Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | W15 D2 L4

Is Ole a good appointment?

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Hope he takes over full time, would be the dream scenario. It wont be easy for anyone to come in if he continues like this but doesnt get the job. Much easier to take over after a shit appointment as there will always be a bounce. Would there be that positivity if Ole has all the players on his side yet doesnt get the job?
 
This article from Football 365 is fantastic

To credit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for making an inspired substitution would be a tad generous, as tempting as it is to trot down the narrative road of ‘super sub makes super sub’. It does not take a genius to work out that a game dying on its arse at 0-0 could be improved by the introduction of a £75m striker and an outrageously talented street-fighter waking up after a year-long hibernation.

That Lukaku scored within 38 seconds of his introduction does not make Solskjaer a visionary, but it does illustrate the incredible attacking depth in this United squad when every single player is facing – not just facing, but running and scrapping – in the same direction. Instead of a coterie of favourites, this Manchester United manager has got 20-plus talented players at his disposal. And not a single one of those players is holding back even a little. Not a single one of those players is desperate to leave in January. Not a single one of those players feels resentment towards the man in the dug-out.

So when United were struggling to break down dogged opposition for the first time under the Norwegian and he looks to his bench, he does not see a row of expensive but dispirited players who are wondering if they will ever be in favour again, but a row of potential game-changers who are desperate to be a part of another victory and the celebrations rather than recriminations that will follow. This is now a team of many merry men rather than one man and his ever-dwindling band of favourites, publicly and privately shaming those who were not on his side. Now there really is only one side.

There will be those who question the professionalism of those players who were clearly not as motivated a month ago – surely they should have been playing for the shirt, the fans, the club? – but the change has been so stark that it is impossible not to conclude that the working environment at the club had become intolerable. Whatever happened at United over the last 12 months somehow transcended the potential of these players. A switch has been flicked, frowns have turned upside down and a zillion other cliches that basically mean that United now look like they belong in a reconvened Big Six rather than the mid-table muddle. Not only in terms of results and performances but in that intoxicating sense of inevitability when elite players are in full flow.

When Marcus Rashford made it 2-0, it was from one of those devastating counter-attacks reminiscent of those days when you wondered whether it was ever sensible to push your defenders up for a corner against United. Which is exactly how an attack featuring Paul Pogba, Rashford, Lukaku and Sanchez should look. They should be able to devastate teams. And Solskjaer was absolutely right earlier this week when he was giddy at the prospect of Sanchez joining a side that is being encouraged to move, to combine, to flow. He was the wrong man for Jose Mourinho’s United but he could yet be exactly the right man for this one.

This victory over Newcastle was far from easy – and United’s very vulnerable right side was certainly exposed – but it seemed inconceivable that United would not eventually score, that none of Lukaku, Sanchez or Lingard would make an impact from the bench. For the first time in too long, United genuinely look somewhere close to the sum of their parts. That’s a £75m striker on the bench and not a £75m flop. And he’s sitting next to one of this decade’s most talented Premier League players, not a £500,000-a-week wage drain.

We still do not know if Solskjaer is an excellent football manager or just a very lucky man who has been handed the cushiest job in the world – taking over a supremely talented squad that could be improved with little more than a smile, hug and the reassurance that mistakes will not be punished – but right now it really does not matter to millions of fans around the world or a group of footballers who are United once again.
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https://www.football365.com/news/f365s-early-winners-solskjaer-and-a-united-squad
 
Aarun Sokhal said:
This guy has taken you from mid-table mediocrity, playing poor jammy football to four straight wins and back in with a chance of a top 4 finish. And some of you guys still aren't behind him 100%?

I hope he leaves in June, I don't think you deserve him. Chase Poch and see where that gets you.

4 straight wins is fantastic progress and a lot of managers would not have done what Ole has done with the state the dressing room is in. How he has transformed a pretty much depressed football side playing negative football into a free scoring goal machine of a team whilst looking like hes kept everyone happy and 4 wins on the spin is beyond me..

No moaning, no negativity, no pressure on the board to sign players in January. He's simply keeping his head down, empowering the staff, empowering the players and keeping everyone spirited.
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Well said and credit even more so as a Liverpool fan to be willing to say it as you did
 
Everyone needs to calm down, wait till the end of the season and see where we finish. If we finish 4th it would be mental not to give him the permanent role. So far he has done a remarkable job even if it was against lesser opposition. The big question is how we will do against Tottenham. That game will be a very big challenge but if we come out as winners from that game as well then I think it is time to take Ole a lot more serious for sure.
 
He's doing incredibly and I love him as much as the next united fan, but I'm worried that if he does do well and is given the job, it could turn out badly for us. He was brought in to let the players play and have fun etc. and whilst it's working, it's not a plausible tactic to employ for long term success. If he gets the job he will be given far more freedom in regards to stamping his identity on the club and expectations will be far greater. What if, if that happens, it turns out his approach isn't good enough? I just hope we don't let emotions influence our decision, as I don't know how many more times we can get it wrong.

On the plus side, by the end of the season, we will most likely have a better understanding of his style and the influence he is having on our tactics and the players, so it should make the decision easier.
 
Acid test is at Spurs,come out of that unscathed then arguably Utd may have just turned the corner,just hope we can bring in a quality CB this month.
 
That was an impressive win and a really good sign. It was a game where Pogba wasn't at his best, the team struggled to find their fluidity but they defended really well and the individual attacking quality shone through to get the win.

Ole spoke after the last game about it being really important to keep a clean sheet and they did just that. You could see far more aggression in the air from Lindelof and Jones, which is really key against a striker like Rondon. That shows work behind the scenes having a positive impact on the pitch.

People discount Ole's experience at Molde and point to his Cardiff failure as more relevant. If anything, it is the opposite. At Molde, he manages a team towards the top of the league, where the onus is on them to win every game and play on the front foot with players who are better than most of their opposition. That is far more relevant experience than trying to grind out draws at relegation threatened teams.

Giving Ole the job full time is a risk but if the club can build the right structure with a top class Director of Football, it will mean the manager no longer has to be the man who does everything. In a way, Ole would be an ideal manager in that situation as you get the impression he will work well with others in that type of structure.

The other advantage Ole has over the last 3 managers is his enthusiasm. The United job is a really difficult role and needs a lot of hard work. I get the impression that Ole will relish that. Moyes, Van Gaal and Jose definitely didn't and all seemed drained and worn down. I still can't believe Moyes' first act as United manager was to go on holiday!
 
One of the best things about all of this is that it makes Jose look more cretinous as each game passes.

What on Earth was he thinking he was doing?
 
Aarun Sokhal said:
This guy has taken you from mid-table mediocrity, playing poor jammy football to four straight wins and back in with a chance of a top 4 finish. And some of you guys still aren't behind him 100%?

I hope he leaves in June, I don't think you deserve him. Chase Poch and see where that gets you.

4 straight wins is fantastic progress and a lot of managers would not have done what Ole has done with the state the dressing room is in. How he has transformed a pretty much depressed football side playing negative football into a free scoring goal machine of a team whilst looking like hes kept everyone happy and 4 wins on the spin is beyond me..

No moaning, no negativity, no pressure on the board to sign players in January. He's simply keeping his head down, empowering the staff, empowering the players and keeping everyone spirited.
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Hmm, powerfully worded but a bit unfair. I think 90% of our fanbase is currently rooting for Ole to prove himself and get the permanent job, so I don't agree with the bolded statement. A few dicks who are unhappy about us winning because their favorite manager (Jose) was sacked don't represent the entire fanbase.

For me, if Ole gets 5th after a close chase for 4th, and acquits himself in the CL (either go deep in the competition or lose honorably to PSG like 3-2 etc) along with some good FA Cup performances, he deserves to stay.
 
Didn't FM predict that Solskjaer would become manager for United a few years ago? Or was that Carrick?
 
Amadaeus said:
I want to know if any other manager had such an easy start fixture. Newcastle was the hardest of the bunch and he did well.

Regardless, I m not on the train yet. Di Mateo won the champions league with Chelsea and where is he managing now?
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And where are Pep and Zidane now in the football world?

meninred said:
After the last 4 easy fixtures we face Tottenham and then we get potentially four easy game against Brighton, Burnely, Leicester and Fulham before we meet Liverpool.
This should more or less determine OLE. If you want to stretch further , After two easy games we face arsenal and city.
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Not sure how Leicester is a potentially easy game. The most difficult fixture you could possibly get outside the top 6 is Leicester away.
 
Past 4 games I have watched a completely different team to the dull dross of individuals that I have witnessed for most of the season - Reactive boring football to exciting attacking football while always chasing for more goals. Even today when we went a goal up we were still applying pressure and looking to further the gap instead of trying to protect on to the lead which we certainly would have done under Mourinho.

Thankfully the results reflect this positive change as well. What seemed like impossible after mourinho got sacked (top 4) looks much more attainable now, although still yet to see how this team does against top opposition. Nonetheless things are, in general, looking up right now for us under ole.
 
BlueHaze said:
Everyone needs to calm down, wait till the end of the season and see where we finish. If we finish 4th it would be mental not to give him the permanent role. So far he has done a remarkable job even if it was against lesser opposition. The big question is how we will do against Tottenham. That game will be a very big challenge but if we come out as winners from that game as well then I think it is time to take Ole a lot more serious for sure.
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Fully agreed. He did better than we all expected but lets see him over 3 months.
 
Womp said:
He's doing incredibly and I love him as much as the next united fan, but I'm worried that if he does do well and is given the job, it could turn out badly for us. He was brought in to let the players play and have fun etc. and whilst it's working, it's not a plausible tactic to employ for long term success. If he gets the job he will be given far more freedom in regards to stamping his identity on the club and expectations will be far greater. What if, if that happens, it turns out his approach isn't good enough? I just hope we don't let emotions influence our decision, as I don't know how many more times we can get it wrong.

On the plus side, by the end of the season, we will most likely have a better understanding of his style and the influence he is having on our tactics and the players, so it should make the decision easier.
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Yeah, let’s get someone more experienced at that level. Someone like LVG or Jose who has been there and done that.
 
Aarun Sokhal said:
This guy has taken you from mid-table mediocrity, playing poor jammy football to four straight wins and back in with a chance of a top 4 finish. And some of you guys still aren't behind him 100%?

I hope he leaves in June, I don't think you deserve him. Chase Poch and see where that gets you.

4 straight wins is fantastic progress and a lot of managers would not have done what Ole has done with the state the dressing room is in. How he has transformed a pretty much depressed football side playing negative football into a free scoring goal machine of a team whilst looking like hes kept everyone happy and 4 wins on the spin is beyond me..

No moaning, no negativity, no pressure on the board to sign players in January. He's simply keeping his head down, empowering the staff, empowering the players and keeping everyone spirited.
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Managing part time and full time is different pressure altogether, also if it doesn't workout sacking him will leave a bad feeling in everyone. It's not the time to flow with emotions, no one knows how good he can be tactically. At the moment its phelan who is more crucial than ole. Title pressure is a different ball game altogether, than managing for 6 months in a dream low pressure scenario with top heavy side, waiting to prove themselves.
 
Everyone is saying "ïf we beat Spurs". More important is how we approach the game. If we went in there defensively and lost 1 0 i"d be disappointed with Ole. If we went there attacked them and lost 3 2, I'd be happ
 
Subho611 said:
Yeah, let’s get someone more experienced at that level. Someone like LVG or Jose who has been there and done that.
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Moyes is more of the Solsjaker build in regards to experience, he failed too (and far quicker and more convincingly, should I add), should we also discount managers without experience too? Just because the board got their selections wrong, doesn't mean going for managers with experience and success is bad - at the end of the day, there's a reason they meet those criteria. Jose and LVG might have, but they didn't fit the profile of the club. Also there's a big argument to be made for both being left behind in regards to tactics.

There are progressive, attacking managers, who have also proven they are winners that we could pursue. A title challenge, dealing with increased experience, dealing with egos when they aren't all happy, actually implementing tactics and ideas rather than just 'letting the players play', identifying and implementing the correct transfers etc. are all things far more challenging than simply coming into a struggling, downbeat team and letting them express themselves. The game is far too competitive these days to not be coaching attacking and defensive phases of play. In fact, we made that exact same mistake with Jose, one of the managers you name-dropped. It's well documented he just let the players play, albeit he was a cock and the players didn't like him, you still saw the clear difference when competing with teams with comparable squads.

If he earns the job at the end of the season and actually gets the job full time, doing well, it would be great, the ideal scenario. Although if he gets the job and then next season when all those added expectations listed above become prominent, he fails, it would be the worst possible scenario. For a few reasons, given his status at the club, it would be hard for the board to sack him, it would be hard for fans to come to terms with the idea of sacking him, it would then put us even further behind and the list of potentially great candidates this summer might no longer be available (always being too late is becoming a common theme with the club now).

I'm hoping he does great and earns the job, but I'm just hoping that the board don't let emotions get in the way of an extremely important decision come crunch time. Nor should we. As much as we all love Ole, managing Morde etc. to Man Utd is a completely different kettle of fish.

Just hope we aren't letting all the results and positivity stop the club from pursuing and giving other potential candidates a chance to share their vision etc. to the club. If he earns the job and he proves himself, give him the job, but if so, I really hope it's the right decision. As at the end of the day, I'm far more inclined to see United succeeding than to see Ole, as much as I love the bloke.
 
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dutchred said:
Everyone is saying "ïf we beat Spurs". More important is how we approach the game. If we went in there defensively and lost 1 0 i"d be disappointed with Ole. If we went there attacked them and lost 3 2, I'd be happ
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What impressed me about the Newcastle game was that we absolutely refused to go aerial despite Newcastle almost tempting us to use that option. Seems like Ole has instructed our players to avoid hoofing the ball. And Lindelof is really helping out in that area with his passing.
 
Kapardin said:
What impressed me about the Newcastle game was that we absolutely refused to go aerial despite Newcastle almost tempting us to use that option. Seems like Ole has instructed our players to avoid hoofing the ball. And Lindelof is really helping out in that area with his passing.
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Although, i'd still like fellani to be on the bench against Tottenham, depending on how the game pans out.
 
Womp said:
Moyes is more of the Solsjaker build in regards to experience, he failed too (and far quicker and more convincingly, should I add), should we also discount managers without experience too? Just because the board got their selections wrong, doesn't mean going for managers with experience and success is bad - at the end of the day, there's a reason they meet those criteria. Jose and LVG might have, but they didn't fit the profile of the club. Also there's a big argument to be made for both being left behind in regards to tactics.

There are progressive, attacking managers, who have also proven they are winners that we could pursue. A title challenge, dealing with increased experience, dealing with egos when they aren't all happy, actually implementing tactics and ideas rather than just 'letting the players play', identifying and implementing the correct transfers etc. are all things far more challenging than simply coming into a struggling, downbeat team and letting them express themselves. The game is far too competitive these days to not be coaching attacking and defensive phases of play. In fact, we made that exact same mistake with Jose, one of the managers you name-dropped. It's well documented he just let the players play, albeit he was a cock and the players didn't like him, you still saw the clear difference when competing with teams with comparable squads.

If he earns the job at the end of the season and actually gets the job full time, doing well, it would be great, the ideal scenario. Although if he gets the job and then next season when all those added expectations listed above become prominent, he fails, it would be the worst possible scenario. For a few reasons, given his status at the club, it would be hard for the board to sack him, it would be hard for fans to come to terms with the idea of sacking him, it would then put us even further behind and the list of potentially great candidates this summer might no longer be available (always being too late is becoming a common theme with the club now).

I'm hoping he does great and earns the job, but I'm just hoping that the board don't let emotions get in the way of an extremely important decision come crunch time. Nor should we. As much as we all love Ole, managing Morde etc. to Man Utd is a completely different kettle of fish.

Just hope we aren't letting all the results and positivity stop the club from pursuing and giving other potential candidates a chance to share their vision etc. to the club. If he earns the job and he proves himself, give him the job, but if so, I really hope it's the right decision. As at the end of the day, I'm far more inclined to see United succeeding than to see Ole, as much as I love the bloke.
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You sound a bit like John Barnes post-match on Bein Sport, as in Ole just roles the balls out and says "play the Man United way" leads by a smiling example and says company/club lines about the club.

You're discrediting Ole and his staff of Phelan, Carrick and McKenna. That's a very well rounded and well respected and successful coaching staff lead by a Treble winner who played under Sir Alex. Ole has managed 200+ senior level matches, has won a domestic title and has game planned and managed against good clubs in Europe as the manager of a minnow club.

Ole isn't afraid or foreign to the stature of the club. He is a literal piece of the club's success/romance and has been a central figure in creating/putting that pressure to perform and succed on coaches and players before him and after him. The core principles he believes in and teaches is the truth for this club and it's very much in line with the identity of United.

He's not afraid of the pressure or the responsiblity of being a player and now manager. It's in his blood, it's something he's earned the right to believe and preach. He's cut his teeth as a manager but he also understands the importance of delegating responsiblity and trust within your staff. Throughout the four matches with Ole, I've seen him, Carrick, McKenna and Phelan all roam in the managers area in front of the bench. It's not something you typically see because for this current staff, there's a true togetherness in the coaching staff and understanding of how they want the players to play and what they are trying to execute.

And finally, we should all be more worried about the footballing structure that Woodward has supposedly spoke of creating...i.e. a Director of Football or Technical Director and their staff that oversees the general ethos of football style, transfers, negotiation, contracts, scouting, coaching staff, etc. from academy through first team. So when Ole or whomever is the next permanent manager of United, the identity of the past four matches doesn't deviate drastically like it did from Sir Alex to Moyes to LVG to Jose to Ole.
 
edcunited1878 said:
You sound a bit like John Barnes post-match on Bein Sport, as in Ole just roles the balls out and says "play the Man United way" leads by a smiling example and says company/club lines about the club.

You're discrediting Ole and his staff of Phelan, Carrick and McKenna. That's a very well rounded and well respected and successful coaching staff lead by a Treble winner who played under Sir Alex. Ole has managed 200+ senior level matches, has won a domestic title and has game planned and managed against good clubs in Europe as the manager of a minnow club.

Ole isn't afraid or foreign to the stature of the club. He is a literal piece of the club's success/romance and has been a central figure in creating/putting that pressure to perform and succed on coaches and players before him and after him. The core principles he believes in and teaches is the truth for this club and it's very much in line with the identity of United.

He's not afraid of the pressure or the responsiblity of being a player and now manager. It's in his blood, it's something he's earned the right to believe and preach. He's cut his teeth as a manager but he also understands the importance of delegating responsiblity and trust within your staff. Throughout the four matches with Ole, I've seen him, Carrick, McKenna and Phelan all roam in the managers area in front of the bench. It's not something you typically see because for this current staff, there's a true togetherness in the coaching staff and understanding of how they want the players to play and what they are trying to execute.

And finally, we should all be more worried about the footballing structure that Woodward has supposedly spoke of creating...i.e. a Director of Football or Technical Director and their staff that oversees the general ethos of football style, transfers, negotiation, contracts, scouting, coaching staff, etc. from academy through first team. So when Ole or whomever is the next permanent manager of United, the identity of the past four matches doesn't deviate drastically like it did from Sir Alex to Moyes to LVG to Jose to Ole.
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All that is fine, but understanding the club and it's methods, whilst also making everyone 'together and happy' simply isn't enough. He needs to have the tactical acumen and ability to implement a progressive style here. Whilst also displaying the ability to win here. I don't believe he's changed tactics as of yet, our play style changed drastically for our first match despite him having 2 days with the squad. He himself kept preaching about how he was simply just allowing the players to play "with a smile on their face". If by the end of the season he has proven enough to the board to suggest he could do those things, then by all means he should get the job. If he is deemed a better candidate than others.

I don't think I'm discrediting him at all, if you look at my posts I've done nothing but praise him on the job he's done. I'm just simply trying not to be blinded by emotion and see things practically.

I find it hard to believe he has made such drastic improvements to our style in such a short time. He simply allowed attacking players who were hindered by the previous manager to do what they do best.

Funnily enough, I liken Ole to Zidane, a manager with the outright respect of a bunch of very good (albeit far less so than Madrid, obviously) players. It's why I'm also not a big fan of us pursuing Zidane. I would love Ole to be manager permanently and to show that he does have the ability to make it here, I guess time will tell.

In regards to your point about the DOF - I completely agree. It would also assist with player recruitment so we don't have managers managing players they usually wouldn't go anywhere near.
 
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Nothing would make me happier than when the season ends Ole truly deserves the job and it seems almost idiotic not to give him it. Thus we can forget about Poch who will end up at Real sooner rather than later. But only time will tell.
 
Womp said:
All that is fine, but understanding the club and it's methods, whilst also making everyone 'together and happy' simply isn't enough.
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It's not about understanding the clubs "methods", but the scale of the club and the pressure and expectations from all over the fecking world that comes with the job.
 
Why do the votes always have Eboue as an option? I assume that this is some joke that’s gone over my head? Where does it come from? And is it still funny?
 
I don't know how anyone can be negative about Ole potentially taking over when our team is playing the best it's ever played since the SAF years. We've played poor teams for many years and made hard work of them. Mind you there's a clear identity to how we play. A way of playing that we as United fans identify with although our intensity mimics the current era of football. We have holes in our team that can only be sorted out with personnel changes, strategically I fail to see what any of these names being tossed around would bring to the table.
 
Patrick08 said:
Managing part time and full time is different pressure altogether, also if it doesn't workout sacking him will leave a bad feeling in everyone. It's not the time to flow with emotions, no one knows how good he can be tactically. At the moment its phelan who is more crucial than ole. Title pressure is a different ball game altogether, than managing for 6 months in a dream low pressure scenario with top heavy side, waiting to prove themselves.
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Pretty much. Not sure what have we done to not "deserve" him. I love Ole, I really do, I think pretty much every Manchester United fan does and there's nothing more I'd want to happen in football than for him to succeed. And so far it has gone wonderfully, better that anyone could've expected and I've enjoyed every second of it. But this still very much is the honeymoon period. Being cautious after 4 games is not negative, it's sensible, especially after 6 years of misery in various shades. Should we feck up the next appointment there's very likely going to be another six.

If it goes on like this until the end of the season we might as well risk it and give him a chance. But labelling anyone "not deserving" because they're cautious after four (4) games is dumb.
 
ReddBalls said:
It's not about understanding the clubs "methods", but the scale of the club and the pressure and expectations from all over the fecking world that comes with the job.
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Yes, that is one of (I'd hope) many things that is required to manage Manchester United. Not the only though.
 
Had Jose been in charge during those previous 4 games then they would have been boring, defensive, lacklustre affairs with no guarantees of wins. Then the inevitable finger-pointing in directions of others in press conferences.
 
dutchred said:
Everyone is saying "ïf we beat Spurs". More important is how we approach the game. If we went in there defensively and lost 1 0 i"d be disappointed with Ole. If we went there attacked them and lost 3 2, I'd be happ
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I agree. It is still very likely we dont win, but we need to play well and have the right approach. He needs to show that he has the tactical understanding and can set up the team for to do well in big games. We wont win all our big games though
 
Sultan said:
Had Jose been in charge during those previous 4 games then they would have been boring, defensive, lacklustre affairs with no guarantees of wins. Then the inevitable finger-pointing in directions of others in press conferences.
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Even if, and that's a big if, we'd have won all these games under Jose, the way we did it and all the drama around Jose would have been unbearable.
 
TheGame said:
Really love it when all the coaches celebrate the goals together.
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It's not just a career move or a job. They're ex-players and spent considerable time at the club. This makes success doubly sweet.
 
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