Solskjær - tactically suspect?

[Robbo]

Putting aside the boardroom problems for a moment. I am not blaming Ole for the problems at the club, they run much deeper. However, I think it's fair to say - one way or another - we've invested enough money to be a top 4 club at the very least.

Our record over the past 20 or so games is pretty atrocious, mid table at best.

It seems to me that Ole is just telling the team to counter attack 'the old fashioned way' and wants to use home grown players - which is great, if they are good enough. Usually, they aren't, hence the foreign imports to the league.

His substitutions and tactics in general seem very rigid and his man management doesn't seem to suit big name players - which is something any top club will always need to deal with.

I know the vastly experienced Mourinho was a failure ultimately, but that's just standard for him. LvG was also getting towards the end of his career and the World Cup messed up his mindset.

Surely someone like Pochettino should have been our focus, someone with a proven track record of establishing a side.

Thoughts? Meh.

 

[robfosters]

I think he’s tactically suspect in that he’s not adaptable. He never changes a game with tactics or subs. The way Utd start is pretty much what you’re guaranteed for 90 minutes. Many times they actually decline through the match, but he still doesn’t seem able to produce the necessary changes.

Rodgers could well have been a better choice than Ole.

 

[Lonewolf]

Ole for me was never the right choice. In fact I believe he was only recruited as a stop gap but proved more successful than expected which earned him a longer contract. For me, Phelan is the man with the ideas and the knowledge.
All of the unsuccessful managers have been made by a man whom lacks football knowledge and is just a puppet of The Glazers i.e. Woodward.
Whats happening at Old Trafford is no different to when Sir Matt left the dugout. Only time and patience will bring success.

 

[BaZ87]

It's hard (and probably too early) to say whether he's lacking tactically or not. Where he's struggling is the man management of the side and getting the best out of the players he has, much in the same way as Mourinho but for completely different reasons. Without being harsh, Solksjaer is about as inspiring as a paper bag. I honestly think the whole "good old days" and calling Fergie the gaffer every 5 minutes done him more harm than good. The fans probably loved it at the time and the pressed lapped it up but it was undermining. He's walking into a dressing room full of egos and fair weather players, with no managerial experience of note, trying to earn the respect of the players whilst indirectly putting himself down in the press or at least not making it clear he's the boss.

Despite the above, I think even Klopp would struggle to continuously get the best out of this Utd side. Ultimately they aren't good enough or maybe more accurate, they're too streaky. When everything is positive they've got some very talented players that can produce but they lack the real drive and determination to perform for 90 minutes each and every week and when things aren't going their way they lack the fight to dig in and grind results out.

Whether they're getting the right players, only time will tell but they're doing the right thing by focusing on younger players. It'll be far easier for Solskjaer to get James to buy-in to his ideas than it'll be a 27 year old that's played under some big name managers that was only persuaded to join Utd because of the massive salary.

 

[Shamikebab]

I think my main complaint is his reluctance to use subs. He leaves them far too late.

 

[placeholder]

He shouldn't be in the job. When he was appointed last December I said the biggest problem I had with it was what happens if he does well? That's exactly what happened and he was knee-jerkingly given a contract. Its been all downhill ever since. Holding the fort for a few months is very different to being in charge full time, just ask Champions League winner to unemployed ex-Chelsea manager Di Matteo.

It essentially the same as when Liverpool brought back Dalglish, fine to inspire for a few games and get everyone pulling in the same direction but when that wears off what are you left with?

Problem is he has been allowed to get rid of quite a lot of players and has clearly been tasked with reshaping the squad which will take time. Time that would have been better spent with a manager with a track record.

 

[mmj_uk]

Solksjaer has got rid of a lot of the slower players and has turned United into a younger more energetic team, he has them playing positive attacking football rather than the dross from previous managers since Ferguson's departure, he's by no means the finished article but then neither are most of the players. I think you just need patience to let them grow together and if there is no signs of improvement in 2-3 years then get rid. Either way the days of United dominating the league are long gone.

 

[Monkeymatt]

Remember Guardiola didn't win anything in his first season at City. Klopp didn't win anything for several years at Liverpool. Pochettino hasn't won anything at Spurs, it was under him they finished 3rd in a two horse race. Even Fergie struggled at the start of his United career.

Should United have gone with him in the first place? Probably not. However now they have, they've got to back their manager for a few seasons and stop the merry go round of managers that is toxic for the club.

 

[fez]

Remember Guardiola didn't win anything in his first season at City. Klopp didn't win anything for several years at Liverpool. Pochettino hasn't won anything at Spurs, it was under him they finished 3rd in a two horse race. Even Fergie struggled at the start of his United career.

Should United have gone with him in the first place? Probably not. However now they have, they've got to back their manager for a few seasons and stop the merry go round of managers that is toxic for the club.

The question is always "is the manager getting the best out of the players" and "are they playing good football a lot of the time". The difference between the top teams and the best teams is consistency. Currently we have neither. I'm pretty sure that both Klopp and Guardiola had Liverpool and City playing some fantastic football even when they weren't winning things.

I'm happy for Ole to take the season and if hes making obvious progress then give him another year. Honestly the best thing he has done is bring a positive atmosphere back to the club and the supporters, got rid of a lot of deadwood and signed a couple of good younger players. Even if he doesn't end up being a success I think he will be seen as a generally positive appointment.

The issue we have is that unless we get top 4 (which lets me honest, looks massively unlikely at the moment), we will lose our only 2 actually top class players next summer. There is no way we keep Pogba and DDG next summer if we aren't in CL and suddenly we literally have 0 quality in midfield. We have had Pogba for 3 seasons and haven't given him a single world class midfield partner in that whole time. Every other top 6 club has a far better midfield that ours and has done for years. The engine room of any good team is the midfield and we have been poor there for about 10 years plus now.

Hopefully Ole can start to make some more game changing subs in the near future but looking at our bench he doesn't exactly have many game changers there.

 

[Fubsy]

He also seems to be trying to instil an attacking mentality into the side, although they don't have the nous to control a game when going ahead, consistently allowing sides to get back in with a shout. This I appreciate and will give him favour long before the results start to cause him serious damage. Tactically he has a lot to learn to be able to challenge for the top laces in the PL.

Transfer wise, well, AWB and DJ have been pretty decent so far ( I am not a fan of Maguire, but concede we did need a CB to cover for the ones we have that are made of glass) - and they seem to have the right attitude compared to Jose's awful transfers.

 

[MikeTheNative]

I think just he's an average manager to be honest although he isn't helped by not great squad either. It's crazy that they have no top quality forwards, Rashford and Martial can both be good on their day but are both also inconsistent.

 

[BaZ87]

He shouldn't be in the job. When he was appointed last December I said the biggest problem I had with it was what happens if he does well? That's exactly what happened and he was knee-jerkingly given a contract. Its been all downhill ever since. Holding the fort for a few months is very different to being in charge full time, just ask Champions League winner to unemployed ex-Chelsea manager Di Matteo.

It essentially the same as when Liverpool brought back Dalglish, fine to inspire for a few games and get everyone pulling in the same direction but when that wears off what are you left with?

Problem is he has been allowed to get rid of quite a lot of players and has clearly been tasked with reshaping the squad which will take time. Time that would have been better spent with a manager with a track record.

Agree with the first part of your post. This situation was always the big risk of sacking Mourinho without a ready made replacement to take over. The moment Solskjaer had a decent first month Utd were left with no choice but to give him the job and hope for the best.

Regarding the final paragraph I actually think in one way that Solskjaer's the right man for the rebuild, to begin it anyway. Utd needed a clear out (and there's still more players that need to go) and needed to put in place the nucleus of a squad with the right attitude and mentality. As I mentioned last night, that's probably easier to do by signing or bringing through young players without the egos. The consequence of that is, unless you're very lucky, it's very hard to build a side full of youngsters that have the required quality to challenge at the top of the table. There was always going to be some short term pain for Utd with the strategy they've chosen and while he might not be the best person to build on the foundation that's being laid, he's probably best placed to lay it. Solskjaer will be afforded far more grace with Utd fans than any outside manager coming in, in the short term at least.

 

[MikeTheNative]

They (Club boards) always say that they will give managers time to rebuild the squad etc. But come March and they are out of the Europa League, struggling to get top 6. you can bet that the board will get rid of him at the drop of a hat.

 

[fez]

They (Club boards) always say that they will give managers time to rebuild the squad etc. But come March and they are out of the Europa League, struggling to get top 6. you can bet that the board will get rid of him at the drop of a hat.

I think that depends on the players, fans and the progress made. If the players are happy, the fans are generally happy and the side is inconsistent but very good at times, Ole will be given another season. There are very obvious reasons why the likes of LvG and Mourinho had to go and its not massively to do with league position at the end of the season.

 

[Fubsy]

Yea, despite the silverware (still winning more than Spurs) the football was utter dire more often than not. They were big name managers and we're stamping a negative and narrow playing style on the team while City and Liverpool have been doing the opposite. Unforgivable.

 

[inogen]

We'll see how wedded to Solskjaer the board and the fans are come Christmas. League position and European results are likely to be relatively poor despite the lack of glamour ties. (It's a really dismal group!)

The big problem for him is that the squad just isn't as good as they should be, so reconciling reality with expectations is always going to be hard for him. People will blame him because they think the squad should be achieving more, when really, there are 7, 8, possibly 9 or 10 (last season's higher finishers, plus Wolves, Everton, Leicester and maybe even Watford) clubs who range from expecting to, to thinking they've got a good chance of finishing higher than Man U. I'm not sure Man Utd fans have arrived at that realisation yet.

Solskjaer would need to be properly over delivering for that squad to get remotely close to top 4. Qualifying for the Europa through the league position should probably be looked at as a success.

 

[MikeTheNative]

He’s got rid of some of the old deadwood, so that’s a positive. However he clearly has no pedigree as a manager, although that doesn’t matter as much when you’re managing a mid-table side.

They have done well with defensive transfers but with Sanchez and Lukaku going, forward options are looking rather sparse.

 

[adam cool dude]

Problem is people want results straight away. What i see solskjaer doing is a long term prospect. Please remember it has taken Klopp 4 years to win one trophy. Margins are also so fine these days. If we had scored both our penalties we would be on 8 points, unbeaten and third place. The games we have played we have played well. The main focus is getting the final third to work together. This is what the top two teams do fantastically and what is needed to break down teams.

 

[BaZ87]

It took Klopp 4 years to win a trophy but there were clear reasons why he was afforded that time. For a start he had a reputation as one of the best managers in the world, Solskjaer doesn't. He is/was the perfect man for the job and pinpointed by the club as the man they wanted, Solskjaer wasn't. From day one Klopp had a clear plan as to what he was doing and how he was going to do it and whilst our results in the short term were still fairly inconsistent, you could see the side progressing day by day and week by week. I'm not sure you can say the same about Solskjaer and this Utd side. There has been a continuous improvement from Liverpool under Klopp - he's not only bought well but he's also got the best out of and even improved the players he inherited. Again, I'm not sure you can say the same about Utd.

Maybe had Utd scored those pens, had a decision go for them or took that one chance then they'd have a couple more points but the issue for Utd right now is that they seemingly need everything to go their way to get a result. Utd shouldn't be needing to have every bounce of the ball and every decision to go their way to beat Palace, Southampton, Cardiff and numerous other sides they've struggled to beat in the last 6-7 months. Utd just aren't creating enough chances to consistently beat sides and you always fancy sides to score vs them too.

Yes, managers need time but time doesn't mean a guarantee of success. You have to show something to show there's a light at the end of the tunnel and that's the issue that Solskjaer is beginning to have. After a short term bounce Utd's form and performance level has been appalling and other than signing a few younger, british players, is there much more you can say for Solskjaer's 9-10 months at Utd? Is there a clear style of play and or have there been a noticeable improvement in individual performance levels, if not team performances?