Solskjaer's legacy and his future

His legacy is being one of the worst manager ever in our history and saddling us with a squad filled with entitled babies.

Pretty much this. Set us back several years, too. Won no trophies, played a terrible brand of football and pretty much left the club in pieces. Wasn't totally his fault - he should never have been hired.
 
Pretty much this. Set us back several years, too. Won no trophies, played a terrible brand of football and pretty much left the club in pieces. Wasn't totally his fault - he should never have been hired.
Exactly. Should have hired a proper manager and kept Ole on as the go to interim guy when needed.

Instead we just wasted years of our players development while winning feck all.
 
Exactly, the system is more important than the players you have.

I really hope we don't go and sign Rice for £100m because I am sure that he will flop here. The fee, the feeling of I have made it, complacency, wages is not worth it.

I rather us sign 3/4 players for £30/40m each and get rid of players we have. We need players who can perform basic functions and we will see a massive improvement in the team.
Agreed, also because I think Rice is such an average player which makes the reported fee so bonkers and is basically the same issue we have had with signings like Maguire, AWB etc. where you are paying extra because they are English. Not saying he's a bad player but he's nowhere near the elite level.

When Ole came in, I remember there were a few quotes about a change in transfer direction and strategy and the focus on younger players with good attitudes (Cavani, Ronaldo, Varane, Maguire, Bruno beg to differ) but that is what we need to do. We keep trying to shortcut our way to trophies by throwing money at a problem but what we need to do is accept we aren't going to win anything this season, next season we'll likely still be outsiders but the focus should be on getting 18-24 years old in who graft, don't have fitness problems and we believe we can turn into top level players. Then when we have that sorted we can think about 2-3 huge signings which take us to winning PL's and CLs.

Think of signings like Tielemans at Monaco, Wijnadum at Newcastle, Robertson at Hull, Mane at Southampton etc.
 
Have we decided that Ole did an incredible job battling against such odds yet?
Or does that come soon?
 
Agreed, also because I think Rice is such an average player which makes the reported fee so bonkers and is basically the same issue we have had with signings like Maguire, AWB etc. where you are paying extra because they are English. Not saying he's a bad player but he's nowhere near the elite level.

When Ole came in, I remember there were a few quotes about a change in transfer direction and strategy and the focus on younger players with good attitudes (Cavani, Ronaldo, Varane, Maguire, Bruno beg to differ) but that is what we need to do. We keep trying to shortcut our way to trophies by throwing money at a problem but what we need to do is accept we aren't going to win anything this season, next season we'll likely still be outsiders but the focus should be on getting 18-24 years old in who graft, don't have fitness problems and we believe we can turn into top level players. Then when we have that sorted we can think about 2-3 huge signings which take us to winning PL's and CLs.

Think of signings like Tielemans at Monaco, Wijnadum at Newcastle, Robertson at Hull, Mane at Southampton etc.

Agreed, I mean we went from buying young to short term fills, to begging a 34 yr old to stay to signing a 36 yr old who was not in the plans.

Just shows how well we are run I guess.

Tielemans was £40m, we did have the chance to sign him but at that time we were looking at £50m Longstaff.

AWB played one season and we took the easy option rather than scouting a RB, same as CB.

We never scout someone when the price is too high, look at Sancho, price was high, we spend £40m on 2 RW's who are nowhere to be seen.

We spent deadline day trying to convince Dembele... I mean the shambles we are in is a joke.

Then come this season, yep get Sancho, get Varane and ignore the midfield and sign someone who will impact the whole team and change the way we want to play.

Whatever anyone says about Ole, good or bad, he wanted to play a certain pressing style, well then Ronaldo is not that. He wanted to put Greenwood up top, which is what happened at the start of the season, well Ronaldo Fecked that up.

We keep signing players then try fit them in, rather than identifying a weakness, signing a player to fit that role.

Look at City, Liverpool, they know where their weaknesses are, they target those. They can't get it so doesn't mean they pay whatever it takes, they go for a different option.
 
Did enough throughout his reign to keep his job, until the wheels came off. I reckon the Ronaldo signing was his death knell.
The main thing Ole had going for him was a happy dressing room and that led to the slight improvement each season that kept him his job. The Ronaldo signing put paid to that and now we're back with a dodgy atmosphere in the dressing room.
Losing the Europa League final was the beginning of the end.
 
Good to see Ole getting some well deserved vindication now. It's obvious that he was actually overperforming with this group of players.
 
He was too nice.

He prioritised keeping the players happy over all else. After Mourinho just a little extra slack was a big improvement (he should have gone here and a proper manager come in), then a little more and a little more, but after 3 years keeping them happy had become letting them do whatever they wanted. We've got a poisonous group of players in our dressing room and coupled with an inept coaching staff, they basically took advantage.

Now he's gone, a proper manager is having to restore a normal order and they're all kicking off about it.
 
Good to see Ole getting some well deserved vindication now. It's obvious that he was actually overperforming with this group of players.

More like we’re now seeing the consequence of his mismanagement for the last three years.

These players were happy with Ole’s poor culture, lack of work rate, lack of accountable and content to be praised for finishing above a Liverpool team that had a disastrous season. He also made loads of false promises so lots of players want out and pretty much everyone else can’t cope with having to raise their standards. We’ve now got years of watching everything he did get dismantled.
 
you are going to get roasted here as this isn't in line with the current narrative

the cycle is :
- new manager comes in, take any positive from first match, even if manager only had 45 mins training with the squad, and say this is what real coaching does to a team
- when things go south, pin it on the prior manager for as long as possible, far past the point of credibility
- when its clear new manager is having very similar struggles to prior manager, begin to shift to blaming the players, who are the last managers responsibility. back a 'clear out' and a shift in style.
- eventually turn on the manager and come up with new narrative as to why he was always going to fail (rangnick has managed once in ten years, never managed any big personalities, biggest achievement as a manager is a semi final 15 years ago)
- chose new messiah 'x' who 'cant be worse than y'. if last manager was dictator style, then say new manager will bring good feeling back. if last manager had good feeling, say new manager will bring discipline. here you can suggest roy keane could take a backroom role.

This is so true.
Press for 27 or something minutes in RR’s first game against a relegation side and it shows how clueless Ole was and that’s how proper coaching looks like (that match day thread btw was an embarrassment). Like Ole’s team had never pressed and played well before against a much better team like Pep’s City.

But then the performances and results get worse and it’s now the previous manager’s fault.

Chelsea went from losing 7-1 against Bayern and 3-1 against Arsenal under Lampard to winning the CL under Tuchel by convincingly beating sides coached by world class managers Simeone, Zidane and Pep within a short period.

The difference is the manager. One reached a CL final with PSG and the other was managing in Russia.
Fair enough he is here long term and mainly for his advisory role, but he better manage to make top 4 at least or bring coaches who can manage it.
 
Did enough throughout his reign to keep his job, until the wheels came off. I reckon the Ronaldo signing was his death knell.
The main thing Ole had going for him was a happy dressing room and that led to the slight improvement each season that kept him his job. The Ronaldo signing put paid to that and now we're back with a dodgy atmosphere in the dressing room.

His death knell sounded much earlier when he decided to sacrifice what he came here to implement (a high pressing, high line system with a three-man midfield) and he began playing best mates with a squad that couldn't even help him match Mou's best tally (which he derided), and also pandering to a clueless board who would turn down 1970s Brazil front-four just to get Tony, Rashy, Pogba and Lingard on new fat contracts (while berating the internet fans for wanting transfers). He accepted a squad that was last (or close to last) in all the metrics that actually matter in modern football, and he started building toward a counter-attacking side with a top-heavy squad whose big names wouldn't have to worry about tactics or defensive contributions. All the while, the best teams in the world, are high energy sides with strictly defined roles for the players and well-drilled tactical plans. Of course, he kept them happy. But he was going nowhere with this team. It's just that with a player like Ronaldo in his starting line-up, he ran out of places to hide.
 
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This is so true.
Press for 27 or something minutes in RR’s first game against a relegation side and it shows how clueless Ole was and that’s how proper coaching looks like (that match day thread btw was an embarrassment). Like Ole’s team had never pressed and played well before against a much better team like Pep’s City.

But then the performances and results get worse and it’s now the previous manager’s fault.

Chelsea went from losing 7-1 against Bayern and 3-1 against Arsenal under Lampard to winning the CL under Tuchel by convincingly beating sides coached by world class managers Simeone, Zidane and Pep within a short period.

The difference is the manager. One reached a CL final with PSG and the other was managing in Russia.
Fair enough he is here long term and mainly for his advisory role, but he better manage to make top 4 at least or bring coaches who can manage it.

If we don't get top 4 it's mainly on Ole. You'd hope an interim can improve results but given the competition for top 4 Ole and the club made it a really difficult task.
 
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If we don't get top 4 it's mainly on Ole. You'd hope an interim can improve results but given the competition for top 4 Ole and the club made it a really difficult task.
Of course, if we don’t get top 4 or don’t win a trophy it’s on Ole. If we don’t beat Atletico or Villa it’s on Ole. If we get top 4 or win something it’s on the new manager …
 
Of course, if we don’t get top 4 or don’t win a trophy it’s on Ole. If we don’t beat Atletico or Villa it’s on Ole. If we get top 4 or win something it’s on the new manager …

No just top 4, well done on making your bias and agenda obvious though.
 
This is so true.
Press for 27 or something minutes in RR’s first game against a relegation side and it shows how clueless Ole was and that’s how proper coaching looks like (that match day thread btw was an embarrassment). Like Ole’s team had never pressed and played well before against a much better team like Pep’s City.

But then the performances and results get worse and it’s now the previous manager’s fault.

Chelsea went from losing 7-1 against Bayern and 3-1 against Arsenal under Lampard to winning the CL under Tuchel by convincingly beating sides coached by world class managers Simeone, Zidane and Pep within a short period.

The difference is the manager. One reached a CL final with PSG and the other was managing in Russia.
Fair enough he is here long term and mainly for his advisory role, but he better manage to make top 4 at least or bring coaches who can manage it.
He wasn't coaching in Russia FYI, he hasn't coached since the stint when Hasenhuttl left RBL which was 2018. I don't think anyone with even a basic football knowledge is trying to compare him to Tuchel, Pep, Klopp, Flick, Zidane, Poch etc.

Question is would you rather someone like Ragnick (i.e. a short term solution who will take all this flack from players, pundits, the caf etc. whilst doing the dirty work we've put off for years in getting a grip on the squad and recruitment) comes in and then we hire the best possible manager, likely to be Poch or ETH in the summer. Or, you go guns blazing for the best available right now, which is probably only ETH and he has to go through all this crap instead which is an uphill battle to say the least? It's an obvious answer.
 
For me, I'll remember Ole's time at United as such

Interim Period to end of 1st Season | Started the 'cultural reset' brilliantly, cleared 'deadwood', reset the wage structure and bought in young, hungry players with something to prove on reasonable salaries

2nd Full Season | Began to kick big decisions down the line (i.e. hanging onto players we didn't need or not making a clear decision), didn't seem to achieve transfer targets, bought in 'name' on big money (Cavani) but we excused it as it was a 1YR contract and a 'needs must' scenario. Actual performances on the pitch were still pretty good, all things considered. Again, it's easy to be critical but we finished 2nd in the toughest league in the world and achieved some standout results (i.e. against City)

3rd Full Season | Bizarre contract renewal for Juan Mata. Kicked more big decisions down the line (Henderson, Lingard, Pogba, Pereira, Tuanzebe, DvdB etc...). Seemingly threw the 'young, hungry with something to prove on reasonable salaries' approach out the window. Signed a kid we didn't need on a massive contract. Signed two 'name' signings on a combined £800K per week. Begged Cavani to do another year, then dithered over that once Ronaldo joined. Undermined the captain and the lads who had done well to achieve 3rd and 2nd-placed finishes and split the dressing room unnecessarily.

So ultimately, there was plenty of good initially, and Ole seemed to set about the task in the right manner. I don't know what happened next. Did Ole cave to the pressure of the idiots demanding a title challenge at all costs? Did he try to run before we could walk? Had he himself been kidded into believing we were closer than we were? Did people above his head put pressure on to sign the likes of Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo?

We will never know, but whatever did happen, we took two decent steps forward and recently, at least two steps back - with the saving grace being some of our more 'problematic' players are on short-term contracts and can easily be booted in Summer.
 
More like we’re now seeing the consequence of his mismanagement for the last three years.

These players were happy with Ole’s poor culture, lack of work rate, lack of accountable and content to be praised for finishing above a Liverpool team that had a disastrous season. He also made loads of false promises so lots of players want out and pretty much everyone else can’t cope with having to raise their standards. We’ve now got years of watching everything he did get dismantled.
I'd keep a lot of the players he's brought in personally.
I don't think we need to dismantle everything.

De Gea
Dalot
Varane
Maguire
Shaw
Fred
Donny
Bruno
Sancho
Greenwood
Rashford

Is a team I'd like to see get a run together

With
Henderson
Bissaka
Lindelof
Tuanzebe
Telles
Mctominay
Hannibal
Diallo
Elanga

As hungry backups.

It's not all doom and gloom. There's plenty there to work with.
 
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If we don't get top 4 it's mainly on Ole. You'd hope an interim can improve results but given the competition for top 4 Ole and the club made it a really difficult task.
Did he? The squad was supposed to challenge for the title. I was told that a proper manager should be able to get results, and most certainly be able to beat the likes of Newcastle and Wolves. Sure you aren't lowering expectations again to suit and agenda?
 
I'd keep a lot of the players he's brought in personally.
I don't think we need to dismantle everything.

De Gea
Dalot
Varane
Maguire
Shaw
Fred
Donny
Bruno
Sancho
Greenwood
Rashford

Is a team I'd like to see get a run together

With
Henderson
Bissaka
Lindelof
Tuanzebe
Telles
Mctominay
Hannibal
Diallo
Elanga

As hungry backups.

It's not all doom and gloom. There's plenty there to work with.

There’s not a lot to work with until the attitude, work rate, entitlement and lack of accountability Ole established is ripped apart. Other than Varane, Ronaldo, De Gea and Cavani none of this squad have ever achieved anything yet they all seem content with big wages and mediocrity.

Maybe someone comes in and sorts a decent number of them out but to achieve anything it’s very likely the majority will have to be weeded out or will leave because they want out which is basically what happened at Liverpool with Klopp.
 
Did he? The squad was supposed to challenge for the title. I was told that a proper manager should be able to get results, and most certainly be able to beat the likes of Newcastle and Wolves. Sure you aren't lowering expectations again to suit and agenda?

Whichever way to want to do it doesn't put Ole under any good light:

1) We get the top 4: It means the squad was good enough but Ole wasn't managing them well.

2) We don't get the top 4: It means the squad wasn't good enough and that means Ole wasn't able to develop a squad good enough even after 3 seasons are the club.

Whatever situation, Ole didn't do well enough in his last season. The previous seasons were decent though.
 
I'd keep a lot of the players he's brought in personally.
I don't think we need to dismantle everything.

De Gea
Dalot
Varane
Maguire
Shaw
Fred
Donny
Bruno
Sancho
Greenwood
Rashford

Is a team I'd like to see get a run together

With
Henderson
Bissaka
Lindelof
Tuanzebe
Telles
Mctominay
Hannibal
Diallo
Elanga

As hungry backups.

It's not all doom and gloom. There's plenty there to work with.
Fred & VdB midfield would get overrun as would all our 2 man midfield options.

Fundamentally we simply don’t have enough technically apt players. Realising players vastly underachieved under OgS [sone also doing so under Jose] isn’t doom & gloom it’s reality.

We need to stop being content with ‘good enough’ when that good enough struggles so badly, it’s time to stop plastering over the issues & have a proper rebuild. Some players are good players but it simply hasn’t worked, time to get rid & start again. I’d keep most of the players you listed but not many would be bailed on starters.
 
There’s not a lot to work with until the attitude, work rate, entitlement and lack of accountability Ole established is ripped apart. Other than Varane, Ronaldo, De Gea and Cavani none of this squad have ever achieved anything yet they all seem content with big wages and mediocrity.

Maybe someone comes in and sorts a decent number of them out but to achieve anything it’s very likely the majority will have to be weeded out or will leave because they want out which is basically what happened at Liverpool with Klopp.
I wouldn't say he established those things. There was plenty of evidence of good attitude and work rate in his 3 years in charge.
 
Whichever way to want to do it doesn't put Ole under any good light:

1) We get the top 4: It means the squad was good enough but Ole wasn't managing them well.

2) We don't get the top 4: It means the squad wasn't good enough and that means Ole wasn't able to develop a squad good enough even after 3 seasons are the club.

Whatever situation, Ole didn't do well enough in his last season. The previous seasons were decent though.
Ole had to go. I wish the club had the balls to ax him right after the EL final. But to say top 4 is gone or to blame him for failing with this squad feels a bit like giving Ralf a free pass.
 
For me, I'll remember Ole's time at United as such

Interim Period to end of 1st Season | Started the 'cultural reset' brilliantly, cleared 'deadwood', reset the wage structure and bought in young, hungry players with something to prove on reasonable salaries

2nd Full Season | Began to kick big decisions down the line (i.e. hanging onto players we didn't need or not making a clear decision), didn't seem to achieve transfer targets, bought in 'name' on big money (Cavani) but we excused it as it was a 1YR contract and a 'needs must' scenario. Actual performances on the pitch were still pretty good, all things considered. Again, it's easy to be critical but we finished 2nd in the toughest league in the world and achieved some standout results (i.e. against City)

3rd Full Season | Bizarre contract renewal for Juan Mata. Kicked more big decisions down the line (Henderson, Lingard, Pogba, Pereira, Tuanzebe, DvdB etc...). Seemingly threw the 'young, hungry with something to prove on reasonable salaries' approach out the window. Signed a kid we didn't need on a massive contract. Signed two 'name' signings on a combined £800K per week. Begged Cavani to do another year, then dithered over that once Ronaldo joined. Undermined the captain and the lads who had done well to achieve 3rd and 2nd-placed finishes and split the dressing room unnecessarily.

So ultimately, there was plenty of good initially, and Ole seemed to set about the task in the right manner. I don't know what happened next. Did Ole cave to the pressure of the idiots demanding a title challenge at all costs? Did he try to run before we could walk? Had he himself been kidded into believing we were closer than we were? Did people above his head put pressure on to sign the likes of Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo?

We will never know, but whatever did happen, we took two decent steps forward and recently, at least two steps back - with the saving grace being some of our more 'problematic' players are on short-term contracts and can easily be booted in Summer.
As soon as Ronaldo signed I felt that any 'long term plan' had been thrown out the window (or never existed in the first place. The balance of the squad from then on was all wrong and ultimately cost him his job.
 
Fred & VdB midfield would get overrun as would all our 2 man midfield options.

Fundamentally we simply don’t have enough technically apt players. Realising players vastly underachieved under OgS [sone also doing so under Jose] isn’t doom & gloom it’s reality.

We need to stop being content with ‘good enough’ when that good enough struggles so badly, it’s time to stop plastering over the issues & have a proper rebuild. Some players are good players but it simply hasn’t worked, time to get rid & start again. I’d keep most of the players you listed but not many would be bailed on starters.
That wouldn't be a 2 man midfield. That would be Bruno, Donny and Fred in midfield. That is a midfield with 2 very good technical players and 1 grafter.

I reckon if you gave it 5 games in a row you would see our overall football drastically improve.
 
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That wouldn't be a 2 man midfield. That would be Bruno, Donny and Fred in midfield. That is a midfield with 2 very good technical players and 1 grafter.

I reckon if you gave it 5 games in a row you would see our overall football drastically improve.
Ah is was reading as in the 4-2-2-2, it’s better than why we’re fielding on paper but I think an actual increase in quality is the issue.
There’s not a lot to work with until the attitude, work rate, entitlement and lack of accountability Ole established is ripped apart. Other than Varane, Ronaldo, De Gea and Cavani none of this squad have ever achieved anything yet they all seem content with big wages and mediocrity.

Maybe someone comes in and sorts a decent number of them out but to achieve anything it’s very likely the majority will have to be weeded out or will leave because they want out which is basically what happened at Liverpool with Klopp.
Posters were roundly criticised for speaking out on how disappointing losses to Sevilla, Villareal & Leicester in the Cups were.

This squad showed us who they were on multiple occasions, yet suddenly we buy Ronaldo & those same fans who were happy to write of ‘unimportant Cups’ are surprised we then can’t win in harder competitions. We need to cut the losses with a large amount of the squad.
 
Did he? The squad was supposed to challenge for the title. I was told that a proper manager should be able to get results, and most certainly be able to beat the likes of Newcastle and Wolves. Sure you aren't lowering expectations again to suit and agenda?

Of course he did, what a stupid argument. He left us miles away from top 4 with a squad lacking in confidence, balance, and form.

How can anyone with any sense say he left us in anything other than a difficult situation with an uphill battle.

Those who told you a proper manager would get more out of the team probably didn't mean within weeks but then you know that.
 
Of course he did, what a stupid argument. He left us miles away from top 4 with a squad lacking in confidence, balance, and form.

How can anyone with any sense say he left us in anything other than a difficult situation with an uphill battle.

Those who told you a proper manager would get more out of the team probably didn't mean within weeks but then you know that.
He left us 3 points off fourth. I also remember it was unanimously agreed that top 4 would've been a minimum expectation for Rangnick so let's not start revising history after an uninspiring start.
 
He left us 3 points off fourth. I also remember it was unanimously agreed that top 4 would've been a minimum expectation for Rangnick so let's not start revising history after an uninspiring start.

Erm he left us in 8th 6pts off top 4 for a start, in freefall form. Closer to bottom place than top and just 2pts from bottom half.

You seen to think such free fall form has no lingering impact. Almost a third of the way into the season by the time any interim even corrects course so yeah it's a difficult task.
 
I dunno what Ole's longterm legacy will be. However, looking at where we are today I am impressed by how he managed the squad.

Ole's clearly cleverer than a lot of people give him credit for. He saw how the dressing room had done for Mourinho. So he decided to be their friend instead of fight them.

Ole is no fool. He always knew if it came down to him or the superstar shirt sellers the club would get rid of him. So, until the very last moment, he never forced the issue.

Is that the only way to deal with this dressing room? To stroke the egos instead of control them? Maybe. I don't think any incoming coach is going to be given the power to make or break Man Utd careers. Which means that the players will always have the confidence to outlast any incoming coach. Especially as we're so keen to protect value with random new deals.

Ole's legacy will be that, by what he did, he showed the world that the only way to get a tune out of our squad is to play nice with it. If that's the case then he'll have perfectly illustrated why the whole thing needs ripping up.
In short ,he cares for himself and for his wage much more than he cares for the club. That coupled with his incompetence , it's no surprise that he is still jobless and not a single club from top 5 leagues in Europe bother to hire him. His legacy is a toxic positivity , not every positivity is a good thing for the club , it breeds laziness and acceptance to failure.

When Mourinho was sacked, Ole came as cheerleader and then the players immediately played well and won like 10 games straight because Mourinho actually coached the team properly , put the basic footballing and structure right , the players just downtooled because they don't like a guy who wanted to replace them with better players. But now Rangnick couldn't even enjoy new manager bounce because of how bad Ole coaching was.
 
When we finish the season miles behind the 4th place, some will still blame Ole...
Which is where we were heading under him anyway. And who spent close to 500 million on this squad?

It's over, he was a bad manager in a lot of ways that fluked his way to top 4 in his first season and did better his second, won no trophies, and then left us in a complete mess. Let's move on.
 
half a billion spent and we're starting matic, fred and mctominay. That's his legacy right there. You're damn right this isn't the time for the Ole defense. Maguire, awb, sancho, cavani dont even look like starters.
 
When we finish the season miles behind the 4th place, some will still blame Ole...
Rightfully so, he never upgraded inconsistent and average players like Fred. Ole make a huge mistake not dropping Fred after the 19/20 season, in not doing so he set precedents which we're still paying for now in showing players we accept average performances on a consistent basis.
 
He was the one who compiled the team. Because of Ole we have a McFred and Matic midfield.
"deserved time and backing to build his own team". Still starting Jose's midfielders and wondering why we get pushed back every game. Jose who styled his game on giving control to the other team. At least Jose could say he did it by design.
 
To the misguided fools who come out with the defense of giving every manager time and money before assessing them, this is what happens when you apply that to a manager who clearly isn't worth backing. You end up with the most expensive shambles of a team in football.