25 Aug 2021 05:45:29
There has been plenty of debate over Ole on here so why not discuss the reasons for either supporting or opposing him.

I would like people to list out Ole's key strengths and weakness as a Manager without bringing in the squad or any other external factors into the equation.

In short no excuses.

1.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 06:16:35
Key Strengths:
1)He scored a winning goal in the champions league.

2.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 06:24:21
One criticism was consistency of results. That has improved over the last 12 months, but still too many draws.
Personally I think he has done better than I expected, assembled a very good squad and we play some attractive football, however his in game management is still questionable, is he really affecting a game as a manager, or just a spectator?
Can he be a top top manager who wins things, I just don't know.

3.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 07:12:07
Strengths
- Generally seems to be a good man manager (Donny aside) and the players seem happier playing for him than the past 3 managers

- This one is sort of based on the squad but he has overseen a bit of a change in direction with the squad in terms of the kind of player we buy. Had Mourinho stayed in charge our front 3 right now might be an out of form Lukaku, Ivan Perisic and Willian with Fellaini in midfield. While I don't think Ole is the right manager he deserves a bit of credit for being the one who has taken the time to change the squad this way. We will be better for it in the future.

- He has also shown he's happy to change formation at times. Not so much recently but a back 3 and 442 have been played a fair few times each. Granted this hasn't always worked and wasn't really much of a feature last season

Weaknesses

- Has favourites, every manager probably does but you have to be ruthless enough to realise several bad performances from certain individuals and make changes accordingly. Ole doesn't and this makes his team selections bizarre at times.

- Partly ties into the 1st point but his subs are generally slow in being made and in my opinion at least quite often wrong in key situations. Like for like changes when we are desperate for a goal, players not being given chances etc. Some very obvious decisions have cost us, see Fred's red card in the CL.

- Tactically. Ole has now been here 3 and a half years, yet other than individual brilliance and counter attacking we have no clear style of attacking play. If you're a side who sit back, we will struggle to break you down, which was also the case a couple of years ago. While he's changed formations the only real change to the game plan is us recognising we will be dominated so sitting deeper when playing a back 3. It's good that this is recognised but also not what is expected of a Man Utd team. As I said above, changing formation hasn't been as much of a feature in the last year with 4231 being the go to. By now I'd have expected something to change against side who sit back but so often across the last couple of years we just do the same things that haven't worked across that period.

- Risk averse. This is probably the thing which I dislike the most about Ole's management. He rarely recognises that it's fine to take a risk sometimes. Sub a midfielder for a forward or actually set up to attack a team. A side who is looking to challenge for the league should be aware of the threats posed by teams like Southampton, Palace, Burnley etc but not scared of them. Ole seems to set up not to lose rather than to look for a win. That's something fans would likely accept against City, Chelsea and Liverpool but not against lesser sides.

Overall if Ole was to leave tomorrow I think fans should thank him for helping oversee a change to the squad for the better. We do still have some overpaid stars but we now have a squad capable of competing for the league and the signings being made are those which actually seem to make sense. We aren't signing short term players all over the place and we aren't spending on players who are simply names like Di Maria or Falcao.

Despite that, the correct decision would be for Ole to leave ASAP and a manager who can use this squad to actually challenge should come in. I believe the weaknesses I've listed above will continue to hold us back from doing this and we will continue to be 3rd or 4th best under Ole.

4.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 07:33:11
There are too many to list, but poor in-game management probably tops the pile. Given his record from the bench, you’d think he’d know a thing or two about substitutions, but apparently not.

5.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 07:38:18
Advantages ) - Proven he’s difficult to beat
- Man management
Disadvantages - It’s come at a cost - negative tactics against weak opposition
- Has favourites
- No in game tactics
- Needs more aggression
- Proven record of bottling it. No silverware.

6.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 07:40:28
Pros: knows what Utd stands for, seems to be calm, doesn't criticise players in public, has made the team more difficult to beat especially away from home, has got the glazers to invest in new players, has signed some excellent players, employed a set piece special-ist

Cons:still no definable pattern of play, plays wrong players and often plays right ones in wrong positions, game management lacking. Does not appear to have the ruthlessness necessary to succeed.

7.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 09:41:36
I find two regular "cons" of Ole to be quite interesting.

The first being his in game management. Now I agree that on the surface this doesn't seem to be great, and I often get frustrated by what seems like a lack of action. Sometimes granted he doesn't seem to have the players on the bench to make a telling difference, but I still find myself wondering can he change the shape or tactics.

Yet for all this idea that he can't change the direction of a game during the game, the fact remains that no manager in the EPL has won more points from a losing position than Ole since he became our manager.

How many times have we gone in at halftime losing only to win the game in the second half. We regularly concede first then fight back to get a result. In fact it's one of the key things in Ole's time in charge, we complain that the team doesn't really start to play until we are losing.

So how can the manager who has won the most points from a losing position over the past 2 and a half years have no ability to change a game during the match?

The second one is this idea that he is risk adverse because he plays two more defensive midfielders. He plays two more defensive midfielders so that the attacking players (Rashford, Bruno, Martial, Cavani, Greenwood, Sancho etc) can focus more on attacking by having less defensive responsibility. I suppose real football isn't like FIFA, you actually do need players who will do the dirty work. It's about balance.

Most fans seem to want us to play with 3 forwards, 2 attacking midfielders and 2 overlapping attacking full backs. Leaving only the 2 centre backs and 1 midfield to cover us in case we are counter attacked.

That isn't a balanced team and it isn't one that can be successful.

You tend to need 5 out field players whose job it is to defend first, and 5 who will look to attack. You then have one player in the defensive 5 who can join the attack as a late arrival in the second or third phase of the attack. Likewise you will have one of your attacking 5 who can drop back and defend when out of possession.

Football is all about overloads and outnumbering your opponent to gain the advantage. Yet there is a balance that needs to be struck as when you overload players in one area of the pitch to outnumber the opposition you are leaving yourself outnumbered somewhere else.

Ole at United plays with Rashford (LW), Bruno (No.10), Greenwood (RW), Cavani (ST) and Shaw (LB) as his 5 key attacking players, with Shaw being the obvious one to drop back and defend when out of possession.

While AWB (RB), Lindelof (CB), Maguire (CB), Fred (CM) and McTominay (CM) are the 5 designated defensive players. With McTominay being the player to break forward in the second or third phase of the attack.

So that's a fairly balanced side, neither overly defensive or offensive.

You could fairly argue that the attacking structure is limited and left too much to individual skill, which then leaves us open to the waxing and waning of our attacking players form. You could also argue that defensively we are naïve and don't work well as a unit and commit too many individual errors.

I think it's fair to say Ole's style of football is more individualistic and less team focused. Having a loose structure with the responsibility then passed over to the players to figure it out themselves.

Rather than Ole having favourites I think there are just some players who work well together and tend to figure it out amoungst themselves easier.

Most of our best results and performances have come with McFred in midfield for example. Even though Pogba and Matic are much better technical footballers, yet when they play in midfield our level clearly drops and we tend to struggle more.

Ole's system relies more on individual ability and the relationships between the players and less on a rigid structure that the players have to mould themselves to and around.

Is that a pro or a con? Difficult to say.

For me the clear pro's of Ole are the way he has improved the atmosphere around the club, the fact that he will give youth a chance, the fact that most players in our squad are playing their best football under him, the clear improvement in the squad quality in terms of selling the right players and buying in the right sort of players (although we have to appreciate with this that the buying and selling of players is solely the responsibility of the manager) .

The con's are probably the inability to get us across the line in key games in semi finals and finals. With the games we have played against the opposition we have faced Ole should have won something by now.
While an argument can be made that the style of play could be more consistent (although it is on the whole more entertaining than the previous three managers) .

So for me more pro's than con's and I believe he is slowly eradicating the con's he has in his management. As we get a stronger squad we should see more consistency in performances. And I feel he is getting closer to winning something. He just needs to do it quickly enough so as to not lose the fans who are growing impatient.

8.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 09:53:08
Pro
Done better than expected.
Has been there while better players have come in.
Loses rarely these days (except finals or semis)
Cons
Players not afraid of him
Not ruthless in general
Likes or is afraid of Glazers
No animation in games
We still are a counter attacking side - midfield needs fixing before we can change this.

9.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 08:25:09
I think people saying he has favourites are wrong . I don’t see that at all . I think we need a midfielder and until we get it I think his hands are tied a bit in there. In fact I’d argue it’s some of our fans who have favourites and spit their dummy out with Ole because their not getting a game!

10.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 10:27:43
If I list the cons I’ll eclipse Shappy’s word count.

11.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 11:51:08
Agree stand.
Can I ask all those who say ile has brought better players and built a better squad why is he doing worse with all these better players and better squad than his predecessors who apparently had worse players and a worse squad.
He has not developed any youth players bar greenwood.
He plays the worst brand of football since dave sexton
He is negative in his set up and in game management
He has won nothing
He has bought poorly with really Bruno only having a big impact and cavaini.
He gave new contracts to bailly matic Jones mata.
Jesse vdb martial in limbo
I could go on and on
Positives
Shaw is doing better but looked even better for England than us.
Thats about it.

12.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 11:57:45
Stand, I don't think you have the stamina to out write me.

13.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 11:59:08
Sorry Shappy, but sending the exact same team out and playing the exact same way but having given a pep talk at half time does not equate to in game management.

14.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 12:39:20
Ken,

If you had to take over as United would you rather take over the squad as it is today or on the day Ole took over?

We clearly have a much better squad now than 2 and a half years ago.

Is he doing worse? Back to back top four finishes, the only manager since Sir Alex to manage that.

The league is a mark of consistency, cups depend on luck as much as anything else. Look at City bay far the best team in the league, but lost the UCL final to the team that finished 4th and 19 points behind them. City man for man are the better team and have a better manager, yet lost in a one off game.

You say Shaw is the only positive, yet you ignore the progress of Greenwood and McTominay. The fact that Fred, Rashford, Martial, and Shaw obviously have played their best football under Ole.

Also although a personal choice over preference of style, but are you seriously telling me you would rather watch LvG's United over Ole's?

While for all the stick Ole gets for being negative against "lower" sides he at least allows his attacking players to attack again the likes of Burnley etc rather than have 10 men behind the ball that Jose used to do. Jose was a far more negative manager, while LvG played the most mind numbing brand of sideways football ever seen.

15.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 12:40:04
Ken, is having Martial in limbo a con? It's a blessing.

16.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 13:15:01
Also is martial in limbo? Was playing relatively consistently in terms of appearances including getting called back into the French squad then got a season ending injury.

17.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 13:27:11
"Cups depend on luck as much as anything" Yeah, that's the Ole reason why the manager hasn't won anything, just poor unlucky Ole. The man can't catch a break. Iv heard it all now.

As for the pros and cons. The pros of him being our manager will mean no other club legend or undeserving person will manage us for a long time.

The cons, unfortunately we have to watch a pathetic excuse of a manager try and figure out management in front of our eyes.

18.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 14:01:26
Shappy i'd rather lvg to olewally anyway and Jose too for that matter.
I would rather have inherited the squad he did and do a better job with his 400m.
Winning cups is not down to luck alone.
Olewally has not amassed the pints that his predecessor did with what you say is a better squad.
How many epl winners has he got rid of?
Mctom is not doing better under olewally.
Fred is doing better under olewally because nobody else would pick him.
Rash not doing any better maybe marginally but that comes with experience. Rash not doing well now because of ole forcing him to play when injured.
Ole let's players attack my ass.
When he is sacked things will improve.
You have gone on record many times saying there is no manager alive that can do better than this Jerk. i'm afraid that's simply not true or accurate.

19.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 14:02:16
He is very much in limbo 12 days. Just you watch.

20.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 15:20:54
Ken, then your memory is fading, the football was so dire under LvG the club didn't even release a season highlights DVD😂

Then you are one of the few who think he has taken the squad backwards. If you think this is a worse squad then I wonder why you have such high expectations of it.

Agreed winning cups is not down to luck alone. However, in the Europa League final we lost to a team that had one shot on target in 120 minutes of football. While penalties always have a big air of luck about them.

I know you're Irish but I'm not sure what Jose drinking more pints has to do with Ole? Surely living in a hotel means it must be easier for Jose to grab a few cheeky ones on the way home after training compared to Ole with his misses waiting at home😂

I'm assuming you meant points? I find this a funny point (pardon the pun) . No one ever slated Sir Alex based on points won or lost.

In any given season there is a maximum and minimum number of points that can be won by all the teams in the league. 760 being the lowest if every game ends in a draw, while if every game finishes with a winner then a total of 1140 points will be shared across the 20 teams in the league.

The spread of those points are intrinsically linked with ALL of the sides in the league.

Manchester United's results do not exist in a bubble. If we turned all our draws last season into wins then that would have impacted the final table. Plus how a team reacts to a good or a bad result can and does impact their next one.

For example one of the teams we lost to that finished just outside the relegation places. Has they lost that game maybe they would have been forced to work harder in another match and as such get that match they may have ended as a draw ends up a win and they take an extra 2 points off of another team. That team then reacts differently again.

Liverpool missed out on a title with 97 points, a total which in 27 of the 30 EPL season's would have seen them champions. But just not the one they managed it in.

Last season with no fans in stadiums saw the highest amount of points won by away sides in EPL history. That is unlikely to happen again this season, with only 1 away win in 20 matches so far. It seems the return of fans to stadiums has increased home advantage.

Comparing points across season's isn't a good way to measure a teams individual progress because there are too many variables in terms of other teams that impact the seasons as a whole.

21.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 16:14:25
There are certain negative themes that keep cropping up during games which if erased would make United a serious championship contender.

1. Against Southampton, after a lethargic start, we dominated and came very close to scoring 3 times. We didn't and it seems the energy drained back out of the side. It was very difficult to get it back, and after equalizing, it drained away again. It's questionable whether any substitution or change of tactics would have made a difference because the problem of lethargy and sloppiness is not fixable by that route.

2. We have struggled for years to unlock a packed defence. That's why you need a Cavani type player who can winkle a goal out of nothing. Regrettably another overpaid player on a new contract, Martial, does not seem to have the capacity to operate in that way. But. he has to be given a chance, so I can't fault Ole for putting him in given that Rashford and Cavani were not available.

Are these problems the fault of the manager? Is he responsible exclusively for the purchasing and selling of players, and the renewing of contracts? Could it be that changing the formation and the players when these problems manifest would yield no better results given the available options?

Is Ole the best manager in the world? Far from it. Is he the best available to us at this moment in time? Quite possibly. Is he the best we've had since SAF? Probably. Despite the nattering nabobs of negativity the club does feel like it has settled down from the self-inflicted psychological melodramas after Ferguson retired, who I would contend left behind a poison pill. We are at least in contention, or so it seems, and that is an improvement. The manager deserves some credit. He may only a stepping stone - as were Hughes, Mancini etc on the way to Guardiola - but winning is not a right notwithstanding the constant whining from certain sections of our supporters.

We're two games into the season. Let's withhold judgment.

22.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 16:27:11
Strengths:
Speech - 90
Speed - 70

Weaknesses:
Power - 30
Magic - 20
Ability not to play Fred - 0.

23.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 16:29:17
I see Ole as a young manager with potential, and like a young player with potential, he displays glimpses of the heights he can reach while also making many naive choices. This is a manager who has beaten some of the best managers in the business. He's beaten Pep multiple times, beaten Mourinho and Emery, tactically nullified Tuchel and destroyed Nagelsman, although Klopp has proven the exception. It seems clear that he has instilled a better atmosphere around the squad, the players are all smiles and seem happy to play.

Even Donny was all smiles on the bench at the weekend when he has every reason to look depressed. There seems to be a better vision as to purchases, with a more long term outlook in mind, rather than the aging stars favoured by Mourinho. This is a manager who won the league in Norway with a team that had never won the league, he is capable of winning, he just needs to carry that over. Achieving second last season was an overachievement with the squad lacking an established CDM, and having obvious shortcomings on the right flank and in central defense. Two of those issues have been addressed, yet the third, as of yet unaddressed, may prove the most important.

All that being said, he does lack the ability to make quick changes, to make decisive on the fly changes that truly impact a game. It's like he has a game plan, that works more often than not, but never has a plan B in case that initial plan fails. His persistent use of subpar players also doesn't sit well. When was the last time Fred had a good game, yet he is always on the team sheet. I'm not convinced it's favouritism, more stubbornness, as he was able to acknowledge Fred's blame in the goal conceded at the weekend.


All in all, he's done a decent job with the squad avaible to him. He still has some players from previous managers that are either too old or not necessarily good for the style he'd like to play. But it does feel like the team is now a good CDM away from being as competitive as the best in the world. Based on what he has achieved with some first team deficiencies, having a great starting 11 should see Solskjaer reach his potential. But he seriously needs to improve his decision making, that Lingard sub at the weekend a prime example.

24.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 17:54:55
Not going to spend hours trying to write an essay
Pro
1) Popular legend who can do no wrong in some peoples eyes and is useful to the owners to quell unrest with his famous goal
2) Generally creates a nice atmosphere amongst players, seems unwilling to upset or criticise. Unless you are unlucky and called Romero or DvB
3) Smiles for the camera
4) Scared of losing, sets up or to lose. Avoided defeat away for a long time

Con
1) Irrelevant managerial experience
2) Tactically inept quite a few times if not most of the time
3) Dullest football since Sexton
4) Talks nonsense to sound like he knows what he is talking about
5) Horrific naive in game management
6) Lacks charisma as a manager and does not inspire confidence he can win major prizes
7) Cardiff, replaced players got what he wanted and it was so rubbish he was sacked in the Championship
8) Norway, Did Molde fall apart after he left or were the videos of Molde fans saying he played garbage football indicative of what we are seeing
9) Makes unnecessary changes in the team, can’t see it doesn’t work, thinks he is SAF incarnate
10) Supports new contracts for mediocrity, Phil Jones for example
11) Tells players they are in his plans then ignores them in favour of his favourites
12) Says he understands the youth ethos. In comes Pellestri and Amad, tells their clubs we must have them now, yet has no plan for them. Keeps Daniel James and sends the youth that cost more than James out on loan
13) Scared to lose
14) No plan B
15) Tactics are pass it inside don’t cross or get behind their defend wide

I could go on.

25.) 25 Aug 2021
25 Aug 2021 18:08:20
Pros: making some posters here tripp out

Cons: isn’t named “guardiola” or “klopp”.