17 Mar 2019 18:56:54
Wow a couple of loses and the tide turns on Ole pretty quickly. If we can't give an ex-player and club legend to right to lose a couple of games without the knives coming out then we are doomed as a fan base.

Was the performance last night? No, it was poor. However, circumstances should be considered. This Wolves team under Nuno Espirito Santo have been nothing short of excellent this season. They will finish best of the rest having played good football all season and not being outplayed by anyone all season. They have beaten other top six sides deservedly. No shame in losing to them, even if it's a little disappointing.

We also had several players in our starting line up who have spent a lot of the last month out injured and were short of match sharpness. Matic, Herrera, Martial, Lingard etc. So it's hardly surprising that they seemed a little off the pace.

Maybe he should have played McTominay and Fred, but then had we lost what would people have said with Matic and Herrera on the bench. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but there are no guarantees that we would have won had we sent out a different starting 11.

The fact that we have an expectation to win these games is down to Ole, no one expected us to win the tough games when Mourinho was here. So I think he deserves a little slack.

Let's move on, get behind the team and see what the season brings.


1.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 19:29:46
That's all fair comment Shappy. However, Ole is effectively auditioning for the job and he does have something to prove because he can't rely on pedigree to speak for itself like maybe someone like Allegri. Having said that, the stroppy one supposedly had pedigree.

You have already pointed out the fundamental mistake Ole made which was to bring back too many players who had been out for a while and weren't match sharp. This error was the main reason we didn't give ourselves a chance to win the game (I'm not saying it was the reason we lost) . Hopefully he learns from that.

I'm openminded about whether he gets the job long term. I think we have seen evidence both for and against and I really need to see what happens in the remaining few games to really make my mind up. At the moment I'm 50/ 50 but then it also depends on who might be the alternatives.


2.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 19:41:51
Well put as usual AJH.

Ole rushed players back last night. As long as he learns from that mistake then there’s no problem. If he keeps making the same mistake then we have a problem. He could have given Matic and Martial another week, and brought Herrera back last night with McTominay retaining his place.


3.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 21:11:33
Shappy

I am not one of those “turning on Ole” as you put it but it should prompt us to think we need to see the whole picture until the end of the season instead of appointing him right now. He didn’t just lose two games, we lost two vital games, one saw us out of a major competition, the other against our main rivals. The knives were out for Mourinho big style after the Sevilla game so why should Ole be let off altogether? Yes he is a legend but accountability goes with the territory.

He can still prove himself for the role, as many say we will likely now find out how he deals with this.


4.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 21:15:03
Shappy I don't see any knives coming out for ole, what was said he has done a good job so far, but will good be enough to give him the job,
Like was said wait till the end of the season no rush giving anyone the job, just cause he played for united doesn't give him the right to the job,
And the reality is them games we lost against arsenal and wolves were 2 big games to lose.


5.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 21:22:07
He should of learnt not to rush players back after lingard but to bring back 4 players after injury in the same match was just foolish.


6.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 21:35:31
Sharply, not AJH 🙈.


7.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 22:09:31
Red Man, I think your quote on live chat last night, was along the lines of, 'and that performance shows why Ole shouldn't be manager'. I apologise if that's not the exact wording, but it would certainly suggest not being prepared to give him a chance. And fans didn't turn on José immediately after the Sevilie game. That result was just symptomatic of the general rot that had set in by that stage.


8.) 17 Mar 2019
17 Mar 2019 22:13:27
Good post Shappy,

As we woke up to another disappointing result the overreaction by some posters is equally alarming.

It's not productive to measure progress on a game by game basis and we must look at the bigger picture.

In assessing the last two games it's clear to me that our defensive frailties are still prevalent and we've made some bad individual mistakes.

I think Arsenal and Wolves have illustrated to the rest of the league the blueprint of how to handle this new resurgent Utd. I think we've struggled playing against their 3 at the back system and our CB's have been unable to contain playing against two CF's.

Wolves handled the occasion brilliantly last night. For the second game in a row we were beaten at our own game. They were organised, disciplined, tenacious and carried a real threat on the counter. They allowed us possession, denied us space and broke quickly. They have quality in midfield and upfront and defensively we are vulnerable. They took their chances and the rest is history.

As soon as we conceded the first goal it became very difficult. We've been undone twice now by counter attacking football for which we have become synonymous ourselves. Like I said Beaten at our own game.

On a positive note not all teams have the quality in midfield or upfront to hit us on the break and inevitably we'll be able to ware them down. The better teams won't change their approach and we're just as likely to do to them as what Wolves and Arsenal did to us. The last two games have shown us that we have struggled to break down well organised and disciplined defences whilst remaining secure at the back.
I think we played right into their hands and Ole will need a re-think of how we approach these types of games.

There is nothing like a couple of defeats to refocus the mind and re-evaluate. The international break will allow us some valuable time for players to return from injury and hopefully we'll do much better when we play them in the league.

An FA Cup run would have been nice, but we made the final last year and won under LVG. Like I've said in other posts a top 4 finish maybe more important for the Club moving forward. We have a relatively young and inexperienced team and they need to be playing Champions League football for them to progress and develop.

We will go again in a couple of weeks for the final push; it will be exciting if nothing else.


9.) 18 Mar 2019
18 Mar 2019 04:38:48
The wolves game was an off day. The players simply didn't turn up.
Unfortunately, we don't have the quality in depth as City. I'm sure Ole will address this issue.
On another note, I felt Mctominay and Fred were rested because they played many games recently. And, Matic, Herrera needs to be eased in.
The lack of attacking option in the bench hurt us.


10.) 18 Mar 2019
18 Mar 2019 06:54:01
Nou

Ha, I had had two bottles of red and could hardly write, in fact don’t remember being on live chat! I am sure I meant shouldn’t just be appointed yet, rather than have a process and consider our options at the end of the season, which, as you know has always been my position.


11.) 18 Mar 2019
18 Mar 2019 14:15:01
Ok, I'll give you a bye-ball, then 😁.