Yes, but its about Solskjær immidiently after 3-0 rund to Gomez and asks him to Get ready.

Trivia time -- who was the last utd manager to win his first two games in charge? The winner is..... Jose Mourinho!

I think everyone's getting ahead of themselves. Dont get me wrong - I like ole gunnar as much as the next guy, but... Roy keane was 100% correct when he called out some of these players as fuckin floaters. I'm looking at you mr. Pogba.

I guess we'll see how things develop in the next few months. There will be harder matches and losses for sure, I have no doubts about that. There will be more defensive displays as well and Ole will be judged based on how the games against Spurs go for example.

But I think we all agree that there are some very clear and important differences:
*The team attacked - when on the ball, there was a much clearer aim. Always try to play forward. Not in the sense that every pass needs to go forward, but it was played forward a lot and the attacking players responded. They got to touch the ball more often and saw that their movement was rewarded with passes. Even if they were not totally free from their opponent. That opened the game up so much. It helped Lingard find space, it created space for Rashford to run into, it gave Pogba targets ahead of him, it kept the opponents scared of some quick passing combinations so that Pogba was more often one on one with his man and could dribble past him. The last few months we've been so slow and static that when he gets the ball, there is no passing option and even no dribble option because our opponents can get two men on him to take the ball.
Not to mention that the centre backs looked like they could play football and that they aren't the worst ever CBs on the ball. They took charge and ran into midfield, created space for others and generally disrupted the opponents press. Under Jose they never moved with the ball. Just passed and defended.
*The team attacked when we went ahead - the most frustrating thing under Jose. When we scored under Ole we actually started attacking more, it gave the team confidence that they're doing well. They continued playing the same way and dominating the match. Under Jose we always dropped off and started to play on the counter. Except our counters were piss poor and often didn't happen at all. At times it felt like Tony Pulis was our manager and instead of Lukaku we had Cameron Jerome(isolated of course) and two wingers(isolated of course) who wouldn't combine with their teammates, but who had the task of beating their man and then another and then putting in a good ball for Lukaku.
*Ole took the first chance he could to introduce a young talent and trusted Dalot to start - Jose really only played the young players when he had no other choice or the game was totally meaningless. I mean even against Valencia when there was nothing to play for, he didn't want to give 15 minutes to Greenwood or Garner. A year ago he boasted about how he gives young players chances. But does he really? Ole took just one match to find space for Gomes on the bench and when the score was secure, he immediately brought on Gomes. Not for the last 2 minutes, but as soon as possible.
*The general attitude towards the players - Jose has been negative towards everything for a year now. He makes it all about him. When we win it's him who comes up with the plan, when we lose, then his plan wasn't carried out. It's like he is the club. The man. Everything. Ole has been positive. Encouraging players, talking how they're not the problem, but the solution and just a few details might need to change/improve.

I don't mind if the results turn and we end up sixth as long as we play similarly to the last two games. Just like I more or less stopped caring about the games under Jose. I watched, but I didn't get an emotion. The goals didn't excite me. The combinations and goals and tricks and everything have been exciting under Ole. I'm loving watching football again!

That doesn't mean Ole is a god or even a great manager. It just means that he is better suited for the United job than Jose.

As for Pogba not playing well for Jose - well, Jose also alienated Martial and Shaw. I don't blame Pogba, because Jose made it hard for him.

Yeah No I agree with everything you said. I've probably watched 4-5 matches this season, and most of those were CL games. They've become too dreary and plodding to watch. My point is this tho -- when you've got fairweather players, it doesn't matter who your manager is: the first time their agent whispers something in their ear you've lost that player.

You mentioned Martial, Pogba, and Shaw. I don't think they're all the same. Pogba is firmly in this category, Martial is somewhat in it, and Shaw isn't in it at all. I'm not looking at how they were treated by Mourinho, I'm looking at their reaction to that treatment.

In the end it's up to the manager to manage the players. He has to understand them and solve the problems in the team. Clearly Jose didn't manage that. We'll see how things work out. It's not like Pogba is afraid of a challenge or not willing to put in a shift - he did that for France at the World Cup.

You can't escape the fact that he threw a lot of players under the bus out in public. That's bound to destroy the respect of the players towards you. The whole 'let's tell everyone out there what problems we have in our squad' tactic of Jose was not a good one and in the end it didn't work. He didn't get a response from the players with those comments. Not from Shaw, not from Martial, not from Pogba. None played well the next game after those comments. None really played any time soon after those comments. It felt like Jose was punishing them for making mistakes in games and in the end it rubbed off on everyone. The team was afraid of making mistakes. My guess is that it's because they didn't really understand what Jose expected of them and therefore felt that any mistake could mean its their last game for a while.

I don't think they're fairweather players. I specifically remember Pogba turning in a MOTM display when 2-0 down against City last season. And being the one who takes risks and tries to make things happen when we're chasing a game.

I expect Sanchez to shine now as well. He feels like a player who should shine in an attacking team.

Another test passed. Of the three sides we've beaten now under Ole, Bournemouth are quite surely the strongest. Yet they didn't really threaten other than that one lapse of concentration when they scored. And United seemed to play like the good old days - trying to go forward, trusting their ability and generally playing like a United team should. One could find fault with Bailly for nearly giving away a penalty with that high foot(it was somewhat dangerous and it might have made the last quarter of the game nervy) and getting a red card(which I thought was a bit harsh as his feet weren't high there). It was unfortunate that he got the red, because I think that with him on the pitch we could've scored one or two more. A few times in the last 10 minutes when we got into dangerous positions, we checked back to control the ball instead of going for another goal. It was sensible, but I'm sure they would've tried to get a few more if we had Bailly.

Nevertheless even with 10 men it was so great to see the team keep the ball and see the game out in control. Jose has always made it feel like his teams are in control when they don't have the ball but are in good shape, but I think the way United saw the game out was much better than what Joses sides do.

And.. that Rashford dribble was great, have to mention that. I don't think I ever saw dribbles like that under Jose. And it's so refreshing to see our forwards combining. The little touches and the movement.. can't really ask for too much more. Edge of the seat stuff.

It's interesting to see if and how Ole manages to find room for Sanchez. And Lukaku as well. I mean - Sanchez should thrive in this team, although it's a bit hard to see where he fits in. Lukaku.. I have some doubts about him, especially as Rashford fits the centre forward role so well, but at the same time I feel like Ole might find a good way to use Lukakus strengths.

It's been about 5 years now since we saw fun football like this. Let's just hope it continues.

작성자 chuksi :

It's interesting to see if and how Ole manages to find room for Sanchez. And Lukaku as well. I mean - Sanchez should thrive in this team, although it's a bit hard to see where he fits in. Lukaku.. I have some doubts about him, especially as Rashford fits the centre forward role so well, but at the same time I feel like Ole might find a good way to use Lukakus strengths.

I also have big doubts about Lukaku's place in this team. But with that said I think Ole and co will somehow fit him into the side. Though I like very much a flexible front three like yesterday - where anyone can play left, right or center, so that opposing defenders never know from which side and from which player a danger can arise. With Lukaku that flexibility would become questionable.

Lukaku is a player you can use in any system. Do you have to play different with him than Rashford? Sure.

Does it mean that attacking will be less dynamic? Don't think so. On the other hand, I think it's going to be even better with a Lukaku type spearheading as a target man who the other guys can make runs around or who can move around in the area, creating space for the others.

I think the main problem with Lukaku isn't that he can't go left or right. He can, he is good at running the channels. And generally what made our attack work well was the fact that we had players who constantly wanted to run behind their defense. One came a bit shorter, the other attacked the space. Simple, yet effective if you have good passers in midfield and such quick players in attack. The problem with Lukaku is ability coming towards play is not so great and that might just mean the opponents let him get the ball there. It's not too bad if the likes of Lingard and Pogba can make runs off him and combine with him. But does he have the quality for that intricate play? Even if he is given some space, he might not be precise enough.

But who knows. On the other hand if he can occupy the two CBs with his strength and threat of running behind them it should leave a lot of room for the rest of our team to work the ball up the pitch. And with Lukaku if you get the ball to him on the run, he is devastating. He is so strong and quick that he will always get shots away and often score. Just like yesterday. He was offside, but once he got the pass he struck panic into the opponents. You know he'll get a good shot away and there is little you can do to stop him.

Interesting to see how he'll be used. I think that against teams that defend deep he is a very different option to what else we have.

Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!

(That's one for each win in a row)

Also a fun stat - this season in PL Joses United and Oles United have kept an equal amount of clean sheets.

He's a magician! But I always knew that this team can play much better :)
With that said, yesterday's win was a lot about luck and De Gea's class. The first half was quite good, but we were outplayed after halftime...

Yeah, from the standpoint of how well the he reacted to their change in formation I'd say that it wasn't great, because we didn't control the second half and neither did we create enough chances to be able to say that conceding chances is fine as we got a lot of them ourselves as well. We did get some and in that sense it was a much better performance than it often was under Jose, but the standard should be that we'll be dangerous enough that we might punish them if they attack as much as they did.

But in a general sense I think it has to be said that it was great to see everyone being concentrated and giving their 100% the whole 90 minutes. While it's not perfect, the bare minimum requirement of giving your all and trying to play the right way is there.

There are a few tricky fixtures coming up soon, but it feels like this winning run might continue for quite a while. Brighton next week seems pretty tricky for example. They're not great, but they're solid.

It's great to see a victory away against one of the top teams in EPL.

However, our defence was too leaky and we conceded too many good chances to Spurs.
Luckily, Dave saved everything that came his way.

On a positive side, we also created different chances and Lloris also had to pull off some very good saves to keep the game alive.

If I should fine something that wasn't so good imo, then I got to say that I wasn't quite happy with the subs yesterday.
Firstly, instead of subbing Martial for Lukaku, I thought it was more a case of putting a fresh player like Fred or Pereira or maybe McTominay in the middle and change Lingard who didn't have a great impact when Spurs took the game in their hands and started attacking us dangerously. OK for the strength of Lukaku, but with Martial off, we lost some possibilities of good counter attacks. Lukaku could have come on for Rashford/Martial later, when they lost their fuel.

Nearing the end of the game Ole did take Lingard off, but then it was more logical to take off Rashford, who by the time was very tired and practically walking on the pitch.

Anyway, happy with the game and especially with our attitude, long it may continue.

Now, if we manage to bring in a central defender in January who would improve our current side, we would really have good chances for finishing in top 4 and, who knows, maybe proceed also in the CL.

The biggest issue for me was that Ole didn't really adjust the tactics to counter Spurs better when they switched formation and we didn't manage to control it. Whether that would've meant simply asking the forwards to switch and take up more conservative positions or press a bit differently is something I don't know, because its hard to see on TV, but they seemed to find solutions to bypass our press and get up the field way better in the second half.

The defending was good in some sense - a lot of bodies in the way and not letting them get easy shots. One of the Kane chances was a good example - Jones lost him, but held on to him so that he couldn't get a free header from 5m out and Kane headed it into De Gea instead of the corner of the goal. It was a risky challenge as sometimes it's seen as if you're not really trying to get to the ball, but it was a good example of everyone flying in to block the shots. I think that contributed to their chances being taken in a hurried fashion and not ending up perfectly in the corner. So in some sense I think the defending was good. Allowing that many chances wasn't good of course and they need to work on the pressing a bit more to make sure it works and we don't end up giving away that many chances.

I also feel that in possession in the second half we could've done a bit better. If they chase the game and must press us, then there should be enough space for our attackers to get the balls. In many cases the starts of our counters were good - the forwards all, Lukaku included, managed to get to the ball and start the attacks. But sometimes then it fell apart. The previous games I felt the difference with Jose was that the opponents knew we might go forward so they didn't really want to take that many risks in pressing. With Jose they knew we wouldn't attack so they also knew our passing was going to be backwards and so they could move up the pitch. Yesterday at times they managed to push us back as well. It wasn't bad, but there's room for improvement.

As for the substitutions - they made sense to me. Lukaku on a big pitch is good, because he can win the physical duels, he is quick and runs the channels well and wasn't bad yesterday. I think Martial was a bit quiet and it was logical to make that change. At times Lukakus decision making wasn't ideal, but he was another option to stretch the pitch. After all - his main strength is his pace combined with his power. He'll outfight most opponents when running the channel.

The other two made sense as well. While I think Fred and Pereira are talented, I feel like they still need a few more lower level games. By that I mean the non-top-six games. Or top six games where we're up by two. They seem to take some risks on the ball without offering enough offensively. I think both can come good, but in this game.. I wouldn't have felt 100% certain about them. I think changing Lingard for the last 10 minutes was also fine. I didn't see Rashford out of breath and I'd guess both him and Lingard ran their socks off so it doesn't matter too much which of them you sub.

I think the top four seems like a reasonable target right now. We're just 6 behind Chelsea, who aren't on a great run and who don't seem to be doing THAT great without a striker. Even Spurs are just 7 points ahead and if Kane did get injured, then they could be in trouble as Son is also leaving for some matches.
As for CL - I think it's going to be a fun tie. I expect a lot of goals. If we can limit the supply to their attackers, we could win the tie. And under Ole I believe it's possible. With Jose - no way.

As for bringing in a defender - IMO it's only worth it if we bring in someone who is going to solve the problems long term. I doubt there are too many available in January who are good enough and who would come at a reasonable price.

Granted. De Gea had some decent saves.

Tottenham could've won that 4-1 if they hadn't shot directly at him 96% of the time.

Not taking the win away from Solskjaer, it's not like United were incredibly outclassed, but that game was Tottenham's loss more than United's win. Clinical finishing 101.

I wouldn't agree that our defending was good, especially not in the 2nd half, as we've kept a clean sheet only because of De Gea's saves and Spurs finishing not being clinical enough.

We conceded too many chances both through the middle and from the crosses, especially Trippier was given too many crosses, so I hope Ole and his staff will focus on improving that in the next games.

As I said, I'd also make some different subs, but OK, let's enjoy the victory and not go into the details.

Concerning one thing I did like very much, it was the idea to get Lingard insert himself through the middle when Martial and Rashford drew the defenders wide and opened spaces for him.
Also, interchanging positions in the attack was good and we could have scored some more goals.
I am curious whether Sanchez will find his place in this team, as with Martial and Rashford he can make some great combinations in the attacking system we are playing. Of course, the only question is who between those players will play more on the right side.

About Pogba, it was so obvious that moving him those 20 yards forward will bring him a world of good and it is strange that Mourinho didn't want to concede him the liberty to attack more. 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 matches says enough. It would be even better if he could avoid relaxing too much sometimes, like yesterday when Spurs almost scored after he lost the ball in attack unnecessarily.

Herrera is not the world class technician and passer, but he is so determined and fights so much that it compensates all his weaker characteristics. Really an asset in some games.

Matic is also playing better since Ole came and his calmness is important sometimes. However, I must say that for the future I would prefer someone quicker and more mobile.

I wouldn't agree that our defending was good, especially not in the 2nd half, as we've kept a clean sheet only because of De Gea's saves and Spurs finishing not being clinical enough.

And I think that was partly because they felt that they had to get a shot away really quickly because we also blocked a big number of shots and closed the player taking the shot down really quickly in general. I'd say that these kind of finishes were partly because of how we defended. I mean - it was Kane, the top striker, who put in some hurried shots even. Its not a sustainable way to defend, I agree - I'd very much prefer it if we cleaned those crosses out like Rio and Vidic used to do, but this wasn't too horrible.

Concerning one thing I did like very much, it was the idea to get Lingard insert himself through the middle when Martial and Rashford drew the defenders wide and opened spaces for him.
Also, interchanging positions in the attack was good and we could have scored some more goals.
I am curious whether Sanchez will find his place in this team, as with Martial and Rashford he can make some great combinations in the attacking system we are playing. Of course, the only question is who between those players will play more on the right side.

Someone summed it up well - if you have pace in attack and passers in midfield(which we do) and the mentality where you're allowed to make mistakes and try the kind of passes like the one that led to the goal, then the forwards will run because they know they'll get passes, the midfielders will pass, because there is movement ahead of them and the whole thing works, especially is there is room to play the passes to.

As for Sanchez - I think he'll be an asset. He is a great player after all. Maybe he isn't as pacy as the others but he makes up for it with tenacity and quality. I think it's great that we have such options, Lukaku and Mata as well. They're all somewhat different and now it's up to Ole and co to find the best combinations for specific games. I think only Fellaini is the one that is less likely to get games than before - he just doesn't have the quality on the ball and I can't see Ole using a target man tbh.

About Pogba, it was so obvious that moving him those 20 yards forward will bring him a world of good and it is strange that Mourinho didn't want to concede him the liberty to attack more. 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 matches says enough. It would be even better if he could avoid relaxing too much sometimes, like yesterday when Spurs almost scored after he lost the ball in attack unnecessarily.

I think that's where the team should make tactical fouls. He will take chances and lose the ball at times and the rest of the team need to be aware of that and cover for him. I think he worked back well enough yesterday in general and seemed quite dependable. But obviously he needs two other midfielders in the team, otherwise the risk of him losing the ball is too big.

Herrera is not the world class technician and passer, but he is so determined and fights so much that it compensates all his weaker characteristics. Really an asset in some games.

Matic is also playing better since Ole came and his calmness is important sometimes. However, I must say that for the future I would prefer someone quicker and more mobile.

Agreed on Herrera. His ability to be annoying is just fun to watch.

Matic has been impressive since Ole came IMO. He doesn't look as immobile any more. I even saw him run faster than someone yesterday :P. I think he is fine for now, but in a year or two he'll need to be replaced for sure. I don't think he has enough quality to play as long as Giggs/Scholes. In general I think we should be looking for a new defensive playmaker this summer already - then if it doesn't work out we wouldn't be bad in midfield for a year.

And the winning streak continues...

I wasn't a good game last night, but we got 3 points at a difficult away field.

작성자 Bendtsen :

And the winning streak continues...

I wasn't a good game last night, but we got 3 points at a difficult away field.

We looked good only in the first part of the 1st half, but then we just faded away and let Leicester attack. We conceded too many chances and luckily their players weren't on target.

Imo, Sanchez and Lingard didn't offer good protection to our fullbacks, while Ashley Young also had a weak game. Moreover, neither Lingard nor Sanchez made anything meaningful in attack as well, but that doesn't surprise me.
My preferred option for the attacking trio would always be Martial as a number 9, Rashford left and ______ on the right. I left it blank on purpose, as we simply don't have a right winger. Maybe Ole can try putting Sanchez in there, as he already played that position for Udinese and Barcelona. Rashford can also play on the right. Lukaku is not a right winger, of course, but maybe he can be used there in some games, at least to start the attacks from that position, but he would also need to track back and help our RWB.

It's just strange that we cannot find better solutions for the right side for years already.

Dalot might get some more chances on RWB, but he's still young and maybe we should consider buying a player who is good enough for top level football. We must strive for the best always. Imo, this position is very important, along with a right winger. I cannot imagine how improved our side would be if we just had two top players on the right. It's been some time already that our right side is suffering.

Btw, what happened to Antonio Valencia? He completely disappeared. I firstly thought it was some kind of a row with Mourinho, but now I see he doesn't even appear on the bench for Solskjaer. I don't remember any injury though. Not that Valencia would be a solution, but I'm just curious what happened to him.

Yesterday felt a bit flat for me. There wasn't the same kind of urgency that we saw in the first 4-5 games. At least it disappeared after the first 20-30 minutes.

I agree that the attacking trio didn't really work well yesterday. Sanchez isn't really on the same wavelength with others and I'm not sure what to make of him. Lingard, while he didn't have a good game, is just someone who didn't suit this game. Lingard is a player who is excellent when we counter, but isn't very good when we're trying to unlock a set defense. I would've preferred Mata yesterday. He is exactly the opposite - not good when we play on the counter, but much more likely to contribute when we need to create something against a set defense. I would probably have picked Sanchez-Rashford-Mata as the starting trio.

Dalot might get some more chances on RWB, but he's still young and maybe we should consider buying a player who is good enough for top level football. We must strive for the best always. Imo, this position is very important, along with a right winger. I cannot imagine how improved our side would be if we just had two top players on the right. It's been some time already that our right side is suffering.

I think it's interesting to see when Dalot will get his next chance. He got one chance under Ole, but didn't do that well then. I'm pretty sure he'll get another chance soon though.

As for a right winger - I agree that it's one of the positions where a really top player would improve us a lot. But I can't really think of too many out there that would be really great. We really missed the 2-3 top talents that could play there - Mbappe(who is a striker or a right sided wing-forward), Dembele and perhaps Malcom who also went to Barca. Sancho perhaps could be an option, but the price is really inflated right now. Nicolas Pepe is another who has done well in France. I'm not sure there are many others who'd be interesting. I'm only looking at young wingers, because I think it's reasonable to only buy young players. We don't really need another Sanchez-type of a transfer where there is little upside and huge downside. The good part of it is that we have different options there that are fine and if Ole makes the right decisions for each match, then it isn't a huge weakness. Just it felt like yesterday he didn't get it right.

As for Valencia - I think he just got old. The last few appearances he's felt a bit of a liability. He isn't as quick any more, he doesn't motor up the pitch with the ball as much any more, his delivery can't be compared to Young and defensively he isn't brilliant either. And it just seems that Dalot and Young are ahead of him in the pecking order. Probably rightly so.