OGS.....

Manchester United chat
User avatar
bman2
Legend
Posts: 4592
Joined: 10 years ago

When players leave United they tend to increase in value — Lukaku being a good example, but also Smalling, Lingard etc. But when they sign with us they drop in value. How much do you think Maguire or Pogba would go for on the market now (if Pogba wasn’t in his last year)? We paid something like 50M for Fred, but I’d be amazed if you got more than 15M for him now, he’s seen as a nothing player.
Fuck the Glazers
Legend
Posts: 9899
Joined: 10 years ago

sheesh
Legend
Posts: 1239
Joined: 8 years ago

brianofnazarethffs wrote: 2 years ago We all know this is make or break for him. He absolutely has to win a trophy and compete for the title.

His first real test this season, and he's failed.
I can't see him getting sacked for as long as we're challenging for top 4. He signed a new contract only a couple of months ago.

I also don't understand why a sizeable part of our fanbase has this expectation of us making a serious challenge for the major trophies (not just coasting into a top 4 spot, but actually looking like we could win the league) this season. In addition to having a manager who hasn't proven himself as a winner yet (as a coach), we didn't invest in a defensive midfielder in the summer. I know I keep going on and on about it, and it must annoy/bore people on here.

And even if we'd bought a DM, we'd still have the 'Ole is the manager' issue. Also, how much is he getting out of his backroom staff?

As I said in the match thread, it's great that we got Ronaldo but his signing almost papers over the cracks. City and Chelsea have better and more balanced squads than ours, as well as having better managers. They're just better run.

I gave Ole credit for our position in the league last season, but I'm afraid there's nothing to suggest he can take us to the next level. I don't think his job is in any danger, though, if we're at least challenging for top 4 in the league.
fat maradona
Legend
Posts: 1388
Joined: 10 years ago

from the Guardian - "........but for a depleted and distracted United this was a reminder that for all their shiny new talent, some familiar old failings remain. After an early goal from Who Else?, you would have got pretty long odds on United playing out a good portion of the second half with a mystified Lingard as their lone striker. But Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s first-half red card changed the game, leading Ole Gunnar Solskjær down a puzzling road of substitutions and tactical shifts that often looked as though they were confounding his own players."

"Afterwards Solskjær blamed the artificial surface at the Wankdorf for tiring his players out but there were more obvious scapegoats everywhere you looked: Wan-Bissaka, Lingard, a midfield that seemed to collapse in on itself as the game went on. Even the feted Cristiano Ronaldo offered almost nothing beyond his goal and, though you might argue this is pretty much the point of Ronaldo these days, Solskjær was right to withdraw him in the 72nd minute, even if the decision to replace him with Lingard rather than Mason Greenwood or Anthony Martial was bizarre. In a sense Solskjær had taken a calculated gamble here, sacrificing a little midfield cover in the confidence that sheer weight of attacking talent would eventually overwhelm. Ronaldo’s goal, the product of a cheeky cross from Bruno Fernandes and a trademark Ronaldo run to the back post, appeared to bear him out. But even before the red card David Wagner’s impressive young side were enjoying plenty of counter-play, feasting on the spaces behind what was in effect a United front five, enjoying chances through Christian Fassnacht and Michel Aebischer.

But will any of this make a difference at Board level? Fuck no, they love that Ole is a Yes Man and a Club Man. His job is safe unless we completely collapse.
User avatar
Jason
Star Man
Posts: 823
Joined: 10 years ago

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, and will be biased due to his love of mourinho, but duncan castles on the transfer window podcast from Wednesday gives a really good summary of why ogs is not good enough to take utd forward. Echos a lot of what people are saying on here.
User avatar
bman2
Legend
Posts: 4592
Joined: 10 years ago

Yeah Castles isn’t very suitable about pressing Jose Mourinho’s talking points, but I find the podcast worth a listen. He does seem to get a good amount of genuine insider gossip, you just have to try to take the good bits and adjust for the agenda. The other bloke on the podcast kicks Castles’ arse so much, it’s actually funny.

A great podcast is the Off the Ball Football Podcast, out of Dublin. There’s often two a day, but one of the ones from this past Wednesday has a great discussion about United post-Young Boys. Gives different sides of the debate.
Fuck the Glazers
Legend
Posts: 9899
Joined: 10 years ago

There's a lot of good insightful commentary on football now thanks largely to podcasts. MNF has raised the bar in terms of details. There's also some good data / analytics stuff. The latest NQAT pod about football governance under late stage capitalism with the fella that created the football index is illuminating. Well worth a listen.

It wasn't long ago that none of this existed. We're a lot more knowledgeable as fans now, and it coincides with a new level of technical football with Pep, Klopp, Bielsa etc. You can fill every moment of your life consuming football. Probably not a good thing.
sheesh
Legend
Posts: 1239
Joined: 8 years ago

Ole on the right midfielder for United:

https://www.unitedinfocus.com/news/what ... nited/amp/
User avatar
swampash
Legend
Posts: 2899
Joined: 10 years ago

Begs the question why did he get Sancho instead of Bellingham, who would have been my choice?
Fuck the Glazers
Legend
Posts: 9899
Joined: 10 years ago

He's having another bad spell. Will he get sacked though?
Post Reply