Wow all this after 1 game! When Chelsea got hammered in their first game of the season, the supporters backed him. (He had no premier league pedigree too at that point.) Our supporters on the other hand, not all but some, seem to give up too quickly and/or can’t see the progress and the vision.
Last season, most outside the club gave Ole no chance but he exceeded expectations and did not just finish mid-table as many predicted and get sacked but rather finished third despite (1) long layoffs to key players and (2) starting the season with no Lukaku replacement and just 1 senior striker. This, alongside getting several players to improve and perform consistently despite being written off previously (Martial, Fred) and revolutionising the club’s recruitment strategy. He understands and bleeds Manchester United, and that translates to the players and hence we now see players wanting to come (or stay in Pogba’s case), to play for the badge and believe in front-foot, attacking football. LVG, Mourinho were big names that failed to truly understand Manchester United despite being more experienced, having a glittering resume and being superior tacticians and hence ultimately it did not work.
It may be that the biggest clubs with deep history and culture in more recent times need a manager that truly understands the club first and foremost more than experience and a strong resume. It could be why Barca and Real didn’t reach their recent heights until Pep and Zidane came in. And it was Conte who started this recent Juve dynasty.
What I’m appealing to folks to recognise is that, a bigger name like a Poch or Allegri are not necessarily guaranteed success at a club like Manchester United with the profile that it has - as one of the biggest names in world sport and the unique joint expectations of playing attractive football, blooding youth and winning trophies at the same time. Ole has shown he can do the first two and with backing from the Board, hopefully we will win trophies too. Personally the form since early 2020 gives me confidence. His front-foot, attacking football with high pressing does rely on high fitness levels though and hence we really need a strong 14-16 man squad to compete. And we will see flat performances from time to time if there isn’t enough rotation (or just plain unfit relative to Palace on Saturday).
With all due respect, we’re not a City or Chelsea where there is less tradition and history to uphold and the expectations from supporters, pundits and the media are simply not the same. For instance, there’s little demand to bring through youth, more of a nice-to-have and it’s perfectly ok to go out and spend the money on experienced ready-made talent.
Also, you can hear in the commentary of any United game - when we’re playing well “that’s the United of old”, “that’s a real United team/player” and when we’re not, the opposite “that’s just not the United way”, “that’s not a United team/player” - the constant comparison - conscious or otherwise - to the heydays of the Ferguson era means the expectations, on players and manager, are amongst the greatest in world club football. You need strong, steely characters for this and it’s not going to be a quick fix unfortunately - we knew it’ll take a few transfer windows. Ole doesn’t show his cards and keeps it professional but the way all who’ve played with him at United back him and believe he has what it takes gives me confidence, as they all do know what it takes of course, more than any of us.
If we get a RW, LB, Bailly/Tuanzebe manage to stay fit and a striker in the January window, then that will allow us to have a much stronger squad and consequently compete real soon, for the first time since Sir Alex.
Let’s get behind our team and our manager guys and stick to the plan. The 2020/21 season has only just started!