Ole is still managing Jose's team. Let's not forget that. He's not bought one player yet.

PL PTS wise we are on par with the top 2 since he came in too. Our fans need to get realistic.

comment by Eric_the_king (SE85) (U21241)
posted 44 seconds ago
Ole is still managing Jose's team. Let's not forget that. He's not bought one player yet.

PL PTS wise we are on par with the top 2 since he came in too. Our fans need to get realistic.
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I know. That's why I'm not going over the top. He's done well with what he has but I feel to get the best out of what he's trying to do there has to be a few changes.

I'm not saying much that's new here really but I'm not going to hang anyone out to dry tonight. We know the ones that aren't good enough already.

Nice post. Agreed.

I'll add we missed clear chances against barca, and they scored from mistakes and own goals as well as a worldie. Result looks bad, but if we took any of our chances then it would be a different game.

I think pool will be more clinical and beat them with ease.

Big transfer window needed, but that was always the case.

No need to go OTT tonight, can't have any complaints about being beaten by a better team.

Put Pep in charge since December and we'd not done much better.

Let's give Ole 2/3 windows before we judge him. LVG n Jose got 4 and 5 respectively.

A commanding centre back should be the first signing.

Good summary Diafol. I was thinking this earlier. He hasn't had an input into this squad yet - I guess the big question is, will the Glasers back him sufficiently in the market? I genuinely think it will take a number of transfer windows to get a squad anywhere near being competitive. I think who he gets rid of, is just as important as those he brings in. There is basis of a decent squad I guess but some real quality additions to the first 11 are crucial.

I'm not going to judge Ole on tonight. Barca are clearly a better team than us and no shame in admitting it.

Big summer ahead and even if it's incremental improvements next season I'd take it. I can wait if we're going in the right direction and I hope we can time it right to coincide with City's older players (Aguero, Silva, Kompany etc) moving on as then we'd be in a decent position.

Oles a stop gap.
Jose was super toxic and players values were plummeting and the football was borderline unwatchable.
Man U have their soul and pride back and Ole will make some progress but I still havent seen anything to suggest he is the calibre required to get Man U back to their prev levels.
A decision made with the boards and fans hearts not their brains imo

Looking at that tonight I'd say Alderweireld and Meunier would have improved our back four (along with the return of Shaw).

In midfield we need someone to put their foot on the ball and dictate the play a bit. If Pogba is here next season he needs to be the 'explosive' guy and not the dictator. Maybe someone Kroos-like? Our scouts need to work hard on this.

In the forward line we need someone who can create some magic on a consistent basis or stick the ball in the back of the net with regularity.

We could luck out and improve all in one summer but I'd take gradual improvements towards a final goal and I hope Ole gets the chance to do that.

I’m hoping that given Ole played with Scholes and Carrick, and coaches with the latter, he’ll know the value of that type of player and bring someone in of that mould in the summer.

We were the better team over 2 legs. Can't help that the refs are corrupt

Give Ole a chance next season with 4/5 new players. We are a long way behind the top teams in Europe. It's not Oles fault

I think the fitness point is massive.

After Jose left, we were very good for a while as Ole tried to play a higher energy game, but it's taken it's toll... First with injuries and now with form and tiredness.

This summer is huge in many respects, but getting a good pre-season in will be very important.

Ole certainly needs to improve the fitness and desire of
our players that is for sure. Rice showed all our players up on Saturday. That is what Ole should be looking for in his summer signings.

Fitness was the most obvious issue with this squad for a long time. You can complain about the quality all you like but if you don’t condition the squad to a good level of fitness you are always going to disadvantage yourself.

So yeah pre season is important. But then it remains to be seen how Ole goes about managing the squad over a full season, where deliberate drop offs in intensity are necessary, and how he wants the team to play when not going all out.

Well said, totally agree with every point OP.

comment by Vidicschin (U3584)
posted 3 minutes ago
Ole certainly needs to improve the fitness and desire of
our players that is for sure. Rice showed all our players up on Saturday. That is what Ole should be looking for in his summer signings.


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Yeah rice would put us on a par with Barca. Maybe throw in a couple of onion bahdjis. Ambition

Exactly Barry.

comment by Ed The King Woodward (U10026)
posted 29 seconds ago
Fitness was the most obvious issue with this squad for a long time. You can complain about the quality all you like but if you don’t condition the squad to a good level of fitness you are always going to disadvantage yourself.

So yeah pre season is important. But then it remains to be seen how Ole goes about managing the squad over a full season, where deliberate drop offs in intensity are necessary, and how he wants the team to play when not going all out.
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Dazza I think even an old head (such as when Liverpool signed Gary McAllister) would help with your second point there. We can't be tearing around all game every game. Perhaps Banega is available.

I also think the good results we had when Ole came in were more than a 'new manager bounce'. He brought positivity to the club and a new energy but it was always going to drop off eventually. Where we've been unlucky is that we had injuries to key players when that drop off occurred which magnified it.

VC - Rice would be the kind of signing SAF would have made. A young, hungry English/British talent to supplement what he already had. With regards to Rice he's also shown some balls to change from Eire to England so I think his character would be sound in that respect.

Isn’t Matic that player?

It does seem to be that the pool of talent for that style of player is lacking a bit right now.

I know that people want to see ‘young and hungry’ players brought in but the team is also lacking experience and composure in areas as well. Sometimes you need a balance, and I think despite my grievances with certain players in the squad that tick the experience box it would appear Ole does hold it in high value, which is why Young keeps starting despite playing like a paraplegic.

Good OP.

One thing I've learned over years of watching football is that the margins are often finer than they appear. In 2005 we were miles off. In 2006 we were the best team in the league, thanks mainly to organic improvement in our squad. Sometimes the margins are psychological (see the shift in performance when OGS took over). Often they are a mixture of belief and telling advantages in quality in a certain area or two. We could be a long way away, or maybe a few good decisions from competing at the top again.

I wasn't depressed by tonight. I enjoyed seeing us giving it a go against one of the best teams on the planet, and falling short not because we were terrible or lacked courage, but because they had the advantage in two or three key areas.

Even then, if an own goal and a dreadful goalkeeping error had gone for rather than against us, or Busquets sent off, things might just have been different.

I suppose Matic could be that player but he seems to play well for a while then fade away.

We can probably do better in each and every area of our team but I do think we have to improve the right back area, right wing area and deep-lying playmaker area. A commanding leader at CB wouldn't go amiss either (although I don't think we're as bad there as is made out either) and I'd be in for Toby Alderweireld if he indicated he wanted to come.

We do need to get the balance right which is why I suggested players along the lines of Toby A, Meunier, Kroos or players of that ilk that I've not heard of. We should be scouting the likes of Vidal and Gundogan before they join the likes of Juve and Dortmund for example.

The one good thing, if you can call it that, is that we're starting from a lower base than normal (and our targets being somewhat different in going for top 4 rather than league in the short term I'd imagine) so I don't think taking a punt on well scouted talent would be that much of a risk if we're fearing inconsistency from the new signings.

Red Russian.

Who'd have though that at the start of 2006/07, with just the Carrick signing, we'd have started off like a train with the emergence of Rooney and Ronaldo as top players.

As Dazza has mentioned we need a balance and it's just a case of getting the right players in. We may luck out and get four players in who go straight into the first team and play at their best straight away. That's the dream and it would make a hell of a difference.

Diafol, yep I think that’s fair. I do think one of the best signings we could make would be a top quality forward. We don’t have one. And you won’t be challenging for major honours without one. It’s pretty shameful that we’re still saying this given all the money we’ve spent of forwards the last few years.

comment by Ed The King Woodward (U10026)
posted 3 seconds ago
Diafol, yep I think that’s fair. I do think one of the best signings we could make would be a top quality forward. We don’t have one. And you won’t be challenging for major honours without one. It’s pretty shameful that we’re still saying this given all the money we’ve spent of forwards the last few years.
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I was chatting with MU52 earlier about getting in a reliable top class forward and that someone like that can help cover a multitude of sins.

I know there's not been as much noise this year but could it be the summer we finally go in for Griezmann. Not a big, strong striker at all but technically good and very clinical in front of goal. In theory a forward three of him, Rashford and Martial could be very good. The latter two though needing to improve their composure and application though most certainly.