30 Nov 2019 18:40:04
I’m aware this has been done to death but just wanted to share my thoughts on the current situation at our great club, or should I say once great club.
Let’s start with the squad quality and depth. It’s quite clear it is very poor in a number of areas, namely central midfield which is woeful. When you have Pereira starting then you know you’ve got issues. However, there are ‘lesser’ managers with ‘lesser’ squads getting far more out of their players (see dyche, wilder, hodgson) .
Now call me crazy, but isn’t a manager’s primary job is to get the most out of the players at his disposal? If we strip out all the bells and whistles from the job role, the sign of a top quality manager is when he can get his players performing at the highest possible level and extracting as much quality out of them as possible. On this basis, Ole has failed miserably imo. Not doubting the squad is not the greatest, but it’s better than languishing outside the top 6. It’s a case of a below average manager/ coach who is unable to improve an average squad.
And so it leads onto my second point that there is this infuriating narrative that ‘no other manager can get more out of this squad’. What a load of crap. This is an excuse for those who support ole blindly to push an agenda that he is ‘one of our own’ or he ‘gets the club’. None of those two things qualify him to be manager of one of the biggest clubs in the world. I can think of 20 odd managers who would perform better with this squad.
We are nearly a year into his reign and I don’t see the improvements. I don’t see a pattern of play or a style that we are looking to imprint. I simply don’t enjoy watching matches. I’m sorry if this is negative, but I really don’t. Doesn’t mean I don’t watch the games, I always tune in, but I’m struggling to see the vision or direction Ole is taking us in. I’m seeing regression but then told ‘there’s a long term vision’. A 10 mins stint on the game against Sheffield Utd is NOT progression. How can Ole be nearly a year on and we are showing ‘progression’ or fluid football 10 mins per games. It’s simply not good enough for a club the size of United.
The final point I want to make is that with Jose back now with Spurs, this will be used as a stick to beat Ole. I was always a Jose fan and really thought he would bring us back to the top. Unfortunately he lost the dressing room and was not backed/ poor structure in the club, and by the end I was relieved he was gone. What I have an issue with is there are some fans who vehemently attacked Jose and made it personal, yet they defend Ole to the hilt. You lose credibility by having such skewed or biased views. I wanted Ole to work so badly. As ken has posted down below, there became a point where he lost support and couldn’t see a positive outcome. I succumbed to this view after the West Ham loss. In reality I never thought he should have got the job but I got behind him as that is our job as United fans. But it’s a results based industry and at the end of the day that’s what He is judged for. We’ve seen poch and emery be sacked with better records. Speaks volumes about who is serious about football and not money, as our club seems to be.
I don’t want to get into who I think should be manager but there are some top managers out there who are out of a job. Now whether they would come to us is another question, but we are still an attractive enough proposition. The front 3 is exciting, we have a solid enough defence so a new and better manager could do something better with this side. Without investment, yes we won’t compete, but this squad is not as bad is 8th -11th place as the table suggests.
Lastly, I love Ole. I love him as a person. I loved him as a player. I love his passion for the club. I love how he cares for the club. I love how he is a fan of the club. But none of those things qualify him to be manager of this great football club. We need to wake up before we end up on the football wilderness ala Liverpool in the 90s - modern day. They have shown that bringing in a top manager and investing correctly with a top structure in place can lead to amazing results in 2/ 3 years. We must act now.
30 Nov 2019 20:11:16
Just a bit of banter to lighten up the mood. To all those who want Ole gone. The universe has informed me that due to the overload of requests sent to it by all those wishing him gone. Just have patience. Your cries for change shall be answered. It's working overtime so the matter could be expedited. It has selected Redman to be the new manager, with CSM and Shan as his deputies. Shappy takes over from Woodward and Mort will be the long overdue technical director. Ken will be overseer of the scouting department. He has been given leeway to chose his own scouting team. I trust that he does a good job at that.
{Ed025's Note - ken wont let you down st lucia, i cant say the same about the rest of the rabble though mate.. :)
30 Nov 2019 22:14:47
With all due respect Park you haven't backed him for very long or given him much of a chance considering you love him so much.
Is 13 games really all it takes to lose your support, love and admiration? Ole doesn't need your sympathy or pity pal.
It saddens me that all patience has been lost from the game. How patient will you be with Poch, Allegri, Ten Hag, Tuchel or what other magician is deemed flavour of the month and worthy of our support and patience.
It doesn't matter how good the CV or lofty the reputation a bad run, a few poor performances and mutiny follows.
Utd were brilliant under Busby and SAF we now need to take our medicine and give somebody the opportunity to try and rebuild our team. 13 games is no time to judge anyone and sacking manager after manager will not ease the pain.
Support the team, support the young players, have faith in the new direction the Club is trying to take, be patient, see the bigger picture and let time be the judge. If results don't improve he'll be gone but not after 13 games.
01 Dec 2019 00:05:10
DLIB I think that’s a tad harsh tbh mate. I can love Ole And appreciate what he’s done and still not think he’s the right man for the job. So to turn round and say that is unfair. So I think you’ve completely misread my post, or used it to fit your agenda.
If you think what we are seeing is good enough or progress then fine by me, you’re entitled to your opinion and I respect that. If you think all those other managers are ‘flavour of the month’ and not more capable than Ole, then again take those Rose tinted glasses off. I go to games and still sing and support the team and the manager, does not mean I am not entitled to criticise or think he’s not the right man for the job. There’s a general consensus with all the Ole lovers that if we are patient that he will end up like Fergie or Klopp, when in reality when someone doesn’t have it, they simply don’t have it.
If you’re happy with what you’re seeing then great. I am not and I’m entitled to voice that opinion as well as anyone else is. When Jose was getting pellets last season it was those who supported him that were getting abuse. It seems that this time round it is the people who don’t think Ole is the fit for the job are the ones getting pelters. I don’t think I’ve expressed my view in a harsh or an insulting way so I’ll stick to my view of Ole not being good enough. If that’s ok with you of course.
01 Dec 2019 00:30:23
Btw DLIB I do want to say you are one of the posters I do have a lot of respect for. But on this point I just cannot agree. I understand what you’re saying about affording someone time to fix this, but affording it to someone who has not shown he has the know how or ability to fix this is utterly negligent. In any other top job, you wouldn’t hire someone because they are a nice guy and says the right things. I’m all about the credentials and ability to provide the results that are needed.
You question Poch’s ability further down the page by stating he’s had a torrid year or so, and there is no denying that. But is it fair to just ignore the 4.5 years he had before that where he has built spurs from underachievers to Champions League regulars? It’s ridiculous to be a prisoner of the moment on focus on now but forget all the good work he has done.
Likewise ole won trophies with Molde but failed miserably at Cardiff. What has he shown to you that means you have faith he can turn this around? I’m genuinely interested to know because if it’s only because you don’t think we should sack another manager then that’s ridiculous. I feel because he is a club legend he is afforded way more slack, time and understanding even though his win percentage is at 28% whilst holding the position permanently. If that was anyone of moyes, lvg and Jose everyone would be up in arms calling for his head. His status and nostalgic image in the eyes of the fans is what’s keeping him As manager and allowing the board to dither. This will cause even more detriment on us long term if we have someone whose not fit for the job.
01 Dec 2019 05:04:43
Park on Poch- he is someone who I rate. But the 4.5 years prior to this season, he really should have won a trophy or two. We all know if he ever came in that would be a stock used to beat him with when things go wrong.
Far to easy to blame the manager. I get what you mean about his job being to get the best out of what he has, but look at the squad. So many have survived from Moyes, Van Gaal and Jose. We don’t have the quality to be much further ahead of where we are at the moment, yet we’ve one of, if not the highest wage bill in Europe. That to me shows the problems lie elsewhere.
More playing devils advocate here as Ole may not be the man, but if we actually consider the bigger picture and look to the future, he will leave the club in a better place for any successor imo, due to the youth in the squad and there’s some real talents. He’s reset the transfer policy to something I think we all can be pleased about, as buying ready made stars isn’t something this club has done very often and it work out. Patience is the key now. A win today and Chelsea look closer again.
Caolán.
01 Dec 2019 06:21:47
Park. You are ignoring the major area of weakness in the United squad currently.
We don't have a proven goal-scorer in the team.
Our attackers are too young and inexperienced which means their display will be inconsistent.
The midfield doesn't exist at all.
There is lack of creative spark in the team.
Injuries are resulting in constant changing of the playing XI.
For all the above deficiencies, the problem lies with the "decision makers", not the manager.
Why were they so ignorant in not replacing our top scorer and one of our main midfielder?
As Ed025 said, we need to give Ole 2 more transfer windows to get the required players and address the glaring holes in our team.
I certainly believe by adding a couple of quality midfielders itself will improve the squad.
01 Dec 2019 08:49:55
Park - Its nothing personal mate and to be honest I was surprised by your post as your normally give a really articulate and balanced opinion. I think I just reacted to the "love" part of your post which perhaps was unfair.
Maybe I was a bit harsh for which I apologise I just think Ole deserves a touch more understanding, patience and respect. Of course it ok to criticise and voice your opinion but I just don't agree with calling for him to be sacked.
No hard feelings pal.
01 Dec 2019 12:32:08
No hard feelings at all DLIB. Big 3 points needed!
01 Dec 2019 12:34:20
As technical director the first thing I'd do is have a clear out of some of those other staff members. I'd be demanding instant results.