rate.

Even if we have been lucky with the results, it's still a great job Ole has done. In fact I would give him the job not for the results but for what he has done for our spirit, work rate and how he has improved players and getting so much more out of players like Shaw/Lindelof/Herrera/Lukaku.
Click to expand...

Lucky? Well, everyone needs a bit of luck to succeed so little wonder there. But like you rightly said, Ole has done a fabulous job. Yes, he will still be tested, no doubt about that (The real test will come when bad results come in, some players start getting too used to him and his 'newness' wears off). But morning at times, shows the day. He has done really, really well so far. I am not sure it is time to hail his tactical acumen just yet but his man management and ability to motivate has been excellent. He has been wise in dealing with the players, the fans and the entire team so far. Most importantly, he has that United spirit. That for me, is the key. I supported Jose and still like him but I had serious doubts about him getting what United was about when it was first rumoured he will be joining the club. That ultimately messed up his stay here.

Ole should be given the job. He has more than earned it and do otherwise, might drag us back.
 
Tony247 said:
Jose is finished. I doubt any elite club will now appoint him again. 2nd tier like roma, psg, benefica, valencia might.

I don't think real will go for jose. Looks like his own marketing team is putting up those links. I think real will ask zindane for interim job and in summer they will go all out for Poch.
Click to expand...
He can manage anybody he likes as long as we dont sign him again. He looks evil now
 
Greck said:
Can't say I haven't noticed. Our quality in possession tapered off and that was never more obvious than against PSG. There are some mitigating factors that make one give Ole the benefit of the doubt though. Some of it is by design. We let teams have the ball. It's also by design that we look lethal everytime we counter. Another factor is the combined lack of technical quality from our central midfield and centreback paring would make it hard for most managers to dominate any game. We are a composed CM or CB away from where we should want to be
Click to expand...
We have to judge him after maybe 2 transfer windows to mold the team he wants. As a minimum we need a RW CD RB and maybe Lukaku out for a quick nimble striker. We need to look at CM as well as Matic and Herrera can be improved upon and both will be the wrong side of 30 next season. May be ok to replace/have cover for one next season one the season after.
 
Is there any place I could find a league table since Mourinho's departure, which is regularly updated? Either here on the forum or elsewhere?
 
If we win today I think we will finish third.

Jose was so absurdly proud of finishing an extremely distant second last season. But if Ole ends up in third then that is a genuinely remarkable achievement
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.