Thread by @biolakazeem

On Man Utd, Ole & way forward:

Solksjaer will need far more time & patience than he'd need money if United are ever to be back to their competitive best with him. It will get worse before it gets better. And he will make many mistakes along the way as he has never done anything

like this in his life. People reference Zidane/Pep as former players who took off brilliantly and I ask them, so where is the Messi/Ronaldo for Ole? Where is the club structure & sporting ambition that helped Pep/Zidane? Where is the Xavi/Iniesta/Modric/Kroos?

He is starting on a different pedestal from those 2. And it is obvious in his statements & decisions that he is just winging it at the moment. The other point is that the type of overhaul United now need is different from last summer. Last summer, the club was 2nd, made FA Finals

Had some momentum as it has won 2 trophies a year before. The summer was a platform to continue to build but the club decided a referendum on the manager was more important & refused to push further in its sporting ambition. Where has it ever been said that investment in

playing squad is enough? What club has finished 19 points behind another & decided that it had enough tools? Do you ever see the likes of Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern ever stop investing, remodeling, improving their squad? Improvements never end no matter who the manager is.

If think the manager is not who you want, fire him, hire another and keep building. By doing what he did in the summer, Woodward damaged United significantly. Back to Ole. He has to build from 6th(most likely finish) & he is already laden with some players that the club

should be phasing out. Smalling, Young, Jones were all given deals within the past year. So to overhaul the squad, Ole needs a lot of time and patience. Over the last 3 years, Klopp & Pep have shifted over 20 players each & bought almost 20 players. That is the scale of the

Overhaul needed & it will take time. The other thing is that Ole will buy duds too. All managers do. Ole bought 7 players at Cardiff, all duds. Rather than criminalize him & tell him to improve them, the club has to take the hit & move on quickly. Persevering with duds

& using it as a stick to beat a manager is infantile behavior & only wins you battles while you lose the war. In essence, I am saying even in rebuilding,there will be disappointments. Ole has never rebuilt a club this size before so it is only expected.

The other issue is mentality. United/Ole have to decide, do they want to indulge players & stand by the manager as he instill the right mentality. While he might be an abrasive character, the crux of Mourinho's issues with Pogba/Martial was lack of consistency & poor performance

The fan base,media & fans decided the players are mere victims & they just be left as they are. The initial uplift in performance gave people the validation they craved. Of course the performance have trailed off & people are now saying the same things they were outraged the

Former manager was saying. If the club does nor not decide that the manager's way is the ONLY way, Ole will invest too much energy being in the goos books of players. He will win that battle but lose the war of being competitive. Indulging players never lead anywhere.

It is also easy to see Ole is caught between fantasy of the "United Way" (whatever that means) & the reality of the tools he has/will be given.A manager's philosophy is driven by the players he has, not just his approach.If the decision is to play the "United Way," then the tools

Must be there. 2 top class wingers(minimum) ball playing CBs, flying full backs & midfielders playing with real intensity. It will require time, patience and money to get all these. If he is not given the tools, talk of playing like Fergie is tomfoolery. Won't happen.

The club structure has to change as well. Completely. On the sporting side. The manager-CEO decision making channel has to change to get more people in the room making sucg vital decisions. A point & kill approach for a club of this size is tragic. Ole will need help.

It is easy to criminalize LVG & Jose. The reality is that if 2 of the greatest European managers struggle to compete at your club despite significant investment, something else is broken. Hammering both managers gives you catharsis but the problem will break the next man too.

While Ole is given the tools he needs, he should also be allowed to decide who he doesn't want. That was a major issue that significantly impacted the former manager. Backing players over a manager because of potential is foolishness. Not when the manager is in charge of results

If Ole doesn't want a player, the player has to go. Anything less damages Ole & signals to the players that he is not fully in charge. Progress will be stunted that way. The manager is in charge, not the players or fans driven by little thinking or emotions.

Also, expectations should be minimal. I'd say aim for T4 next season( a real tragedy as the club was 2nd just last summer but it is what it is) & build from there. Expect early cup exits too & don't overanalyze bad results. Easy to forget now but Liverpool suffered many

embarrassing Cup losses. City got kicked out of FA Cup by League 1 Wigan. It is part of the process. Lose those games but support the manager still & keep building. Playing style will also take sometime to fully implement so lossed are bad losses are inevitable

The club also has to get realistic about Ole. He has been 9 years in the game & not done much. This is a new level for him. It is a big risk & the returns will only compound later. It can't be expected to be immediate.

It is also important to agree benchmarks(style, results,positions) to decide if he stays or goes. Ambiguity in that regard leads to statis or decision paranoia. Know if it is working or not & decide. That is what killed the club last summer. Decide & move fast.

Finally. Ole is not Fergie. He will never be Fergie. Expecting Fergie football/Fergie behavior/Fergie results will only cause more damage. Ole himself has to take the lead here. Fergie is a shadow that hangs over the club. Stop invoking his name at every chance. Stop watering the

Nostalgia culture. Ole is Ole. Fergie is Fergie. There is zero upside in continuing to build the club as if you are under instructions from him. It damages you even in the eyes of players & their agents. Respect Fergie but cut the cord & do your thing. It is the only way forward.