06 Aug 2021 15:57:08
Ole admitting that he may have overplayed certain players especially Bruno.

Squad rotation is an area which he really needs to work on.

1.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 16:37:04
Ole has assembled a cracking squad of players, the weak link I would say is his in game management, as many people pointed out last season he seems to dither rather than be decisive during games.

2.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 16:48:27
The issue though is who do you play instead?

The drop off between some of the first choice players and their back up is shocking.

Bruno rested so we play Mata or Donny (who might have a the ability but was poor last season) .

Rashford rested, so we play James left.

Cavani rested so Martial starts.

People can't complain that Cavani, Rashford and Sancho won't be fit/ available to play against Leeds on the first day of the season, then in the next breath complain the manager doesn't rotate the squad enough.

Hopefully Donny can kick on this season, and Greenwood continues to improve, Amad or Elanga step up, along with the added quality of Sancho means we have enough quality to rotate more often.

3.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 17:48:03
The issue is that the players you’re talking about are all Ole decisions Shappy.

Ole signed Donny and James, and he sold Lukaku with the stated intention of playing Martial as his main striker.

Ole had to overplay Bruno and Rashford because he made very poor transfer decisions.

4.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 17:50:25
Shappy, the managers incompetence here is that be runs the players into the ground and then makes wholesale changes all at once. Changing Bruno for Donny is fine, all the other changing are fine when they're in isolation. Make 4 or 5 changes and you'll see the drop off in quality.

Fergie used to tell players they were needed for a game a month in advance. There's a great scene in the class of 92 of them giving reasons why he was dropping them and when they'd be needed.

He really didn't pick anything up off Fergie in regards to squad management.

5.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 17:59:13
Did he sign dvb tho. i'm sure that was a decision he didn't make.

6.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 18:33:16
Players like Bailly and Tuanazebe who were needed a the end of the season were screwed due to a lack if game time. Both players were fit but weren't given any minutes. The Soceidad game springs to mind Bruno played the second game.

To progress in the new season, the whole squad will need games. To play a player who hasn't played a full game for months is asking for trouble.

This season will tell if OGS has learnt from his mistakes.

7.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 21:19:46
Danny, I think it's a little more nuanced than that.

Martial scored 23 goals in an injury hit season the year after Lukaku left. He looked good when fit. The issue came when Cavani joined and Martial cracked under the pressure.

I think it's pretty clear that Grealish was Ole's pick and he got Donny. Not a bad player and for the money a potential bargain. Unfortunately he has taken longer to adapt than we hoped.

James I think was a decent signing for 16m. He was a championship Winger with potential and if we were to sell him tomorrow we would make back what we paid for him and maybe a bit more. A solid gamble type signing that doesn't look like he will step up to the level we need, but certainly a solid mid-table winger, reminds me a little of Aaron Lennon. Sometimes too quick for himself with his brain taking too long to catch up with his legs.

Not bad players, just nowhere near the quality of the others in the first team.

That said hopefully this year that changes.

First front four of Sancho, Bruno, Rashford and Cavani.

But with Martial, Greenwood, Amad (who looked like he might be ready towards the end of last season), and hopefully a better adjusted Donny.

8.) 06 Aug 2021
06 Aug 2021 23:24:24
Squad rotation, in game management, tactics, training and player development. It would probably be quicker to list the areas that he doesn’t “really need to work on. ”.

9.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 03:38:12
redseven, it seems Ole lacks in every department a manager need to be good at 😊.

I would be interested in what he is really good at apart from that.

10.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 08:37:34
Not rocking the boat too much? To be fair, he does often get his tactics spot on for big games, but it’s typically games against the smaller sides where he let's himself down. The lack of a plan B and his inability to utilize his bench further compounds the problem. The players do seem to like him though and he definitely understands what it means to represent Manchester United (even if this rarely comes through in his “style” of play) .

11.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 09:29:56
Interesting piece in the MEN, regarding squad size/ depth and the Man City squad balance myth.

Looking at the available players to both us and them now and combining midfield and attack.

City have 11 senior players for the 6 spots, and we have 16 at present. 16…. Bloody mental. The difference is they have 11 players that can all slot in and not see a drop off in performance, 12 if they add Kane.

We have far too many that should be gone, but the board or ole just can’t or won’t get rid of them.

12.) 07 Aug 2021
07 Aug 2021 10:15:25
He does seem to dally with his tactics and this probably cost us the Europa League. Despite a defensive approach and generally perceived lesser players Villarreal made their changes and were fresher with a clear plan and I had no doubt they'd win on pens, close as it ultimately was.
But to be fair to the guy it feels like he can't win at times. He does get the big games spot on more often than not - they finished second. But guaranteed if he were to rest Fernades when he was still fit, and we lost the game, he would be torn to shreds. The truth is there is an almighty drop-off in quality to replace him. A Bruno on 75% form is more effective than Mata, VDB or, well, pretty much anyone else in that role, apart from Pogba, who was needed elsewhere on the pitch.