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Red Devils 2018-19
- Thread starter yinyang
- Start date
And whip some (deserving) asses into gear?
WHEN THE BUBBLE BURST
The moment Ed Woodward decided Jose Mourinho was wrong for Man Utd job
Manchester United chief muttered 'this is just not for us' after watching replays of 3-1 defeat at West Ham this seasonJOSE MOURINHO sensed the sack was coming last week when he phoned three agents.The Portuguese had told Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward of three players that he wanted in the January transfer window. If not then, in the su
The bubble burst for Jose Mourinho after Manchester United's loss at West Ham in September
But when he spoke to the agents of each player to see how things were developing, they were all perplexed. Not one of them had received a call from Woodward.
It was in the boardroom at West Ham’s London Stadium that Woodward properly realised it had all gone wrong.
Staring at the repeats of Manchester United’s 3-1 destruction at the hands of Manuel Pellegrini’s side in late September, Woodward shook his head and muttered: “This is just not us.”
Yesterday that was one of the reasons he gave Mourinho, too, as he bade farewell to his third manager in five years. They met in Mourinho’s office at Carrington ahead of players arriving for training.
Jose Mourinho watched his team get dismantled by struggling West Ham in September
Ed Woodward decided that Jose Mourinho was wrong for Manchester United after the West Ham loss
He had soon cleared it and was gone.
It was left to Woodward to address the players and tell them that Mourinho had been sacked.
No gasps. No tears shed. Just a sense of relief that the latest in a catalogue of meltdowns in The Special One’s career had finally come to an end.
The day before, Woodward had taken part in one of his regular conference calls and had advised owners the Glazers that a change needed to be made.
They listen to Woodward. After all, they hardly know what decisions need to be taken themselves when it comes to “soccer”.
Yet Mourinho was convinced moves had been made behind his back before yesterday. One person he was sure had received a call was former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.
As SunSport revealed on October 1, the Frenchman had been in touch with Mourinho to tell him that he was not plotting behind his back. Yes, his representative had asked him if he would be interested in the job were it to come up.
But Mourinho was convinced the man who took Real to three straight Champions League titles had been sounded out.
Jose Mourinho was convinced Manchester United sounded out Zinedine Zidane
There had been a growing sense of paranoia about the Portuguese this season as he sifted out who was for him and who was against him.
Not only in the playing staff but in the boardroom, in the media.
He wanted to know everything that was said about him, by who and why.
He, in turn, would lash out, calling for respect, and clutching at past glories.
He did so again last week when we revealed United were willing to pay £40million to get Mauricio Pochettino from Spurs. Increasingly, Mourinho was a man very much alone.
Jose Mourinho's former No2 Rui Faria decided he had enough earlier this season
The official line he gave was that he left last summer for family reasons.
Another take is that he had grown tired of acting as a buffer between the manager and a number of unhappy players.
Mourinho had told some players as recently as Sunday after the Liverpool defeat that those who were with him would continue to play and those who went against him would not.
The players felt demoralised and embarrassed after that 3-1 Liverpool defeat.
They felt there was no plan or strategy, just a desire to nullify the opponents.
Still, Mourinho was hopeful he might see out the season.
After all, he has put trophies on the table whereas Pochettino and Liverpoool boss Jurgen Klopp have not. Only Manchester City were better in the league last year. It was the style that began to matter as results went against him.
Jose Mourinho leaves Carrington after being sacked by Manchester United
He had also turned allies at the Carrington Training complex against him.
A big issue at the club historically has been about youth development. He worked closely overseeing that.
But in the summer, he ignored advice and took on the pre-season tour kids who, he was told, were not ready.
One source said: “He was just starting to pick fights with everyone.”
His mood has been dark since that tour of America. When he was asked if he was satisfied with the squad, he refused to answer.
After £400million had been spent on 11 players, he wanted more.
“More!” You could almost hear Woodward echoing the scene from Oliver Twist.
But it was what he spent the cash on that was the problem — or rather what he did with the ingredients after that.
What came out of the mix just was not Manchester United.
The moment Ed Woodward decided Jose Mourinho was wrong for Man Utd job
Manchester United chief muttered 'this is just not for us' after watching replays of 3-1 defeat at West Ham this seasonJOSE MOURINHO sensed the sack was coming last week when he phoned three agents.The Portuguese had told Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward of three players that he wanted in the January transfer window. If not then, in the su
The bubble burst for Jose Mourinho after Manchester United's loss at West Ham in September
But when he spoke to the agents of each player to see how things were developing, they were all perplexed. Not one of them had received a call from Woodward.
It was in the boardroom at West Ham’s London Stadium that Woodward properly realised it had all gone wrong.
Staring at the repeats of Manchester United’s 3-1 destruction at the hands of Manuel Pellegrini’s side in late September, Woodward shook his head and muttered: “This is just not us.”
Yesterday that was one of the reasons he gave Mourinho, too, as he bade farewell to his third manager in five years. They met in Mourinho’s office at Carrington ahead of players arriving for training.
Jose Mourinho watched his team get dismantled by struggling West Ham in September
Ed Woodward decided that Jose Mourinho was wrong for Manchester United after the West Ham loss
He had soon cleared it and was gone.
It was left to Woodward to address the players and tell them that Mourinho had been sacked.
No gasps. No tears shed. Just a sense of relief that the latest in a catalogue of meltdowns in The Special One’s career had finally come to an end.
The day before, Woodward had taken part in one of his regular conference calls and had advised owners the Glazers that a change needed to be made.
They listen to Woodward. After all, they hardly know what decisions need to be taken themselves when it comes to “soccer”.
Yet Mourinho was convinced moves had been made behind his back before yesterday. One person he was sure had received a call was former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.
As SunSport revealed on October 1, the Frenchman had been in touch with Mourinho to tell him that he was not plotting behind his back. Yes, his representative had asked him if he would be interested in the job were it to come up.
But Mourinho was convinced the man who took Real to three straight Champions League titles had been sounded out.
Jose Mourinho was convinced Manchester United sounded out Zinedine Zidane
There had been a growing sense of paranoia about the Portuguese this season as he sifted out who was for him and who was against him.
Not only in the playing staff but in the boardroom, in the media.
He wanted to know everything that was said about him, by who and why.
He, in turn, would lash out, calling for respect, and clutching at past glories.
He did so again last week when we revealed United were willing to pay £40million to get Mauricio Pochettino from Spurs. Increasingly, Mourinho was a man very much alone.
Jose Mourinho's former No2 Rui Faria decided he had enough earlier this season
The official line he gave was that he left last summer for family reasons.
Another take is that he had grown tired of acting as a buffer between the manager and a number of unhappy players.
Mourinho had told some players as recently as Sunday after the Liverpool defeat that those who were with him would continue to play and those who went against him would not.
The players felt demoralised and embarrassed after that 3-1 Liverpool defeat.
They felt there was no plan or strategy, just a desire to nullify the opponents.
Still, Mourinho was hopeful he might see out the season.
After all, he has put trophies on the table whereas Pochettino and Liverpoool boss Jurgen Klopp have not. Only Manchester City were better in the league last year. It was the style that began to matter as results went against him.
Jose Mourinho leaves Carrington after being sacked by Manchester United
He had also turned allies at the Carrington Training complex against him.
A big issue at the club historically has been about youth development. He worked closely overseeing that.
But in the summer, he ignored advice and took on the pre-season tour kids who, he was told, were not ready.
One source said: “He was just starting to pick fights with everyone.”
His mood has been dark since that tour of America. When he was asked if he was satisfied with the squad, he refused to answer.
After £400million had been spent on 11 players, he wanted more.
“More!” You could almost hear Woodward echoing the scene from Oliver Twist.
But it was what he spent the cash on that was the problem — or rather what he did with the ingredients after that.
What came out of the mix just was not Manchester United.
Last edited:
What will Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bring to Manchester United?
A profound love for the club and desire to unite the squad around
Paul Pogba
Profile: A true United fan returns ‘home’ after learning his craft under Sir Alex Ferguson, but rejuvenating a squad regularly thrown under the bus by Jose Mourinho will be his biggest task yet
Manchester United have appointed an interim manager with a profound love for the club.
With the massive influx for foreign players to the English game, some fans are understandably worried that their teams are made up of an international cast of journeymen with no attachment to the club and no appreciation of its heritage. But some foreign players end up falling in love, and buy into the club and the local community as much, if not more, than their British-born teammates. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was emphatically one of these players.
It's impossible to overstate just how deeply Solskjaer's affection for Manchester United runs. He famously still refers to Sir Alex Ferguson as “the boss”. He has referred to Old Trafford as “home”. As a manager in Norway he has repeatedly compared his players to United players past and present, with one of the recent ones being powerful young forward Erling Braut Haaland (son of Alf-Inge), who he described as being “like Romelu Lukaku”. His reverence for Sir Alex is total. “He has meant almost everything to me as a footballer. I won something for the first time in my life under him. I learned how to be a good winner, and a bad loser. I learned how to be a coach, how to be a manager. Everything, really”, he said earlier this year.
And he's not just paying lip service, the influence of Ferguson on Solskjaer the manager is obvious. It's there in the way he favours delegating tasks and having a strong assistant manager who will often take charge of training session. It's there in the way he puts huge emphasis on cultivating the right atmosphere and the right mentality at his club. And it's there in the way he is prepared to put his faith in youth.
During periods of his playing career Solskjaer kept a diary where he would assess his own efforts in training, sometimes harshly. The idea was to make himself more aware of any mistakes he might be making. “I was a boring man but a reflective man”, he noted many years later. The oft-repeated notion that he would spend his time as a substitute on the United bench analysing the game has perhaps been somewhat over-egged, but there is an element of truth there as well. “I probably didn't analyse the whole game, I didn't do that. I had to think about myself, when I was going to come on, where I could do the most damage... Thierry Henry could do whatever he wanted as far as I was concerned, Jaap Stam would deal with that. But I would pay attention to what the centre-halves and the full-backs were doing”, he explained to Norwegian magazine Josimar back in 2012.
As an experienced player who already had a habit of thinking analytically about the game, it was no surprise that he went into management shortly after retiring. And it was no surprise when he turned out to be good at it, first with the Manchester United reserves and then with Molde. Backed financially by Kjell Inge Rokke, one of the wealthiest men in Norway, Molde assembled a talented young squad for Solskjaer to work with. He moulded Molde into a sleek attacking outfit that promptly won two consecutive league titles, the first league titles in the club's history. Then came Cardiff.
Having spent his entire professional life, as a player and a coach, with strong teams who had better players than the teams they came up against most weekends, Solskjaer found himself in a very different situation at Cardiff – and failed woefully to adapt his methods accordingly. Malky Mackay's Cardiff were robust, attritional, short on elite talent but uncomfortable to play against. In the middle of the season, when time on the training pitch is a precious and finite commodity, Solskjaer attempted to transform the team and make them play more open and expansive football. It was something the squad seemed ill-suited to, and Solskjaer's miscalculation was compounded by his naivety in the transfer market. As the poor results kept coming Solskjaer attempted to revert to a more cautious approach, a different way of playing to anything he'd experienced before, but the team looked lost and confused. It was an unmitigated disaster.
“I learned a lot in Cardiff and I wouldn't want to be without that time. I've reflected a lot on what happened and I realise I maybe wasn't as good and mature a manager at the time as I thought I was”, Solskjaer admitted to Dagbladet last year. He moved back to Kristiansund on the Norwegian West Coast, wanting to take a break and spend some time with his family among the mountains and the fjords. Soon enough he was back in charge of Molde, leading them out of the group stage of the 2015 Europa League by beating Fenerbahce in Istanbul and Celtic home and away. The next two seasons Molde would finish runners-up behind a dominant Rosenborg.
As a manager Solskjaer wants his teams to play attacking football. He likes players who are technically capable, who are confident in their abilities and who can make their own decisions on the pitch. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that he has said publicly that United should look to build the team around Paul Pogba. During his ill-fated spell at Cardiff he rotated his squad almost constantly, something he has later acknowledged was a mistake. Still, in his second spell at Molde he has also displayed a fondness for changing both is line-up and the team's formation regularly, opening him up to accusations of tinkering and over-thinking.
He has a positive approach to man management and always looks to build his players' confidence, which should be a welcome relief to a squad that has had to grow accustomed to being thrown under metaphorical moving vehicles and being regularly berated for any number of reasons. However, it is reasonable to question whether Solskjaer has the experience and the stature to control what has to be considered a challenging dressing room.
In Norway he has a kind of aura about him, when he enters a room people will sit up and take note because he is the most famous footballer in the country's history. Even as a club legend at United his mere presence may not command the same type of instant respect. Managing at the top level these days is so much about achieving buy-in from the players, which is something that has always come easy for Solskjaer in Norway. At United this will be more of a challenge.
Solskjaer has a rich history at United (Getty)
There is no doubt that this is the one job Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants above all others on the planet. Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson provided the framework of his whole approach to football, and he still speaks of his time at the club with a wide-eyed sense of wonder. He can sound at times more like a young fan than a 45-year-old man who should at this point be a hard-nosed manager in his own right. His positivism should be a breath of fresh air, even if his management credentials are more uncertain.
Even with all his years playing for United, nothing he has experienced so far will have prepared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the swirling inferno of being in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the world. But perhaps his positive approach and his irrepressible affection for all things Manchester United is just what the club needs, after the toxic and protracted endgame of the Mourinho-era. Maybe, just maybe.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...bring-profile-paul-poigba-unite-a8690066.html
A profound love for the club and desire to unite the squad around
Paul Pogba
Profile: A true United fan returns ‘home’ after learning his craft under Sir Alex Ferguson, but rejuvenating a squad regularly thrown under the bus by Jose Mourinho will be his biggest task yet
Manchester United have appointed an interim manager with a profound love for the club.
With the massive influx for foreign players to the English game, some fans are understandably worried that their teams are made up of an international cast of journeymen with no attachment to the club and no appreciation of its heritage. But some foreign players end up falling in love, and buy into the club and the local community as much, if not more, than their British-born teammates. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was emphatically one of these players.
It's impossible to overstate just how deeply Solskjaer's affection for Manchester United runs. He famously still refers to Sir Alex Ferguson as “the boss”. He has referred to Old Trafford as “home”. As a manager in Norway he has repeatedly compared his players to United players past and present, with one of the recent ones being powerful young forward Erling Braut Haaland (son of Alf-Inge), who he described as being “like Romelu Lukaku”. His reverence for Sir Alex is total. “He has meant almost everything to me as a footballer. I won something for the first time in my life under him. I learned how to be a good winner, and a bad loser. I learned how to be a coach, how to be a manager. Everything, really”, he said earlier this year.
And he's not just paying lip service, the influence of Ferguson on Solskjaer the manager is obvious. It's there in the way he favours delegating tasks and having a strong assistant manager who will often take charge of training session. It's there in the way he puts huge emphasis on cultivating the right atmosphere and the right mentality at his club. And it's there in the way he is prepared to put his faith in youth.
During periods of his playing career Solskjaer kept a diary where he would assess his own efforts in training, sometimes harshly. The idea was to make himself more aware of any mistakes he might be making. “I was a boring man but a reflective man”, he noted many years later. The oft-repeated notion that he would spend his time as a substitute on the United bench analysing the game has perhaps been somewhat over-egged, but there is an element of truth there as well. “I probably didn't analyse the whole game, I didn't do that. I had to think about myself, when I was going to come on, where I could do the most damage... Thierry Henry could do whatever he wanted as far as I was concerned, Jaap Stam would deal with that. But I would pay attention to what the centre-halves and the full-backs were doing”, he explained to Norwegian magazine Josimar back in 2012.
As an experienced player who already had a habit of thinking analytically about the game, it was no surprise that he went into management shortly after retiring. And it was no surprise when he turned out to be good at it, first with the Manchester United reserves and then with Molde. Backed financially by Kjell Inge Rokke, one of the wealthiest men in Norway, Molde assembled a talented young squad for Solskjaer to work with. He moulded Molde into a sleek attacking outfit that promptly won two consecutive league titles, the first league titles in the club's history. Then came Cardiff.
Having spent his entire professional life, as a player and a coach, with strong teams who had better players than the teams they came up against most weekends, Solskjaer found himself in a very different situation at Cardiff – and failed woefully to adapt his methods accordingly. Malky Mackay's Cardiff were robust, attritional, short on elite talent but uncomfortable to play against. In the middle of the season, when time on the training pitch is a precious and finite commodity, Solskjaer attempted to transform the team and make them play more open and expansive football. It was something the squad seemed ill-suited to, and Solskjaer's miscalculation was compounded by his naivety in the transfer market. As the poor results kept coming Solskjaer attempted to revert to a more cautious approach, a different way of playing to anything he'd experienced before, but the team looked lost and confused. It was an unmitigated disaster.
“I learned a lot in Cardiff and I wouldn't want to be without that time. I've reflected a lot on what happened and I realise I maybe wasn't as good and mature a manager at the time as I thought I was”, Solskjaer admitted to Dagbladet last year. He moved back to Kristiansund on the Norwegian West Coast, wanting to take a break and spend some time with his family among the mountains and the fjords. Soon enough he was back in charge of Molde, leading them out of the group stage of the 2015 Europa League by beating Fenerbahce in Istanbul and Celtic home and away. The next two seasons Molde would finish runners-up behind a dominant Rosenborg.
As a manager Solskjaer wants his teams to play attacking football. He likes players who are technically capable, who are confident in their abilities and who can make their own decisions on the pitch. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that he has said publicly that United should look to build the team around Paul Pogba. During his ill-fated spell at Cardiff he rotated his squad almost constantly, something he has later acknowledged was a mistake. Still, in his second spell at Molde he has also displayed a fondness for changing both is line-up and the team's formation regularly, opening him up to accusations of tinkering and over-thinking.
He has a positive approach to man management and always looks to build his players' confidence, which should be a welcome relief to a squad that has had to grow accustomed to being thrown under metaphorical moving vehicles and being regularly berated for any number of reasons. However, it is reasonable to question whether Solskjaer has the experience and the stature to control what has to be considered a challenging dressing room.
In Norway he has a kind of aura about him, when he enters a room people will sit up and take note because he is the most famous footballer in the country's history. Even as a club legend at United his mere presence may not command the same type of instant respect. Managing at the top level these days is so much about achieving buy-in from the players, which is something that has always come easy for Solskjaer in Norway. At United this will be more of a challenge.
Solskjaer has a rich history at United (Getty)
There is no doubt that this is the one job Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants above all others on the planet. Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson provided the framework of his whole approach to football, and he still speaks of his time at the club with a wide-eyed sense of wonder. He can sound at times more like a young fan than a 45-year-old man who should at this point be a hard-nosed manager in his own right. His positivism should be a breath of fresh air, even if his management credentials are more uncertain.
Even with all his years playing for United, nothing he has experienced so far will have prepared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the swirling inferno of being in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the world. But perhaps his positive approach and his irrepressible affection for all things Manchester United is just what the club needs, after the toxic and protracted endgame of the Mourinho-era. Maybe, just maybe.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...bring-profile-paul-poigba-unite-a8690066.html
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Five things Manchester United manager must do after replacing Jose Mourinho
What is waiting for Solskjaer in his Old Trafford in-tray?
1. Heal the wounds
The priority at Manchester United after Jose Mourinho's dismissal is to heal the wounds opened by the Portuguese over the course of last year.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, an Old Trafford folk hero, is viewed as someone able to do that. The telling line in the statement which announced his appointment as caretaker manager came from Ed Woodward.
"We are confident they will unite the players and the fans as we head into the second half of the season," United's executive vice-chairman said.
In the wake of Mourinho's dismissal, United want to encourage a positive environment and culture around the club, something that was lost in the final weeks and months of Mourinho's tenure.
2. Get the best out of Pogba
Mourinho's troubled relationship with club record signing Paul Pogba was another significant factor in his dismissal.
It should not be ignored that the tensions between the pair first fully surfaced shortly after Mourinho signed a contract extension in January, with Pogba dropped for the Champions League knock-out tie against Sevilla shortly after.
Pogba is not free from responsibility for his below-par performances, but the nagging sense that Mourinho never fully trusted and encouraged the midfielder remains. Solskjaer, meanwhile, said earlier this year that he would "build the team around" Pogba were he in Mourinho's chair.
Suddenly, he is, and the Norwegian finds himself reunited with a player he worked with while in charge of United's reserves eight years ago. Extracting the best out of Pogba, United's most naturally-gifted player, would be an easy way for Solskjaer to prove he is the right man to take temporary charge.
3. Shore up the defence
Though an attack-minded coach, Solskjaer needs to shore up a defence that is the fifth-worst in the Premier League, with a poorer record than second-bottom Huddersfield Town.
While new signings may be required for there to be a significant improvement, United's current defensive record can surely be bettered in the second half of the campaign.
United's defence can surely be improved by the end of the season? (Getty)
It will require an organisation that was strangely lacking under Mourinho and would be helped by David de Gea rediscovering the consistently excellent form he was in last year, rather than merely looking human.
4. Address the Matic issue
The problems with United's defence may have something to do with the lack of protection it receives and though he is not solely to blame, Nemanja Matic's recent performances have been concerning.
A Mourinho loyalist, Matic retained his place in the starting line-up despite looking severely off-the-pace and being regularly over-ran by more dynamic opponents. Some other squad members could not understand why, when other players were dropped on the basis of one performance, the Serbian always started.
Nemanja Matic has not been at his best recently (AFP/Getty)
It may be that Matic is, like many of his team-mates, suffering a protracted spell of poor form that has not been helped by wider problems at the club, though it is hard not to think the 30-year-old needs a break out of the side and other defensive midfield options should be explored.
5. Restore Lukaku's early promise
Having a £75m striker befitting of the price tag would go a long way to solving United's problems. Romelu Lukaku's best form came shortly after his arrival and coincided with the most promising spell of Mourinho's tenure.
Back then, Lukaku was a lithe and confident player capable of offering a physical threat and running in behind. He appeared to have picked up where he had left off after an impressive end to the 2016-17 season with Everton.
Romelu Lukaku has lost his edge this season (Getty)
This year, however, Lukaku has lost that edge, with the Belgian admitting himself that gaining too much muscle mass in the build-up to the World Cup. Can Solskjaer, a fine penalty box predator himself, rediscover Lukaku's early promise?
What is waiting for Solskjaer in his Old Trafford in-tray?
1. Heal the wounds
The priority at Manchester United after Jose Mourinho's dismissal is to heal the wounds opened by the Portuguese over the course of last year.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, an Old Trafford folk hero, is viewed as someone able to do that. The telling line in the statement which announced his appointment as caretaker manager came from Ed Woodward.
"We are confident they will unite the players and the fans as we head into the second half of the season," United's executive vice-chairman said.
In the wake of Mourinho's dismissal, United want to encourage a positive environment and culture around the club, something that was lost in the final weeks and months of Mourinho's tenure.
2. Get the best out of Pogba
Mourinho's troubled relationship with club record signing Paul Pogba was another significant factor in his dismissal.
It should not be ignored that the tensions between the pair first fully surfaced shortly after Mourinho signed a contract extension in January, with Pogba dropped for the Champions League knock-out tie against Sevilla shortly after.
Pogba is not free from responsibility for his below-par performances, but the nagging sense that Mourinho never fully trusted and encouraged the midfielder remains. Solskjaer, meanwhile, said earlier this year that he would "build the team around" Pogba were he in Mourinho's chair.
Suddenly, he is, and the Norwegian finds himself reunited with a player he worked with while in charge of United's reserves eight years ago. Extracting the best out of Pogba, United's most naturally-gifted player, would be an easy way for Solskjaer to prove he is the right man to take temporary charge.
3. Shore up the defence
Though an attack-minded coach, Solskjaer needs to shore up a defence that is the fifth-worst in the Premier League, with a poorer record than second-bottom Huddersfield Town.
While new signings may be required for there to be a significant improvement, United's current defensive record can surely be bettered in the second half of the campaign.
United's defence can surely be improved by the end of the season? (Getty)
It will require an organisation that was strangely lacking under Mourinho and would be helped by David de Gea rediscovering the consistently excellent form he was in last year, rather than merely looking human.
4. Address the Matic issue
The problems with United's defence may have something to do with the lack of protection it receives and though he is not solely to blame, Nemanja Matic's recent performances have been concerning.
A Mourinho loyalist, Matic retained his place in the starting line-up despite looking severely off-the-pace and being regularly over-ran by more dynamic opponents. Some other squad members could not understand why, when other players were dropped on the basis of one performance, the Serbian always started.
Nemanja Matic has not been at his best recently (AFP/Getty)
It may be that Matic is, like many of his team-mates, suffering a protracted spell of poor form that has not been helped by wider problems at the club, though it is hard not to think the 30-year-old needs a break out of the side and other defensive midfield options should be explored.
5. Restore Lukaku's early promise
Having a £75m striker befitting of the price tag would go a long way to solving United's problems. Romelu Lukaku's best form came shortly after his arrival and coincided with the most promising spell of Mourinho's tenure.
Back then, Lukaku was a lithe and confident player capable of offering a physical threat and running in behind. He appeared to have picked up where he had left off after an impressive end to the 2016-17 season with Everton.
Romelu Lukaku has lost his edge this season (Getty)
This year, however, Lukaku has lost that edge, with the Belgian admitting himself that gaining too much muscle mass in the build-up to the World Cup. Can Solskjaer, a fine penalty box predator himself, rediscover Lukaku's early promise?
Ed Woodward and the Glazers found out the hard truth that getting a 'top' manager is not always the solution to a problem. How difficult could that be? They simply couldn't quite understand the aspiration, the culture and the tradition of the club that has been managed by 1 person over a span of 26 years.
If SAF were still in charge, we wouldn't even hear a squeak from dissenting players and Pogba / Raiola would never have been in the frame. Well my guess is they've seek the old fart's advice and gone back to the point before Moyes. Getting Phelan back was a good decision as he'll provide Solskjaer and Carrick the time and space to mend the team.
Interim measures are just patchwork and just temporary. The bigger problem is the structure and the club has grown so big that it is almost impossible for a single person to call the shots. How Ed Woodward missed this is beyond me and he has done nothing to address the issue.
If SAF were still in charge, we wouldn't even hear a squeak from dissenting players and Pogba / Raiola would never have been in the frame. Well my guess is they've seek the old fart's advice and gone back to the point before Moyes. Getting Phelan back was a good decision as he'll provide Solskjaer and Carrick the time and space to mend the team.
Interim measures are just patchwork and just temporary. The bigger problem is the structure and the club has grown so big that it is almost impossible for a single person to call the shots. How Ed Woodward missed this is beyond me and he has done nothing to address the issue.
Man Utd coach Carrick clashed with Pogba after boasting of Mourinho sack
Michael Carrick clashed with Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba this week in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho's sacking, it has been revealed.
The Sun reports Pogba shouted: “He f***ed with the wrong baller" at the Carrington training ground on Tuesday morning.
But Carrick, appointed by Mourinho to his coaching staff last summer and then put in temporary charge for 48 hours after the Portuguese's sacking, was not prepared to stand aside and watch players dance on the dumped manager's grave.
So, in astonishing scenes, Carrick, a Champions League winner in 2008, told the players that the club was bigger than any one player or any manager.
In a no-nonsense message he also reminded them that the club would still get rid of anyone who is not going to meet its standards and that they needed to fight for the United shirt.
But Pogba led those celebrations saying: “He thought he could make a fool of me and turn the fans against me. He f***ed with the wrong baller."
Read more at http://www.tribalfootball.com/artic...-of-mourinho-sack-4261502#UP71kw5xdA60zofA.99
Will someone please call ROY THE MAN KEANE!!!!!
Michael Carrick clashed with Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba this week in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho's sacking, it has been revealed.
The Sun reports Pogba shouted: “He f***ed with the wrong baller" at the Carrington training ground on Tuesday morning.
But Carrick, appointed by Mourinho to his coaching staff last summer and then put in temporary charge for 48 hours after the Portuguese's sacking, was not prepared to stand aside and watch players dance on the dumped manager's grave.
So, in astonishing scenes, Carrick, a Champions League winner in 2008, told the players that the club was bigger than any one player or any manager.
In a no-nonsense message he also reminded them that the club would still get rid of anyone who is not going to meet its standards and that they needed to fight for the United shirt.
But Pogba led those celebrations saying: “He thought he could make a fool of me and turn the fans against me. He f***ed with the wrong baller."
Read more at http://www.tribalfootball.com/artic...-of-mourinho-sack-4261502#UP71kw5xdA60zofA.99
Will someone please call ROY THE MAN KEANE!!!!!
Frankly when they axed van gaal to appoint Mourinho , there ain’t anyone available of a stature comparable to Guardiola, Klopp. Mourinho was available after being axed by Chelsea and we know how fickle abramovic is. After Moyes I think Woodward does not want Fergie comments anymore neither an unknown manager. They need instant success to avoid going the path of Liverpool and Arsenal.
Perhaps the first mistake was to extend Mourinho contract to fend off PSG and to placate his agent. With that in place and the termination payout Mourinho has no fear. I think he is happier that he is being sacked.
Perhaps the first mistake was to extend Mourinho contract to fend off PSG and to placate his agent. With that in place and the termination payout Mourinho has no fear. I think he is happier that he is being sacked.
Yup, after Moyes blunder, Glazers and Ed did not sought SAF's opinion on the next two managers. How difficult could it be-get a 'top' manager,provide the funds and we're on our way to top 4,at least that's what they thought.
I have watched a number of commentaries about Mou's contract extension and about how the Ed and the board should have backed him.IMHO, all of them missed out on the big picture. First, it was a rebuilding job and one that was still in progress. Mou wanted to dispose of Martial who had an outstanding debut with LVG as manager and be replaced with Perisic who is a much older player. Short-termism kicked in full gear with Mou in his third year to boost his reputation (not the club) and leave the club at some point, with money in the bag and the reputation of the special one still intact.
Where the club and manager was concerned, the gap between them grew bigger with each passing year-short vs the long term goals. Second, there were other variables at play-FFP rules and the fact that United have invested alot on youth recently and their development will be curtailed if Mou had his way.
Mou lost the plot exacerbated somewhat by the free spending ways of neighbours City and rival Liverpool. It didn't help that they were getting the results. The performance of Salah and Debruyne who were once on his stable at Stamford Bridge cast a shadow on Mou's ability to bring the best out of players.
Mou polarized the dressing room and I suspect his long term assistant Faria left because he was sick of Mou's abrasive style of management.
I have watched a number of commentaries about Mou's contract extension and about how the Ed and the board should have backed him.IMHO, all of them missed out on the big picture. First, it was a rebuilding job and one that was still in progress. Mou wanted to dispose of Martial who had an outstanding debut with LVG as manager and be replaced with Perisic who is a much older player. Short-termism kicked in full gear with Mou in his third year to boost his reputation (not the club) and leave the club at some point, with money in the bag and the reputation of the special one still intact.
Where the club and manager was concerned, the gap between them grew bigger with each passing year-short vs the long term goals. Second, there were other variables at play-FFP rules and the fact that United have invested alot on youth recently and their development will be curtailed if Mou had his way.
Mou lost the plot exacerbated somewhat by the free spending ways of neighbours City and rival Liverpool. It didn't help that they were getting the results. The performance of Salah and Debruyne who were once on his stable at Stamford Bridge cast a shadow on Mou's ability to bring the best out of players.
Mou polarized the dressing room and I suspect his long term assistant Faria left because he was sick of Mou's abrasive style of management.
Rampant 
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got off to a perfect start as Manchester United's interim manager with a 5-1 thrashing of his former club Cardiff.
The former United striker succeeded Jose Mourinho, who was sacked in midweek, and got his first win courtesy of a performance that will encourage United fans as some of their more marginalised talent came to the fore in a performance full of attacking intent.
Marcus Rashford's stunning free-kick, a deflected effort from Ander Herrera and a fabulous team goal by Anthony Martial effectively won the contest before half-time for a United side inspired by the recalled Paul Pogba, who had a hand in all three first-half goals. Victor Camarasa's penalty briefly gave Cardiff hope as they reduced the arrears to 2-1, but Jesse Lingard won and scored a contentious second-half penalty and then rounded Neil Etheridge to tap into an empty net at the death to make the result safe.
It is the first time United have scored five goals in a Premier League game since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson's last game in charge - a 5-5 draw with West Brom in May 2013.
A more attacking United than under Mourinho?
All eyes were on Solskjaer's first selection as United boss, and Pogba was included in the starting line-up.
The World Cup winner and club record signing had been a forlorn-looking substitute for the past three Premier League matches, but returned to a more attack-minded United XI.
Pogba was joined by French forward Martial, who made his 100th Premier League appearance, with Romelu Lukaku away on compassionate leave.
Luke Shaw and Phil Jones returned to a defence that had conceded 29 goals already this term - their worst record since 1962 - as Solskjaer made four changes.
Pogba was involved in the thick of the action inside three minutes, winning a free-kick from Aron Gunnarsson that would give the Norwegian the perfect start to life in the United dugout, Rashford brilliantly finding the bottom corner.
Solskjaer was punching the air in delight with less than four minutes on the clock.
The contest proved an ideal opportunity for Pogba to send a message on the pitch rather than on social media and he certainly appeared less inhibited as the visitors passed with a good tempo and closed down effectively.
United were superior throughout the first period and it was no surprise when they doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark when Pogba picked out Herrera, whose speculative effort nicked off Greg Cunningham and gave Neil Etheridge no chance.
However, United's defensive fragility reappeared before the interval, with Rashford handballing carelessly when he moved his upper arm towards the ball under little pressure and Camarasa slammed home the penalty.
But in the end, United made light work of a Cardiff side, who had won their past four home games, with attacking flair throughout.
Solskjaer's return intrigues both sets of supporters
New Manchester United caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of
Cardiff when they were relegated in the 2013-14 season
There was a keen sense of intrigue among both sets of supporters about the presence of Solskjaer in the United dugout.
His appointment as Mourinho's temporary successor caused raised eyebrows in South Wales after his disappointing spell managing the Bluebirds in 2014, which included a relegation from the Premier League.
Solskjaer, 45, is contracted to return to his role as manager at Norwegian club Molde next summer, but Cardiff supporters remember him for a disastrous nine-month spell in charge in the Welsh capital.
Solskjaer scored 126 goals in 366 appearances during his 11 years at Old Trafford and is best remembered for scoring the winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 1999, along with collecting six Premier League titles.
The sense of goodwill from United's travelling supporters towards the man they called the 'Baby-Faced Assassin' was obvious - they chanted about their temporary boss from well before kick-off and gave him a rapturous reception when the sides emerged at Cardiff City Stadium.
Before the game, Cardiff boss Neil Warnock had said Solskjaer "could not lose" in his new position. The former striker was keen to get his messages across, moving to the edge of his technical area several times to deliver advice and encourage his team to find more width.
He would have felt slightly unsettled when Cardiff reduced the arrears to 2-1, but a fine team move a minute later saw Martial exchange passes with Pogba and Lingard and fire past Etheridge to give United deserved daylight at the interval.
Cardiff's fine run at home comes to an end
The Bluebirds had won four of their past five Premier League home games, yet the omens were not good for a side chasing a first victory over United in 58 years.
Warnock has failed to beat United in any of his previous seven encounters and, with a two-goal deficit at half-time, that never looked like changing.
United dominated at the start of the second half and Lingard's penalty killed the contest, with United close to adding further goals through Rashford, Phil Jones and Pogba, before Lingard did add the fifth after keeping his composure when clean through to round Etheridge and slot home.
Man of the match - Paul Pogba
The recalled United midfielder was at the heart of everything, dominating Cardiff
and creating chances for his side in a performance his former boss might not have enjoyed. "
Caption this.
"'Football is easy with good players' - What they said
Cardiff 1-5 Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer delighted with performance
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: "Football is easy if you've got good players! They are a great bunch of players and their quality is unbelievable.
"I arrived on Wednesday night and only had Thursday and Friday with the players. Wayne Rooney texted me and gave me some advice - so it must be down to him! He told me to make them play football, enjoy themselves and be Manchester United.
"The foundation was in the defending. I thought the two centre-backs and two full-backs were brilliant."
Cardiff 1-5 Manchester United: Neil Warnock admits that the 5-1 loss is an 'embarrassment'
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock: "If you'd told me at the start of this season that we'd be out of the bottom three at Christmas I'd have snapped your hand off.
"We've got two big games coming up [at Crystal Palace and Leicester]. We know we need to improve our away form. I wasn't disappointed in the effort, it was just misdirected at times.
"At half-time I still thought we had a chance. I thought if we get the next goal we might get something. It's very disappointing."
Scoring big on the first day - the best of the stats
Cardiff travel to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, December 26 (15:00 GMT), while Manchester United take on Huddersfield at Old Trafford (15:00).
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46576165
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got off to a perfect start as Manchester United's interim manager with a 5-1 thrashing of his former club Cardiff.
The former United striker succeeded Jose Mourinho, who was sacked in midweek, and got his first win courtesy of a performance that will encourage United fans as some of their more marginalised talent came to the fore in a performance full of attacking intent.
Marcus Rashford's stunning free-kick, a deflected effort from Ander Herrera and a fabulous team goal by Anthony Martial effectively won the contest before half-time for a United side inspired by the recalled Paul Pogba, who had a hand in all three first-half goals. Victor Camarasa's penalty briefly gave Cardiff hope as they reduced the arrears to 2-1, but Jesse Lingard won and scored a contentious second-half penalty and then rounded Neil Etheridge to tap into an empty net at the death to make the result safe.
It is the first time United have scored five goals in a Premier League game since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson's last game in charge - a 5-5 draw with West Brom in May 2013.
A more attacking United than under Mourinho?
All eyes were on Solskjaer's first selection as United boss, and Pogba was included in the starting line-up.
The World Cup winner and club record signing had been a forlorn-looking substitute for the past three Premier League matches, but returned to a more attack-minded United XI.
Pogba was joined by French forward Martial, who made his 100th Premier League appearance, with Romelu Lukaku away on compassionate leave.
Luke Shaw and Phil Jones returned to a defence that had conceded 29 goals already this term - their worst record since 1962 - as Solskjaer made four changes.
Pogba was involved in the thick of the action inside three minutes, winning a free-kick from Aron Gunnarsson that would give the Norwegian the perfect start to life in the United dugout, Rashford brilliantly finding the bottom corner.
Solskjaer was punching the air in delight with less than four minutes on the clock.
The contest proved an ideal opportunity for Pogba to send a message on the pitch rather than on social media and he certainly appeared less inhibited as the visitors passed with a good tempo and closed down effectively.
United were superior throughout the first period and it was no surprise when they doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark when Pogba picked out Herrera, whose speculative effort nicked off Greg Cunningham and gave Neil Etheridge no chance.
However, United's defensive fragility reappeared before the interval, with Rashford handballing carelessly when he moved his upper arm towards the ball under little pressure and Camarasa slammed home the penalty.
But in the end, United made light work of a Cardiff side, who had won their past four home games, with attacking flair throughout.
Solskjaer's return intrigues both sets of supporters
New Manchester United caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of
Cardiff when they were relegated in the 2013-14 season
There was a keen sense of intrigue among both sets of supporters about the presence of Solskjaer in the United dugout.
His appointment as Mourinho's temporary successor caused raised eyebrows in South Wales after his disappointing spell managing the Bluebirds in 2014, which included a relegation from the Premier League.
Solskjaer, 45, is contracted to return to his role as manager at Norwegian club Molde next summer, but Cardiff supporters remember him for a disastrous nine-month spell in charge in the Welsh capital.
Solskjaer scored 126 goals in 366 appearances during his 11 years at Old Trafford and is best remembered for scoring the winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 1999, along with collecting six Premier League titles.
The sense of goodwill from United's travelling supporters towards the man they called the 'Baby-Faced Assassin' was obvious - they chanted about their temporary boss from well before kick-off and gave him a rapturous reception when the sides emerged at Cardiff City Stadium.
Before the game, Cardiff boss Neil Warnock had said Solskjaer "could not lose" in his new position. The former striker was keen to get his messages across, moving to the edge of his technical area several times to deliver advice and encourage his team to find more width.
He would have felt slightly unsettled when Cardiff reduced the arrears to 2-1, but a fine team move a minute later saw Martial exchange passes with Pogba and Lingard and fire past Etheridge to give United deserved daylight at the interval.
Cardiff's fine run at home comes to an end
The Bluebirds had won four of their past five Premier League home games, yet the omens were not good for a side chasing a first victory over United in 58 years.
Warnock has failed to beat United in any of his previous seven encounters and, with a two-goal deficit at half-time, that never looked like changing.
United dominated at the start of the second half and Lingard's penalty killed the contest, with United close to adding further goals through Rashford, Phil Jones and Pogba, before Lingard did add the fifth after keeping his composure when clean through to round Etheridge and slot home.
Man of the match - Paul Pogba
The recalled United midfielder was at the heart of everything, dominating Cardiff
and creating chances for his side in a performance his former boss might not have enjoyed. "
Caption this.
"'Football is easy with good players' - What they said
Cardiff 1-5 Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer delighted with performance
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: "Football is easy if you've got good players! They are a great bunch of players and their quality is unbelievable.
"I arrived on Wednesday night and only had Thursday and Friday with the players. Wayne Rooney texted me and gave me some advice - so it must be down to him! He told me to make them play football, enjoy themselves and be Manchester United.
"The foundation was in the defending. I thought the two centre-backs and two full-backs were brilliant."
Cardiff 1-5 Manchester United: Neil Warnock admits that the 5-1 loss is an 'embarrassment'
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock: "If you'd told me at the start of this season that we'd be out of the bottom three at Christmas I'd have snapped your hand off.
"We've got two big games coming up [at Crystal Palace and Leicester]. We know we need to improve our away form. I wasn't disappointed in the effort, it was just misdirected at times.
"At half-time I still thought we had a chance. I thought if we get the next goal we might get something. It's very disappointing."
Scoring big on the first day - the best of the stats
- Since Ferguson left the club, four of the five different managers to take charge of United have seen their side score three or more goals in their first Premier League game (Moyes 4, Mourinho 3, Giggs 4 and Solskjaer 5).
- Warnock suffered his 50th Premier League defeat, in what was his 92nd game in the competition - only Mick McCarthy (79), Danny Wilson (87) and Gary Megson (91) have reached 50 defeats in fewer games managed.
- Cardiff have lost each of their past 14 Premier League games against 'big six' opponents, conceding 45 goals in this run.
- Martial has been directly involved in 70 goals for United in all competitions (45 goals, 25 assists); the most of any player for the club since his debut in September 2015.
- Rashford has had a hand in more Premier League goals this season than any other United player (9 - four goals and five assists).
- United's third goal against Cardiff - scored by Anthony Martial - was the 500th netted in the Premier League this season.
- Martial made his 100th appearance for United in the Premier League, becoming just the fourth Frenchman to reach this tally for the club after Eric Cantona, Mikael Silvestre and Patrice Evra.
Cardiff travel to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, December 26 (15:00 GMT), while Manchester United take on Huddersfield at Old Trafford (15:00).
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46576165
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