Ole Goner Solskjaer

[Ian]

We're still going to have Maguire and Lindelof lolloping about at the back so I wouldn't worry too much.
Lofty

[Yevrah]

Don't get it. If you want a director of football, hire a director of football. If you want an interim manager, hire an interim manager.

Steve must be fuming.

[niko_cee]

He probably wouldn't come to just be a caretaker for 6 months.

[-james-]

It was probably his condition. He's only had two one year stints as head coach in the past decade. I don't think he particularly enjoys managing day to day, and he's never had a job on anywhere near this scale.

It makes sense for him to have a hands-on half season with the squad to get them on board with THE VISION before handing it over to someone he's approved of.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Any word on what table sauces and/or dessert options he is going to ban?

[randomlegend]

Don't get it. If you want a director of football, hire a director of football. If you want an interim manager, hire an interim manager.

Steve must be fuming.

We need both. Bringing him in as manager now and then moving him upstairs when, presumably, Pochettino comes in the summer is pretty much ideal.

[Andy]

What's the 2 year consultancy bit about? He's a manager, not a non-exec director.

He was a Sporting Director at RB Leipzig while Hassenhuttl was manager so probably something similar.

[igor_balis]

He turned down the mighty Albion in 2012 and we got Steve Clarke instead and that worked out pretty well, maybe utd should get the latter permanently afterwards. I think mulumbu hasn't technically retired yet so he could be the long term midfield answer.

[Yevrah]

He probably wouldn't come to just be a caretaker for 6 months.

He would if you pay him enough. As it is if he has a bad stint until the end of the season and stinks the place up what credibility will he have as a DoF? Even if he does ok/well, how will that work with whoever the new manager is?

[Ian]

Well you're already talking to a new manager about whatever the fuck it is Fletcher / Murtough are currently meant to be doing so you just throw Ragnick into that conversation.

Which, depending what it is those two do, may be a case of too many cooks but I'm guessing Fletcher is more involved in the development side.

And some people are just better in different roles. Failing as a manager didn't stop Brian Kidd continuing to be a respected coach so Ragnick's job as an interim doesn't necessarily tell you anything about what he'd do as a DoF or whatever the fuck it is he'll be 'consulting' on.

It may well all go to shit, it's a big decision Manchester United are making so recent form says there's a reasonable chance of that, but it needn't be just because it's an unusual way to have gone about it, and it's still preferable to Woowar just having thrown a load of money at whoever the most famous available name is so he can rake in the Twitter adulation.


Any word on what table sauces and/or dessert options he is going to ban?

Has anybody ever bothered to track how managers have fared after banning ketchup and/or crisps when they've taken on a new job? I wonder if there's any correlation to how they've then gone on to do.

[randomlegend]

He would if you pay him enough.

He literally turned down an interim job at Chelsea before Tuchel came in. Or are you going to sit there and tell me Chelsea didn't have the money to convince him?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Has anybody ever bothered to track how managers have fared after banning ketchup and/or crisps when they've taken on a new job? I wonder if there's any correlation to how they've then gone on to do.

Jonathan Liew wrote
the article (https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2021/nov/23/antonio-conte-steven-gerrard-pour-fuel-on-ketchup-wars-in-tasty-cultural-divide-within-football) on this the other day, including this immortal line:


When Kevin Ball took over as caretaker manager from Di Canio at Sunderland, ketchup became an indelible symbol of the liberation: the sauce equivalent of Mussolini’s hanging body in the Piazzale Loreto.

[Lewis]

What has he done outside of Leipzig that seems to run pretty competently without him?

Isn't this proof that he's good?

[Baz]

Darren Fletcher gave me a blowy.

1350864336282148867

[Yevrah]

He literally turned down an interim job at Chelsea before Tuchel came in. Or are you going to sit there and tell me Chelsea didn't have the money to convince him?

Well then you move onto the next one. The target was supposedly an interim manager and that isn't what you've gone and done. If you wanted a DoF/or whatever the fuck his role will be next year, why didn't you already have someone to fulfil that?

[Yevrah]

It may well all go to shit, it's a big decision Manchester United are making so recent form says there's a reasonable chance of that, but it needn't be just because it's an unusual way to have gone about it, and it's still preferable to Woowar just having thrown a load of money at whoever the most famous available name is so he can rake in the Twitter adulation.


Is it actually preferable - Chelsea seem to do alright going down that road - or is it because you're Man Utd and you do things differently?

[Shindig]

It has a whiff of Plan D about it. Anything to avoid hiring wor Steve.

[randomlegend]

Well then you move onto the next one. The target was supposedly an interim manager and that isn't what you've gone and done. If you wanted a DoF/or whatever the fuck his role will be next year, why didn't you already have someone to fulfil that?

We've got an interim manager - which we needed - who will then seemingly become something akin to a DoF - which we also have needed for years.

We have, for once, done something genuinely well. There's obviously no guarantee any manager works out, but this in theory this is about the best possible situation.

[Giggles]

Consultancy is just a meaningless term in all forms of business and soccer is no different. All it means is he’s managed to wangle 30 months wages for 6 months work. Mugs.

[Ian]

Is it actually preferable - Chelsea seem to do alright going down that road - or is it because you're Man Utd and you do things differently?

If the implication is that I'd defend something just because United have done it then it's clear you've read very few of my United-related posts including some of the one you've quoted.

Chelsea have had success with all sorts of managers (the most obvious name, the binman, the journeymen) and tend to move on very quickly either way. Throw enough shit at the wall and some of it'll stick.

That said over the time period in question Chelsea have bought better than United too for the most part.

[Yevrah]

Wasn't that you'd defend something just because Man Utd do it, but more that you'd rather do something differently because you're Man Utd (and aren't like other clubs) - the sort of thing Gary Neville's always banging on about and the same problem that plagued Liverpool for years after their dominance faded.

[Lewis]

Does anyone here ever say that?

[Kikó]

It's not in the United's fans DNA on here to do it that way.

[SvN]

Has this Ralf joker even played for us before? What a mess.

[Yevrah]

Aw guys, you were all ready for me. :wub:

[Ian]

Wasn't that you'd defend something just because Man Utd do it, but more that you'd rather do something differently because you're Man Utd (and aren't like other clubs) - the sort of thing Gary Neville's always banging on about and the same problem that plagued Liverpool for years after their dominance faded.

Well, either way, no.

Doing it this way isn't my preference, but it might be that if we end up with Ragnick doing DoF stuff and Smallpockets as manager it'll work out. Or it might not. The reason it works or cause of it failing, however it goes, won't be the roundabout route they took getting there. Either things will improve because there are better people in place or it'll fail because they weren't good fits and/ or because the club is still fundamentally a mess.

[Boydy]

Consultancy is just a meaningless term in all forms of business and soccer is no different. All it means is he’s managed to wangle 30 months wages for 6 months work. Mugs.

I hear he's gonna be "working" from home two days a week as well.

[phonics]

I saw some tweet about the ‘Ralph Ragnick university of managers’ and there’s about 3 good ones on a list of 30.

[Lewis]

Better rate than Sir Alex Ferguson.

[Lewis]

1463922939422728202

:cool:

[Kikó]

Already got it sussed. Give him a longer consultancy gig.

[Danny]

Is that shocking? In late 2020 most people still weren’t sold on Shaw (Telles came in October 2020) but it was from then on Shaw improved over the season.

Needs that kick up the arse again though. Or maybe he needs some defensive organization rather than the vibes we have been running on.

[Lewis]

He's a ball-watching pudding. Get Jose Mourinho back in to finish the job.

[Yevrah]

Gareth Southgate can get a tune out of him. Just sayin'.

[Don]

Geezer's very vogue amongst FM virgins but you have to ask questions if he's got a 40 year career that hasn't gone near a big name. The rumours of a focus on pressing are promising but with that squad? Lol. They've basically written off the season, just need one of the other 16 teams to pull their finger out.

[Kikó]

Already flapping because we've signed Jurgen's hero :-*******)

[Giggles]

I think I know which one I’d rather have.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Last night I dreamed that a smiling Jurgen Klopp was walking down my road doing a meet and greet, knocked on my car window and demanded I get out to shake his hand, which I agreed to. I think the only explanation for this is that Taz is some sort of Freddy Krueger who objected to me calling German managers 'flavour of the month'.

On the other hand, in the dream I remember noting that Klopp was a surprisingly short man (he's actually very tall). Lots going on here.