Was it two 2nd places he achieved too?
The Overlap - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- Thread starter UnitedSofa
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I think he finished 6th, 3rd and then 2nd.
When ETH is sacked (it's going to happen soon) does the job go to Ruud, or do we bring back Ole whilst Jim goes on a search?
Arguably the worst post I’ve ever seen on here.
So congratulations on that.
Also, this is a forum. People generally tend to reply to other peoples posts. Maybe it’s your understanding of a forum that needs work, not Ole’s ability at management.
We will not bring him back in 1000 years. People have short memories
Why on Earth would we bring back a massive failure?
I imagine Ruud was brought back with the idea in mind that he’ll seamlessly take the reigns after ETH.
Right direction....
As for being a massive failure, he wasn't. His win ratio was second to Jose's and higher than others. In his last full season, he finished 2nd, and reached a European final, losing on penalties. He may have failed, but it wasn't massively. And we scored a shed load of goals, so entertained.
Ye I enjoyed watching us under him. I think his biggest mistake was re signing Ronaldo. Since that happened we went down hill really quickly. Also his signing of Maguire was a bad one. But then again he didn’t have the support that ETH now as. If I remember correctly we had quite a lot of games where we dominated possession under Ole aswell but we struggled breaking down low blocked teams. The 9-0 vs Southampton was an highlight.
Terrible post.
Well, he's by far the best manager we had post-Ferguson, and he was fecked over in back-to-back transfer windows: 2020 and 2021. He wasn't perfect, but under a worthy football structure Ole could've achieved much more than he did. And I have no doubt 85+ pts finishes would've been possible under him if he was backed properly, especially on the transfer market.
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He could have, but the fact that he pushed for Ronaldo(something corroborated by him on the overlap) and thought he was the answer to taking the next step is/was very concerning.
He realized in hindsight it was the wrong move, but that should have been quite obvious.
Also he said the club never brought in players he didn't want. That said, they likely did fail him in regards to Haaland and Jude.
It still amazes me to this day that fans can put a positive spin on this.
We were in the Europa League, because we got knocked out the CL group stage. We're celebrating the manager reaching a final in a competition that we were only in because of the failure of said manager.
I love Ole - if you check my posting history you will see that I've constantly advocated strongly for him and his victories over teams managed by supposedly "superior" managers like Guardiola, Kloop, Poch, Tuchel, Bielsa etc.
But a lot of the postings are just rose-tinted glasses.
Yes we were exciting to watch. But we also struggled constantly to break down low blocks. We also relied quite heavily on moments on individual brilliance.
I just wish Ole had someone like Sir Alex had Queiroz to manage the more modern tactical aspects.
Man management wise - I wished he was more ruthless as well - something that defines Sir Alex. He allowed poor mentality and complacency to grow roots in the dressing rooms by indulging in the likes of Pogba, Lingard and added to the mess by signing Sancho and failing to control Ronaldo.
But a lot of the postings are just rose-tinted glasses.
Yes we were exciting to watch. But we also struggled constantly to break down low blocks. We also relied quite heavily on moments on individual brilliance.
I just wish Ole had someone like Sir Alex had Queiroz to manage the more modern tactical aspects.
Man management wise - I wished he was more ruthless as well - something that defines Sir Alex. He allowed poor mentality and complacency to grow roots in the dressing rooms by indulging in the likes of Pogba, Lingard and added to the mess by signing Sancho and failing to control Ronaldo.
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Give Ole 22/23 and add Casemiro and Eriksen to his team, I think he would've done excellently. Trophies were missing from his tenure, yes, but league position was much better and we played more entertaining football. Vibeball is what you need with technically limited players.
It should've never come to that. He knows Ronaldo.
What was plan B if Ronaldo acted like Ronaldo without playing like Ronaldo?
As to failing him in regards to Haaland and Bellingham, who knows what sort of shite he also recommended to the club? It's easy to come out now and say that when he saw Haaland for the first time in his crib, he knew he'd break PL scoring records.
Ole sh
Absolute legend of this club, and the new age ‘supporters’ slagged him off at any opportunity.
Tell you what, we’d be doing far better with Ole than the shite we’re seeing now. But fans got their shiny toy in Ten Hag, I hope they’re happy. Even in the LVG era we were more exciting that this drivel we get served up now; week after week. The boring, bald, cnut.
Ole should tell us to get fecked. He deserved far, far, far more than the entitled fan base gave him.
Absolute legend of this club, and the new age ‘supporters’ slagged him off at any opportunity.
Tell you what, we’d be doing far better with Ole than the shite we’re seeing now. But fans got their shiny toy in Ten Hag, I hope they’re happy. Even in the LVG era we were more exciting that this drivel we get served up now; week after week. The boring, bald, cnut.
Bad take. He didn’t win a trophy. He was a great player, of course, and I’m too young to remember him playing (even though he left when I was 8), but not a good manager. His peak was reached after that Europa League final. Rooney is also a legend for us, but I wouldn’t want him as our manager either. No disrespect to Ole, but we should really be winning trophies (and also competing for the biggest prizes). But come the feck on, some of the revisionism is ridiculous. Just because ten Hag is bad doesn’t make Solskjær any better.
We definitely played the most entertaining football under Ole since fergie. The only thing missing from Ole time managing us was the trophies. But he always got us to the final or close. I think he finishes top 4 with the team ETH now has though.
Hindsight and all that. Wish we had not signed Sancho and Christiano and gone for Kane or Haaland and Declan Rice. The McFred thing went on way too long. Oles last window killed him. Murtough also did him dirty as apparently we nearly had Bellingham before he went to Dortmund. What could of been.
Hindsight and all that. Wish we had not signed Sancho and Christiano and gone for Kane or Haaland and Declan Rice. The McFred thing went on way too long. Oles last window killed him. Murtough also did him dirty as apparently we nearly had Bellingham before he went to Dortmund. What could of been.
His midfield choice was woeful yet he still loved Fred!
Of course, people are seeing things through rose-tinted glasses. United wouldn't be the "family club" they are, if they didn't (see how many are already thinking about RvN taking over).
Anyways, i agree with your observations. A team that can score a shedload of goals usually averages more than 66 or 73 points. When it worked, it looked good (and sometimes we got unlucky). When it didn't, though, it was as bad as any other post-SAF manager. Emery, for example, completely nullified us for 120 minutes in that final (besides that scrappy goal). It was a tough watch.
He had his moments, but after his initial good run, the team plateaued more than it progressed under him. And when the time came to push for something better, it all collapsed.
Are there actually any new rumours or are people just feeling nostalgic about Ole already? 
That being said... If Ten Hag gets sacked sometime in the next few weeks/months then I would not just rate him lower than Ole. I'd probably rate him lower than Van Gaal too. Van Gaal's football was boring as shit, but at least it held a certain standard and control. Ten Hag's football has largely been boring and lacking in control.
That being said... If Ten Hag gets sacked sometime in the next few weeks/months then I would not just rate him lower than Ole. I'd probably rate him lower than Van Gaal too. Van Gaal's football was boring as shit, but at least it held a certain standard and control. Ten Hag's football has largely been boring and lacking in control.
Horrible post. Replied.
No-one is remembering Ole with rose tinted specs, just stating the facts - we didn't do badly in the league and we reached a European final. Very few disagreed with him being sacked at the time, and if things had improved since then, Ole's tenure, whether good or bad, would be in the past...but things haven't improved, and are surely worse. When was the last time we had a run of both good results and good performances - we've had a run of results (seems a lifetime ago) but I don't remember the last time I watched United play consistently good football, let alone great football.
As for his signings - what manager would not have taken Ronaldo back? And Maguire was wanted by Mourinho the season before, and by most of the fans from what I remember.
As for his signings - what manager would not have taken Ronaldo back? And Maguire was wanted by Mourinho the season before, and by most of the fans from what I remember.
The current shit show makes him look like Pep. Unless you start watching the matches we played under him, in which case Mourinho will seem like the greatest thing that ever happened to the club post SAF.Are there actually any new rumours or are people just feeling nostalgic about Ole already?
The alternative was him going to Manchester City. Not to be a history revisionist but the transfer window when Ronaldo came home and the re-introduction of Ronnie at Old Trafford is just such a feel good period I will remember for a long time. "Everyone" wanted him back.
Loving the game of football shouldnt only be about the trophies at the end, if that were the case very few fans even have a reason to follow their club at all.
Everyone know it ended in tears, but the leadup to that season felt special, and honestly that was amazing for as long as it lasted.
That depends on the game. Football under Ole was either really bad, or second coming of Barcelona, with very few inbetweeners.
Well, if you took the fact "Started in the top tier of European football, got knocked out of the group stages and then made it to the final of the second tier European competition" and turned it into "reached a European final", I'd consider that remembering Ole through rose tinted specs.
Hard to disagree.
What I remember the most is the frequency of big losses starting to go up under him. Of course, the subsequent coaches decided to stick with this grand strategy of getting whipped by what should be our closest rivals.
EtH being terrible doesn't mean getting rid of Ole when we did was the wrong decision.
Absolutely. With fans, he had the worst record out of any United manager post-Fergie, including Moyes. He couldn't handle the pressure and fumbled every time he had the chance to achieve something.
I'd say the truth is always somewhere in the middle, as some have mentioned. He had some great positives/highs and then some lows as well. And out of our post-SAF management picks (none of them were helped by Woodward who I still think is most culpable after/along with the Glazers), Ole genuinely has merits to being the best - trophies aside (I know, big thing to ignore).
I think at the end, and it's not a slight on Ole, he had his limitations, and we were never going to be able to transition into anything other than a great counter attacking team under him. It might/could/should have won us a cup or 2, but i don't think we were going to realistically challenge Pep like Arteta is now. That being said, we played some great football under him for a good period (Bruno signing, covid etc.) and finished 2nd, with 2 successive top 4 finishes as well.
The signings of Ronaldo, Sancho etc. really didn't help him, or the club though - it just made the culture at United even more toxic, plus we signed a lot of players mostly suitable to counter attacking football, so ended up with an even bigger Frankenstein of a squad - that's not Ole's fault of course.
Anyway, some great memories, and it's a pity he couldn't get us over the line in that final. Would've been great for him and deserved, IMO, but ultimately it was the right thing to let him go at the time we did. It's just a pity we've seemingly replaced him with a dud.
I think at the end, and it's not a slight on Ole, he had his limitations, and we were never going to be able to transition into anything other than a great counter attacking team under him. It might/could/should have won us a cup or 2, but i don't think we were going to realistically challenge Pep like Arteta is now. That being said, we played some great football under him for a good period (Bruno signing, covid etc.) and finished 2nd, with 2 successive top 4 finishes as well.
The signings of Ronaldo, Sancho etc. really didn't help him, or the club though - it just made the culture at United even more toxic, plus we signed a lot of players mostly suitable to counter attacking football, so ended up with an even bigger Frankenstein of a squad - that's not Ole's fault of course.
Anyway, some great memories, and it's a pity he couldn't get us over the line in that final. Would've been great for him and deserved, IMO, but ultimately it was the right thing to let him go at the time we did. It's just a pity we've seemingly replaced him with a dud.
Finishing third in the CL group and reaching the EL final is still better than getting completely kicked out of Europe by finishing dead last in the CL group.
Yes.
Maybe it's just me but I never understood the problem of "relying on individual brilliance". SAF was a master tactician but most of the time he beat low blocks by sheer brute force. Current Madrid is similar in that they don't rely on superior tactics to beat their opposition. They are just better technically, faster and stronger. I'll argue that under the current top management set up and with the right recruitment, Ole would have fared much much better. Lets not forget the players he wanted to sign would have improved us at the time and with a Proper structure to we may not be at Man city's level but we won't be struggling like we are now.
Like you said, Ole's biggest fault was that he couldn't be ruthless ( again something the current setup may have been able to help with by making tough decisions for him).
If you look back at that squad in his first and second seasons, you would argue that they were playing at their level i.e playing well against opposition they were better than and struggling against those better than them(except City of course) which can't be said for the current squad under Ten Hag.
I think what you are saying is fair. He shouldn't have co-signed a few signings as they were clearly not going to work out, although I'm not sure he could've successfully stopped the Ronaldo deal, which is farcical IMO, but I'd also like to mention Telles and van de Beek, two players that weren't good enough and weren't needed either in VdB's case, and Ole still okayed their arrivals.
McTominay-Fred was a makeshift midfield. I think it's obvious Ole wasn't planning to win the league or CL with McFred as his first choice midfield, but it's not always easy to find the player you need to replace someone with. I have no doubts Rice would've been signed to replace McTominay in the starting lineup, had he been available in 2021. And then the next move would've been to replace Fred with a better left-sided #8, and probably move to a 4-3-3 with Bruno being the other #8/#10.
Everything changed for him when Ronaldo returned. Team lost the dynamic approach he was building, conflicting egos marginalised his authority. No support from the top and players who had issues and gave up.
He tried to give them freedom to express themselves similar to how he learned u for Fergie but I think the system for players now is structure brings stability and familiarity.
If he would have had the structure we have now who knows how he could have built on that PSG win? Anyway his moved on now and I hope he has success in the future. Seems a genuinely decent dude who loves the club.
He tried to give them freedom to express themselves similar to how he learned u for Fergie but I think the system for players now is structure brings stability and familiarity.
If he would have had the structure we have now who knows how he could have built on that PSG win? Anyway his moved on now and I hope he has success in the future. Seems a genuinely decent dude who loves the club.
This thread is a good lesson in psychology. People will change the past in their heads to protect people they like and push blame on others. The mental gymnastics people are doing is crazy. Make sure to stretch first.
All of a sudden the things people complained about are acceptable and all accountability is gone. It’s why people aim to be liked over being a honourable person, it gets you out of a lot of holes you dig for yourself.
Apparently fans want a manager back who brought a trophy drought and stopped is from being competitive at the highest level.
This why we were nicknamed vibes FC. People just want the image of something good rather than the real good.
All of a sudden the things people complained about are acceptable and all accountability is gone. It’s why people aim to be liked over being a honourable person, it gets you out of a lot of holes you dig for yourself.
Apparently fans want a manager back who brought a trophy drought and stopped is from being competitive at the highest level.
This why we were nicknamed vibes FC. People just want the image of something good rather than the real good.