Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | W15 D2 L4

Is Ole a good appointment?

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reddaz71 said:
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.
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I can accept a loss provided we're not completely shit and actually compete in the match. He doesn't have to win it. A draw would be nice.
 
VP89 said:
Where the feck did I say we needed to do any of those things? We needed a defender. That hasn't changed. Don't quote me if youre just going to make shit up.
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Tbf both of you said a lot of rubbish sorry if I'm mixing up who said what
 
fellaini's barber said:
He's interim I get that, it's next season I'm talking about. If he gets the perm job I'd hope he doesn't do that clean slate or needing time to evaluate the players thing which I've always thought was bollocks. Regarding Fergie remember he lost much of his ruthlessness towards the end. Giggs and Scholes benching Pogba, G.Nev having to leave on his own accord as he knew he was done but SAF still picked him. I really think Ole will be a good manager for us and this will be the only thing that would hold him back
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I think the clean slate approach is just a way to lift the dressing room from it’s bleak state under Mourinho. It wouldn’t be good for morale if he comes in and immediately starts singling out players as not being good enough.

If he gets the job next season and is given carte Blanche to rebuild us into genuine competitors then I imagine he’d be less patient and more ruthless.
 
I am wondering how much McKenna and Carrick are doing now, compared to under Mourinho, especially when it comes to their opinions of how we should play, and what players are being used.

Would love hearing/reading an interview with them about the changes.
 
I don't see him going back to Molde. If we are exceptional in the second half of the season, he would continue. Even if we are average, I can see him getting offers from other PL clubs which would be too much to resist.
 
fellaini's barber said:
Tbf both of you said a lot of rubbish sorry if I'm mixing up who said what
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Close to no one can claim to have never spouted nonsense at one point and I'm not going to be claim to be an exception.

However, if you think I said any rubbish, be accurate and actually quote on it rather than making up things I said.
 
Amadaeus said:
Da feck? Pep is doing really well at Manchester City and Zidane is on a sabbatical and is being courted by a lot of top clubs. Di Mateo on the other hand is somewhere in China or Russia.
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You seem a bit confused regarding the point I’m making. You said Di Matteo was hired with little experience, won the Champions League and fecked off into obscurity as an argument against believing in Ole as a permanent manager. I brought up Zidane and Pep as successful examples of others who were hired with little experience, succeeding, and then not fecking off into managerial obscurity, quite the opposite in fact, as you rightly point out.
 
NYAS said:
You seem a bit confused regarding the point I’m making. You said Di Matteo was hired with little experience, won the Champions League and fecked off into obscurity as an argument against believing in Ole as a permanent manager. I brought up Zidane and Pep as successful examples of others who were hired with little experience, succeeding, and then not fecking off into managerial obscurity, quite the opposite in fact, as you rightly point out.
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Zidane and Pep showed consistency of managing at a high level over multiple season. Zidane has some questions mark on him, even though he won the champions league three time in a row.

I have not written Ole off, I just stated that some managers can have one great season where everything goes there way, but in reality they are just average managers with a great team or faculty at their disposal. Ranieri is another example, of winning the league with leceister, but now most top clubs won’t even touch him despite that achievement. It takes real managerial acumen and tactical prowess to succeed consistently at a top club and even though Ole has done well so far with his early fixtures, that is not enough to make a final verdict on him yet. Around April would be a better time
 
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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I'm not going to pretend like he wasn't lucky with the fixture list, but Louis van Gaal had a comparable opening fixture list. Checked back to Busby's first spell as a manager.

Louis van Gaal - 5 points from 4 games. Also lost cup game.

Swansea (H) 1-2 LOSS [Prev Season: 12th, same season finish: 8th.]
Sunderland (A) 1-1 [Prev season: 14th, same season finish, 16th.]
MK Dons (A, League Cup) 0-4 LOSS [Played in League One.]
Burnley (A) 0-0 [Prev season: 2nd in Championship, same season finish: 19th.]
Q.P.R. (H) 4-0 WIN [Prev season: 4th in Championship, same season finish: 20th.]




And these are for comparison's sake: (Not comparing Ole to either one, just for fun)

Alex Ferguson - 4 points from 4 games. Opposition a bit stronger than for Ole.
Oxford (A) 0-2 LOSS [Prev Season: 18th (of 22), same season finish 18th (of 22).]
Norwich (A) 0-0 [Prev Season: 1st in the 2nd Div, same season finish: 5th.]
Q.P.R. (H) 1-0 WIN [Prev Season: 13th (of 22), same season finish: 16th.]
Wimbledon (A) 0-1 LOSS [Prev Season: 3rd in the 2nd Div, same season finish: 6th.]


Matt Busby. When he took over United there were still war leagues being played in England, looks like those games were not counted for the opta stat either. Which makes sense imo. First proper league games were played in 46/47.
Grimsby (H) 2-1 WIN [--, finished the season in 16th.]
Chelsea (A) 3-0 WIN [--, finished the season in 15th.]
Charlton (A) 3-1 WIN [--, finished the season in 19th.]
Liverpool (H) 5-0 WIN [--, finished the season in 1st.]

and for comparison, after we win v Spurs:

Middlesbrough (H) 1-0 WIN


Didn't include positions from the season before since there were 5 years of Wartime Leagues.
 
Hi there! New forum member (lifetime Manchester United fan) chiming in!

I'm Norwegian so my opinion is wildly biased, but nevertheless:

I think Ole would make a fantastic manager for Manchester United. He is the very embodiment of what Manchester United is. A club legend who enjoys the very fact that he gets to have Old Trafford as his workplace.

Some of the key factors for why I personally think Ole is the man for the job (and a couple questionmarks).

1) Ole Gunnar is a low maintenance manager. What I mean by that is that his demeanor makes him extremely comfortable to be around, and his way of leadership does not wear and tear at anyones morale. Unlike Mourinho who favors an agressive leadershipstyle that punishes players by public shaming and repeated benching, Ole runs a "I got your back" type of leadership, where he is the one who is responsible for the hardships, and the players are the ones who gets the credit for the win.

We've seen examples of this in several interviews already, noteably he refuses any credit for Lukakus 0-1 goal vs Newcastle, rather talk about how well Lukaku did. He has adressed the teams issue with set pieces, and not laid blame on any single player. He's also not come across as angry or condescending, but rather adressed a fact in public with a calm rationality that will make the people that works for him more likely to adress their own struggles, and not spend enegry on what mean things the manager said. He mentioned the defense almost letting a newcastle player through with a personal mistake, "but Phil made a great recovery". Again emphasizing the player when he did someting positive, isntead of something negative.

Several times he talks about how well players are doing. Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Shaw, Lukaku, De Gea, etc. etc. Every time they do something noteable, the manager is there to let them know that he notices, and is willing to tell everyone.

Words are cheap, but words also carry a lot of meaning, especially when a key factor in personell management, is personell morale. By his conduct, Ole is a person that is going to naturally want people to make an effort for him. If you want success, this can not be understated.

2) Ole Gunnar has many years of exprience working with young players. Academy players are the very bedrock that Manchester United is founded upon. Its the teams very identity and it must be protected at all costs. Ole is a manager that is known for playing the youngsters, and knows very well the value of a young and fast team. In Norway he's worked with many talents in Molde football club, most recently and noteably he's coached Erling Braut Haaland for Molde, who in turns has been sold and will join Red Bull Salzburg at the age of 18. In 2017 Erling was ranked as one of The Guardians picks for future stars of European football from the 2000 class. He's also worked with other known United players, most noteably of course, Paul Pogba.

His focus on yougsters and getting talent up through the club makes Ole an ideal candidate for the job.

3) Attacking style football. Manchester United is not a defensive team. Its a great attacking team with a great defense. Currently the player personell in the back 4 needs improvement. In my book only Shaw and Lindelöf *currently* holds the required quality for a United defender. If Ole stays, this is what needs adressing.

When he took over Molde, the name of the game was attackminded football, when he took over Cardiff the mantra was the same, up and attack. When he took the job with United, againt he same. United is an attacking team, and this coach wants to score 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. Never sit on a lead, always pressure. Giving players with incredible offensive talents such as Martial, Rashford and Pogba the freedom to do what they want is a blessing for this team. Some of the plays this trio has pulled out the last 4 games have been a joy to watch.

If you want a manager that wants to score goals? This is one.

4) Ole is a experienced manager. He's currently been in charge of a football club for 8 years (2010 -> to date). In that time he has won the Norwegian league twice, the Norwegian cup once, and pershaps most relevant he has won the Lancashire Senior Cup and Manchester Senior Cup with the Manchester United reserveteam during his tenure as a coach.

Molde actually won their Europa League group ahead of Celtic, Fenerbache and Ajax. They were eventually relegated by Sevilla who beat them 3-1 over 2 matches (Molde beat Sevilla in Spain). Financially, all of these clubs are in another universe compared to Molde.

He also has experience coaching a Premier League club (but we'll get back to that in a moment).

5) After Sir Alex, 3 coaches have tried and failed to make the club great. Some good results have come, but its time to to be a hard factor again. Moyes, LvG and Mourinho all failed in their own ways, but they all failed. Moyes was a coach that was used to building his team slowly and meticilously in Everton, eventually gaining some success. LvG came and went with so so results, and Mourinho, despite winning the European League, almost burned the club to the ground in the process.

You need someone who is respected throughout the organization, by literally everyone. Everyone has a realtionship with this man, and not one of them has a bad word to say. The interim manager time and time again emphasizes hos great this club is, how great the players are, what Manchester Unitd is all about, what responsibilities the players have both to conduct, effort and morale. This is not a manger that wants to shape the club in his own philosophy, he wants to build on one that was started and left off by the greatest manager to ever set foot in a stadium. Its the United way, all the way, and every day.

6) Ole enjoys incredible respect among the players in the club, some of who he has a previous relationship, but others who have obviously warmed up to the idea that anyone else than Mourinho is in charge. You see how different everyone are acting on and off the field through their social media and various interviews. What I'm sure everyone wants to see is a coach that instills the same kind of respect that Sir Alex did. When Ole gives Paul Pogba a big hug after the win vs. Newcastle, that is not for theatrics, these are people that genuinely respect eachother. It's the little things, like the absolute glee among the coaching staff by the bench when the team scores, to Rashford posting a tweet being instructed by Solskjaer. These people are all aboard with this manager right now.

7) Marcus Rashford. It's been 4 games, but oh man has Marcus Rashford been an absolute monster these 4 games. Playing under Ole so far has been a godsend for Marcus. We saw it against Bournemouth when Rashford was charging balls that everyone had given up on, making plays and just using his speed every chance he got. Marcus has been 110% effort under Ole, and its absolutely incredible to watch. Marcus Rashford is goign to be an absolute beast for United in the coming seasons. He's best left with a manager that gives him what he has today.

8) Ole has been vocal about his intent to build this team around him. In fact it was reported that one of the first things Ole did when he came here was have a heart to heart with Pogba, and ask him what HE felt he needed to perform at the level everyone knows he can. Pogba went from being a scapegoat to an absolute monster overnight. This is personell management at its finest.

9) Sanchez. Boy oh boy, Sanchez. The player that came from Arsenal has still not shown up on Old Trafford. This is the perfect time to let Alexis show why he collects Messi money from the Old Trafford cashiers. Salaries aside, the man looked extremely hungry to go against Newcastle, with several hard effort runs, and one sweet pass to Rashford for 2-0. I think that Ole is the man that can finally give Alexis the confidence he needs to succeed at the club. If he does its another argument to keep him around in my eyes.

10) Alex Ferguson. It should be relatively evident that Ole is not here without some very hard input from Sir Alex. Ole refers to him as "The Boss", just like Ronaldo and Beckham does to this day. They have a very strong relationship and Sir Alex is obviously an influence to this day on both Oole and the club. The fact that he's been visiting the training field speaks to a man that is simply going to be the personification of United for the rest of his days, and his protege is currently sitting in his chair.

11) Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero - "Everyones" favorite candidate to mange the club next season.

So what favors Pochettino over Ole exactly?

As players, Ole had the more impressive career, obviously.

They are both coaches that favor an attacking style of play and are known to give young players a chance at greatness in the club. Pochettino struck gold when he promoted Alli, Dier and Harry Kane from the Tottenham programs. There is a 100% chance that Ole is going to go the same route. Its the United way.

Players who have been coached by Pochettino are very favorable of his man management, and his willingness to give players the freedom they need to develop. Sound like someone we know?

Pochettino has never won anything as a manager, technically. But thats hardly a good argument against. His results with Tottenham are absolutely worthy of merit and all accolades.

In my eyes, Pochettino and Ole Gunnar are essentially the same person. The key difference to me is that Ole has the backing of *everyone*. The players, the fans, Sir Alex, and hopefully the board. The Glazer family stockvalue have increased considerably these past 4 games, something not to be underestimated.

So why not go with the man already in the chair?

_____________________

These are some of my pro reasons for keeping Ole on. Anyone wildly disagree?

I do have some "But what about..." points as well just to be fair.

1) Cardiff. Cardiff was an absolute disaster, but moreover it was a disaster of a club to manage. It was a struggling team with a chaotic owner and little resources available to do much of anything. I don't think that a lot of managers could have saved Cardiff from going down to begin with. If anything it was a disaster of a club to choose. The fact that he passed over Aston Villa before choosing Cardiff will forever be a mystery, although both clubs were struggling and were always candidates for relegation. Cardiff is absolutely something to consider when considering Ole for the job. Fortunately we have the good fortune of having half a season to evaluate this interim manager.

2) "Irrelevant experience" as a manager. True that Molde in Norway is a non-factor in a European measurement. But the local teams compete on local metrics, and there Ole was king. It also gives more creedence to the fact that he at least managed to coach a team to a European League group win.
 
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Tom Cato said:
Hi there! New forum member (lifetime Manchester United fan) chiming in!

I'm Norwegian so my opinion is wildly biased, but nevertheless:

I think Ole would make a fantastic manager for Manchester United. He is the very embodiment of what Manchester United is. A club legend who enjoys the very fact that he gets to have Old Trafford as his workplace.

Some of the key factors for why I personally think Ole is the man for the job (and a couple questionmarks).

1) Ole Gunnar is a low maintenance manager. What I mean by that is that his demeanor makes him extremely comfortable to be around, and his way of leadership does not wear and tear at anyones morale. Unlike Mourinho who favors an agressive leadershipstyle that punishes players by public shaming and repeated benching, Ole runs a "I got your back" type of leadership, where he is the one who is responsible for the hardships, and the players are the ones who gets the credit for the win.

We've seen examples of this in several interviews already, noteably he refuses any credit for Lukakus 0-1 goal vs Newcastle, rather talk about how well Lukaku did. He has adressed the teams issue with set pieces, and not laid blame on any single player. He's also not come across as angry or condescending, but rather adressed a fact in public with a calm rationality that will make the people that works for him more likely to adress their own struggles, and not spend enegry on what mean things the manager said. He mentioned the defense almost letting a newcastle player through with a personal mistake, "but Phil made a great recovery". Again emphasizing the player when he did someting positive, isntead of something negative.

Several times he talks about how well players are doing. Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Shaw, Lukaku, De Gea, etc. etc. Every time they do something noteable, the manager is there to let them know that he notices, and is willing to tell everyone.

Words are cheap, but words also carry a lot of meaning, especially when a key factor in personell management, is personell morale. By his conduct, Ole is a person that is going to naturally want people to make an effort for him. If you want success, this can not be understated.

2) Ole Gunnar has many years of exprience working with young players. Academy players are the very bedrock that Manchester United is founded upon. Its the teams very identity and it must be protected at all costs. Ole is a manager that is known for playing the youngsters, and knows very well the value of a young and fast team. In Norway he's worked with many talents in Molde football club, most recently and noteably he's coached Erling Braut Haaland for Molde, who in turns has been sold and will join Red Bull Salzburg at the age of 18. In 2017 Erling was ranked as one of The Guardians picks for future stars of European football from the 2000 class. He's also worked with other known United players, most noteably of course, Paul Pogba.

His focus on yougsters and getting talent up through the club makes Ole an ideal candidate for the job.

3) Attacking style football. Manchester United is not a defensive team. Its a great attacking team with a great defense. Currently the player personell in the back 4 needs improvement. In my book only Shaw and Lindelöf *currently* holds the required quality for a United defender. If Ole stays, this is what needs adressing.

When he took over Molde, the name of the game was attackminded football, when he took over Cardiff the mantra was the same, up and attack. When he took the job with United, againt he same. United is an attacking team, and this coach wants to score 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. Never sit on a lead, always pressure. Giving players with incredible offensive talents such as Martial, Rashford and Pogba the freedom to do what they want is a blessing for this team. Some of the plays this trio has pulled out the last 4 games have been a joy to watch.

If you want a manager that wants to score goals? This is one.

4) Ole is a experienced manager. He's currently been in charge of a football club for 8 years (2010 -> to date). In that time he has won the Norwegian league twice, the Norwegian cup once, and pershaps most relevant he has won the Lancashire Senior Cup and Manchester Senior Cup with the Manchester United reserveteam during his tenure as a coach.

Molde actually won their Europa League group ahead of Celtic, Fenerbache and Ajax. They were eventually relegated by Sevilla who beat them 3-1 over 2 matches (Molde beat Sevilla in Spain). Financially, all of these clubs are in another universe compared to Molde.

He also has experience coaching a Premier League club (but we'll get back to that in a moment).

5) After Sir Alex, 3 coaches have tried and failed to make the club great. Some good results have come, but its time to to be a hard factor again. Moyes, LvG and Mourinho all failed in their own ways, but they all failed. Moyes was a coach that was used to building his team slowly and meticilously in Everton, eventually gaining some success. LvG came and went with so so results, and Mourinho, despite winning the European League, almost burned the club to the ground in the process.

You need someone who is respected throughout the organization, by literally everyone. Everyone has a realtionship with this man, and not one of them has a bad word to say. The interim manager time and time again emphasizes hos great this club is, how great the players are, what Manchester Unitd is all about, what responsibilities the players have both to conduct, effort and morale. This is not a manger that wants to shape the club in his own philosophy, he wants to build on one that was started and left off by the greatest manager to ever set foot in a stadium. Its the United way, all the way, and every day.

6) Ole enjoys incredible respect among the players in the club, some of who he has a previous relationship, but others who have obviously warmed up to the idea that anyone else than Mourinho is in charge. You see how different everyone are acting on and off the field through their social media and various interviews. What I'm sure everyone wants to see is a coach that instills the same kind of respect that Sir Alex did. When Ole gives Paul Pogba a big hug after the win vs. Newcastle, that is not for theatrics, these are people that genuinely respect eachother. It's the little things, like the absolute glee among the coaching staff by the bench when the team scores, to Rashford posting a tweet being instructed by Solskjaer. These people are all aboard with this manager right now.

7) Marcus Rashford. It's been 4 games, but oh man has Marcus Rashford been an absolute monster these 4 games. Playing under Ole so far has been a godsend for Marcus. We saw it against Bournemouth when Rashford was charging balls that everyone had given up on, making plays and just using his speed every chance he got. Marcus has been 110% effort under Ole, and its absolutely incredible to watch. Marcus Rashford is goign to be an absolute beast for United in the coming seasons. He's best left with a manager that gives him what he has today.

8) Ole has been vocal about his intent to build this team around him. In fact it was reported that one of the first things Ole did when he came here was have a heart to heart with Pogba, and ask him what HE felt he needed to perform at the level everyone knows he can. Pogba went from being a scapegoat to an absolute monster overnight. This is personell management at its finest.

9) Sanchez. Boy oh boy, Sanchez. The player that came from Arsenal has still not shown up on Old Trafford. This is the perfect time to let Alexis show why he collects Messi money from the Old Trafford cashiers. Salaries aside, the man looked extremely hungry to go against Newcastle, with several hard effort runs, and one sweet pass to Rashford for 2-0. I think that Ole is the man that can finally give Alexis the confidence he needs to succeed at the club. If he does its another argument to keep him around in my eyes.

10) Alex Ferguson. It should be relatively evident that Ole is not here without some very hard input from Sir Alex. Ole refers to him as "The Boss", just like Ronaldo and Beckham does to this day. They have a very strong relationship and Sir Alex is obviously an influence to this day on both Oole and the club. The fact that he's been visiting the training field speaks to a man that is simply going to be the personification of United for the rest of his days, and his protege is currently sitting in his chair.

11) Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero - "Everyones" favorite candidate to mange the club next season.

So what favors Pochettino over Ole exactly?

As players, Ole had the more impressive career, obviously.

They are both coaches that favor an attacking style of play and are known to give young players a chance at greatness in the club. Pochettino struck gold when he promoted Alli, Dier and Harry Kane from the Tottenham programs. There is a 100% chance that Ole is going to go the same route. Its the United way.

Players who have been coached by Pochettino are very favorable of his man management, and his willingness to give players the freedom they need to develop. Sound like someone we know?

Pochettino has never won anything as a manager, technically. But thats hardly a good argument against. His results with Tottenham are absolutely worthy of merit and all accolades.

In my eyes, Pochettino and Ole Gunnar are essentially the same person. The key difference to me is that Ole has the backing of *everyone*. The players, the fans, Sir Alex, and hopefully the board. The Glazer family stockvalue have increased considerably these past 4 games, something not to be underestimated.

So why not go with the man already in the chair?

_____________________

These are some of my pro reasons for keeping Ole on. Anyone wildly disagree?

I do have some "But what about..." points as well just to be fair.

1) Cardiff. Cardiff was an absolute disaster, but moreover it was a disaster of a club to manage. It was a struggling team with a chaotic owner and little resources available to do much of anything. I don't think that a lot of managers could have saved Cardiff from going down to begin with. If anything it was a disaster of a club to choose. The fact that he passed over Aston Villa before choosing Cardiff will forever be a mystery, although both clubs were struggling and were always candidates for relegation. Cardiff is absolutely something to consider when considering Ole for the job. Fortunately we have the good fortune of having half a season to evaluate this interim manager.

2) "Irrelevant experience" as a manager. True that Molde in Norway is a non-factor in a European measurement. But the local teams compete on local metrics, and there Ole was king. It also gives more creedence to the fact that he at least managed to coach a team to a European League group win.
Click to expand...

Wow that's such a way to start posting here mate ! Great post.
 
@Tom Cato Thanks for this post, it does feel good. I can only hope we go on an incredible winning run from now on and the players just feel proud and happy to play for Manchester United.
I think it's not just Ole, it's the whole staff, these are the people who run the club on a daily basis. But I have to say, something about United is different right now. And I think, if we keep this winning streak, other teams are going to change their tune regarding us.
 
Tom Cato said:
Hi there! New forum member (lifetime Manchester United fan) chiming in!

I'm Norwegian so my opinion is wildly biased, but nevertheless:

I think Ole would make a fantastic manager for Manchester United. He is the very embodiment of what Manchester United is. A club legend who enjoys the very fact that he gets to have Old Trafford as his workplace.

Some of the key factors for why I personally think Ole is the man for the job (and a couple questionmarks).

1) Ole Gunnar is a low maintenance manager. What I mean by that is that his demeanor makes him extremely comfortable to be around, and his way of leadership does not wear and tear at anyones morale. Unlike Mourinho who favors an agressive leadershipstyle that punishes players by public shaming and repeated benching, Ole runs a "I got your back" type of leadership, where he is the one who is responsible for the hardships, and the players are the ones who gets the credit for the win.

We've seen examples of this in several interviews already, noteably he refuses any credit for Lukakus 0-1 goal vs Newcastle, rather talk about how well Lukaku did. He has adressed the teams issue with set pieces, and not laid blame on any single player. He's also not come across as angry or condescending, but rather adressed a fact in public with a calm rationality that will make the people that works for him more likely to adress their own struggles, and not spend enegry on what mean things the manager said. He mentioned the defense almost letting a newcastle player through with a personal mistake, "but Phil made a great recovery". Again emphasizing the player when he did someting positive, isntead of something negative.

Several times he talks about how well players are doing. Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Shaw, Lukaku, De Gea, etc. etc. Every time they do something noteable, the manager is there to let them know that he notices, and is willing to tell everyone.

Words are cheap, but words also carry a lot of meaning, especially when a key factor in personell management, is personell morale. By his conduct, Ole is a person that is going to naturally want people to make an effort for him. If you want success, this can not be understated.

2) Ole Gunnar has many years of exprience working with young players. Academy players are the very bedrock that Manchester United is founded upon. Its the teams very identity and it must be protected at all costs. Ole is a manager that is known for playing the youngsters, and knows very well the value of a young and fast team. In Norway he's worked with many talents in Molde football club, most recently and noteably he's coached Erling Braut Haaland for Molde, who in turns has been sold and will join Red Bull Salzburg at the age of 18. In 2017 Erling was ranked as one of The Guardians picks for future stars of European football from the 2000 class. He's also worked with other known United players, most noteably of course, Paul Pogba.

His focus on yougsters and getting talent up through the club makes Ole an ideal candidate for the job.

3) Attacking style football. Manchester United is not a defensive team. Its a great attacking team with a great defense. Currently the player personell in the back 4 needs improvement. In my book only Shaw and Lindelöf *currently* holds the required quality for a United defender. If Ole stays, this is what needs adressing.

When he took over Molde, the name of the game was attackminded football, when he took over Cardiff the mantra was the same, up and attack. When he took the job with United, againt he same. United is an attacking team, and this coach wants to score 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. Never sit on a lead, always pressure. Giving players with incredible offensive talents such as Martial, Rashford and Pogba the freedom to do what they want is a blessing for this team. Some of the plays this trio has pulled out the last 4 games have been a joy to watch.

If you want a manager that wants to score goals? This is one.

4) Ole is a experienced manager. He's currently been in charge of a football club for 8 years (2010 -> to date). In that time he has won the Norwegian league twice, the Norwegian cup once, and pershaps most relevant he has won the Lancashire Senior Cup and Manchester Senior Cup with the Manchester United reserveteam during his tenure as a coach.

Molde actually won their Europa League group ahead of Celtic, Fenerbache and Ajax. They were eventually relegated by Sevilla who beat them 3-1 over 2 matches (Molde beat Sevilla in Spain). Financially, all of these clubs are in another universe compared to Molde.

He also has experience coaching a Premier League club (but we'll get back to that in a moment).

5) After Sir Alex, 3 coaches have tried and failed to make the club great. Some good results have come, but its time to to be a hard factor again. Moyes, LvG and Mourinho all failed in their own ways, but they all failed. Moyes was a coach that was used to building his team slowly and meticilously in Everton, eventually gaining some success. LvG came and went with so so results, and Mourinho, despite winning the European League, almost burned the club to the ground in the process.

You need someone who is respected throughout the organization, by literally everyone. Everyone has a realtionship with this man, and not one of them has a bad word to say. The interim manager time and time again emphasizes hos great this club is, how great the players are, what Manchester Unitd is all about, what responsibilities the players have both to conduct, effort and morale. This is not a manger that wants to shape the club in his own philosophy, he wants to build on one that was started and left off by the greatest manager to ever set foot in a stadium. Its the United way, all the way, and every day.

6) Ole enjoys incredible respect among the players in the club, some of who he has a previous relationship, but others who have obviously warmed up to the idea that anyone else than Mourinho is in charge. You see how different everyone are acting on and off the field through their social media and various interviews. What I'm sure everyone wants to see is a coach that instills the same kind of respect that Sir Alex did. When Ole gives Paul Pogba a big hug after the win vs. Newcastle, that is not for theatrics, these are people that genuinely respect eachother. It's the little things, like the absolute glee among the coaching staff by the bench when the team scores, to Rashford posting a tweet being instructed by Solskjaer. These people are all aboard with this manager right now.

7) Marcus Rashford. It's been 4 games, but oh man has Marcus Rashford been an absolute monster these 4 games. Playing under Ole so far has been a godsend for Marcus. We saw it against Bournemouth when Rashford was charging balls that everyone had given up on, making plays and just using his speed every chance he got. Marcus has been 110% effort under Ole, and its absolutely incredible to watch. Marcus Rashford is goign to be an absolute beast for United in the coming seasons. He's best left with a manager that gives him what he has today.

8) Ole has been vocal about his intent to build this team around him. In fact it was reported that one of the first things Ole did when he came here was have a heart to heart with Pogba, and ask him what HE felt he needed to perform at the level everyone knows he can. Pogba went from being a scapegoat to an absolute monster overnight. This is personell management at its finest.

9) Sanchez. Boy oh boy, Sanchez. The player that came from Arsenal has still not shown up on Old Trafford. This is the perfect time to let Alexis show why he collects Messi money from the Old Trafford cashiers. Salaries aside, the man looked extremely hungry to go against Newcastle, with several hard effort runs, and one sweet pass to Rashford for 2-0. I think that Ole is the man that can finally give Alexis the confidence he needs to succeed at the club. If he does its another argument to keep him around in my eyes.

10) Alex Ferguson. It should be relatively evident that Ole is not here without some very hard input from Sir Alex. Ole refers to him as "The Boss", just like Ronaldo and Beckham does to this day. They have a very strong relationship and Sir Alex is obviously an influence to this day on both Oole and the club. The fact that he's been visiting the training field speaks to a man that is simply going to be the personification of United for the rest of his days, and his protege is currently sitting in his chair.

11) Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero - "Everyones" favorite candidate to mange the club next season.

So what favors Pochettino over Ole exactly?

As players, Ole had the more impressive career, obviously.

They are both coaches that favor an attacking style of play and are known to give young players a chance at greatness in the club. Pochettino struck gold when he promoted Alli, Dier and Harry Kane from the Tottenham programs. There is a 100% chance that Ole is going to go the same route. Its the United way.

Players who have been coached by Pochettino are very favorable of his man management, and his willingness to give players the freedom they need to develop. Sound like someone we know?

Pochettino has never won anything as a manager, technically. But thats hardly a good argument against. His results with Tottenham are absolutely worthy of merit and all accolades.

In my eyes, Pochettino and Ole Gunnar are essentially the same person. The key difference to me is that Ole has the backing of *everyone*. The players, the fans, Sir Alex, and hopefully the board. The Glazer family stockvalue have increased considerably these past 4 games, something not to be underestimated.

So why not go with the man already in the chair?

_____________________

These are some of my pro reasons for keeping Ole on. Anyone wildly disagree?

I do have some "But what about..." points as well just to be fair.

1) Cardiff. Cardiff was an absolute disaster, but moreover it was a disaster of a club to manage. It was a struggling team with a chaotic owner and little resources available to do much of anything. I don't think that a lot of managers could have saved Cardiff from going down to begin with. If anything it was a disaster of a club to choose. The fact that he passed over Aston Villa before choosing Cardiff will forever be a mystery, although both clubs were struggling and were always candidates for relegation. Cardiff is absolutely something to consider when considering Ole for the job. Fortunately we have the good fortune of having half a season to evaluate this interim manager.

2) "Irrelevant experience" as a manager. True that Molde in Norway is a non-factor in a European measurement. But the local teams compete on local metrics, and there Ole was king. It also gives more creedence to the fact that he at least managed to coach a team to a European League group win.
Click to expand...

Great post but something you have failed to account for. What separates a good manager from the best managers is not how well they perform when everything is running smoothly. It's what happens when the teams fall off the rails a little and you have successive defeats or a poor season (admittedly a poor season under SAF was usually 3rd or 2nd), players start moaning to the press or contract negotiations break down (see SAF v Rooney 2010). This is where its going to be difficult to measure somebody like Ole because he's walked into a side that is on a high after losing a negative approaching Manager.

Ole has done a great job at Molde and its not "irrelevant experience" but he's not under the spotlight. When things go wrong, he's still won trophies and developed strong teams for that league, but the pressure is not the same. I look at Pochettino (and by no means do I claim he's any better or worse than Ole because we simply cannot judge) and see a Manager who has worked in the spotlight and to financial constraints, player issues and board pressures and still remains strong in his seat and has his teams playing attractive football.

Its why I actually dont think much of Guardiola because for his coaching career, he's walked into teams that are either the best in the league or very close to it. He's never grafted with a lower performing team. He's never demonstrated that his style of football works with a lesser bunch of players. He's credited with developing a great Barcelona outfit, but Frank Rijkaard took a lesser Barcelona team to a CL win which says enough (also the non-performance of his teams in the champions league without Messi).



In saying all of the above, while the Scottish league may have been stronger years ago (I wouldnt know), Sir Alex also grafted in a lesser league and look how that panned out. Maybe you're right about Ole and that we have a seriously good manager on our hands. Its just very much a case of the unknown at this stage and alot of fans are worried given the last few managers, about the direction of the club.

What I will say is that I love what he's currently doing. Its refreshing having a positive Manager with a clear ideology of how he wants his teams play that doesn't revert to sideways or backwards passing and loves to see us score goals.
 
AOAARON 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.
Click to expand...
Very sensible post.
 
He's been brilliant to now, would prefer to resist discussing appointing him manager until a few more games. Maybe ten or so.
 
Tom Cato said:
Hi there! New forum member (lifetime Manchester United fan) chiming in!

I'm Norwegian so my opinion is wildly biased, but nevertheless:

I think Ole would make a fantastic manager for Manchester United. He is the very embodiment of what Manchester United is. A club legend who enjoys the very fact that he gets to have Old Trafford as his workplace.

Some of the key factors for why I personally think Ole is the man for the job (and a couple questionmarks).

1) Ole Gunnar is a low maintenance manager. What I mean by that is that his demeanor makes him extremely comfortable to be around, and his way of leadership does not wear and tear at anyones morale. Unlike Mourinho who favors an agressive leadershipstyle that punishes players by public shaming and repeated benching, Ole runs a "I got your back" type of leadership, where he is the one who is responsible for the hardships, and the players are the ones who gets the credit for the win.

We've seen examples of this in several interviews already, noteably he refuses any credit for Lukakus 0-1 goal vs Newcastle, rather talk about how well Lukaku did. He has adressed the teams issue with set pieces, and not laid blame on any single player. He's also not come across as angry or condescending, but rather adressed a fact in public with a calm rationality that will make the people that works for him more likely to adress their own struggles, and not spend enegry on what mean things the manager said. He mentioned the defense almost letting a newcastle player through with a personal mistake, "but Phil made a great recovery". Again emphasizing the player when he did someting positive, isntead of something negative.

Several times he talks about how well players are doing. Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Shaw, Lukaku, De Gea, etc. etc. Every time they do something noteable, the manager is there to let them know that he notices, and is willing to tell everyone.

Words are cheap, but words also carry a lot of meaning, especially when a key factor in personell management, is personell morale. By his conduct, Ole is a person that is going to naturally want people to make an effort for him. If you want success, this can not be understated.

2) Ole Gunnar has many years of exprience working with young players. Academy players are the very bedrock that Manchester United is founded upon. Its the teams very identity and it must be protected at all costs. Ole is a manager that is known for playing the youngsters, and knows very well the value of a young and fast team. In Norway he's worked with many talents in Molde football club, most recently and noteably he's coached Erling Braut Haaland for Molde, who in turns has been sold and will join Red Bull Salzburg at the age of 18. In 2017 Erling was ranked as one of The Guardians picks for future stars of European football from the 2000 class. He's also worked with other known United players, most noteably of course, Paul Pogba.

His focus on yougsters and getting talent up through the club makes Ole an ideal candidate for the job.

3) Attacking style football. Manchester United is not a defensive team. Its a great attacking team with a great defense. Currently the player personell in the back 4 needs improvement. In my book only Shaw and Lindelöf *currently* holds the required quality for a United defender. If Ole stays, this is what needs adressing.

When he took over Molde, the name of the game was attackminded football, when he took over Cardiff the mantra was the same, up and attack. When he took the job with United, againt he same. United is an attacking team, and this coach wants to score 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. Never sit on a lead, always pressure. Giving players with incredible offensive talents such as Martial, Rashford and Pogba the freedom to do what they want is a blessing for this team. Some of the plays this trio has pulled out the last 4 games have been a joy to watch.

If you want a manager that wants to score goals? This is one.

4) Ole is a experienced manager. He's currently been in charge of a football club for 8 years (2010 -> to date). In that time he has won the Norwegian league twice, the Norwegian cup once, and pershaps most relevant he has won the Lancashire Senior Cup and Manchester Senior Cup with the Manchester United reserveteam during his tenure as a coach.

Molde actually won their Europa League group ahead of Celtic, Fenerbache and Ajax. They were eventually relegated by Sevilla who beat them 3-1 over 2 matches (Molde beat Sevilla in Spain). Financially, all of these clubs are in another universe compared to Molde.

He also has experience coaching a Premier League club (but we'll get back to that in a moment).

5) After Sir Alex, 3 coaches have tried and failed to make the club great. Some good results have come, but its time to to be a hard factor again. Moyes, LvG and Mourinho all failed in their own ways, but they all failed. Moyes was a coach that was used to building his team slowly and meticilously in Everton, eventually gaining some success. LvG came and went with so so results, and Mourinho, despite winning the European League, almost burned the club to the ground in the process.

You need someone who is respected throughout the organization, by literally everyone. Everyone has a realtionship with this man, and not one of them has a bad word to say. The interim manager time and time again emphasizes hos great this club is, how great the players are, what Manchester Unitd is all about, what responsibilities the players have both to conduct, effort and morale. This is not a manger that wants to shape the club in his own philosophy, he wants to build on one that was started and left off by the greatest manager to ever set foot in a stadium. Its the United way, all the way, and every day.

6) Ole enjoys incredible respect among the players in the club, some of who he has a previous relationship, but others who have obviously warmed up to the idea that anyone else than Mourinho is in charge. You see how different everyone are acting on and off the field through their social media and various interviews. What I'm sure everyone wants to see is a coach that instills the same kind of respect that Sir Alex did. When Ole gives Paul Pogba a big hug after the win vs. Newcastle, that is not for theatrics, these are people that genuinely respect eachother. It's the little things, like the absolute glee among the coaching staff by the bench when the team scores, to Rashford posting a tweet being instructed by Solskjaer. These people are all aboard with this manager right now.

7) Marcus Rashford. It's been 4 games, but oh man has Marcus Rashford been an absolute monster these 4 games. Playing under Ole so far has been a godsend for Marcus. We saw it against Bournemouth when Rashford was charging balls that everyone had given up on, making plays and just using his speed every chance he got. Marcus has been 110% effort under Ole, and its absolutely incredible to watch. Marcus Rashford is goign to be an absolute beast for United in the coming seasons. He's best left with a manager that gives him what he has today.

8) Ole has been vocal about his intent to build this team around him. In fact it was reported that one of the first things Ole did when he came here was have a heart to heart with Pogba, and ask him what HE felt he needed to perform at the level everyone knows he can. Pogba went from being a scapegoat to an absolute monster overnight. This is personell management at its finest.

9) Sanchez. Boy oh boy, Sanchez. The player that came from Arsenal has still not shown up on Old Trafford. This is the perfect time to let Alexis show why he collects Messi money from the Old Trafford cashiers. Salaries aside, the man looked extremely hungry to go against Newcastle, with several hard effort runs, and one sweet pass to Rashford for 2-0. I think that Ole is the man that can finally give Alexis the confidence he needs to succeed at the club. If he does its another argument to keep him around in my eyes.

10) Alex Ferguson. It should be relatively evident that Ole is not here without some very hard input from Sir Alex. Ole refers to him as "The Boss", just like Ronaldo and Beckham does to this day. They have a very strong relationship and Sir Alex is obviously an influence to this day on both Oole and the club. The fact that he's been visiting the training field speaks to a man that is simply going to be the personification of United for the rest of his days, and his protege is currently sitting in his chair.

11) Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero - "Everyones" favorite candidate to mange the club next season.

So what favors Pochettino over Ole exactly?

As players, Ole had the more impressive career, obviously.

They are both coaches that favor an attacking style of play and are known to give young players a chance at greatness in the club. Pochettino struck gold when he promoted Alli, Dier and Harry Kane from the Tottenham programs. There is a 100% chance that Ole is going to go the same route. Its the United way.

Players who have been coached by Pochettino are very favorable of his man management, and his willingness to give players the freedom they need to develop. Sound like someone we know?

Pochettino has never won anything as a manager, technically. But thats hardly a good argument against. His results with Tottenham are absolutely worthy of merit and all accolades.

In my eyes, Pochettino and Ole Gunnar are essentially the same person. The key difference to me is that Ole has the backing of *everyone*. The players, the fans, Sir Alex, and hopefully the board. The Glazer family stockvalue have increased considerably these past 4 games, something not to be underestimated.

So why not go with the man already in the chair?

_____________________

These are some of my pro reasons for keeping Ole on. Anyone wildly disagree?

I do have some "But what about..." points as well just to be fair.

1) Cardiff. Cardiff was an absolute disaster, but moreover it was a disaster of a club to manage. It was a struggling team with a chaotic owner and little resources available to do much of anything. I don't think that a lot of managers could have saved Cardiff from going down to begin with. If anything it was a disaster of a club to choose. The fact that he passed over Aston Villa before choosing Cardiff will forever be a mystery, although both clubs were struggling and were always candidates for relegation. Cardiff is absolutely something to consider when considering Ole for the job. Fortunately we have the good fortune of having half a season to evaluate this interim manager.

2) "Irrelevant experience" as a manager. True that Molde in Norway is a non-factor in a European measurement. But the local teams compete on local metrics, and there Ole was king. It also gives more creedence to the fact that he at least managed to coach a team to a European League group win.
Click to expand...


That was a fantastic read!
 
As others have stated I'm excited to see if/how he handles a bad spell, how he reacts when the pressure is turned on, when the team is losing and the players morale are down and the media has a go at him. Also his approach to the big games is going to be crucial in regards to tactics and in-game management.

I think the concern of him being to lightweight has to do with some of these issues being unanswered. But hopefully we'll get to see how he fares in difficult situations before the end of the season, and if he can make the team perform over a longer period and bounce back from losses I don't see why he shouldn't be given a go.
 
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.
Click to expand...

Well, if I counted right, that's 10 total games up there. say we win the 6 easy games, that's 18 points, then say we draw against 2 of the remaining 4. that's a 6W 2D 2L record and 20 points out of a possible 30. Would most us us accept that as a good return from Ole?
 
cfkane said:
Well, if I counted right, that's 10 total games up there. say we win the 6 easy games, that's 18 points, then say we draw against 2 of the remaining 4. that's a 6W 2D 2L record and 20 points out of a possible 30. Would most us us accept that as a good return from Ole?
Click to expand...

We'll have to win at least 2 of these big games. This return won't be enough for top 4.
 
Tom Cato said:
Hi there! New forum member (lifetime Manchester United fan) chiming in!

I'm Norwegian so my opinion is wildly biased, but nevertheless:

I think Ole would make a fantastic manager for Manchester United. He is the very embodiment of what Manchester United is. A club legend who enjoys the very fact that he gets to have Old Trafford as his workplace.

Some of the key factors for why I personally think Ole is the man for the job (and a couple questionmarks).

1) Ole Gunnar is a low maintenance manager. What I mean by that is that his demeanor makes him extremely comfortable to be around, and his way of leadership does not wear and tear at anyones morale. Unlike Mourinho who favors an agressive leadershipstyle that punishes players by public shaming and repeated benching, Ole runs a "I got your back" type of leadership, where he is the one who is responsible for the hardships, and the players are the ones who gets the credit for the win.

We've seen examples of this in several interviews already, noteably he refuses any credit for Lukakus 0-1 goal vs Newcastle, rather talk about how well Lukaku did. He has adressed the teams issue with set pieces, and not laid blame on any single player. He's also not come across as angry or condescending, but rather adressed a fact in public with a calm rationality that will make the people that works for him more likely to adress their own struggles, and not spend enegry on what mean things the manager said. He mentioned the defense almost letting a newcastle player through with a personal mistake, "but Phil made a great recovery". Again emphasizing the player when he did someting positive, isntead of something negative.

Several times he talks about how well players are doing. Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Shaw, Lukaku, De Gea, etc. etc. Every time they do something noteable, the manager is there to let them know that he notices, and is willing to tell everyone.

Words are cheap, but words also carry a lot of meaning, especially when a key factor in personell management, is personell morale. By his conduct, Ole is a person that is going to naturally want people to make an effort for him. If you want success, this can not be understated.

2) Ole Gunnar has many years of exprience working with young players. Academy players are the very bedrock that Manchester United is founded upon. Its the teams very identity and it must be protected at all costs. Ole is a manager that is known for playing the youngsters, and knows very well the value of a young and fast team. In Norway he's worked with many talents in Molde football club, most recently and noteably he's coached Erling Braut Haaland for Molde, who in turns has been sold and will join Red Bull Salzburg at the age of 18. In 2017 Erling was ranked as one of The Guardians picks for future stars of European football from the 2000 class. He's also worked with other known United players, most noteably of course, Paul Pogba.

His focus on yougsters and getting talent up through the club makes Ole an ideal candidate for the job.

3) Attacking style football. Manchester United is not a defensive team. Its a great attacking team with a great defense. Currently the player personell in the back 4 needs improvement. In my book only Shaw and Lindelöf *currently* holds the required quality for a United defender. If Ole stays, this is what needs adressing.

When he took over Molde, the name of the game was attackminded football, when he took over Cardiff the mantra was the same, up and attack. When he took the job with United, againt he same. United is an attacking team, and this coach wants to score 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. Never sit on a lead, always pressure. Giving players with incredible offensive talents such as Martial, Rashford and Pogba the freedom to do what they want is a blessing for this team. Some of the plays this trio has pulled out the last 4 games have been a joy to watch.

If you want a manager that wants to score goals? This is one.

4) Ole is a experienced manager. He's currently been in charge of a football club for 8 years (2010 -> to date). In that time he has won the Norwegian league twice, the Norwegian cup once, and pershaps most relevant he has won the Lancashire Senior Cup and Manchester Senior Cup with the Manchester United reserveteam during his tenure as a coach.

Molde actually won their Europa League group ahead of Celtic, Fenerbache and Ajax. They were eventually relegated by Sevilla who beat them 3-1 over 2 matches (Molde beat Sevilla in Spain). Financially, all of these clubs are in another universe compared to Molde.

He also has experience coaching a Premier League club (but we'll get back to that in a moment).

5) After Sir Alex, 3 coaches have tried and failed to make the club great. Some good results have come, but its time to to be a hard factor again. Moyes, LvG and Mourinho all failed in their own ways, but they all failed. Moyes was a coach that was used to building his team slowly and meticilously in Everton, eventually gaining some success. LvG came and went with so so results, and Mourinho, despite winning the European League, almost burned the club to the ground in the process.

You need someone who is respected throughout the organization, by literally everyone. Everyone has a realtionship with this man, and not one of them has a bad word to say. The interim manager time and time again emphasizes hos great this club is, how great the players are, what Manchester Unitd is all about, what responsibilities the players have both to conduct, effort and morale. This is not a manger that wants to shape the club in his own philosophy, he wants to build on one that was started and left off by the greatest manager to ever set foot in a stadium. Its the United way, all the way, and every day.

6) Ole enjoys incredible respect among the players in the club, some of who he has a previous relationship, but others who have obviously warmed up to the idea that anyone else than Mourinho is in charge. You see how different everyone are acting on and off the field through their social media and various interviews. What I'm sure everyone wants to see is a coach that instills the same kind of respect that Sir Alex did. When Ole gives Paul Pogba a big hug after the win vs. Newcastle, that is not for theatrics, these are people that genuinely respect eachother. It's the little things, like the absolute glee among the coaching staff by the bench when the team scores, to Rashford posting a tweet being instructed by Solskjaer. These people are all aboard with this manager right now.

7) Marcus Rashford. It's been 4 games, but oh man has Marcus Rashford been an absolute monster these 4 games. Playing under Ole so far has been a godsend for Marcus. We saw it against Bournemouth when Rashford was charging balls that everyone had given up on, making plays and just using his speed every chance he got. Marcus has been 110% effort under Ole, and its absolutely incredible to watch. Marcus Rashford is goign to be an absolute beast for United in the coming seasons. He's best left with a manager that gives him what he has today.

8) Ole has been vocal about his intent to build this team around him. In fact it was reported that one of the first things Ole did when he came here was have a heart to heart with Pogba, and ask him what HE felt he needed to perform at the level everyone knows he can. Pogba went from being a scapegoat to an absolute monster overnight. This is personell management at its finest.

9) Sanchez. Boy oh boy, Sanchez. The player that came from Arsenal has still not shown up on Old Trafford. This is the perfect time to let Alexis show why he collects Messi money from the Old Trafford cashiers. Salaries aside, the man looked extremely hungry to go against Newcastle, with several hard effort runs, and one sweet pass to Rashford for 2-0. I think that Ole is the man that can finally give Alexis the confidence he needs to succeed at the club. If he does its another argument to keep him around in my eyes.

10) Alex Ferguson. It should be relatively evident that Ole is not here without some very hard input from Sir Alex. Ole refers to him as "The Boss", just like Ronaldo and Beckham does to this day. They have a very strong relationship and Sir Alex is obviously an influence to this day on both Oole and the club. The fact that he's been visiting the training field speaks to a man that is simply going to be the personification of United for the rest of his days, and his protege is currently sitting in his chair.

11) Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero - "Everyones" favorite candidate to mange the club next season.

So what favors Pochettino over Ole exactly?

As players, Ole had the more impressive career, obviously.

They are both coaches that favor an attacking style of play and are known to give young players a chance at greatness in the club. Pochettino struck gold when he promoted Alli, Dier and Harry Kane from the Tottenham programs. There is a 100% chance that Ole is going to go the same route. Its the United way.

Players who have been coached by Pochettino are very favorable of his man management, and his willingness to give players the freedom they need to develop. Sound like someone we know?

Pochettino has never won anything as a manager, technically. But thats hardly a good argument against. His results with Tottenham are absolutely worthy of merit and all accolades.

In my eyes, Pochettino and Ole Gunnar are essentially the same person. The key difference to me is that Ole has the backing of *everyone*. The players, the fans, Sir Alex, and hopefully the board. The Glazer family stockvalue have increased considerably these past 4 games, something not to be underestimated.

So why not go with the man already in the chair?

_____________________

These are some of my pro reasons for keeping Ole on. Anyone wildly disagree?

I do have some "But what about..." points as well just to be fair.

1) Cardiff. Cardiff was an absolute disaster, but moreover it was a disaster of a club to manage. It was a struggling team with a chaotic owner and little resources available to do much of anything. I don't think that a lot of managers could have saved Cardiff from going down to begin with. If anything it was a disaster of a club to choose. The fact that he passed over Aston Villa before choosing Cardiff will forever be a mystery, although both clubs were struggling and were always candidates for relegation. Cardiff is absolutely something to consider when considering Ole for the job. Fortunately we have the good fortune of having half a season to evaluate this interim manager.

2) "Irrelevant experience" as a manager. True that Molde in Norway is a non-factor in a European measurement. But the local teams compete on local metrics, and there Ole was king. It also gives more creedence to the fact that he at least managed to coach a team to a European League group win.
Click to expand...

Let me just say that was a fantastic first post!

Ole isn't my first choice but I actually agreed with practically every word of that apart from what i've put in bold.

Poch and Ole might have the same ideas about football, but you can't compare what Ole and Poch have achieved thus far.

Poch walked into a big(ish) inherited a mess of a squad that has been put together by Redknapp and Villas-Boas. Then ruthlessly got rid of the dead wood and bad characters that he didn't want and through promoting youth and making bargain signings he could work with grew Spurs into a club that looks at home with the European elite.

Compared to the Sh*tty Redknapp and Villas-Boas Spurs who'd try to get into the top 4 and that was about that.
 
For all the talk of an easy first 4 fixtures, surely the Board and Woodward deserve credit for pulling the plug at a point where the incoming manager has a relatively easy run of games? It is hardly OGS's fault that he was appointed when he was.
 
There are specialized positions for players like forward, goal keeper, winger etc. Same way there are specialized position for managers. Some mangers relish relegation challenge and they keep the club afloat, some managers good at managing knock out games, some good at managing without pressure.

I will simply overlook Ole's cardiff tenure. He is probably not made for battle of relegation. He is however seems enjoying this stint where there is hardly any pressure on him. It would be interesting to see how he manages from the start and live up to title expectation. I am discounting Ole's Norwegian league experience as it is not at same level of PL.

I see Poch no different. He is working under no pressure of winning title. Heck I don't think Levy will go mad if Poch finishes 5th or 6th. So, he relishes under less pressure, he can bring youth and experiment without pressure of winning title season after season.

So if both are unproven to work in high pressure, high scrutiny job then why not choose Ole? at least he knows the club inside out. There will be continuity for players and staff.
 
Frosty said:
For all the talk of an easy first 4 fixtures, surely the Board and Woodward deserve credit for pulling the plug at a point where the incoming manager has a relatively easy run of games? It is hardly OGS's fault that he was appointed when he was.
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I was amazed we sacked him when we did. I was expecting an end of season clear out.

I don't get the argument for the 4 games being "easy" though. If Mourinho was still in charge, I wouldn't be expecting 4 wins in a row. Newcastle, for example, is a game we could have easily lost with his negativity and dour tactics. Bournemouth too, even at home, not as easy as some make out. If they weren't easy before, why are they easy now?

We managed to play well in all 4, attack, show improvement and score goals as well as win the games.
 
Frosty said:
For all the talk of an easy first 4 fixtures, surely the Board and Woodward deserve credit for pulling the plug at a point where the incoming manager has a relatively easy run of games? It is hardly OGS's fault that he was appointed when he was.
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I was surprised. Had resigned myself to having to put up with Mourinho's dire, dour, negative cloud over the club until the end of the season or we were mathematically out of Europe. He should have been sacked sooner, mind you.

Otherwise, the timing was good. Whether that was down to foresight or dumb luck may be debatable.
 
Thing I’m worried about is, what happens when we sign a new manager and the team struggles? We’ll be constantly thinking about what if we kept Ole. Honestly as long as we arent tragic from now till the end of the season I think giving Ole a low risk 2 year (with an option for a third) contract is the safest bet. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised it we were willing to stay on a one year basis until we’ve made up our mind one way or the other :lol:
 
Tom Cato said:
Hi there! New forum member (lifetime Manchester United fan) chiming in!

I'm Norwegian so my opinion is wildly biased, but nevertheless:

I think Ole would make a fantastic manager for Manchester United. He is the very embodiment of what Manchester United is. A club legend who enjoys the very fact that he gets to have Old Trafford as his workplace.

Some of the key factors for why I personally think Ole is the man for the job (and a couple questionmarks).

1) Ole Gunnar is a low maintenance manager. What I mean by that is that his demeanor makes him extremely comfortable to be around, and his way of leadership does not wear and tear at anyones morale. Unlike Mourinho who favors an agressive leadershipstyle that punishes players by public shaming and repeated benching, Ole runs a "I got your back" type of leadership, where he is the one who is responsible for the hardships, and the players are the ones who gets the credit for the win.

We've seen examples of this in several interviews already, noteably he refuses any credit for Lukakus 0-1 goal vs Newcastle, rather talk about how well Lukaku did. He has adressed the teams issue with set pieces, and not laid blame on any single player. He's also not come across as angry or condescending, but rather adressed a fact in public with a calm rationality that will make the people that works for him more likely to adress their own struggles, and not spend enegry on what mean things the manager said. He mentioned the defense almost letting a newcastle player through with a personal mistake, "but Phil made a great recovery". Again emphasizing the player when he did someting positive, isntead of something negative.

Several times he talks about how well players are doing. Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Shaw, Lukaku, De Gea, etc. etc. Every time they do something noteable, the manager is there to let them know that he notices, and is willing to tell everyone.

Words are cheap, but words also carry a lot of meaning, especially when a key factor in personell management, is personell morale. By his conduct, Ole is a person that is going to naturally want people to make an effort for him. If you want success, this can not be understated.

2) Ole Gunnar has many years of exprience working with young players. Academy players are the very bedrock that Manchester United is founded upon. Its the teams very identity and it must be protected at all costs. Ole is a manager that is known for playing the youngsters, and knows very well the value of a young and fast team. In Norway he's worked with many talents in Molde football club, most recently and noteably he's coached Erling Braut Haaland for Molde, who in turns has been sold and will join Red Bull Salzburg at the age of 18. In 2017 Erling was ranked as one of The Guardians picks for future stars of European football from the 2000 class. He's also worked with other known United players, most noteably of course, Paul Pogba.

His focus on yougsters and getting talent up through the club makes Ole an ideal candidate for the job.

3) Attacking style football. Manchester United is not a defensive team. Its a great attacking team with a great defense. Currently the player personell in the back 4 needs improvement. In my book only Shaw and Lindelöf *currently* holds the required quality for a United defender. If Ole stays, this is what needs adressing.

When he took over Molde, the name of the game was attackminded football, when he took over Cardiff the mantra was the same, up and attack. When he took the job with United, againt he same. United is an attacking team, and this coach wants to score 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. Never sit on a lead, always pressure. Giving players with incredible offensive talents such as Martial, Rashford and Pogba the freedom to do what they want is a blessing for this team. Some of the plays this trio has pulled out the last 4 games have been a joy to watch.

If you want a manager that wants to score goals? This is one.

4) Ole is a experienced manager. He's currently been in charge of a football club for 8 years (2010 -> to date). In that time he has won the Norwegian league twice, the Norwegian cup once, and pershaps most relevant he has won the Lancashire Senior Cup and Manchester Senior Cup with the Manchester United reserveteam during his tenure as a coach.

Molde actually won their Europa League group ahead of Celtic, Fenerbache and Ajax. They were eventually relegated by Sevilla who beat them 3-1 over 2 matches (Molde beat Sevilla in Spain). Financially, all of these clubs are in another universe compared to Molde.

He also has experience coaching a Premier League club (but we'll get back to that in a moment).

5) After Sir Alex, 3 coaches have tried and failed to make the club great. Some good results have come, but its time to to be a hard factor again. Moyes, LvG and Mourinho all failed in their own ways, but they all failed. Moyes was a coach that was used to building his team slowly and meticilously in Everton, eventually gaining some success. LvG came and went with so so results, and Mourinho, despite winning the European League, almost burned the club to the ground in the process.

You need someone who is respected throughout the organization, by literally everyone. Everyone has a realtionship with this man, and not one of them has a bad word to say. The interim manager time and time again emphasizes hos great this club is, how great the players are, what Manchester Unitd is all about, what responsibilities the players have both to conduct, effort and morale. This is not a manger that wants to shape the club in his own philosophy, he wants to build on one that was started and left off by the greatest manager to ever set foot in a stadium. Its the United way, all the way, and every day.

6) Ole enjoys incredible respect among the players in the club, some of who he has a previous relationship, but others who have obviously warmed up to the idea that anyone else than Mourinho is in charge. You see how different everyone are acting on and off the field through their social media and various interviews. What I'm sure everyone wants to see is a coach that instills the same kind of respect that Sir Alex did. When Ole gives Paul Pogba a big hug after the win vs. Newcastle, that is not for theatrics, these are people that genuinely respect eachother. It's the little things, like the absolute glee among the coaching staff by the bench when the team scores, to Rashford posting a tweet being instructed by Solskjaer. These people are all aboard with this manager right now.

7) Marcus Rashford. It's been 4 games, but oh man has Marcus Rashford been an absolute monster these 4 games. Playing under Ole so far has been a godsend for Marcus. We saw it against Bournemouth when Rashford was charging balls that everyone had given up on, making plays and just using his speed every chance he got. Marcus has been 110% effort under Ole, and its absolutely incredible to watch. Marcus Rashford is goign to be an absolute beast for United in the coming seasons. He's best left with a manager that gives him what he has today.

8) Ole has been vocal about his intent to build this team around him. In fact it was reported that one of the first things Ole did when he came here was have a heart to heart with Pogba, and ask him what HE felt he needed to perform at the level everyone knows he can. Pogba went from being a scapegoat to an absolute monster overnight. This is personell management at its finest.

9) Sanchez. Boy oh boy, Sanchez. The player that came from Arsenal has still not shown up on Old Trafford. This is the perfect time to let Alexis show why he collects Messi money from the Old Trafford cashiers. Salaries aside, the man looked extremely hungry to go against Newcastle, with several hard effort runs, and one sweet pass to Rashford for 2-0. I think that Ole is the man that can finally give Alexis the confidence he needs to succeed at the club. If he does its another argument to keep him around in my eyes.

10) Alex Ferguson. It should be relatively evident that Ole is not here without some very hard input from Sir Alex. Ole refers to him as "The Boss", just like Ronaldo and Beckham does to this day. They have a very strong relationship and Sir Alex is obviously an influence to this day on both Oole and the club. The fact that he's been visiting the training field speaks to a man that is simply going to be the personification of United for the rest of his days, and his protege is currently sitting in his chair.

11) Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero - "Everyones" favorite candidate to mange the club next season.

So what favors Pochettino over Ole exactly?

As players, Ole had the more impressive career, obviously.

They are both coaches that favor an attacking style of play and are known to give young players a chance at greatness in the club. Pochettino struck gold when he promoted Alli, Dier and Harry Kane from the Tottenham programs. There is a 100% chance that Ole is going to go the same route. Its the United way.

Players who have been coached by Pochettino are very favorable of his man management, and his willingness to give players the freedom they need to develop. Sound like someone we know?

Pochettino has never won anything as a manager, technically. But thats hardly a good argument against. His results with Tottenham are absolutely worthy of merit and all accolades.

In my eyes, Pochettino and Ole Gunnar are essentially the same person. The key difference to me is that Ole has the backing of *everyone*. The players, the fans, Sir Alex, and hopefully the board. The Glazer family stockvalue have increased considerably these past 4 games, something not to be underestimated.

So why not go with the man already in the chair?

_____________________

These are some of my pro reasons for keeping Ole on. Anyone wildly disagree?

I do have some "But what about..." points as well just to be fair.

1) Cardiff. Cardiff was an absolute disaster, but moreover it was a disaster of a club to manage. It was a struggling team with a chaotic owner and little resources available to do much of anything. I don't think that a lot of managers could have saved Cardiff from going down to begin with. If anything it was a disaster of a club to choose. The fact that he passed over Aston Villa before choosing Cardiff will forever be a mystery, although both clubs were struggling and were always candidates for relegation. Cardiff is absolutely something to consider when considering Ole for the job. Fortunately we have the good fortune of having half a season to evaluate this interim manager.

2) "Irrelevant experience" as a manager. True that Molde in Norway is a non-factor in a European measurement. But the local teams compete on local metrics, and there Ole was king. It also gives more creedence to the fact that he at least managed to coach a team to a European League group win.
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Thank you for this great post. You have really broken things down excellently and I love what you're saying.
 
You can only beat whats in front of you. Ole has gone 4/4,scoring and conceding 14/3. Nobody will say Jose would have done better. in fact,this great manager would have dropped points,guaranteed.
 
Frosty said:
For all the talk of an easy first 4 fixtures, surely the Board and Woodward deserve credit for pulling the plug at a point where the incoming manager has a relatively easy run of games? It is hardly OGS's fault that he was appointed when he was.
Click to expand...

Do they feck. Should have sacked him prior to the Newcastle game minimum. He had me numb by the time he was booted out, with each game becoming a chore to watch while he desperately raised 3 fingers to save his own flagging reputation at our expense.

Woodward has a major problem sacking managers when their time's up. I don't expect that's changed or will change even if the next appointment is spot on.

Who cares about upcoming fixtures, they should have sacked him when it was due regardless of the next few games. I still can't forget how much grief I have had watching LvG stumble on from Jan-May in 2016 and Jose hobble to his predictable end at Anfield this season. That's on Ed.
 
I have enjoyed our last 4 games as much as anybody else here but thinking about giving Ole the permanent job is really naive in my opinion.

Our defense is a complete mess and I am afraid we will get a bad wake-up call against the better teams starting with Tottenham next week.
Our attacking play is much better but we are far from playing really good football over 90 minutes.

We need an experienced manager with enough tactical know-how and an idea which system he would like to play to more or less start over new. No time for experiments.
 
Cnaiür urs Skiötha said:
I have enjoyed our last 4 games as much as anybody else here but thinking about giving Ole the permanent job is really naive in my opinion.

Our defense is a complete mess and I am afraid we will get a bad wake-up call against the better teams starting with Tottenham next week.
Our attacking play is much better but we are far from playing really good football over 90 minutes.

We need an experienced manager with enough tactical know-how and an idea which system he would like to play to more or less start over new. No time for experiments.
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Its funny that you mention tactical know-how as a requirement as Pochettino's (who I really like BTW) one big criticism is that he can't adapt in games when things aren't going his way. So by that logic do you think he's not good enough either? After all his teams line up a certain way and it seems to me if that works it works they win, and if it doesn't they don't. Do you think that is good enough for United or do you think Poch will change his mentality and his ways when he gets here?

Not keeping on Ole if he's got the team playing reasonably well would be the experiment IMO and I agree with you that we can't afford to experiment. We've now hired 3 different managers post SAF and only Ole so far has got us playing anything close to he way we want to against the smaller teams. Not hiring him seems to me way more experimental than the opposite.

I think its the wrong barometer to judge Ole on results against the top 6. Those can come later. What matters right now if that we put away teams we should with aplomb. If we keep doing that its only a matter of time and personnel that we have good seasons against the top 6 every now and again and we'll win the title in those seasons and be there and thereabouts in the others.

Of course its all moot if Ole stops getting the performances against the weaker sides that he's getting right now.
 
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Kapardin said:
Do they feck. Should have sacked him prior to the Newcastle game minimum. He had me numb by the time he was booted out, with each game becoming a chore to watch while he desperately raised 3 fingers to save his own flagging reputation at our expense.

Woodward has a major problem sacking managers when their time's up. I don't expect that's changed or will change even if the next appointment is spot on.

Who cares about upcoming fixtures, they should have sacked him when it was due regardless of the next few games. I still can't forget how much grief I have had watching LvG stumble on from Jan-May in 2016 and Jose hobble to his predictable end at Anfield this season. That's on Ed.
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Yeah the notion that the timing was perfect is shaky. Having easy games doesn't make up for the fact that we lost a key portion of the season. A portion that would have gone into kickstarting our season from an earlier date . If we miss top 4 by a few points or even GD everyone will angrily say 'we would have made top 4 if we hadn't sacked him so late' and they may be right.

Unless the goal was to make the new manager look good even at the cost of worsening our season's prospects, the timing of the sacking wasn't necessarily great
 
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