Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | W15 D2 L4

[OJKernow]

Not many better (realistic) options in terms of a temporary appointment. The caretaker was never going to be a huge name, as big time managers don't do auditions.

Importantly, we have someone the fans will instantly warm to and should command some respect from the players straight away.

Phelan coming back is massive, Moyes' biggest mistake was getting rid of him and Fergie's other backroom staff. Between the two of them, I'm confident they will unite the changing room again and get the fans enjoying watching our team each week, which has to be their main objectives.

 

[Kaos]

Fun thought - if he somehow manages to get us Champions League football next season while playing attractive football, would you offer him the job on a permanent basis?

 

[Escobar]

Good to have Phelan, a senior figure with plenty of experience, on board!

I just hope Ole is bold and plays a positive line up with those players who are actually in form

 

[crossy1686]

Let's hope any desire to give some youth prospects opportunities does not mean 90 minutes for McTominay every week. Please jettison him out on loan in January.

That's unfair, McTomminay shouldn't be seen as the embodiment of the Mourinho era. He's not that bad at all.

 

[Sambob]

Micky Phelan is a red, is a red, is a red
Mickey Phelan is a red, he hates trousers.

 

[crossy1686]

Fun thought - if he somehow manages to get us Champions League football next season while playing attractive football, would you offer him the job on a permanent basis?

100%

 

[Trophy Room]

I would get rid of them all, build the side around Fred, pogba, Herrera, perrera and mata, it makes matic and fellaini pointless. We need energy and creativity back in this team slash midfield, let’s build the side around pogba, Fred and martial, and get rid of led boot donkeys matic and fellaini who every time they played in a midfield 2, we must have dropped so many points. It’s vital we get away from this very slow pairing, and get movement and creativity back in this team, because we couldn’t press because we had matic and fellaini in a midfield 2, lukaku who’s movement and inability to run the channels and hold the ball, and our defence could not pass from the back, so our spine was screwed because of the personal playing, our wingers were starved of anything

Never understood this clamour for Fred and Pereira. They are mediocre players and should never be part of the first team.

 

[Escobar]

Fun thought - if he somehow manages to get us Champions League football next season while playing attractive football, would you offer him the job on a permanent basis?

Honestly - no. But maybe it gives him the opportunity to move to another club in the PL where he can gain further experience. It is different taking over an out of form team then lead that from the start of the season day in and out

 

[Affirmation]

It's great to see Ole back at our club, hopefully we can turn this season into a success

 

[BarstoolProphet]

My take on it as a regular viewer of the Norwegian league:

Molde have been backed for some years by a couple of the richest men in the country, enabling them to have a significant bigger budget than the club's history, location and size would suggest and the second largest behind the far most successful club in the country, Rosenborg. This led to Molde winning their first two league titles back-to-back under Solskjaer.

Despite that him winning the club's first league titles wasn't some sort extreme achievement by Norwegian standards, and that most of his critics regularly point to the financial backing he's had at Molde, he has still done very well for himself. Overall, for Molde, he has exceeded expecations in Europe and perhaps done a little above par at home*. Bear in mind, despite having a big budget, Molde's strategy has been buying young and promising players, develop them and sell on for a profit, resulting in lot of key players leaving which makes it hard to keep their best players over time. Oh, and despite the Norwegian league not being particularly easy on the eye at all, Molde under Solskjaer has easily been the most pleasing one attacking-wise over since he first took the job. A huge question mark over his shady dealings with his agent but he probably won't be in charge of transfer at all anyway so probably a moot point.

*:
- Winning the league while their main rival on both on and off the pitch (Rosenborg) went through a slump
- Went through some really bad spells where they looked like relegation candidates (that could be because the loss of key players and addition of new ones)
- Managed to recover from said slumps everytime to get back to being the best team in the league (despite not winning in the end)
- Been the most pleasing attacking team overall in his entire period
- Developed a few players and sold for a hefty profit


Pros:

- His status at United instantly bring him goodwill and respect
- REALLY knows what the fans expect of the team
- His attacking style
- History with and comments on Pogba suggest that he could get the best out of him
- Not in charge of transfers
- Positive personality to boost the atmosphere at the club both on and off the pitch
- Only a temporary gig so very low downside to it

Cons:

- Not enough of a big name to earn the players' respect
- His past experience in England
- Not sure if he's good enough tactically


For me a huge gamble and it makes me very nervous for our short-term future but at the same time I finally look forward to watching our matches again and not having someone that embarrasses the club out side of the pitch on a regular basis. Oh, and top of that you have the romantic aspect of it all. We have a universally liked club legend in charge of the team

 

[Escobar]

Never understood this clamour for Fred and Pereira. They are mediocre players and should never be part of the first team.

They are not imo. Pereira has a lot of potential but needs a manager to develop that. Fred is not a bad player at all but under Jose, all players were well below their best form

 

[Alex99]

Never understood this clamour for Fred and Pereira. They are mediocre players and should never be part of the first team.

We've barely seen either play for us. One was highly sought after prior to signing for us, with City a very interested party, and the other is a young player who's yet to be given the chance to prove himself.

How can you say with such certainty that they're mediocre?

 

[cantonaldo]

I expect the team to do better in the interim under Ole simply because there will be less pressure on them from the media and fans now that Mourinho is gone.

Really good to have him back.

 

[crossy1686]

When we hear ole speak? Press conf?

As an aside does Scholes have badges? Id love to see him brought in as a temporary coach getting the team used to make fast incisive forward passes. That said after what hes been saying on BT sport I'm sure some of the players would roast him.

Won't happen. The board like to keep the class of 92 who have media links at arms distance, they're not even allowed to sit with the directors during games, they have their own box now. Scholes would have to stop all punditry to be anywhere near the team again.

 

[Eric's Seagull]

I’d fecking love this.

So would I.

 

[Bojan11]

11pts is not an insurmountable gap at this point in the season. It's very defeatist attitude to give up on 4th I'm dissapointed so many have.

Chelsea are not that good and we should be improving our form relative to them. We'll win the next 7 games then it'll be crunch time

It’s not defeatest. It’s being realistic.

Chelsea weren’t good last season but were always within the shouts of getting top four. We nowhere near what they were last season let alone this season.

This isn’t a relegation battle. We expecting two of the biggest teams in the league to go on a poor run whilst winning all our games basically. Be realistic in your ambitions.

 

[kps88]

Biggest challenge for him will be to manage the dressing room, particularly when they all know he will be gone in a few months anyway.

 

[TMDaines]

That's unfair, McTomminay shouldn't be seen as the embodiment of the Mourinho era. He's not that bad at all.

He's shite, mate. The worst youth prospect I have seen in my years watching United become a regular part of the first team. There was no prospect of him making the grade and he's been included under Mourinho for his height and as a political selection.

 

[crossy1686]

Honestly - no. But maybe it gives him the opportunity to move to another club in the PL where he can gain further experience. It is different taking over an out of form team then lead that from the start of the season day in and out

Come on, you'd rather take a punt on another manager despite the current manager being a good fit for the club and getting good results? What's your agenda?

 

[Isotope]

I am certain the dressing room is in pieces with all the divide and conquer nonsense Jose was pulling. If fans are dead against certain players imagine the dressing room

I see that as time is short, the new manager will start with regulars. Then after few games and enough training sessions, we'll see some experiments. They sure now have to put effort try to impress new boss.

Although I doubt some of these players care much if they play or not. With the way they play (or not), seems like some are just happy picking up paychecks.

 

[Ibrahimorich]

This feels like another rash appointment (based on nothing but sentiment this time). Love Ole but he's achieved nothing of note as a manager. If the players didn't respect Mourinho, what chance they respect Ole?

Nobody wants Hughes or Bruce here as a manager, so why Ole? Frankly he's in the same category - great former player but managerial nobody. His only time in England he was crap.

If Laurent Blanc was available then he was the right choice. Clearly Pogba is the biggest personality in the dressing room - if Ole doesn't get him onside immediately, he's gonna be joking around like the clown he is and the cards will come tumbling down again. I figure Blanc has a better chance of keeping him onside for 6 months and has experience managing a big team with big egos (albeit not that well).

I really hope I'm wrong on this but I can already see this being a disaster and Ole being gone before the end of the season.

 

[Niall]

I'm excited to see what he can do with the players we've got. If he can unify the dressing room and get us playing attacking football with our creative players able to express themselves and a mentality of trying to win every game rather than not lose, then we've got plenty to look forward to for the rest of the season. I don't expect us to get top 4 or win anything (except maybe a shot at the FA Cup), but given how depressing everything was this season, getting back to enjoying watching us again would be very welcome.

We still have major defensive issues but without a doubt our attacking players have been horrifically underused. Pogba, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez, Mata. Huge potential.

 

[Oneunited26]

I wasn't talking specifically about those three, but Mourinho stalwarts in general. I certainly don't expect all of them to start, but whatever some commentators think, I expect many will still figure in the teams.

That is the problem, people are asking around the main problem on why we kept failing, any manager they pics young, Jones, matic, fellaini with a number 9 like lukaku, who’s first touch could knock a fan out in the crowd out, and unable to run the channels, there is the source of the problem. Any top manager with sense would see this is a problem, and all of them apart from lukaku are ageing. If a manager sees this, he’s won a good portion of the problem. Gut matic, fellaini and young for starters hes knowing what was sinking this team

He's shite, mate. The worst youth prospect I have seen in my years watching United because a regular part of the first team. There was no prospect of him making the grade and he's been included under Mourinho for his height and as a political selection.

I forgot about him, he’s another that needs to join the young, matic and fellaini club our the door, we want to compete for titles, we need ruthless aggression

 

[crossy1686]

This feels like another rash appointment (based on nothing but sentiment this time). Love Ole but he's achieved nothing of note as a manager. If the players didn't respect Mourinho, what chance they respect Ole?

Nobody wants Hughes or Bruce here as a manager, so why Ole? Frankly he's in the same category - great former player but managerial nobody. His only time in England he was crap.

If Laurent Blanc was available then he was the right choice. Clearly Pogba is the biggest personality in the dressing room - if Ole doesn't get him onside immediately, he's gonna be joking around like the clown he is and the cards will come tumbling down again. I figure Blanc has a better chance of keeping him onside for 6 months and has experience managing a big team with big egos (albeit not that well).

I really hope I'm wrong on this but I can already see this being a disaster and Ole being gone before the end of the season.

You're judging someone with 10 years managerial experience on 18 games? Okay then...

 

[tomaldinho1]

Good appointment - Ole has no real pressure and can focus on improving the mood around the club (should be easy given how awful Mou was) and that alone will improve results. PLayers will work for him and he knows the youth guys well, plus he does at least have some managerial experience. The future looks bright!

 

[Massive Spanner]

Phelen?

I'm Phelen good about this.

 

[Foxbatt]

I really do not understand the negativity. He is here and that is still an if he is here it is only till the end of THIS season while the club now has the time to look and get a good Manager. No one good is going to come halfway as all of them are in the CL.
Ole with Phelan and others can install the old winning mentality with these players. Get a bit of discipline too among the players. At least from what I say of that clip of Molde, their players have much better movement off the ball than the current United players.
When the Board makes a good decision like to look for a good manager some of you are up in arms. If they go an appoint a manager you are up in arms for them not taking time to look for a good manager or waiting till the end of the season as then more managers are available as their seasons would have ended too.

 

[Big Andy]

Love the guy but he should be no where near the role. Finding positives for the decision kinda shows the desperation for any kind of change right now.

It’s actually a shrewd move I reckon, the fans will never turn on Ole, so all the blame for poor performance will be directed at the players, and they won’t be able to hide behind Jose any more...

 

[Niall]

This feels like another rash appointment (based on nothing but sentiment this time). Love Ole but he's achieved nothing of note as a manager. If the players didn't respect Mourinho, what chance they respect Ole?

Surely interim manager is the key thing here. He's not expected to stay past this season and has been brought in to steady the ship and sweep away the toxic atmosphere Jose created. It also gives the club at least 6 months to find / lure the right man for the job.

Sounds like a decent enough plan to me. Whether Ole is up to it is another question but at least he knows the club inside out and should remain true to the principles it's built on - something we have missed since Fergie left.

 

[Nick7]

Right, who has the Mike phelan popping a balloon gif

 

[SSSSnake]

I'm happy for him. Had to laugh at his response from the reporter asking him about Liverpool's title chances. "Couldn't care less!"

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Happy to see Ole back and Mike Phelan too - maybe he can do the balloon bursting again and get everyone laughing, we need it.

Hope he has the player's respect and can get us playing attractive football. Ole's loyalty and love of the club will make a nice change to the ego of Mourinho who's main interest was himself.

Not too much to lose and if he can make the squad a happier place we could well improve enough to get top 4.

Keeping an open mind but would love to see him succeed and if he turned out to be brilliant for us , would love him to have the job permanently.

Actually he is my wife's all time favourite player and she will even start watching United again after a long time not bothering.

 

[JPRouve]

I remember that Phelan was described as very close to the players under SAF, it was part of his duty to take the pulse of the locker room and try to maintain a good positive spirit. And he wears shorts.

 

[Ibrahimorich]

You're judging someone with 10 years managerial experience on 18 games? Okay then...

No, I'm judging him on his whole career. I was just highlighting that he was extra shit in England

 

[Patrick08]

It’s actually a shrewd move I reckon, the fans will never turn on Ole, so all the blame for poor performance will be directed at the players, and they won’t be able to hide behind Jose any more...

Absolutely, also the schakles will be free to create, express and play to win.

 

[TMDaines]

11pts is not an insurmountable gap at this point in the season. It's very defeatist attitude to give up on 4th I'm dissapointed so many have.

Chelsea are not that good and we should be improving our form relative to them. We'll win the next 7 games then it'll be crunch time

It's not just overhauling 11 points on one team, People, especially those prone to gambling, engage in these fallacies all the time, which is why you have the bonkers threads where people were piling money on United for the title as we were "only six points behind", despite there being eight or nine teams ahead of us.

For United to finish fourth, in their final 21 games, (not 38 games) two of these statements AND the final statement essentially have to be true:

United obtain 9 more points than Arsenal
United obtain 12 more points than Chelsea
United obtain 14 more points than Spurs
United obtain 19 more points than City
United obtain 20 more points than Liverpool

AND

United obtain more points than Wolves, Everton, West Ham, Watford and Bournemouth.

 

[Patrick08]

I remember that Phelan was described as very close to the players under SAF, it was part of his duty to take the pulse of the locker room and try to maintain a good positive spirit. And he wears shorts.

The man sacked during moyes era is back.

 

[Emrethis]

It’s not defeatest. It’s being realistic.

Chelsea weren’t good last season but were always within the shouts of getting top four. We nowhere near what they were last season let alone this season.

This isn’t a relegation battle. We expecting two of the biggest teams in the league to go on a poor run whilst winning all our games basically. Be realistic in your ambitions.

In football, the 'realistic' team will never achieve greatness.

 

[Zoo]

Who is this Phelen fella?

 

[Trophy Room]

We've barely seen either play for us. One was highly sought after prior to signing for us, with City a very interested party, and the other is a young player who's yet to be given the chance to prove himself.

How can you say with such certainty that they're mediocre?

Because they are Alex, our standards and perception of what a United-calbre player is has fallen so much that we subconsciously hope for miracles from media/fan-driven overhyped players. They are decent, don't get me wrong and will have impactful games i.e score a goal and have above average performances here and there but you can't build a team around them! Average players really. Move on mate.