Would you sack or keep Ole? (Poll reopened)

[SambaBoy]

I would stick with Ole for now. I feel he will leave the club in a better state than his predecessors. Mourinho and LvG may have won trophies here and did some good things but they bloated the squad with superstars on crazy wages and bad ego's.

Ole probably had the opportunity to continue our lavish spending on mercenaries which most managers would in charge but he went the other way and got 3 young, hungry players who will be here for the next 7-8 years. In addition, he's cleared player who don't fit at United in Fellaini, Sanchez and Lukaku. He could have easily kept them but he's freed up the wage bill and got rid of bad characters in the dressing room which will benefit us in the long term.

IMV, Ole would have signed another 2-3 players if he could but maybe the funds weren't there or provided by Woodward/Glazers. If we had signed Fernandes and a CM, our squad would be in a much better state and I believe Ole wanted to bring players like that in from reading his interviews. From Zorc's interview as well, we definitely enquired about Sancho and rumours are quite strong that we will return next year. In the long-term it's better to wait a year for a player like Sancho then spend £70m on Pepe this summer. He probably knows the squad going forward isn't good enough but expected to be able to compensate due to the talents of Pogba, Rashford and Martial. He hoped Greenwood/James would have a decent impact, and get something out of Mata/Lingard.

Once we have a good enough squad in place, I would then probably sack Ole as I don't think he's a good enough manager to win titles or get us competing in the CL which is why shouts of him being a DOF is a good one. Once we bite the bullet, we need to get someone in who can do well tactically and get us hard to beat again, but go about it correctly off the pitch with the signings which Ole has shown he can do.

 

[Strelok]

lets

be honest - if his name isnt ole would you hire a manager from Molde who for Cardiff relegated ???? hiring on emotion is proving to be a disaster

there are better options out there , but if woodward is there, its irrelevant

Honestly no but Ole came as a caretaker. It's understandable to hire a manager who is a club legend to pacify the burning changing room while waiting for a permanent manager.

He earned his permanent manager contract tbf.

 

[welshwingwizard]

Well I'm a neutral fan.

While I know what it means going through hard patches, if not seasons and how long it takes to rebuild a team (we were there more than once and not later than after winning the title), I can tell you that that I completely understand why people are concerned and imo Ole isn't the man for this job, no matter how well he means. I know a builder when I see one, and in fact I'm absolutely amazed that there are still so many fans behind Ole, when he's got little to nothing to show for since he's been permanently appointed, be it results or improvement on the pitch. And we're talking about 9 months, which is more than enough for a manager to stamp his style on a team. The cynical in me would even suggest that these results are perfectly in line with what he did with Cardiff. That he's learning his trade at your expense.

Considering the expectations of such a massive club like yours and his performances, I rather think that he got much more time than any other manager would have if it wasn't for that famous goal in '99. I sincerely doubt that someone with such an unappealing CV as manager would have been touched with a barge pole after Mourinho's sacking if not for his connection to the club. The jump in class too big, especially in one of the toughest leagues in the world. For stating the obvious, he's been permanently appointed way too fast, on a sentimental basis. And I fear that a lot of your fans still defending him, are doing it for the same reasons.

To be brutally honest, any other opposition fan I know wish you rather keep him than appoint another manager who could actually get a bit more from this team. Some of you are acting like you have Millwall's squad, but in my opinion and even with these injuries, you should be able to do a bit better than what you're actually producing. Or you didn't see really shite players for a very, very long time. If you rely only on 2-3 players to make it work then there's something fundamentally wrong in your system.

Going with such an unbalanced, thin squad was utter madness, injuries are bound to happen and if he didn't sanction it, then he should've walked. You look rudderless on the pitch, disjointed, with no discernable game plan. No matter how you're poorly run from the top, and you definitely are, there's a minimum that a manager should be able to deliver on the pitch. I personally don't see it, even at full strength. I do see however youngsters put under massive pressure and thrown too fast in the lion's den without any kind of preparation or being previously loaned.

Take a look at what Benitez has done at Newcastle despite Mike Ashley and on a shoestring before eventually giving up, because enough is enough at some point. Now that was and still is a crap squad, yet he won the Championship right after their relegation and kept them in the PL against all odds. Watch them nose diving now and very likely getting relegated at the end of the season. See how mad their fans are at Ashley because he didn't back him and let him go. I know that they don't have the same ambitions as yours but it was to illustrate how a manager can make a squad look more than the sum of its parts despite being hampered by the board. The list is non-exhaustive.

I also see the last line of defense being his signings. They're indeed good, there's no question about that, although the jury's still out about James, whom I quite like. While he could've done worse, it doesn't take any kind of genius to sign hot targets like Maguire or AWB for £130M. You were crying out loud for a DM, a ST and a RW, yet bought another LW. I also don't understand the "british obsession", you're likely to overpay for them with no guarantee in return.
Unearthing gems is more like picking Kanté from an obscure team in the french premier league for £6M or plucking Mahrez for £400,000 out of the french championship. Just picked these two examples because they're the easiest ones for me. There are plenty others, but you must have the scouting network and the manager with connections and an eye for talent.

I might be wrong, maybe by some kind of miracle Ole will somehow turn it around, but he looks already like a dead man walking and it's now just a matter of when. "Rumors" are already leaking in the papers as well as "talks" about an eventual successor, signs that the shit is already hitting the fan behind the doors. As long as Woodward keeps making money he won't go, you can't sack the players, no matter how shit they are, and the manager will always be the fall guy. On the other side, you just can't keep a struggling manager for the hell of it and if he gets the sack, he won't coach in England ever again. Not even in the Championship.

Not rubbing any salt or being snarky, I liked the player and he seems like an honest bloke, who really loves your club. But the solution he isn't and he and the board should've known better.

Great post and very insightful from supporter of a team that has seen good and bad managers and knows the difference betweem one building something and one just out of his depth. Thanks for sharing.

I think its also important to recognise that its ok to have higher expectations of what we achieve. Its not selfish. It doesn't make us bad fans. It does recognise the history, stature and resources available to united are different to a team like Norwich and therefore expectation shouldn't be the same. It doesn't make us ingrates as some people are making out.

 

[In Rainbows]

What makes you think he is capable of doing so? Nothing in his past has shown he is capable of doing so. He relegated Cardiff and only managed Molde in Norway. There are plenty of managers who have done much better than Ole. Even Roy Keane. When he took over Sunderland was at the bottom and he got them promoted.
Ole has no clue. He is not a top class manager that a club of the stature of Manchester United should employ.
It's his idiocy that landed us in this mess now. All the players he got rid of would walk into this side.

To contextualize his time at Cardiff

2013/14 season until Ole was hired- Cardiff were in 17th place with 18 pts in 20 matches. 15 goals in 20 matches.
2013/14 season with Ole in charge - Cardiff were in 20th place with 12 pts in 18 matches. 17 goals in 18 matches.

2014/15 Championship season until Ole was sacked- 17th place with 8 pts in 7 matches. 8 goals in 7 matches.

Ole made the situation worse. It's amazing that some fans think he should be given time when it's clear he's not a good manager. What goes into people's heads when they just ignore all the evidence pointing towards Ole not being the right man?

 

[welshwingwizard]

Honestly no but Ole came as a caretaker. It's understandable to hire a manager who is a club legend to pacify the burning changing room while waiting for a permanent manager.

He earned his permanent manager contract tbf.

If you can earn it based on results then surely it stands to reason that you should be able to lose it based on results? You can't start off successful but when it goes sour, call it a long term rebuiding project requiring you to go on relegation form runs. His appointment was made on the assumption he could keep us winning AND make progress.

Furthermore, how many managers expect the level of leeway we give Ole based purely on calling this a 'Project'. In no other club could a manager underperform so much citing rebuild. The job of a good manager is to do both. Rebuild with continuing competetive results.

 

[Micky Targaryen]

Honestly no but Ole came as a caretaker. It's understandable to hire a manager who is a club legend to pacify the burning changing room while waiting for a permanent manager.

He earned his permanent manager contract tbf.

What?

You mentioned that it's understandable to hire a manager who is a club legend while waiting for a permanent manager. So why do you think he earned his permanent manager contract? I thought Ole was meant to be a caretaker manager only, while we sort out a proper replacement? And even when Ole had his miracle run of games, why oh why did we offer him a permanent contract midway through his caretaker stint?

 

[Robbie Boy]

As I said, great guy and absolute legend as a player but a thoroughly shit manager. Just get rid and let’s forget the whole thing ever happened.

 

[mancave bear]

We sold/loaned 7 players this summer that had no future at Old Trafford but Mata,Matic,Fred,Rojo,Young,Jones,Mensah,Peireira,Lingard and Bailly hardly have a long future at the club based on ability either. We have been horrible in the transfer market since 2013 despite spending around 900 million pounds. There has just been one player that could be described as a hit and that was Ibra even though he was a short term signing. We have players like Bissaka,Maguire and James this summer and I like them as signings. There is no manager that could get a result with this current crop of players as we need 6 to 8 new players for the squad and there is no way around that.

Agree. Good post!
As long as we dont end up in the relegation zone at the end of the year, we should keep our cool, and give the transition time. We are better at deefence, but we are weeker at midfield and attack than last season.

This is thanks to the owners, that make us sell half the squad before we buy new ones. And the fact that we dont have a DOF, and to few people to handle buying and selling players (I know we have like the worlds biggest scouting network), make us stuck with to much deadwood.

At the same time half of our best xi gets injured. Well, than it will be a bumpy ride. And thats when we need a manager and a board with guts enough to see the transition thru.

 

[JSW Devil]

The spine takes time and it wasn't Ole's fault Pogba wanted to leave, or that nobody stumped up the cash for him so we could bring in a replacement.

And on the strikers, Ole obviously has confidence in Martial and Rashford with the precocious Greenwood in the wings, he wanted an auxiliary attacker to share the load but it was never going to be somebody to come in and play as a no.9, or be a regular starter at no.9

Yeah your right it was impossible to get a striker in only possible to sell/loan the ones you do have and also impossible to sell pogba and use the money to bring in 1 or 2 players with the money, no manager could of done that what was I thinking it has to take time. Sorry don’t agree at all and as for putting confidence in Rashford and Martial plus Greenwood to score you the goals they would normally score plus the goals of Lukaku is plain hope just as giving time and money to an unproven manger with no CV of doing what we need and are asking him to do.

‘Ole is a gamble and the time you talk of would be far better given to a proven manager who has managed at the top level, this club needs to get its act together and not be wasting any more time on gambles with high odds of success and throwing money at an unproven manager while we all would love to live in an ideal world and Ole be a success and long term manager, we have to deal with the reality he is far from certain to achieve anything, he was only supposed to be a temporary appointment why did this become permanent based on the results of players who we’re going to leave and wanted to leave, obviously poor foresight on the boards part in not at least waiting till the end of the season.

in this mercenary culture of today brought about by clubs like Chelsea, City and PSG do you believe Ole is capable of bringing in top talent from around the world or do you not think that top players are necessary and more British and unproven players are what’s needed? We need to be very careful in the situation this club is in we are still the biggest club in Prem but that stature is under threat and while some will say I don’t care support the club even if it’s relegated but fail to see it’s not a question of support more of wanting this club to be at the top and achieving that becoming much harder the further we fall and the more time we take/waste.

And our problem of Pogba wanting to leave still exists and the longer that takes to resolve the less power you will have in that situation which I believe would of already of been sorted under a better class of manager and their is no way we would of started this season so weak just strengthening the defence but weakening the midfield and no proven attack just a hopeful one.

Would Ole walk into any other top club? If the answer is no why are we persisting with a manager who wouldn’t manage any other top club? Let Ole go learn his trade/experience elsewhere and not hide away in the Norwegian league let him go manage and improve a team and prove his worth he can always come back if he does.

 

[Rista]

As long as we dont end up in the relegation zone at the end of the year, we should keep our cool, and give the transition time.

Surely only a matter of time until someone says getting relegated wouldn't be so bad, just give Ole time to sort it out.

 

[Enigma_87]

Well I'm a neutral fan.

While I know what it means going through hard patches, if not seasons and how long it takes to rebuild a team (we were there more than once and not later than after winning the title), I can tell you that that I completely understand why people are concerned and imo Ole isn't the man for this job, no matter how well he means. I know a builder when I see one, and in fact I'm absolutely amazed that there are still so many fans behind Ole, when he's got little to nothing to show for since he's been permanently appointed, be it results or improvement on the pitch. And we're talking about 9 months, which is more than enough for a manager to stamp his style on a team. The cynical in me would even suggest that these results are perfectly in line with what he did with Cardiff. That he's learning his trade at your expense.

Considering the expectations of such a massive club like yours and his performances, I rather think that he got much more time than any other manager would have if it wasn't for that famous goal in '99. I sincerely doubt that someone with such an unappealing CV as manager would have been touched with a barge pole after Mourinho's sacking if not for his connection to the club. The jump in class too big, especially in one of the toughest leagues in the world. For stating the obvious, he's been permanently appointed way too fast, on a sentimental basis. And I fear that a lot of your fans still defending him, are doing it for the same reasons.

To be brutally honest, any other opposition fan I know wish you rather keep him than appoint another manager who could actually get a bit more from this team. Some of you are acting like you have Millwall's squad, but in my opinion and even with these injuries, you should be able to do a bit better than what you're actually producing. Or you didn't see really shite players for a very, very long time. If you rely only on 2-3 players to make it work then there's something fundamentally wrong in your system.

Going with such an unbalanced, thin squad was utter madness, injuries are bound to happen and if he didn't sanction it, then he should've walked. You look rudderless on the pitch, disjointed, with no discernable game plan. No matter how you're poorly run from the top, and you definitely are, there's a minimum that a manager should be able to deliver on the pitch. I personally don't see it, even at full strength. I do see however youngsters put under massive pressure and thrown too fast in the lion's den without any kind of preparation or being previously loaned.

Take a look at what Benitez has done at Newcastle despite Mike Ashley and on a shoestring before eventually giving up, because enough is enough at some point. Now that was and still is a crap squad, yet he won the Championship right after their relegation and kept them in the PL against all odds. Watch them nose diving now and very likely getting relegated at the end of the season. See how mad their fans are at Ashley because he didn't back him and let him go. I know that they don't have the same ambitions as yours but it was to illustrate how a manager can make a squad look more than the sum of its parts despite being hampered by the board. The list is non-exhaustive.

I also see the last line of defense being his signings. They're indeed good, there's no question about that, although the jury's still out about James, whom I quite like. While he could've done worse, it doesn't take any kind of genius to sign hot targets like Maguire or AWB for £130M. You were crying out loud for a DM, a ST and a RW, yet bought another LW. I also don't understand the "british obsession", you're likely to overpay for them with no guarantee in return.
Unearthing gems is more like picking Kanté from an obscure team in the french premier league for £6M or plucking Mahrez for £400,000 out of the french championship. Just picked these two examples because they're the easiest ones for me. There are plenty others, but you must have the scouting network and the manager with connections and an eye for talent.

I might be wrong, maybe by some kind of miracle Ole will somehow turn it around, but he looks already like a dead man walking and it's now just a matter of when. "Rumors" are already leaking in the papers as well as "talks" about an eventual successor, signs that the shit is already hitting the fan behind the doors. As long as Woodward keeps making money he won't go, you can't sack the players, no matter how shit they are, and the manager will always be the fall guy. On the other side, you just can't keep a struggling manager for the hell of it and if he gets the sack, he won't coach in England ever again. Not even in the Championship.

Not rubbing any salt or being snarky, I liked the player and he seems like an honest bloke, who really loves your club. But the solution he isn't and he and the board should've known better.

Very good post.

Mind boggling that some of the opposition fans understand United better than some of the so called 'top reds'..

 

[Zoo]

Good article and breakdown of the situation by Adam Bate on Sky. Gary Neville should read this.

 

[Thisistheone]

Well I'm a neutral fan.

While I know what it means going through hard patches, if not seasons and how long it takes to rebuild a team (we were there more than once and not later than after winning the title), I can tell you that that I completely understand why people are concerned and imo Ole isn't the man for this job, no matter how well he means. I know a builder when I see one, and in fact I'm absolutely amazed that there are still so many fans behind Ole, when he's got little to nothing to show for since he's been permanently appointed, be it results or improvement on the pitch. And we're talking about 9 months, which is more than enough for a manager to stamp his style on a team. The cynical in me would even suggest that these results are perfectly in line with what he did with Cardiff. That he's learning his trade at your expense.

Considering the expectations of such a massive club like yours and his performances, I rather think that he got much more time than any other manager would have if it wasn't for that famous goal in '99. I sincerely doubt that someone with such an unappealing CV as manager would have been touched with a barge pole after Mourinho's sacking if not for his connection to the club. The jump in class too big, especially in one of the toughest leagues in the world. For stating the obvious, he's been permanently appointed way too fast, on a sentimental basis. And I fear that a lot of your fans still defending him, are doing it for the same reasons.

To be brutally honest, any other opposition fan I know wish you rather keep him than appoint another manager who could actually get a bit more from this team. Some of you are acting like you have Millwall's squad, but in my opinion and even with these injuries, you should be able to do a bit better than what you're actually producing. Or you didn't see really shite players for a very, very long time. If you rely only on 2-3 players to make it work then there's something fundamentally wrong in your system.

Going with such an unbalanced, thin squad was utter madness, injuries are bound to happen and if he didn't sanction it, then he should've walked. You look rudderless on the pitch, disjointed, with no discernable game plan. No matter how you're poorly run from the top, and you definitely are, there's a minimum that a manager should be able to deliver on the pitch. I personally don't see it, even at full strength. I do see however youngsters put under massive pressure and thrown too fast in the lion's den without any kind of preparation or being previously loaned.

Take a look at what Benitez has done at Newcastle despite Mike Ashley and on a shoestring before eventually giving up, because enough is enough at some point. Now that was and still is a crap squad, yet he won the Championship right after their relegation and kept them in the PL against all odds. Watch them nose diving now and very likely getting relegated at the end of the season. See how mad their fans are at Ashley because he didn't back him and let him go. I know that they don't have the same ambitions as yours but it was to illustrate how a manager can make a squad look more than the sum of its parts despite being hampered by the board. The list is non-exhaustive.

I also see the last line of defense being his signings. They're indeed good, there's no question about that, although the jury's still out about James, whom I quite like. While he could've done worse, it doesn't take any kind of genius to sign hot targets like Maguire or AWB for £130M. You were crying out loud for a DM, a ST and a RW, yet bought another LW. I also don't understand the "british obsession", you're likely to overpay for them with no guarantee in return.
Unearthing gems is more like picking Kanté from an obscure team in the french premier league for £6M or plucking Mahrez for £400,000 out of the french championship. Just picked these two examples because they're the easiest ones for me. There are plenty others, but you must have the scouting network and the manager with connections and an eye for talent.

I might be wrong, maybe by some kind of miracle Ole will somehow turn it around, but he looks already like a dead man walking and it's now just a matter of when. "Rumors" are already leaking in the papers as well as "talks" about an eventual successor, signs that the shit is already hitting the fan behind the doors. As long as Woodward keeps making money he won't go, you can't sack the players, no matter how shit they are, and the manager will always be the fall guy. On the other side, you just can't keep a struggling manager for the hell of it and if he gets the sack, he won't coach in England ever again. Not even in the Championship.

Not rubbing any salt or being snarky, I liked the player and he seems like an honest bloke, who really loves your club. But the solution he isn't and he and the board should've known better.

Good post mate.

 

[Godfather]

Well I'm a neutral fan.

While I know what it means going through hard patches, if not seasons and how long it takes to rebuild a team (we were there more than once and not later than after winning the title), I can tell you that that I completely understand why people are concerned and imo Ole isn't the man for this job, no matter how well he means. I know a builder when I see one, and in fact I'm absolutely amazed that there are still so many fans behind Ole, when he's got little to nothing to show for since he's been permanently appointed, be it results or improvement on the pitch. And we're talking about 9 months, which is more than enough for a manager to stamp his style on a team. The cynical in me would even suggest that these results are perfectly in line with what he did with Cardiff. That he's learning his trade at your expense.

Considering the expectations of such a massive club like yours and his performances, I rather think that he got much more time than any other manager would have if it wasn't for that famous goal in '99. I sincerely doubt that someone with such an unappealing CV as manager would have been touched with a barge pole after Mourinho's sacking if not for his connection to the club. The jump in class too big, especially in one of the toughest leagues in the world. For stating the obvious, he's been permanently appointed way too fast, on a sentimental basis. And I fear that a lot of your fans still defending him, are doing it for the same reasons.

To be brutally honest, any other opposition fan I know wish you rather keep him than appoint another manager who could actually get a bit more from this team. Some of you are acting like you have Millwall's squad, but in my opinion and even with these injuries, you should be able to do a bit better than what you're actually producing. Or you didn't see really shite players for a very, very long time. If you rely only on 2-3 players to make it work then there's something fundamentally wrong in your system.

Going with such an unbalanced, thin squad was utter madness, injuries are bound to happen and if he didn't sanction it, then he should've walked. You look rudderless on the pitch, disjointed, with no discernable game plan. No matter how you're poorly run from the top, and you definitely are, there's a minimum that a manager should be able to deliver on the pitch. I personally don't see it, even at full strength. I do see however youngsters put under massive pressure and thrown too fast in the lion's den without any kind of preparation or being previously loaned.

Take a look at what Benitez has done at Newcastle despite Mike Ashley and on a shoestring before eventually giving up, because enough is enough at some point. Now that was and still is a crap squad, yet he won the Championship right after their relegation and kept them in the PL against all odds. Watch them nose diving now and very likely getting relegated at the end of the season. See how mad their fans are at Ashley because he didn't back him and let him go. I know that they don't have the same ambitions as yours but it was to illustrate how a manager can make a squad look more than the sum of its parts despite being hampered by the board. The list is non-exhaustive.

I also see the last line of defense being his signings. They're indeed good, there's no question about that, although the jury's still out about James, whom I quite like. While he could've done worse, it doesn't take any kind of genius to sign hot targets like Maguire or AWB for £130M. You were crying out loud for a DM, a ST and a RW, yet bought another LW. I also don't understand the "british obsession", you're likely to overpay for them with no guarantee in return.
Unearthing gems is more like picking Kanté from an obscure team in the french premier league for £6M or plucking Mahrez for £400,000 out of the french championship. Just picked these two examples because they're the easiest ones for me. There are plenty others, but you must have the scouting network and the manager with connections and an eye for talent.

I might be wrong, maybe by some kind of miracle Ole will somehow turn it around, but he looks already like a dead man walking and it's now just a matter of when. "Rumors" are already leaking in the papers as well as "talks" about an eventual successor, signs that the shit is already hitting the fan behind the doors. As long as Woodward keeps making money he won't go, you can't sack the players, no matter how shit they are, and the manager will always be the fall guy. On the other side, you just can't keep a struggling manager for the hell of it and if he gets the sack, he won't coach in England ever again. Not even in the Championship.

Not rubbing any salt or being snarky, I liked the player and he seems like an honest bloke, who really loves your club. But the solution he isn't and he and the board should've known better.

Great post

 

[Smores]

Good article and breakdown of the situation by Adam Bate on Sky. Gary Neville should read this.

Very good article and it seems to take quite a lot of the arguments shared on here and call out the bullshit, in particular the idea that it just needs time rather than any proactive approach.

 

[Foxbatt]

The only reason he was given the job is because he was a legend. I would say even Robson, Hughes and Bruce has had better and more experience than Ole.

 

[ketch2]

You'd have to say keep him, but he isn't making the best case for it. He's obviously not the best tactically, and we look absolutely bereft of ideas going forward. So disjointed, and toothless. Really is Moyes level stuff.

But we gave him 3 years, and the club seem to be briefing that we've hit the reset button and it's different this time. You have to let him see it through. His signings have been good, so at the very least he'll leave the squad in a better place than he found it.

I agree let him get the team he wants together first, i dont mind where we finish if its going to be productive in the long run, but if he relegates us he'll have to go!

 

[Godfather]

Good article and breakdown of the situation by Adam Bate on Sky. Gary Neville should read this.

Finally the press is starting to realise he's not the man too.

 

[Enigma_87]

Finally the press is starting to realise he's not the man too.

Eventually everybody will catch up - some might need more time, some are ahead of the curve...

 

[Kemizee]

800 mil spent since Fergie and we have the weakest squad since the PL begun. Not Ole’s fault, the owners and the guys making the footballing decisions are to blame. We can bring any manager in and it wouldn’t make a difference. Glazers should be ashamed but as long a they make bank nothing will change. Let’s pray for United

It sure would. I am tired of hearing this. At least the new manager would teach them how to pass and move, make runs and hit shots on target. Something Ole can't fundamentally implement.

 

[Tony Banta]

This is being missed for some reason. We could easily be several points better off. I've don't ever remember us having such a run of bad luck from missed penalties/sitters, shit refereeing and individual defensive errors.

Every team in the league could say they should have more points (expect Liverpool), they’ve had bad luck, missed sitters and been on the end of poor refereeing etc. We rode our luck plenty of times in that unbeaten start by Ole, we got points perhaps we shouldn't have got. Swings and roundabouts.

Apart from West Ham away where we weren't really at the races our form has been okay this season, nothing to write home about, but nowhere near as bad as the press would have us believe, eradicate the schoolboy errors(and you can't blame the Manager for those, though some would) and we're in a far healthier position.

Most see this seasons form as a continuation from last season, after Ole went on about getting them fitter, having a pre season etc, the performances and results aren’t improving. Our results aren’t just down to ‘school boy errors’.

The worry for fans is his managerial record, namely for Cardiff. He took them down, whilst they were in a state when he took the job, he didn’t improve them and even in Championship the football didn’t improve. Most would argue he wouldn’t have got the United job had he not played for us.

If he was still managing Molde at present , would he be on the shortlist for the Sunderland job or the Reading job? Probably not.

It's missed conveniently methinks, Chelsea was good to very good, Wolves was probably our most complete away performance for years and if Pogba hadn't taken the penalty off Rashford we'd probably have won and deservedly so, and Palace was a good performance only spoiled by collective schoolboy errors for the first goal,

Whilst some of the football against Chelsea was good, it could’ve easily been 3-3 or 0-3. Wolves away, we had one shot on target in the first half and we dominated the first 45, we didn't create much. Wolves made an enforced sub at half time and it changed the game, we didn’t react, tactically or mentally. You say if Pogba hadn’t taken the penalty off Rashford, but Rashford missed one the following the game, so no guarantees he’d have scored either. Ole made his first sub in the 81st minute, when it should’ve been at 60 minutes. This Wolves side got turned over 2-5 a few weeks later at home. At home to Palace, it took us 60 minutes to have a shot on target!

Our performances have been pretty much the same after those initial 3 games when he came is as a caretaker manager.

 

[Desert Eagle]

Sack.him now before results get worse. Get keane in till the end of the season.

 

[Greck]

Eventually everybody will catch up - some might need more time, some are ahead of the curve...

Somehow we are always the last ones to realise the depth of our own sitiation. This time last year this poll was swinging back and forth on whether to keep Jose. This was while the rest of the PL fans were singing "Jose we want you to stay" in mockery

 

[John Blund]

Yah, Keano sounds like a good, proven caretaker. He'd be lifting the spirit in our shambolic squad.

 

[Sky1981]

Yah, Keano sounds like a good, proven caretaker. He'd be lifting the spirit in our shambolic squad.

we indeed never learn

 

[Sky1981]

If gerrard is appointed as Manager post Hodgson, and brings the pool to 15th position, we'd be laughing our arse off.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Yah, Keano sounds like a good, proven caretaker. He'd be lifting the spirit in our shambolic squad.

It would be a terrible appointment. We should go for somebody like Hiddink if we want a caretaker manager until the summer.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Some of us are not expecting us to run before we learn how to walk, not literally.

That kind of comment would apply if we were a newly promoted team clamouring for Champions League football or something ridiculous. The expectation that United have a game plan and are coached by a qualified manager are hardly far fetched.

 

[Gazzaroon]

Again, a lot of people are looking at short term solutions rather than looking to the long term. The last match against Newcastle I had the chance to watch, and tactically it wasn't bad. From what I could see, the players were letting the team down not the manager. And, the slow play is causing a problem also. Remember, the change that should have happened 6 years ago, is happening now! Get behind a manager who is a legend, has the traditions of the club in his blood and let him get on with it. He should be given 3 years at least.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Well I'm a neutral fan.

While I know what it means going through hard patches, if not seasons and how long it takes to rebuild a team (we were there more than once and not later than after winning the title), I can tell you that that I completely understand why people are concerned and imo Ole isn't the man for this job, no matter how well he means. I know a builder when I see one, and in fact I'm absolutely amazed that there are still so many fans behind Ole, when he's got little to nothing to show for since he's been permanently appointed, be it results or improvement on the pitch. And we're talking about 9 months, which is more than enough for a manager to stamp his style on a team. The cynical in me would even suggest that these results are perfectly in line with what he did with Cardiff. That he's learning his trade at your expense.

Considering the expectations of such a massive club like yours and his performances, I rather think that he got much more time than any other manager would have if it wasn't for that famous goal in '99. I sincerely doubt that someone with such an unappealing CV as manager would have been touched with a barge pole after Mourinho's sacking if not for his connection to the club. The jump in class too big, especially in one of the toughest leagues in the world. For stating the obvious, he's been permanently appointed way too fast, on a sentimental basis. And I fear that a lot of your fans still defending him, are doing it for the same reasons.

To be brutally honest, any other opposition fan I know wish you rather keep him than appoint another manager who could actually get a bit more from this team. Some of you are acting like you have Millwall's squad, but in my opinion and even with these injuries, you should be able to do a bit better than what you're actually producing. Or you didn't see really shite players for a very, very long time. If you rely only on 2-3 players to make it work then there's something fundamentally wrong in your system.

Going with such an unbalanced, thin squad was utter madness, injuries are bound to happen and if he didn't sanction it, then he should've walked. You look rudderless on the pitch, disjointed, with no discernable game plan. No matter how you're poorly run from the top, and you definitely are, there's a minimum that a manager should be able to deliver on the pitch. I personally don't see it, even at full strength. I do see however youngsters put under massive pressure and thrown too fast in the lion's den without any kind of preparation or being previously loaned.

Take a look at what Benitez has done at Newcastle despite Mike Ashley and on a shoestring before eventually giving up, because enough is enough at some point. Now that was and still is a crap squad, yet he won the Championship right after their relegation and kept them in the PL against all odds. Watch them nose diving now and very likely getting relegated at the end of the season. See how mad their fans are at Ashley because he didn't back him and let him go. I know that they don't have the same ambitions as yours but it was to illustrate how a manager can make a squad look more than the sum of its parts despite being hampered by the board. The list is non-exhaustive.

I also see the last line of defense being his signings. They're indeed good, there's no question about that, although the jury's still out about James, whom I quite like. While he could've done worse, it doesn't take any kind of genius to sign hot targets like Maguire or AWB for £130M. You were crying out loud for a DM, a ST and a RW, yet bought another LW. I also don't understand the "british obsession", you're likely to overpay for them with no guarantee in return.
Unearthing gems is more like picking Kanté from an obscure team in the french premier league for £6M or plucking Mahrez for £400,000 out of the french championship. Just picked these two examples because they're the easiest ones for me. There are plenty others, but you must have the scouting network and the manager with connections and an eye for talent.

I might be wrong, maybe by some kind of miracle Ole will somehow turn it around, but he looks already like a dead man walking and it's now just a matter of when. "Rumors" are already leaking in the papers as well as "talks" about an eventual successor, signs that the shit is already hitting the fan behind the doors. As long as Woodward keeps making money he won't go, you can't sack the players, no matter how shit they are, and the manager will always be the fall guy. On the other side, you just can't keep a struggling manager for the hell of it and if he gets the sack, he won't coach in England ever again. Not even in the Championship.

Not rubbing any salt or being snarky, I liked the player and he seems like an honest bloke, who really loves your club. But the solution he isn't and he and the board should've known better.

V good post. The bolded parts are what I don't get with the fans who want to give him '2-3 transfer windows' or similar. We are not a newly promoted team, we didn't finish last season in a relegation scrap - we should be at the very least where we were last season with the signings we have made. It's not a horrendous team, it isn't a great one but it's a lot better than what we're seeing on the pitch right now.

He has zero top level managerial experience and yet is managing one of the biggest clubs in the world going through one of it's toughest periods and in the job solely because we like him...it is actually madness.

 

[mitchmouse]

Adam Bate at Sky points out:
"
Solskjaer talks of culture creation and it is a worthy aspiration. In fact, it is essential. But those principles should be possible without him. United do not need Solskjaer to be the club's manager to pursue the laudable policy of introducing young and hungry players to the squad. Nor does the Norwegian have the patent on the Manchester United way.

His chief responsibility is to organise the team on the pitch and maximise the resources available to him in order to achieve results - preferably with an attractive and recognisable style of play. It is a remit on which he is failing. It is a remit on which he has no real record of note to persuade anyone that he will do anything other than continue to fail in the future."


To which I add: we need better players and I cannot see them coming while we play the way we do. Ole is incapable of changing, there is no Plan B. I'm afraid it may be that which seals his fate

 

[dove]

Again, a lot of people are looking at short term solutions rather than looking to the long term. The last match against Newcastle I had the chance to watch, and tactically it wasn't bad. From what I could see, the players were letting the team down not the manager. And, the slow play is causing a problem also. Remember, the change that should have happened 6 years ago, is happening now! Get behind a manager who is a legend, has the traditions of the club in his blood and let him get on with it. He should be given 3 years at least.

Don’t you think he should show something to earn these 3 years or you think any manager that comes to Manchester United should be given 3 years regardless? Our form is unacceptable and he would have already been sacked from pretty much any team, and we are regressing each game. Why does he deserve 3 years?

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

@That_Bloke

Top post. Very well said. When the line of defence is reduced to a vague plan for the future, easily spoken cliches about traditions and several transfer windows, you know that the time to pull the trigger is nigh. It's basically like saying: "I didn't fail, it's just that i tried everything i can and it didn't work out". The mention of Benitez at Newcastle was spot on too. But that's what sentimentality does to you. We're a gentlemen's club and we should stick by our ex-legend even if must go all the way from vilifying/ridiculing two managers who won us trophies (with the deadwood whose exit we celebrated) because they didn't produce swashbuckling performances to "accepting" that a squad with less deadwood and 150 million of investment isn't capable of anything more than a lower midtable finish.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Very good post.

Mind boggling that some of the opposition fans understand United better than some of the so called 'top reds'..

Said it for years now, the top reds are the absolute worst fans on this forum by a long distance. The utter lack of self awareness they have about themselves is absolutely staggering.

 

[royboy16]

How about we just hire interim managers for now,we might get lucky in the cups at least

 

[mancave bear]

Surely only a matter of time until someone says getting relegated wouldn't be so bad, just give Ole time to sort it out.

I am shore most supporters agree that relegation is not ok.

But if it means that we get rid of the Glazers, i would gladly choose a relegation : )

 

[hobbers]

Again, a lot of people are looking at short term solutions rather than looking to the long term. The last match against Newcastle I had the chance to watch, and tactically it wasn't bad. From what I could see, the players were letting the team down not the manager. And, the slow play is causing a problem also. Remember, the change that should have happened 6 years ago, is happening now! Get behind a manager who is a legend, has the traditions of the club in his blood and let him get on with it. He should be given 3 years at least.

What on earth.

 

[Foxbatt]

Again, a lot of people are looking at short term solutions rather than looking to the long term. The last match against Newcastle I had the chance to watch, and tactically it wasn't bad. From what I could see, the players were letting the team down not the manager. And, the slow play is causing a problem also. Remember, the change that should have happened 6 years ago, is happening now! Get behind a manager who is a legend, has the traditions of the club in his blood and let him get on with it. He should be given 3 years at least.

What on Earth are you talking about? He should be sacked because he has no clue. Sure the players are not good enough but any decent manager would sort out a system that the players he has are capable of playing.
It's ridiculous to expect every team to play tiki taka when they can't play like Iniesta.
But the same players can play a lot better in a different system.
It's the manager's fault he can't get them to take a decent corner. And it's the manager's fault for reducing the squad without replacing the players.
Ole can't even organise a piss up in a pub.

 

[Rista]

What on earth.

Obvious opposition fan WUM. They think this is funny

 

[b82REZ]

What on earth.

The guy signed up this week. My guess is oppo fan on the WUM.