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Football News: Either we believe in Ole as Manchester United Manager or we don't

Either we believe in Ole as Manchester United Manager or we don't
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What happened yesterday (Manchester United v West Ham United) was horrible and in truth needs no dissection; it's plainly obvious it just wasn't good enough from start to finish.

Moving forward I think we either believe in Ole and what he's trying to do or we don't. The recruitment before he came was poor and disjointed. We had a squad full of mercenaries and average players. Some didn't want to be at the Club, others were just not good enough, most were stealing a living on extraordinary high wages hiding behind the manager (s) and lacking the mental resilience and courage to play for our beloved Club.

The truth is re-builds take time. The Club had to be cleansed. Lukaku, Sanchez, Smalling, Darmian, Fellaini, Herrera gone. Pogba, Rojo, Matic, Jones, Mata surely now all on borrowed time. A retched group of overpaid mercenaries and averageness if ever I've seen one. Such a large group of players simply can't be replaced in one transfer window and unfortunately this will take time.

Perhaps Ole's biggest problem is his lack of a credible CV. It would appear some fans just can't support a manager without a proven track record. They need something to believe in when results don't meet expectations. They need to feel comforted that better times lie ahead and an experienced manager with a history of success fulfils that void.

My personal view of Ole is he needs time. The strategy appears to be to rid the Club of the mercenaries and mediocre and replace them with hungry, young, predominantly British or domestic talent and to promote and give chances to our most gifted and talented academy prospects. I believe in this approach but understand it will take time.

Our biggest problem this season was always going to be scoring goals. It is my belief that this problem doesn't lie with individual players but the makeup of the squad. The criticism of Rashford has been brutal and unfair. The truth is Rashford is not a natural goalscorer but that doesn't make him a bad player. At the end of the season I predict Rashford and Martial will both get between 12-15 league goals which isn't a bad return considering both are still young and not natural centre forwards. The glaring problem in my opinion is we have no obvious or effective No10 or right winger. It we had a No10 and RW in our team both capable of scoring between 12-15 goals then the focus and pressure is taken away from Rashford where his true value and potential can be analysed and evaluated more objectively.

I'm encouraged with the links to both Maddison and Sancho. Both are superbly talented, young, hungry players capable of transforming our attack from the impotent to a more potent, dangerous and fluid attacking unit. A front 4 of Martial, Rashford, Maddison and Sancho would give problems to most defences with the likes of James, Greenwood, Gomes and Chong still developing and fighting for a place in the team.

Of course there is absolutely no guarantee that we'll sign either Maddison or Sancho but I think there's an acceptance from the Club that these are the type of players we should be targeting.

I think this season is going to be very difficult but I don't think we should lose sight of the bigger picture and panic. Many won't want to hear this but I believe any success this season will come from our ability to keep clear sheets and the free flowing attacking football will have to wait. For the first time in years we appear to have direction and a coherent plan and strategy. Despite where we finish this season I think Ole needs time and at the very least another year to see if he can manipulate the squad and plug the glaring holes.

It's difficult to be patient when results and performances are poor, it's hard to trust a manager without a proven track record, but maybe a Club legend, who understands what it takes to win and has the best interest of the Club at heart deserves our patience and loyalty long enough to see if his vision for the future can bear fruit.

Surely a plan is better than having no plan at all.

Written by DLIB September 23 2019 11:42:27

 

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