[Albion] Appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer an ‘unavoidable mistake'...

[drew]

Ferguson struggled for four years. He took over a United side that (allegedly) had a terrible drinking culture within its ranks. I’ll let you guess which names spring to mind regarding that. In fact he was minutes away from the sack as United were losing to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in 1990 and got a late equaliser. From there United went on to win the cup beating THEM up the road. After that it was a trophy a season, almost, for Fergie and Man Utd. Love him or loathe him there is no doubt that he is the most successful manager in English football.

The other thing is that when Ferguson took over, Utd hadn't won a league title since 66/67. He came in in 1986 so that was 20 years with only 3 cup wins in that period (yes I know in 68 they won the European Cup). OGS has joined a club that is now used to success and the fans will demand it (and probably the media as well). He won't have time to build.

Always thought that Moyes was the sacrificial lamb as I doubt anyone would have wanted to immediately follow Ferguson but they have had no league success since and probably won't for some time!!

 

[Dick Head]

I’d be loving this if they didn’t have Cardiff as their last game

 

[BadFish]

A new manager isn't going to sort out the problems at Man U, and long may it continue.

They have no plan and no ethos in place. Lurching from manager to manager with no continuity and no underlying system for them to fit into.

They will give OGS a load of money and he will fail. Then they start again.

The only logical appointment was to break the bank for Pochettino who is the best manager they have any chance of getting.

What is clear to me though is that Man U have in fact reverted to type. Fergie was an anomaly (albeit a very long term one) and now they are back to being a basket case.

 

[OzMike]

I was under the impression that Fergie was pulling OGS's strings.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I think with the top clubs, you can't settle for average. OGS is an average manager, at best.

City & Liverpool are fighting it out with absolutely no other competition, largely because of their world class managers in Guardiola & Klopp respectively.

The next best manager in the league is surely Pochettino, which is why Spurs will likely finish 3rd place.

If Man Utd are to ever return to their former glory, they need another world class manager, who are currently in short supply at the moment. OGS won't last next season.

World class managers and endless pots of money.

Let’s see how Ole does when when he gets to spend in the summer.

 

[DJ NOBO]

They had a choice, just because everyone says "surely he must get it now" etc..... they shouldve trusted their first instincts of Pochettino....... you never know, maybe they still might at this rate

Or at least have waited until the end of the season before making a decision ...

 

[NooBHA]

Even with money, he’ll never match Guardiola.

It was a reactive appointment based on sentiment, with endless zzzzzzzzzzz references to an injury time goal in the Camp Nou in 1999.


On Sky Sports just now, impassioned comments by Evra and G.Neville. Phrases like poison in the dressing room, obsession with social media .... is that Pogba, Martial and Lingard?

OGS has a major problem in managing those players and indeed any players who go into that Club. His name is Gary Neville.

The man is obscene. To use the language he uses about the players every time they perform badly is quite disgusting. The players will see Neville as an extension of Solskjaer. They are friends. They were team mates. He thinks he is helpful when he calls those players out for bad performances. He isn't. It is detrimental to what OGS is trying to achieve. Let the Manager deal with things his way. To start belittling the players in public won't solve the problems. That's what Mourhino did and they rebelled.

Before Solskjaer has words with players he really needs to have a sharp word in Neville's ear. He is more up his own arse than the players he is slagging off

 

[El Presidente]

Or at least have waited until the end of the season before making a decision ...

I’m delighted that £3 million a year Ed Woodward rushed the decision in order to increase his popularity rather than considered the long term best interests of the club #AgentEd

 

[el punal]

When we played Man Utd in January Solskjaer was still only an an interim manager despite (I think) being unbeaten in his first seven games. Chatting with United fans, the general opinion was that he was just a stepping stone until Pochettino became available.

 

[Icy Gull]

When we played Man Utd in January Solskjaer was still only an an interim manager despite (I think) being unbeaten in his first seven games. Chatting with United fans, the general opinion was that he was just a stepping stone until Pochettino became available.

I love how fans think Poch would bin Spurs for the poisoned chalice that is United

WHY would he do that, Spurs are on on the up because of him, they have a fabulous new stadium and may well give him funds next season. United need a complete rebuild.

Can’t see him going there.

 

[atfc village]

He was doing ok until he bought Lukaku back and Rashford went out wide again.

And De Gea is looking very average behind that dodgy defence. Not sure I would want any of their defenders in our back line.

A Spanish Joe Hart ,put him in goal for a bottom half side and then see how good he is.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

This.

Any excuse, for some, to describe Liverpool as 'bin dippers'

Lazy prejudice is not a virtue. FFS.

Anyway, back to hubcaps. Calm down. Gizza job. Eh, Eh?
[\QUOTE]

Any chance you could give up the ‘being a saint’ impression?

You find withering irritation about people who think it laddish to 'hate' scousers as saintly? Is that a low horse I see you riding on?

 

[el punal]

I love how fans think Poch would bin Spurs for the poisoned chalice that is United

WHY would he do that, Spurs are on on the up because of him, they have a fabulous new stadium and may well give him funds next season. United need a complete rebuild.

Can’t see him going there.

I believe Pochettino signed a new contract shortly after these rumours were being floated around.

 

[essbee1]

I love how fans think Poch would bin Spurs for the poisoned chalice that is United

WHY would he do that, Spurs are on on the up because of him, they have a fabulous new stadium and may well give him funds next season. United need a complete rebuild.

Can’t see him going there.

United seem to think that being their manager is the dream job and that every manager would jump at the chance. Not any more.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

A new manager isn't going to sort out the problems at Man U, and long may it continue.

They have no plan and no ethos in place. Lurching from manager to manager with no continuity and no underlying system for them to fit into.

They will give OGS a load of money and he will fail. Then they start again.

The only logical appointment was to break the bank for Pochettino who is the best manager they have any chance of getting.

What is clear to me though is that Man U have in fact reverted to type. Fergie was an anomaly (albeit a very long term one) and now they are back to being a basket case.

Very interesting post.

Growing up I was aware of the growth of the Cult of Manchester United. In a pre-media era, the Busby Babes were a byword for English tragedy, how our future in world domination was crelly stolen by foreign mischief. Yet there were survivors. The spirit of the Busby Babes was embodied in Sir Bobby Charlton, the sad-faced legend.



When Manchester United won the word cup against the same foreigners who robbed us of the greatesrt England captain we never had, the Duncan, and two years later won the European Cup Final, again twarting foreign cheats, we had a national league club that everyone could support. And there was Georgie, the fifth Beatle. Glory Glory Man United. Now everyone knows a cockney Red.



Today the franchise has a massive income from shirt sales, global merch, the telly (obviously) and 75K bums on seats. Yes, Barcelona and Real Madrid also swap managers every five minutes, but their style of play is so engrained the manager (get this) may not be all that important there. Unlike ManU, these two clubs get a disproportionate slice of Spanish TV money (no English style socialism in this former fascist dictatorship), so they have a bigger cushion than ManU. There is still scope for failure at ManU, now the gaffer is fading in influence, his genius, as noted above, being an anomalie.



I don't really hate other clubs. Get one over them on the pitch, certainly. In the case of ManU, however, during the era of worst English fotball excesses, cheating, entitlement, having it large, being the most deluded nation in Europe with its bad teeth and shitty housing, Man United represented all that was bad about practically everything. Flashy cocky vulgar ignorant players with bad haircuts, shitty clothes, no taste in music, literature or women, staggered their way to a cup final in 84, under a piggy-faced blingy racist with the UK's second most hated accent, chippy braggart ****. And they faced none other than plucky Brighton. We will set aside our own foibles of the time because this is about Man U. Norman Whiteside. Three deliberate hand balls that he laughed off (the cheeky hero). Ramsey assaulted. And eventually the smug monkeys snatched the cup, and swaggered off to drown in gallons of Carling Black lable.



On the basis of all of this, after they have beaten Cardiff, they are welcome to enjoy whatever turmoil and disappointment awaits them in the following years and decades. Manchester is not Barcelona. It isn't London. It isn't Brighton. It does not embody all my English hopes and dweams. Just beat the Cardiff and I'll call it quits.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

United are victims of their own massive global fanbase, the vast majority of whom never see the team play live. These millions and millions of armchair critics represent a massive voice in social media and a huge part of United's commercial operation. Most of them, without too much thought went overboard about Ole. They didn't give too much thought to his early and kind run of fixtures. His previous managerial flirtations and failings. The bad apples still in the squad, who would probably revert to type, once the honeymoon period was over.
United listen to this vast body of support out there. As long as they can entice them, from wherever in the world, to Old Trafford, just the once, then its job done. They were too desperate for a feel good factor. They should have let him caretake to the end of the season and then assess. For all his legendary status at the club, its more than likely going to end in tears fairly quickly.

 

[drew]

I love how fans think Poch would bin Spurs for the poisoned chalice that is United

WHY would he do that, Spurs are on on the up because of him, they have a fabulous new stadium and may well give him funds next season. United need a complete rebuild.

Can’t see him going there.

Do they have funds? They're paying for a billion pound stadium. Seem to recall that when Arsenal moved to their library they stopped winning things. Spurs never started winning things!!

 

[Icy Gull]

Do they have funds? They're paying for a billion pound stadium. Seem to recall that when Arsenal moved to their library they stopped winning things. Spurs never started winning things!!

I thought they made a World record profit last season? About 113 million so yes, they do have funds, whether Levi will release them though is up to some questioning though.

Maybe someone should email Barber for an opinion

 

[Poojah]

The idea that United’s problems are restricted to whichever individual has been in charge of the first team is massively over simplistic for me. They’ve recruited horribly for years, going back even before Ferguson’s departure, and in the modern game that’s not just the responsibility of the manager.

They’ve gone down the route of signing ready made superstars - Di Maria, Falcao, Pogba, Lukaku, Sanchez. It hasn’t worked. They’ve tried signing rough diamonds or players impressing at other, lesser Premier League clubs - Fellaini, Dalot, Lindelof, Darmian. That hasn’t worked either.

Put whoever you like in charge, no one in the world can take a squad reliant on Scott McTominay, Phil Jones and a soon to be 34 year old Ashley Young and make it compete with City, Liverpool or even Spurs.

I’m taking nothing away from Guardiola and Klopp’s motivational and tactical capabilities, but their club’s have made what they’re currently achieving possible by enabling them to sign brilliant talent. It’s easy to forget now that many of those players, Aguero, De Bruyne, Salah, Firmino and several others weren’t exactly household names when they signed.

United now find themselves years behind their major rivals, and that’s going to be a curse for anyone taking the reins there for the foreseeable future. It’s a real poisoned chalice.

 

[Triggaaar]

As soon as players started earning more than the manager, player power came into its own and those who want to create unrest in a club have the upper hand. Must be quite difficult for a club to turn things round from situations like this.

I don't think it matters whether the player or manager earns the most (from the point of view of creating unrest). I think the problem is the cost and value of the players, so you can't just ditch them if they're being divas, as you've invested too much in them. That's going to be the case regardless of how much the manager earns.