Solskjaer's legacy and his future

[AjaxCunian]

I genuinely don't recall anyone ever claiming Ole was a top 10 manager in the world

My beef, such as it is, is that I see a lot of people saying this stuff but when challenged can show no evidence of it. Sure people got behind Ole as the manager of the club, why wouldn't you as a fan, even if you know his lack of credentials for the job, but I just don't buy people were putting him up there with Pep or Klopp.

I havent done so much, but I find it very tedious to find back old threads and where you were discussing what. When I am on Redcafe on a laptop, I will go and look for you.

No one ever put Ole next to Pep/Klopp I hope, some found his inclusion in coach of the year laughable and were criticised. There was also a thread not too long ago, and maybe even multiple times of where Ole ranks as PL manager, some would have him top 5, others bottom 5.

 

[AjaxCunian]

Many? Without knowing, I'd imagine you're being generous there. If there were fans claiming that he's in the top echelons of PL managers, I would assume they're few and far between.

When on redcafe on my laptop I'll do well to find some of the threads. I don't think any had him on Pep's or Klopp's level, but certainly higher than many of the mid-table / relegation side managers.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

What a load of nonsense. Its the idea that he was a genius thats irrational.

He was a lovely guy, steeped in United history who came in and did a good job for a while but should never have got the job full time. We he not still regarded as a United legend he would never have got the job in the first place and certainly wouldnt have lasted as long as he did.

He brought some good things to the table but there were always major question marks about his abilities as a coach and they were crystallised.

Progress? Im not so sure. yeah he got rid of some players that we needed rid of and I like a number of his signings but what progress really? Took over a club on its arse and left it on its arse with absolutely no defined way of playing and a collection of players that dont really fit together. £400m spent to take us from a high of two trophies and a second place under the previous manager to a high of second place under him. Progress?

Also his signings.

Harry Maguire £80m - hammered constantly for not being good enough and a waste of money
Wan Bissaka £50m - Second only to the above for the same treatment
VDB £35m - Never played
Amad - £20m - Never played, promising when he arrived
Dan James £15m - Not good enough but sold for a profit
Alex Telles £18m(?) - Never really played
Pellistri - £10m(?) - Loaned out
Sancho £75m - Poor start and played out of position
Ronaldo £25m - Excellent in terms of goals but you get the feeling bought with no clue what to do with him
Varane £40m - Obviously an excellent player but hasn't affected the changes we expected and injured
Bruno £50m - Obviously the stand out

Its not a great list really. Some decent players players but its not chock full of successes in Oles tenure. Maybe another manager will have more success with them.

agree with your post, but some of the fees are inaccurate

Telles = £13.5M
Varane = £34M
Ronaldo = £12M +add-ons (max is £19M)
Bruno = £55

 

[Idxomer]

Some of you really take the biscuit. Now it is because of Ole that we got Rangnick? I would say it is because of Jose. Without Jose, there would be no Ole. The fact we are in 10th place is because of him. If we got the 2nd because of him then surely being 10th is also because of him.

There will always be people who stay with the ship after it went down, they'll spout their nonsense till the end.

 

[9 Stone Elvis]

agree with your post, but some of the fees are inaccurate

Telles = £13.5M
Varane = £34M
Ronaldo = £12M +add-ons (max is £19M)
Bruno = £55

Sorry I didn't have time to look them up, Im sure you are correct. The point still stands though. He bought a lot of players that are individually good as players when you look at a list but when you look at what they are doing on the pitch you struggle to see it. Its like buying a pile of designer clothes that piece by piece look nice but wear them all together you look like a shambles.

Alex Telles is probably a very good "full back" in a team where the full backs job is to bomb forward at every opportunity
Wan Bissaka is probably a very good full back in a system where the job of a full back is to defend first and foremost and then just give the ball to a winger

He bought both

Cavani is great as a pressing striker who has an incredible work rate and works the line constantly
Ronaldo explodes into life when the ball comes near him and has one of the best scoring records in the world

He bought both and rotates them.

You get the idea....

 

[keithsingleton]

As far as I'm concerned, Solskjaer the player and Solskjaer the manager are two different people and should be evaluated separately.

Spot on.

 

[Cloud7]

Absolutely. And it pretty much echoes what I feel as well and tried to state in my reply to nimble but I couldn't express it as succinctly. He did a lot of very good things and his first two seasons were an undoubted success for me. The issue was that he had to deal with the shit show above him who consistently failed him until this summer, ironically enough (though they still couldn't resist that Ronaldo signing which ultimately sabotaged him).

I sincerely hope that Rangnick can be that disrupter that our board desperately needs, but the fact he's here shows that Ole did a good job. Cast your mind back to 2018 and the club was a toxic mess. Managers were actively avoiding the job because it objectively was seen as a poisoned chalice. Ole upended all of that to the extent that Poch was willing to quit his current job to come here. The back office systems that were nonexistent are here now, because of him driving that process. He had the balls to do a clearout when none of his predecessors bothered.

All of this was done, before we even talk about the league finishes which allowed us to get the genuine world class players we got this summer, but if you read this thread, you'd think we were having consecutive 8th placed finishes and going nowhere as a club.

I'm glad that 90% of the posters here are unlikely to ever see Old Trafford let alone go to a game. The supporters, who you know, support the club, know and appreciate the job he did and as far as I'm concerned, that's fine by me. I'll be taking my usual seat later today and I'll be belting out the Ole songs loud and proud, just as I did when I was at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The naysayers who seem incapable of grasping that concept of support will never get what it means to be supporter rather than a consumer, but I suppose that's the way it's trending for most big clubs...

This is what I thought too. Whilst I'm not sure, it's Ole to me that got things like a new DOF in place and helping to give a role to Fletcher so he can kind of always be there as raised technical director (no idea what that is but still).

It wasn't just the players, the club felt a bit more sturdy with some football people making a bit more football decisions.

Whilst it's dissapointing he failed long term - I have nothing but love for the guy because he did things out of love for United and whilst it didn't show to everyone, it did show to some like me.

Yes all the change in structure in the club was part of Ole’s master plan and not something the club have been banging on about doing for years now.

 

[Red4Ever]

As a manager?

no trophies

and we are tenth
Possibly can even be overtaken by Brentford if results go negatively tonight

so that’s his legacy

 

[Shunty]

As a manager gave the team a bump when he first came in but has been poor ever since the end of that campaign. Should have never been appointed based on that alone.

his tactics for me are very very basic more of a motivator than a tactician. Poorest thing for me was last year in Europa League final he didn’t use a sub nearly for the whole game when we were crying out for something different.

It’s such a shame he’s been scapegoated though, McKenna Carrick and Phelan should all be out as well as ole. Hope the club never make a decision based on the old guard ever again, because like all sport if you are taking principles from strategies that are years old ie another fergie you are setting yourself up for failure. If you do not evolve year you year you are a dinosaur in this game and that’s why solksjaer and his coaching will never be remembered fondly.

let’s hope the club never make a decision like that again. Fantastic player awful manager and man manager not a single player has progressed in my view.

 

[Forevergiggs1]

When on redcafe on my laptop I'll do well to find some of the threads. I don't think any had him on Pep's or Klopp's level, but certainly higher than many of the mid-table / relegation side managers.

They may not of put him on Klopps level but they certainly thought he could reach it which was evident when their first 100 games statics was used in comparison whilst failing to look at the bigger picture. We also had about a 8 month span when the old, "well it took SAF x amount of years to become successful" bullshit argument was being thrown around. Like the, "Pep didn't win anything the first year" comments.

So while they didn't think Ole was at that level there where plenty of arguments insinuating that given enough time Ole could become just as successful as them.

They really where supporters of Ole the ex player rather than Ole the manager, which became even more evident when he was given his new 3 year contract when plenty of the fanbase wanted to wait until the new year before deciding, citing players morale as another excuse to keep him on at all costs.

 

[Sky1981]

Those here who are blinded by their own hatred of a United legend, who can't see that tangible progress was made by the club in the two and a half years he was in charge, who refuses to see that during his tenure the club often played good, entertaining football= let them crawl back to their woodword. I have had enough of these irritating bugs.

Oh the irony

 

[red4ever 79]

As a manager?

no trophies

and we are tenth
Possibly can even be overtaken by Brentford if results go negatively tonight

so that’s his legacy

Doesnt matter. He made some friends at the club and trophies are not the be all and end all.

 

[Gordon Godot]

He left us in a better shape than where we were when Jose left.

That shouldn't have taken 3 years though - but it's hard to sack a man after he finished 2nd and got to the final of the Europa League. Certainly shouldn't have ever received a new contract though. Absurd considering he hadn't won anything.

I dont understand the need to praise Ole and have a banner etc. He did an OK job, brought some energy and smiles back to the team and crowd. But should never have got the permanent role, the rushed decision to appoint him reflected on the utter naievity of Woodward. He also started

Doesnt matter. He made some friends at the club and trophies are not the be all and end all.

Not sure if this post is irony. THe previous comment about 'blinded by hate'. What is wrong with some of you. I support MUFC, not Ole FC, Fergie FC or any other brand. Woodward is an idiot but played a blinder in hiring a legend (is he really, compared to Best, Charlton, Robson, Cantona, Giggs etc) who smiled a lot and talked about United way and deflected the top reds from calling out Ed for his gross incompetence and mismanagement. Yes he undid the toxicity of Jose, who Ed should never have appointed, but thats about it. He became much more focused on keeping himself in a job, has done nothing for youth in last 12 months, left a disjointed squad with the same glaring midfield hole as when he started. He was part of the huge nostalgia trip that has turned us into the new dippers, despite the most expensive squad and wages in the league. I dont hate him but he was a poor manager who did not have the capacity to adapt and win. Full stop.

 

[Forevergiggs1]

agree with your post, but some of the fees are inaccurate

Telles = £13.5M
Varane = £34M
Ronaldo = £12M +add-ons (max is £19M)
Bruno = £55

So are some of yours.

Varane £34m which could rise to £42m
Bruno £47m which could rise to £67m if certain criterias are met. Without knowing the details I would think Brunos appearances, goals/assists have already pushed up his price closer to the £67m rather than the £47m. Still money well spent though as he was a big reason for us getting back to back CL qualifications.

 

[Bebestation]

Meh, just some people trying to act like bad asses acting like they hate everything in the world when in reality right in front of the guy these fans would be on all 4's kissing his feet.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

Sorry I didn't have time to look them up, Im sure you are correct. The point still stands though. He bought a lot of players that are individually good as players when you look at a list but when you look at what they are doing on the pitch you struggle to see it. Its like buying a pile of designer clothes that piece by piece look nice but wear them all together you look like a shambles.

Alex Telles is probably a very good "full back" in a team where the full backs job is to bomb forward at every opportunity
Wan Bissaka is probably a very good full back in a system where the job of a full back is to defend first and foremost and then just give the ball to a winger

He bought both

Cavani is great as a pressing striker who has an incredible work rate and works the line constantly
Ronaldo explodes into life when the ball comes near him and has one of the best scoring records in the world

He bought both and rotates them.

You get the idea....

ooh absolutely agree with there, good coach should plan in a way that accentuates the strengths of the team available, as you said, there are plenty of good players, with a lot of qualities, but very much under-used or under-utilised by the previous regime

 

[Red4Ever]

Doesnt matter. He made some friends at the club and trophies are not the be all and end all.

Haha! Yes

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

So are some of yours.

Varane £34m which could rise to £42m
Bruno £47m which could rise to £67m if certain criterias are met. Without knowing the details I would think Brunos appearances, goals/assists have already pushed up his price closer to the £67m rather than the £47m. Still money well spent though as he was a big reason for us getting back to back CL qualifications.

Bruno's deal was £46.75M (€55M), plus £8.5M easy add-ons (€10M), plus £12.75M (€15M) speculative add-ons like Balon Dor, CL Win, etc..., so it's £55M (46.75+12.50) as of now, since I believe Bruno had already hit the £8.5M easy targets since he joined in Jan2020, but the add-ons tagged to the £12.75M, probably he hasn't hit them yet.

as for Varane, its initially £34M, that could rise to £41M, but probably he hasn't hit any of those targets yet, maybe by of the end season he would.

 

[matsdf]

I dont understand the need to praise Ole and have a banner etc. He did an OK job, brought some energy and smiles back to the team and crowd. But should never have got the permanent role, the rushed decision to appoint him reflected on the utter naievity of Woodward. He also started

Not sure if this post is irony. THe previous comment about 'blinded by hate'. What is wrong with some of you. I support MUFC, not Ole FC, Fergie FC or any other brand. Woodward is an idiot but played a blinder in hiring a legend (is he really, compared to Best, Charlton, Robson, Cantona, Giggs etc) who smiled a lot and talked about United way and deflected the top reds from calling out Ed for his gross incompetence and mismanagement. Yes he undid the toxicity of Jose, who Ed should never have appointed, but thats about it. He became much more focused on keeping himself in a job, has done nothing for youth in last 12 months, left a disjointed squad with the same glaring midfield hole as when he started. He was part of the huge nostalgia trip that has turned us into the new dippers, despite the most expensive squad and wages in the league. I dont hate him but he was a poor manager who did not have the capacity to adapt and win. Full stop.

What? Say whatever you want about his qualities, but there can be no questions asked about his determination to do what he thought was best for the club.

 

[9 Stone Elvis]

As a manager gave the team a bump when he first came in but has been poor ever since the end of that campaign. Should have never been appointed based on that alone.

his tactics for me are very very basic more of a motivator than a tactician. Poorest thing for me was last year in Europa League final he didn’t use a sub nearly for the whole game when we were crying out for something different.

It’s such a shame he’s been scapegoated though, McKenna Carrick and Phelan should all be out as well as ole. Hope the club never make a decision based on the old guard ever again, because like all sport if you are taking principles from strategies that are years old ie another fergie you are setting yourself up for failure. If you do not evolve year you year you are a dinosaur in this game and that’s why solksjaer and his coaching will never be remembered fondly.

let’s hope the club never make a decision like that again. Fantastic player awful manager and man manager not a single player has progressed in my view.

Its a double edged sword with the backroom staff. If you appoint a manager you have to let him bring in his own people or people he is happy with else you are setting him up for failure straight away. Its also hard to know how much influence they have and how much is direction from the manager. Thats no me making excuses for them (and I have no idea what Phelan actually did) but unless we know the backroom hierarchy its hard to make judgements

 

[devips]

Now that Ole is finally 'out', twisting facts to suggest no tangible progress was achieved during his tenure here has become quite the trendy thing to do - the pricks!

 

[devilish]

I can't understand why it need 29 pages of debate on this. At this level football people are remembered for the trophies they won. Do you think that Ole would have been remembered for a goal he scored in a 6-1 defeat against Bayern? No. He is remembered because of that goal who won us the CL. Ole the manager will be remembered on the same yardstick.

 

[Gordon Godot]

Now that Ole is finally 'out', twisting facts to suggest no tangible progress was achieved during his tenure here has become quite the trendy thing to do - the pricks!

Context is needed. We have had three successive terrible appointents, one manager barely had settled in but was clearly out of his depth. The next 2 were famous for their inflexibility and falling out with key players, boards etc. One in particular was a toxicity merchant. The fact that people, fans and players included, liked Ole helped. He knows more about management than any poster on here, but also does not know how to win trophies or coach at the highest level. How much one wants to focus on these opposing perspectives depends on your own view. But after 3 years, £500m spent and highest wage bill in world we were utterly lacking any identity or coherent plan as a team. That is shocking. And to pretend otherwise is deluded.

 

[Revan]

I genuinely don't recall anyone ever claiming Ole was a top 10 manager in the world

My beef, such as it is, is that I see a lot of people saying this stuff but when challenged can show no evidence of it. Sure people got behind Ole as the manager of the club, why wouldn't you as a fan, even if you know his lack of credentials for the job, but I just don't buy people were putting him up there with Pep or Klopp. A lot of it is just revisionism which some posters use to try and score internet points by saying they wanted him out from the off.

If people didn't really think that Ole wasn't a good manager, then why on Earth they spent the last 2 and a half years telling us that we should give Ole time, that everything is gonna be alright, Rome wasn't built in a day, and even SAF took 4 years to win something? Wouldn't it be paradoxical to want someone continuing as manager, even if they didn't think that he was at least a good manager?

 

[Max_United]

As a manager gave the team a bump when he first came in but has been poor ever since the end of that campaign. Should have never been appointed based on that alone.

his tactics for me are very very basic more of a motivator than a tactician. Poorest thing for me was last year in Europa League final he didn’t use a sub nearly for the whole game when we were crying out for something different.

It’s such a shame he’s been scapegoated though, McKenna Carrick and Phelan should all be out as well as ole. Hope the club never make a decision based on the old guard ever again, because like all sport if you are taking principles from strategies that are years old ie another fergie you are setting yourself up for failure. If you do not evolve year you year you are a dinosaur in this game and that’s why solksjaer and his coaching will never be remembered fondly.

let’s hope the club never make a decision like that again. Fantastic player awful manager and man manager not a single player has progressed in my view.

Well, he had more than enough time to bring in better coaching staff.

With player recruitment I always say that the criticism or credit to Ole should be limited as it is very unlikely that he is the main voice. The communication from club has been that we have a transfer committee where manger is a very important but not only voice.

But with coaching recruitment - Ole was surely the main voice. Either he really believed that they are world class - which is an astonishing level of delusion - or he thought that having better players and passion is enough to compensate for it (which is not much better).

I was very unsure about him from the start, and lost the belief in him in the first half of 19/20 season, but I still hoped that he would at least recognize his deficiencies, hire subordinates that are better than him in many ways (hallmarks of a good manager in any area), play more youth, advocating that we sign mostly young players for the first team and let a top-class team of coaches develop them. He did noting of the sort and remained in his comfort zone - making friends, talking the talk and taking advantage of high profile signings and individual brilliance.

You can be hands-off, hire great staff and delegate well and be successful. You can be more hands-on in coaching if you are a good coach and be successful. Ole wanted to be hands-off in training with a staff of subpar CVs for Unted standard. On the other hand he still wanted to select the team, without recognizing that he is quite poor at it, not rotating adequately, running players to the ground, rushing them back from injury, making squad players unhappy in the process. Carrick team selections are indirect proof that even his coaching staff disagreed with him in that.

Ole is unfortunately a very poor manager at this level. He is only qualified for an ambassadorial role in my view. But regarding his legacy I think it will be heavily influenced by what happens under Rangnick and in the next few years. If we do poorly then it will remain controversial. If we do well (and especially if we dismantle large parts of his squad and bench or sell many of his signings in the process), his legacy would suffer a huge blow and will remain predominantly of a lost 3 years.

 

[Skills]

Ole and Mourinhos tenure seem almost identical yet are viewed differently.

Highlights : fluky second place finishes, in which results papered over shit performances (17/18 and 20/21)

Lowlight : leave us midtable, with the teams confidence shattered (8th Mourinho and 10th for Ole)

World record signings who are a bit problematic in terms of style (Pogba for Mourinho, Maguire for Ole)

Expensive players who they have no real intention to use (Fred for Mourinho, DVB for Ole)

 

[Roane]

What? Say whatever you want about his qualities, but there can be no questions asked about his determination to do what he thought was best for the club.

Sorry if this feels like I'm "picking" on you, I'm not. I've been reading the comments on here on the "good" Ole has done during his tenure and for what it's worth I was happy with his appointment to "steady the ship". As a newbie I wrote why I thought he was a good appointment at the time.

However with how things have gone, some or the reports that have been coming out do you really believe your sentence about determination to do his best?

I like Ole the person/player. However as time progressed and progresses I find myself doubting even some of what I said in support of him as manager.

Reports like telling Bailly he was the manager when playing an unfit Maguire, after asking players to speak and openly saying he wasn't involved in training but then saying he was boss doesn't seem like a determination to do your best for me. Of course these are all reports and could be hearsay but his own attitude of going on holiday and sending players on holiday just doesnt come across as doing your best to me. I've watched, read and listened to enough players and managers in my time who have got sacked/sold for not being good enough but their effort can't be faulted.

What I mean by that is that players and coaches when in a rut talk about extra training, back on the field next day, extra work outs. Managers coming out and putting out the cones and going through drills with players, all sorts of attempts to change something and often still not able to change things. That's effort. I simply don't see that in or from Ole based on what he himself has said or done.

 

[justsomebloke]

If people didn't really think that Ole wasn't a good manager, then why on Earth they spent the last 2 and a half years telling us that we should give Ole time, that everything is gonna be alright, Rome wasn't built in a day, and even SAF took 4 years to win something? Wouldn't it be paradoxical to want someone continuing as manager, even if they didn't think that he was at least a good manager?

That's pretty simple. Judging from results and performances up to the beginning of this season, there were good arguments that this was progressing pretty nicely. You don't know what someone's limit is until he reaches it. It all fell apart this season, but not many people expected that. And quite a lot of people who are now happy to speak of Ole's limitations as if they have been self-evident all along, were supporting him strongly last season. Not sure how Luckhurst f.e. can look himself in the mirror on that point.

 

[AjaxCunian]

Meh, just some people trying to act like bad asses acting like they hate everything in the world when in reality right in front of the guy these fans would be on all 4's kissing his feet.

What?

 

[Rolaholic]

What?

Starting to sound quite a bit like the cult of Mourinho towards the end of his tenure

Any criticism of him/the manager is either an act or means there's something wrong with you apparently

 

[Revan]

That's pretty simple. Judging from results and performances up to the beginning of this season, there were good arguments that this was progressing pretty nicely. You don't know what someone's limit is until he reaches it. It all fell apart this season, but not many people expected that. And quite a lot of people who are now happy to speak of Ole's limitations as if they have been self-evident all along, were supporting him strongly last season. Not sure how Luckhurst f.e. can look himself in the mirror on that point.

I think that the arguments were extremely weak but that is besides the point. My point is, how people were happy to continue with him (and calling the others idiots for wanting Ole out), if they really thought that Ole is not a good manager? Which was the point of the poster I quoted.

If I think that a manager is not good enough (in case of Ole, I thought so for more than 2 years), I want him out ASAP, not prolong it as soon as possible in the hope of some intangible progress happening.

 

[Max_United]

Ole and Mourinhos tenure seem almost identical yet are viewed differently.

Highlights : fluky second place finishes, in which results papered over shit performances (17/18 and 20/21)

Lowlight : leave us midtable, with the teams confidence shattered (8th Mourinho and 10th for Ole)

World record signings who are a bit problematic in terms of style (Pogba for Mourinho, Maguire for Ole)

Expensive players who they have no real intention to use (Fred for Mourinho, DVB for Ole)

Apart from this similarities there is then a difference and a trade-off between "not throwing players under the bus and being as toxic, former United player" (Ole but not Jose) vs "trophies" (Jose but not Ole). Plus football under Ole was somewhat more attacking but less structured and results a lot more inconsitent. The relative evaluation of them depends on what you value more.

I personally value trophies more so Jose edges it for me but I am fine with those who value other things and think Ole was a bit better for them. But I vehemently disagree with those who say that Ole's reign was a lot better and Jose's reign was an unmitigated disaster and Ole saved us from it and improved a lot. No - overall both failed and both were poor to a comparable extent.

"Left in a better state" i do not buy either. Not sure manager is the only one who decides on transfers. And anyway we have many unhappy players, some not sure they will extend, quite a few past-it players soon to-be-replaced and quite a lot of deadwood still.I would not be surprised that there will be a lot of reshuffling of squad in the coming years. It is not like under Ole we bought many young players that are starters or close and looking like they will be stars and likely regulars for the next decade (it is only Sancho basically).

 

[Amir]

What? Say whatever you want about his qualities, but there can be no questions asked about his determination to do what he thought was best for the club.

Maybe he thought that himself being in the job was the best thing for the club. I don't know. There were times in which I felt he was in survival mode, like signing Maguire and AWB in his first summer.

 

[AjaxCunian]

Starting to sound quite a bit like the cult of Mourinho towards the end of his tenure

Any criticism of him/the manager is either an act or means there's something wrong with you apparently

Seriously daft post by him, just embarassing. I can understand those that deeply love Ole and are troubles by the past few months, but posts like that or @devips suggesting those that criticise him hate him, it is just really daft.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

Realistically, the best legacy Solskjaer could have as a manager is that his reign puts an end to all the daft, misty eyed silliness and nostalgia that has been around Utd, and also the rotten ‘jobs for the boys’ mentality that has brought the club to its knees.

And, although that’s not actually what he would’ve wanted, it’s genuinely a legacy that would be great for the club.

 

[Jippy]

If people didn't really think that Ole wasn't a good manager, then why on Earth they spent the last 2 and a half years telling us that we should give Ole time, that everything is gonna be alright, Rome wasn't built in a day, and even SAF took 4 years to win something? Wouldn't it be paradoxical to want someone continuing as manager, even if they didn't think that he was at least a good manager?

If the board appoints someone manager then it's normal to support them. There was obviously romanticism and the sense of hope that came after the dark end days of Jose's reign. Everyone knew he wasn't an elite manager by any stretch, but after a great start, hoped he could become one. The other posters were arguing that people had Ole down as a great manager, which I don't think was the case. They just wanted him to succeed as fans of Ole and the club- I don't think that's too hard to understand, even if any any dispassionate analysis would tell you he shouldn't have been appointed full-time and then not retained as long as he was.

 

[Jippy]

Realistically, the best legacy Solskjaer could have as a manager is that his reign puts an end to all the daft, misty eyed silliness and nostalgia that has been around Utd, and also the rotten ‘jobs for the boys’ mentality that has brought the club to its knees.

And, although that’s not actually what he would’ve wanted, it’s genuinely a legacy that would be great for the club.

Hopefully, but it seems it won't rid the forum of hyperbole.

 

[wolvored]

I missed Ole saying that, and will try and find that thread/discussions for you (which is quite tedious). I have no reason to make that up.

I dont get the point you are making though, so many posters have held unto it as progress till this very day, even if Ole said otherwise. Just as the poster right above.

It is what they used as justification for his new contract and seeing what he could do with a "real squad" this season, see whether we could "progress" again to be real challengers.

He's telling the truth on Ole saying that he said it in a presser think it was beginning of this season.

 

[Foxbatt]

Of course there were lots of posts about giving Ole time because SAF was given time etc. Why should Ole be given time if they thought he is not good enough to win trophies?

 

[Foxbatt]

I am waiting to see what some people are going to say if we do not beat Palace next week.