Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | W15 D2 L4

[breakout67]

Even if our backs are against the wall, we never go long and always try to play our one touch passing game. Imagine if we could upgrade on some of the players, we would be at another level.

This isn't knee-jerk, and I know we will lose again sometime, but Ole could well be our Zidane. Give him the permanent job.

We just need to learn from Madrid and Barcelona. They recruit such high quality players that any decent manager can get a tune out of them.

We have the money to make a world class squad, give Ole that and we'll challenge for major honours.

We weren't this good in 17/18 and tactics are different in big games. Remember terrible performances in Anfield and Stamford Bridge for example not carrying any threats. The use of the false 9 and wide forwards and players being given license to attack is down to the manager.
We don't play hoofball any more and there's emphasis on passing out from back whenever possible. Mourinho never wanted it.

Not this again. Football aesthetics is different from football efficiency. We play more attacking but that doesn't mean we are inherently better. I specifically mentioned the level and not the style of play. There are many ways to build a top team in football and we were on our way in 17/18 only for Mourinho to go ultra defensive in the 2nd half of the season. 'Let the horses run free' as he said.

 

[reddaz71]

The way he is going its gonna be more of a risk in actually making a change and going for Pochettino than actually appointing Ole, you can't fix something thats no longer broken!

 

[Adisa]

Conor McGregor seems to be a big fan of Ole. Does Conor support United?

His family does. Grew up a United fan but lost interest in his teens.

 

[Adisa]

There is no way Mourinho brings on two forwards in those circumstances. Ole was looking for the third cause he knew if we retreated, we'd concede.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

The way he is going its gonna be more of a risk in actually making a change and going for Pochettino than actually appointing Ole, you can't fix something thats no longer broken!

If we get poch, we probably aren't going to see the same exciting attack we are doing now. Poch more tactically round. Meanwhile ole just throws out the defending and just attacks like crazy.

 

[Mr Smith]

I see the point, but it's weird that he has to lose a game to fully convince us he's the right choice.

Its not that he needs to lose a game, it's that we need to see his response to losing a game. And to be fair, if he doesn't lose a game then by default he wins the Champions Leagued and you simply have to give him the job.

 

[Stookie]

Its getting hard to argue against him getting the job, isn't it.

It is. He’s done everything right. Ok,it’s only 8 games but we all can see transformation in this team. United had to shell out, what was it? 18M to Jose. If they go for Poch what’s that gonna cost? And is he going to come in and improve on this? Week after week, game after game another arrow points towards Ole being the man. The next test is to see what happens when they are beaten and how they are beaten. But Ole has gone to the top of choices for me.

 

[Greck]

Just curious, but can you pinpoint the tactical nousse in those games for me? For me its very naive football (in a good way) and luck has gone our way in those two games, with megachances for the opponent. The most tactical thing I'd say was probably boksering a bit around Youngs yesterday as that was where Arsenal would probably try and start their attacks.

Was that question rhetorical or do you really need the tactical differences between Jose's counter attacking system and Ole's counterattack pointed out to you? Are you sure you haven't been conditioned to believe anything that doesn't involve getting 10 men behind the ball is naive football? We spent a lot of time in our half and you still call it naive

 

[esmufc07]

The one thing that is making me happy more than anything else about Ole’s tenure so far is that I know that it will be making Sir Alex happy. This is what he deserved to enjoy post retirement.

I genuinely believe it will have been the first time he’s really enjoyed watching us.

Moyes dismantled his coaching staff.
Van Gaal dismantled his playing staff.
Mourinho dismantled his club’s traditions and principles.

Solskjaer rebuilt his coaching staff.
Solskjaer puts faith in his playing staff.
Solskjaer restores the club’s traditions and principles.

It’s not just a case of Ferguson enjoying watching us win, he will be enjoying it for the same reason as a lot of us - because we’re watching Alex Ferguson football once more.

Ya cannae' disagree wi' tha' .

 

[Adisa]

 

[Sterling Archer]

Conor McGregor seems to be a big fan of Ole. Does Conor support United?

Completely irrational of me, but this makes me like the ruffian even more.

So one of the big changes I'm seeing and absolutely loving since Ole was instated is the management by committee. Ole''s the main man here, obviously, but there's this distinct unity amongst all the coaches we haven't seen before. And I'm thinking to myself, maybe that is the secret ingredient here.

Replacing Sir Alex was never going to be easy. Replacing the behind the scenes orchestra was impossible. But now we've got some semblance of that back along with an immediate reminder of our club values in Ole. So when these players enter the training ground or walk out onto the pitch at Old Trafford, it's not just playing for themselves or the one manager..it's actually feeling like standing up for family pride. United's always felt that close under SAF and I sense that heart is back.

 

[Canagel]

Not this again. Football aesthetics is different from football efficiency. We play more attacking but that doesn't mean we are inherently better. I specifically mentioned the level and not the style of play. There are many ways to build a top team in football and we were on our way in 17/18 only for Mourinho to go ultra defensive in the 2nd half of the season. 'Let the horses run free' as he said.

Yes and we've been more efficient and effective in these last games as result of being more attacking. More shots, more chances created. Why couldn't Jose set team up to counter attack with pace the last two years at Anfield? Ole in two big games has eclipsed our drab 0-0/ Stamford bridge performances last season.
How was yesterday similar to the smash and grab last year at Emirates? We comprehensively outplayed Arsenal apart from 10 minutes yesterday whilst the other one was anything but like this.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

The one thing that is making me happy more than anything else about Ole’s tenure so far is that I know that it will be making Sir Alex happy. This is what he deserved to enjoy post retirement.

I genuinely believe it will have been the first time he’s really enjoyed watching us.

Moyes dismantled his coaching staff.
Van Gaal dismantled his playing staff.
Mourinho dismantled his club’s traditions and principles.

Solskjaer rebuilt his coaching staff.
Solskjaer puts faith in his playing staff.
Solskjaer restores the club’s traditions and principles.

It’s not just a case of Ferguson enjoying watching us win, he will be enjoying it for the same reason as a lot of us - because we’re watching Alex Ferguson football once more.

This is a nice post, I agree. Yesterday was such a SAF performance, like watching Rooney Park and Nani on the park again.

 

[Cloud7]

Even Lukaku is having a better time under Ole

 

[Cloud7]

There is no way Mourinho brings on two forwards in those circumstances. Ole was looking for the third cause he knew if we retreated, we'd concede.

This was what a lot of people were saying under Jose. Okay fair enough our defense isn’t the best in the world, but if so, then play a style that takes the pressure off of them. Play a more attacking game so that the team spends less time defending.

Jose’s defensive style of play hindered the team, by putting more pressure on the defense than if we went out and played attacking.

 

[Tiber]

 

[Bobcat]

So Ole is a:
- Good manager, has won two leagues and a cup with Molde against Rosenborg, which is like the Norwegian equivalent of Bayern Munich (and then some)
- Players love him
- Club hero, will give him some goodwill when we hit an inevitable rough patch, also he knows the ethos and traditions of the club like no other candidate
- Loves being here, will never leave us for another club. Unless its over family matters and he moves back t Norway
- Has empirically show he can get results at Man United, 8 wins in a row, including two away wins against top sides is not a "blip"

No reason to go shopping for a new manager, we have him right here and we would be incredibly stupid to not at least give him a proper chance. Maybe hes not the second coming of Fergie, but there is no guarantee anyone else is either

 

[MacabbiUnited]

If we get poch, we probably aren't going to see the same exciting attack we are doing now. Poch more tactically round. Meanwhile ole just throws out the defending and just attacks like crazy.

Thats just not true.
Even the defense is better under Ole. Lindelof owns the place and despite being fragile we stand our ground pretty good most of the time(take out the last 20 mins vs Spurs)

 

[The Cat]

I don't like it when people bring Cardiff into the argument. He had no chance there and shouldn't have taken it. We may have just stumbled by accident onto a winner here he gets the whole ethos of the club. I don't even mind if we don't win a trophy for a couple of years as long as there is a build for the future and smiles on the players and fans faces.

 

[crossy1686]

Firstly, who are the 188 people who still think he's a bad appointment?

Secondly, if the board and fans still can't see the night and day difference between bringing some fancy name in or keeping this backroom staff as a collective together then we deserve everything we get.

 

[crossy1686]

I don't like it when people bring Cardiff into the argument. He had no chance there and shouldn't have taken it. We may have just stumbled by accident onto a winner here he gets the whole ethos of the club. I don't even mind if we don't win a trophy for a couple of years as long as there is a build for the future and smiles on the players and fans faces.

Klopp also got relegated with Mainz, guess he's shit as well right?

People just use that argument when they're run out of arguments and are too afraid to just say they're in love with the idea of Pochettino.

 

[tenpoless]

I don't like it when people bring Cardiff into the argument. He had no chance there and shouldn't have taken it. We may have just stumbled by accident onto a winner here he gets the whole ethos of the club. I don't even mind if we don't win a trophy for a couple of years as long as there is a build for the future and smiles on the players and fans faces.

Me too. Objectively, who could have done well there anyway? Pep, Zidane, Poch, Mourinho? I don't think so. It was a shit job but I'm sure Ole learned something important from that experience.

 

[Tiber]

I know it's obviously not a huge factor from a United pov, but if we do end up making an early decision on Ole it avoids screwing Molde over. Already strange that they will be starting their domestic season without a manager

 

[Judas]

Straight out the Fergie handbook that.

 

[11101]

I'm delighted with him so far but i cant shake the feeling some of the results are down to teams not knowing how to deal with an attacking United side, and we might be on the end of a hiding or two once they figure it out. Still, that Arsenal game was the first “proper“ performance id say we've had, where we looked in control at both ends and against half decent opposition.

 

[Tarrou]

Firstly, who are the 188 people who still think he's a bad appointment?

Secondly, if the board and fans still can't see the night and day difference between bringing some fancy name in or keeping this backroom staff as a collective together then we deserve everything we get.

I expect it's just people who disagreed at the time he was appointed? At this stage it is basically impossible for any United fan to think it was a bad decision. This is like a dream come true for me, in terms of how well its gone thus far.

 

[Fitchett]

So Ole is a:
- Good manager, has won two leagues and a cup with Molde against Rosenborg, which is like the Norwegian equivalent of Bayern Munich (and then some)
- Players love him
- Club hero, will give him some goodwill when we hit an inevitable rough patch, also he knows the ethos and traditions of the club like no other candidate
- Loves being here, will never leave us for another club. Unless its over family matters and he moves back t Norway
- Has empirically show he can get results at Man United, 8 wins in a row, including two away wins against top sides is not a "blip"

No reason to go shopping for a new manager, we have him right here and we would be incredibly stupid to not at least give him a proper chance. Maybe hes not the second coming of Fergie, but there is no guarantee anyone else is either

Spot on. Don't forget that Ole won the league twice as manager of our reserves too, before he went to Molde. The great British media focuses on his brief doomed stint at Cardiff, whilst conveniently ignoring that he has been highly successful in his other seasons as a manager. Ole isn't a rookie manager either, with over 300 1st team games under his belt. For me, he couldn't have done any better. I wanted him to be our manager in 2013 and I was confident that he would do well for us when he finally came, but this start has exceeded my wildest dreams. We simply must make him and his coaching staff our permanent team, on proper contracts, working with a DoF. They have shown that they have what it takes to manage United - something that the three previous incumbents lacked. Letting him go at the end of the season and bringing in a new manager and coaching team is a much bigger risk and will be much more expensive. It's a complete no brainer! Well done Woody - this interim appointment has been a stroke of genius. Now make it a permanent one and we'll have our manager for the next 20 years!

 

[peridigm]

Spot on. Don't forget that Ole won the league twice as manager of our reserves too, before he went to Molde. The great British media focuses on his brief doomed stint at Cardiff, whilst conveniently ignoring that he has been highly successful in his other seasons as a manager. Ole isn't a rookie manager either, with over 300 1st team games under his belt. For me, he couldn't have done any better. I wanted him to be our manager in 2013 and I was confident that he would do well for us when he finally came, but this start has exceeded my wildest dreams. We simply must make him and his coaching staff our permanent team, on proper contracts, working with a DoF. They have shown that they have what it takes to manage United - something that the three previous incumbents lacked. Letting him go at the end of the season and bringing in a new manager and coaching team is a much bigger risk and will be much more expensive. It's a complete no brainer! Well done Woody - this interim appointment has been a stroke of genius. Now make it a permanent one and we'll have our manager for the next 20 years!

Imagine if Ole got the job to succeed SAF. I think our results couldn't have been any worse than Moyes in the first season. We probably would have done much better as I think the players would have respected him more than they did Moyes. He had a player connection with Giggs, etc... 5 years on maybe we'd be in a much better position than we are now, possibly without the cup wins and EL title. It's easy to say fans would accept 5 years of no titles but playing the United way
with CL each season. I'd take that in a heart beat. Hindsight yada yada yada.

We've scored 22 goals in 8 games with a +17 GD. The players confidence is flying. Just give it to him at the end of the season.

 

[Volumiza]

The one thing that is making me happy more than anything else about Ole’s tenure so far is that I know that it will be making Sir Alex happy. This is what he deserved to enjoy post retirement.

I genuinely believe it will have been the first time he’s really enjoyed watching us.

Moyes dismantled his coaching staff.
Van Gaal dismantled his playing staff.
Mourinho dismantled his club’s traditions and principles.

Solskjaer rebuilt his coaching staff.
Solskjaer puts faith in his playing staff.
Solskjaer restores the club’s traditions and principles.

It’s not just a case of Ferguson enjoying watching us win, he will be enjoying it for the same reason as a lot of us - because we’re watching Alex Ferguson football once more.

Yeah, couldn’t have put it better. Until last night I’ve been enjoying this time with Ole, just seeing him again makes me happy, but I’ve been wanting Poch long term as I wasn’t sure Ole was the man.

There’s no point having a mind if you can’t change it I guess and seeing us beat Arsenal in that manner has convinced me Ole should absolutely get a crack at this.

Seeing him in the bench next to Carrick and Phelan just feels right. And you are correct, I would imagine SAF is loving this.

Well done Ole

 

[Fortitude]

Deserves all the plaudits and then some.

However, I know I'm being greedy here but I'd like to see more control. Specifically midfield control.

If by the end of the season we can impose ourselves against teams like Arsenal/Spurs/City/Liverpool by counter pressing and dominating periods of the game when we're the ones being pressed, that will really impress me.

Conceding possession and playing on the counter attack is extremely pragmatic and all you can hope for after only a month or so coaching, so I get that. It's just Matic, Pogba and Herrera should really be able to dominate midfields one-to-one and control games against Spur's and Arsenal's midfield easily if we set up for it.

Defensively, our line needs to be higher and more aggressive. Then our team pressing can be more tighter/tactical. Right now we are being coached very smartly by relying on fundamentals, good man management and individual brilliance/ability across the pitch.

We're doing the best with the midfield we have though. They'll have to be an upgrade on both Matic and Herrera for us to control the midfield for a concerted period of time. Matic is playing much better than under Mourinho, but I'm not sure he'd ever be part of a top notch controlling midfield unit at this stage in his career. Herrera doesn't have the technical acumen despite having fleeting moments of higher level play.

Ole has set them both jobs they can accomplish, and that shows his awareness of the tools he has and how best to use them. It's very impressive what he's done.

The best/worse part is that I don't even think that the current squad totally fits his needs. When I listen what he says, he seems arrogant and ruthless, in a good way, and I'm pretty that if he was appointed as a permanent manager, he would bring at least one top attacker and try to vastly improve center midfield.

Agree. Ole talks about United as he knew it, with basically magnificence running through the team and he'll look to recreate that if he gets the chance, IMO.

Straight out the Fergie handbook that.

Ole, more than literally anyone else, most surely understand and appreciate the value of talking to the subs and those who mightn't even get on. An invaluable piece of empathy when he himself is managing a squad of players.

 

[M Bison]

There is no way Mourinho brings on two forwards in those circumstances. Ole was looking for the third cause he knew if we retreated, we'd concede.

I thought exactly the same. I felt we needed to make some changes at the time in which we did as we were under the cosh and was a bit surprised to see the subs, albeit pleasantly.

I wonder how much influence phelan and the rest of the bench had on the changes, really great to see.

 

[Cee90]

We’ve got our respect back.

Opposition fans are now aware that this is a different Manchester United.

 

[DBT85]

I thought exactly the same. I felt we needed to make some changes at the time in which we did as we were under the cosh and was a bit surprised to see the subs, albeit pleasantly.

I wonder how much influence phelan and the rest of the bench had on the changes, really great to see.

I said exactly the same on the last page. It really stood out to me that he brought those two on and not Mctominay and Fellani which would have been Mous choice.

 

[Jazz]

I'm impressed that Sanchez hasn't sulked being a sub or being subbed. Ole's man management certainly working well so far.

Ole just needs to carry on. Focus on the next match and getting those 3 points. If he keeps this up the job will surely be his. I can't imagine supporters wanting a change in those circumstances.

 

[jem]

We're doing the best with the midfield we have though. They'll have to be an upgrade on both Matic and Herrera for us to control the midfield for a concerted period of time. Matic is playing much better than under Mourinho, but I'm not sure he'd ever be part of a top notch controlling midfield unit at this stage in his career. Herrera doesn't have the technical acumen despite having fleeting moments of higher level play.

Ole has set them both jobs they can accomplish, and that shows his awareness of the tools he has and how best to use them. It's very impressive what he's done.

Agree. Ole talks about United as he knew it, with basically magnificence running through the team and he'll look to recreate that if he gets the chance, IMO.

Ole, more than literally anyone else, most surely understand and appreciate the value of talking to the subs and those who mightn't even get on. An invaluable piece of empathy when he himself is managing a squad of players.

Agree with your Ole thoughts, but why are you quoting one of my Weird Feelings about Football?

 

[ravelston]

We just need to learn from Madrid and Barcelona. They recruit such high quality players that any decent manager can get a tune out of them.

We have the money to make a world class squad, give Ole that and we'll challenge for major honours.



Not this again. Football aesthetics is different from football efficiency. We play more attacking but that doesn't mean we are inherently better. I specifically mentioned the level and not the style of play. There are many ways to build a top team in football and we were on our way in 17/18 only for Mourinho to go ultra defensive in the 2nd half of the season. 'Let the horses run free' as he said.

To be fair, in 17/18, in January we "bought" Sanchez and completely screwed up what had been a very effective attack. Mourinho's biggest fault was continuing to play him as it rapidly became obvious that he was a disaster.

 

[Seven Seas Sardines]

His family does. Grew up a United fan but lost interest in his teens.

As did I. The 2002-2006 era was dire for a teenager preferring video games. Seeing the Vidic and Evra signings in the news made me a die hard supporter once again.

 

[cian68]

This is the most invested I've ever been in the manager of the month award. United manager hasn't won it since Fergie in October 2012. Surely Ole's for the taking.

 

[Escobar]

My only criticism is just that 1 goal we keep conceding each match. But that’s barely anything. Loving it at the moment!

While this is true, our back 4 is not really strong. We improved now as a team though against Arsenal

 

[Fortitude]

Agree with your Ole thoughts, but why are you quoting one of my Weird Feelings about Football?

was reading that thread earlier, had yours in multi quote, then forgot about it - et viola!

Fixed now.