Man Utd Thread:

[Maroon Manc]

Anyone blaming Ole and wanting him sacked is completely deluded. All it would achieve is that another club legend would be added to the list of people mistreated by the club. The underlying problem is there since 2004 when those scumbags McAnus and Magnier sold out to the Glazers. Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager in the history of the game, produced miracles from there to the end of his career to keep winning. Possibly his greatest achievement, winning the league by a distance in his final season with a poor squad, sowed the seeds for what has come.

The Glazers knew then that they could continue to win trophies, make huge profits and siphon millions out of the clubs for themselves without investing much in players. The now know that winning trophies doesn't matter to their business plans. They are still sensitive to social media outbursts which it why I fear for Ole today. They'll make a few splash signings here and there to assuage the anger. Make no mistake though about the damage Mourinho did in terms of their reluctance to spend. His big signings have been disastrous and resulted in United being unable to recoup fees and left with massive wage bills on the books (Alexis Sanchez still getting paid by the club.....Pogba, Bailly....all zero contribution this season).

So the squad is painfully thin and short of experience. It was a massive concern in August. It came to fruition. Yet the owners are still not buying players. Yet people get after a guy who has and is still giving everything for the club. It sickens me to be honest. Direct your anger where it's deserved and where the actual problems are. Changing manager will not change a thing.

I'm desperate for Ole to succeed how can you be so sure he's going to be a success? He has no track record. I'm not expecting miracles, I knew from the start of the season we were in trouble as the squad is very poor and lacking any sort of depth in the front 6.

We don't have the quality to break down teams and create chances, I'd consider only Fred & Martial players as first team regulars looking at that front 6 last night. James should be a bit part player whilst Matic & Mata are well passed their best and Pereira is miles off been a United player.

A good few players have improved under Ole, Rashford, McTominay & Fred have been excellent this season but where my issue with Ole is the defending. We've got worst at the back instead of better, 80% of the goals we've conceded in the last 3 months were avoidable.

Anyway lets hope we bring a couple of players in and that performances improve.

[Taylor]

Hypothetically speaking if the Glazers/Woodward & Ole all went could any manger do anything with this team?

Klopp? Pep?

[Geoff Tipps]

What's the craic about the Utd supporters chanting about wanting Ed Woodward to die.

Poor form if true.

It's about Glazer(s) actually and hilarious the reaction of that commentator on 5 Live last night - he mustn't have been listening for the last 15 years! Just goes to show the state the BBC is in. Turned over to TalkSport after that and the commentators were saying how great the United supporters were! Obviously they didn't get the briefing the BBC guys got.

So it didn't happen.

Misinformation by the BBC, Manchester United fan clubs should be asking for an apology if not the club themselves.

Of course it happened. It has been happening for many years. There's no place in the club for these people. They shouldn't have been able to get in the door.

I believe it goes something like this:

Build a bonfire,
build a bonfire,
put the Glazers on the top,
put Ed Woodward in the middle
and burn the f***ing lot

[magpie seanie]

Anyone blaming Ole and wanting him sacked is completely deluded. All it would achieve is that another club legend would be added to the list of people mistreated by the club. The underlying problem is there since 2004 when those scumbags McAnus and Magnier sold out to the Glazers. Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager in the history of the game, produced miracles from there to the end of his career to keep winning. Possibly his greatest achievement, winning the league by a distance in his final season with a poor squad, sowed the seeds for what has come.

The Glazers knew then that they could continue to win trophies, make huge profits and siphon millions out of the clubs for themselves without investing much in players. The now know that winning trophies doesn't matter to their business plans. They are still sensitive to social media outbursts which it why I fear for Ole today. They'll make a few splash signings here and there to assuage the anger. Make no mistake though about the damage Mourinho did in terms of their reluctance to spend. His big signings have been disastrous and resulted in United being unable to recoup fees and left with massive wage bills on the books (Alexis Sanchez still getting paid by the club.....Pogba, Bailly....all zero contribution this season).

So the squad is painfully thin and short of experience. It was a massive concern in August. It came to fruition. Yet the owners are still not buying players. Yet people get after a guy who has and is still giving everything for the club. It sickens me to be honest. Direct your anger where it's deserved and where the actual problems are. Changing manager will not change a thing.

I'm desperate for Ole to succeed how can you be so sure he's going to be a success? He has no track record. I'm not expecting miracles, I knew from the start of the season we were in trouble as the squad is very poor and lacking any sort of depth in the front 6.

We don't have the quality to break down teams and create chances, I'd consider only Fred & Martial players as first team regulars looking at that front 6 last night. James should be a bit part player whilst Matic & Mata are well passed their best and Pereira is miles off been a United player.

A good few players have improved under Ole, Rashford, McTominay & Fred have been excellent this season but where my issue with Ole is the defending. We've got worst at the back instead of better, 80% of the goals we've conceded in the last 3 months were avoidable.

Anyway lets hope we bring a couple of players in and that performances improve.

I don't think I've said he's going to ultimately be a success. If I have I certainly wouldn't have meant to. He hasn't really had a fair shake at it in my opinion and lack of players is the biggest problem.

Besides that I think you've summed it up well - some players have improved and found their potential. The goals getting conceded at set pieces and long ball flick ons are criminal and must be eradicated. Probably a coaching fault together with question marks on the keeper and Lindelof's ability in the air - which all other rightly clubs target. It's very disappointing this keeps happening and definitely blame falls at the managers door for this. Not to make excuses but for defending set pieces the likes of McTominay and Pogba (and from last season Lukaku) are badly missed.

Sorely need to get in 3 players but with a week to go I'm afraid there will be none.

[J70]

Hypothetically speaking if the Glazers/Woodward & Ole all went could any manger do anything with this team?

Klopp? Pep?

The issue with Solksjaer is that there is no track record of success at anything approaching an elite level and very few signs in the actual job so far to suggest that he COULD build something.

Klopp had a lot of rebuilding to do at Liverpool, but there were definite signs of progress all the way through, even in his first partial season. That, the quality of the attacking game he was instituting, and his track record, bought him a lot of time and patience with the vast majority of Liverpool fans. That wasn't any guarantee that Liverpool would arrive where they are now, but the solid steps he was taking were there for all to see, despite the idiotic bollocks (even this time last year) from some quarters that "he needs to win a trophy... any trophy".

Any manager is a crapshoot and United have a lot of problems to solve which have certainly made his job harder, but, to me anyway, there is nothing there to suggest Solksjaer could be that man. It all comes down to whether or not United want to leave the project in his hands, or get in someone with a CV a bit more suited to building an elite team back up.

[GetOverTheBar]

Hypothetically speaking if the Glazers/Woodward & Ole all went could any manger do anything with this team?

Klopp? Pep?

The only person could take a team like Utd, mould them into something half decent was the man they fired. As I said before, Mourinho record at Utd will continue to look more and more impressive as time goes on. What Utd wouldn't give to be 2nd now.

[brokencrossbar1]

I think what people underestimate with Klopp and the patience to build is that the owners looked at the situation and then modified their approach. They saw that Klopp needed assistance and got Michael Edwards in. Boom....success. Let's not forget that less than 10 years ago the club was on the verge of collapse and we had Roy Hodgson as manager. The problems in United won't be solved by sacking Ole but call a spade a spade they're not helped with him there either. He is out if his depth but will anyone touch it now even if he is sacked?  I don't know ...

[BennyCake]

What is Michael Carrick role in backroom team?

The same what Phil Neal was to Graham Taylor

[Ethan Tremblay]

Hypothetically speaking if the Glazers/Woodward & Ole all went could any manger do anything with this team?

Klopp? Pep?

The issue with Solksjaer is that there is no track record of success at anything approaching an elite level and very few signs in the actual job so far to suggest that he COULD build something.

Klopp had a lot of rebuilding to do at Liverpool, but there were definite signs of progress all the way through, even in his first partial season. That, the quality of the attacking game he was instituting, and his track record, bought him a lot of time and patience with the vast majority of Liverpool fans. That wasn't any guarantee that Liverpool would arrive where they are now, but the solid steps he was taking were there for all to see, despite the idiotic bollocks (even this time last year) from some quarters that "he needs to win a trophy... any trophy".

Any manager is a crapshoot and United have a lot of problems to solve which have certainly made his job harder, but, to me anyway, there is nothing there to suggest Solksjaer could be that man. It all comes down to whether or not United want to leave the project in his hands, or get in someone with a CV a bit more suited to building an elite team back up.

Klopp had from October his first term, not partial, he had 30 games, and Liverpool finished 8th, 2 places lower than the previous season.  I would say his track record/reputation indeed bought him time, as fans wouldn't have been too pleased with that. 

As for Ole, that again is the question, do we trust him with the guts of 2 years to right the wrongs?
Van Gaal, an established manager, won the champions league, la liga, Bundesliga and brought Holland to third place at a world cup had two years and was underwhelming.  So judging Ole's lack of experience as reasoning for his failures isn't as straightforward as that. 
In all honesty, a 4th place finish is the bare minimum expected from any United team, and that may save his bacon. 

[J70]

Hypothetically speaking if the Glazers/Woodward & Ole all went could any manger do anything with this team?

Klopp? Pep?

The issue with Solksjaer is that there is no track record of success at anything approaching an elite level and very few signs in the actual job so far to suggest that he COULD build something.

Klopp had a lot of rebuilding to do at Liverpool, but there were definite signs of progress all the way through, even in his first partial season. That, the quality of the attacking game he was instituting, and his track record, bought him a lot of time and patience with the vast majority of Liverpool fans. That wasn't any guarantee that Liverpool would arrive where they are now, but the solid steps he was taking were there for all to see, despite the idiotic bollocks (even this time last year) from some quarters that "he needs to win a trophy... any trophy".

Any manager is a crapshoot and United have a lot of problems to solve which have certainly made his job harder, but, to me anyway, there is nothing there to suggest Solksjaer could be that man. It all comes down to whether or not United want to leave the project in his hands, or get in someone with a CV a bit more suited to building an elite team back up.

Klopp had from October his first term, not partial, he had 30 games, and Liverpool finished 8th, 2 places lower than the previous season.  I would say his track record/reputation indeed bought him time, as fans wouldn't have been too pleased with that. 

As for Ole, that again is the question, do we trust him with the guts of 2 years to right the wrongs?
Van Gaal, an established manager, won the champions league, la liga, Bundesliga and brought Holland to third place at a world cup had two years and was underwhelming.  So judging Ole's lack of experience as reasoning for his failures isn't as straightforward as that. 
In all honesty, a 4th place finish is the bare minimum expected from any United team, and that may save his bacon.

You leave out the parts of that season where Liverpool lost the league cup final to City on penalties, beat United in the UEFA Cup, had that wonderful comeback win against Dortmund, started scoring goals left, right and centre, and then shelved the league to prepare for the UEFA cup final, a game where the squad problems obviously came home to roost.

To dismiss that first season as merely an unsatisfactory 8th spot finish is dishonest. There were plenty of high points that year, and the positive steps were there for all to see.

And I didn't say Solksjaer's lack of experience is why he might fail. I'm saying that the lack of a track record is why putting faith in him eventually succeeding is an act of blind faith. There's a difference.

[magpie seanie]

I'm like a broken record but I need to keep saying this stuff because on the evidence of several previous posts people just don't get it.

The Glazers do not care if the team is successful. They care about making money. They have taken close to a billion pounds out of the club since they took it over. Think about that. £1,000,000,000. It's absolutely criminal.

They will take action based on "the market", i.e. what the masses out there (that buy products sold by them and their advertisers) think. They'll protect the brand and they realise that winning isn't required to do this. It's a soap opera and they'll throw in a "plot twist" like sacking a manager or buying a player or "thinking about a director of football" if and when the kerfuffle becomes too noisy.

The only resolution to this is a drastic one and one that is probably impossible - supporters need to boycott the club until they leave. Don't buy the jersey. Don't support the sponsors. Maybe even don't go to the games though I wouldn't be as strong on that. It's the only answer. So rather than direct your ire at a club legend caught in a hopeless position, try to address the root cause. #sackwoodward #luhg

[Keyser soze]

No offence MS but you have zero room to be giving people advice about not directing their spite at the manager who is caught in a hopeless position, the vitriol you directed towards Mourinho makes you out to be a complete hyprocrite. Or completely stupid.

[mouview]

What is Michael Carrick role in backroom team?

Same as Stan's at Walsall, laying out the training cones I imagine.

[Geoff Tipps]

I think what people underestimate with Klopp and the patience to build is that the owners looked at the situation and then modified their approach. They saw that Klopp needed assistance and got Michael Edwards in. Boom....success. Let's not forget that less than 10 years ago the club was on the verge of collapse and we had Roy Hodgson as manager. The problems in United won't be solved by sacking Ole but call a spade a spade they're not helped with him there either. He is out if his depth but will anyone touch it now even if he is sacked?  I don't know ...

Not quite. Edwards was at the club long before Klopp became manager.

[GetOverTheBar]

I'm like a broken record but I need to keep saying this stuff because on the evidence of several previous posts people just don't get it.

The Glazers do not care if the team is successful. They care about making money. They have taken close to a billion pounds out of the club since they took it over. Think about that. £1,000,000,000. It's absolutely criminal.

They will take action based on "the market", i.e. what the masses out there (that buy products sold by them and their advertisers) think. They'll protect the brand and they realise that winning isn't required to do this. It's a soap opera and they'll throw in a "plot twist" like sacking a manager or buying a player or "thinking about a director of football" if and when the kerfuffle becomes too noisy.

The only resolution to this is a drastic one and one that is probably impossible - supporters need to boycott the club until they leave. Don't buy the jersey. Don't support the sponsors. Maybe even don't go to the games though I wouldn't be as strong on that. It's the only answer. So rather than direct your ire at a club legend caught in a hopeless position, try to address the root cause. #sackwoodward #luhg

Reminds me of David Brent reading the quotes off a page only to get rumbled - "Can I just . . . If we're facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking"

There was a news report there over past few days the share price had went up by a third, just googled the share price - doesn't look like it's that much but its been steadily rising since November (to a slight dip today...oddly).