Manchester United (ten Hag appointed)

[K]

Mourinho reopens war of words with 'His Excellency' Pogba

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/mourinho-reopens-war-of-words-with-his-excellency-pogba-20190403-p51a6o.html

"The outspoken ex-Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss said after a match at Burnley in September a player left Turf Moor in his chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce instead of travelling back to Manchester on the team bus.

"I told him: 'If we went to London and you wanted to stay there, that would be one thing. But this is close, it doesn't make sense'," he said.

"The guy was upset. But then we won the game and he asked me again.

"As I was happy, I gave in a little and said, 'At least leave on the bus and ask your chauffeur to catch up with you 10 minutes from the stadium, then go as you wish'.

"And this guy in the locker room still wasn't happy. I went to the press conference and when I arrived at the team bus, parked beside it was a Rolls-Royce with his chauffeur.

"After all, the car was new and His Excellency would like to leave the stadium in his Rolls-Royce.

"Now how do we deal with this? You (tell him) never go in the Rolls? You can go when I'm happy?

"Or you solve this thing in another way to get me 'on vacation'." "

[K]

Manchester United's Solskjaer to make 'ruthless' decisions in transfer market

http://www.espn.com.au/football/manchester-united/story/3823987/manchester-uniteds-solskjaer-to-make-ruthless-decisions-in-transfer-market

' "It's going to be survival of the fittest or survival of the best," Solskjaer told a news conference ahead of the Premier League clash with West Ham. "That's how ruthless we have to be.

"We need players here who are going to be able to take us forward. That means culture in the dressing room, what we do every single day here to make us challenge again." '

[K]

The honeymoon is over.

Everton 4-0 Manchester United.

[Jezza]

It's been over for a while, but this confirmed it.

[K]

"Paul Pogba has described Manchester United’s defeat to Everton as ‘disrespectful’ with players reportedly turning on each other after the game.

According to the Daily Mail, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer kept his side in the dressing-room for more than half an hour following the 4-0 hammering.

In the heated exchange, players were reportedly pointing the finger at one another as voices could be heard from the Goodison Park corridors."

[K]

Man. United's problems look like they're mostly in away matches. In EPL matches, at least, it looks like they've lost at home only to Tottenham way back at the start of the season, though there've been many draws.

But FiveThirtyEight gives them little chance (16%) against Man City (64%) tomorrow. That's still a 1-in-3 chance of City tripping up and the title race swinging.

[K]

Manchester City Sweeps Aside United and Its History

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/sports/manchester-united-manchester-city-liverpool.html

"The past rarely trumps the present.

And yet it is to the past, again and again, that Solskjaer has harked, ever since he rode back into Manchester to help his old team through its José Mourinho-inflicted crisis. He rarely allows a public appearance to go by without mentioning some facet of the club he used to know.
...

It is always heartfelt, so much does Manchester United mean to Solskjaer, so deeply does he feel its history. It was, at first, understandable, a way to lift the spirits of the fans and the players, endlessly diminished by Mourinho. Increasingly, though, it feels as if Solskjaer is bound by the past. A story did the rounds not long ago that he refused to park in Ferguson’s old space at the training facility. He believes, the story went, that it is “still Ferguson’s spot.”
...

This, now, is what United has become: a tribute act to its own former glories, a kind of permanent walking tour through a costumed, confected version of its past, a club adrift in a sea of nostalgia: a visit to the Cliff here, a mention of Barcelona there, never-ending mentions of Ferguson and last-minute winners and Manchester United DNA.

It worked, for a while, helping Solskjaer lift the team out of its slump, bringing a famous win at Paris St.-Germain — and in Ferguson’s favored, last-minute style, too — and earning Solskjaer, deservedly, a shot at the job full-time. Its effectiveness has long since worn off, though; Solskjaer is beyond the point where he should be paying homage to Ferguson, and needs to start acting like him, instead."

[K]

Mourinho goes on another rant:

https://twitter.com/GuardiolaTweets/status/1123574853775319040 [4:33]

[K]

Huddersfield 1-1 Man. United

Man. United led shots 23-7, shots on target 7-3, possession 65%-35%, and pass accuracy 84%-70%. Pogba hit the crossbar twice.

Man. United cannot qualify for UCL now.

[Jezza]

LOL United are 2-0 down at home against Cardiff.

I think Solskjaer's going to get sacked

[K]

It would be a cheaper payout but would make them look like fools.

[K]

Solskjaer Shows He Won’t Be Bullied At Manchester United

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sampilger/2019/12/05/solskjaer-shows-he-wont-be-bullied-at-manchester-united/#247e8104614c

"Immediately after the final whistle of Manchester United’s cathartic 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night Ole Gunnar Solskjaer embraced his vanquished predecessor Jose Mourinho in front of the managers’s dugouts.

As they came apart the current United manager appeared to place a victorious and ever so slightly patronising pat on top of Mourinho’s head.

The Norwegian was evidently keen to enjoy this highly symbolic win.

Since August Mourinho has sat in the comfort of television studios at Old Trafford and other grounds, and issued mild, but still pointed criticisms about his successor amid a succession of disappointing displays from United.
...

It also continued a pleasing habit of United turning on performances against the leading sides...

For Liverpool’s visit to Old Trafford and the League Cup game at Chelsea, Solskjaer had played three in defence, but against Tottenham he stuck with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
...

This bodes well for their trip to Manchester City on Saturday, but also highlights United’s failure to do better against the supposedly lesser teams."

[K]

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first year as manager

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/11889833/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-one-year-as-manchester-united-manager

Interim manager: The dream honeymoon...

The fact that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer boasts a win ratio of 50 per cent in all competitions and 47.3 per cent in the Premier League is still down to the lightning start that saw 14 wins come in his first 17 games in charge.
...

The wheels come off for Ole

No sooner was Ole given the manager’s job full-time then those wheels came off.
...

New season: No signs of improvement

“DNA” and the “Manchester United way”. Two buzzwords trotted out at many levels of the club.
...

Green shoots of recovery...

Solskjaer has always spoken highly of the Manchester United production line. He’s given 10 former academy players their debuts and they have played a huge part in the positive mood around the club right now.
...

What next?...

It’s still unclear just who Manchester United are as a side under Solskjaer and what their true identity is.

Opposition managers talk about them as a counterattacking team but their best performance under Solskjaer, in the Manchester Derby, just saw them hit City with everything they had."

[Jezza]

Ole's problems have been exacerbated following a defeat to bottom-placed Watford this morning.

[K]

Manchester United cannot create or win when dominating possession

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/11893626/manchester-united-cannot-create-or-win-when-dominating-possession

"... Manchester United's 2-0 defeat to bottom club Watford means that they are now guaranteed to have their lowest-ever points tally at the halfway stage of a Premier League season.
...

United have now taken 14 points from 13 games against teams outside the so-called big six.
...

Manchester United have won five of the six Premier League games in which they have had less than half of the ball this season, drawing the other.

In contrast, they have won just one of the dozen games in which they have had more possession.

It is a damning statistic.

There is no future in this type of football. Burnley and Newcastle might be able to tick along by picking up their points in games where they allow the opponent to dominate possession but the big teams have to find a way to win with the ball, as well as without it.

For example, Liverpool have won 93 per cent of the matches in which they have had the majority of the possession - only United with their counter-attacking football denying them.

Leicester have a win percentage of 77 per cent in these games. Manchester City and Chelsea, teams who have had difficulty controlling the counter-attack this season, have still won 65 per cent and 56 per cent of these games respectively.

United's record stands at just eight per cent."