51 games
— avg 2.5 day gap/game
— avg 4.7 rotation/game
gap/game
2 day gap — 26/51 games
3 day gap — 16/51 games
4 day gap — 5/51 games
rotation/game
2 day gap games: 5.1 rotations
3 day gap games: 4.9 rotations
4 day gap games: 3.2 rotations
We've not yet had a single game where we had more than a 4 day gap while more than half our games had just a 2 day gap.
82% of our games had max 3 day gap.
We'll have a 6 day gap between games for the first time this season after the game on Sunday vs Burnley — well deserved.
The first 5 games of the season were treated as a pre-season by Ole as we were denied a normal pre-season.
In those 5 games we made 10, 9, 10, 10 rotations each game respectively.
This hasn't boosted the numbers much, but still here's the stats with those games removed ⤵️
1st 5 games removed
46 games
— avg 2.5 day gap/game
— avg 4.3 rotations/game
gap/game
25/46 games — 2 day gap
13/46 games — 3 day gap
05/46 games — 4 day gap
rotations/game
2 day gap games: 4.9 rotations
3 day gap games: 3.8 rotations
4 day gap games: 3.2 rotations
Superb 🥂
As is evident Ole has rotated the squad superbly to fend off fatigue. No team in the top 5 leagues have played as many as us or had a midweek game every week.
Considering this + no pre-season, such rotation is why we're 2nd — squad management 101.
But players like Harry, AWB, Bruno & Rash have played almost every single game.
1st three are Ole signings & have incredible fitness records — rarely injured in their whole career.
Rashford unfortunately is hard to drop as he's our only firing forward — but Ole must do better.
Maintaining results to be 2nd while making on average 4.7 rotations/game with a bench as thin as ours is an incredible testament to just how good Ole is at management, especially when you consider the bench the likes of City & CFC have.
Now give him a full squad & pre-season. 🥂
Disclaimer:
If you add up the games in the "gap/game stat" you'll see 4 games are missing, this isn't a mistake — 3 of those games in question are the one right after each of the 3 international breaks and the fourth is the very first game of the season.
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One aspect of Ole that is highly underappreciated is just how well he's been able to handle being at the helm of one of the biggest football clubs in history. Many don't realise just how rare & valuable this is.
Let me explain ⤵️
At a big club, what you need most is the ability to manage politics, bureaucracy, redtape & pressure so the players can focus on just playing football.
Many 'tactically astute' managers from smaller clubs fail at a bigger club bc they can't handle this — Ole has excelled in it.
Luke Shaw's comments about Ole last night is a testament to exactly that. The pressure of playing for a big club is monumental. Having the assurance your manager will protect you is the first step a ayer needs to perform at their best.
I dont expect any journo to say #mufc are right to back Ole. That doesnt sell clicks. But I do expect them to atleast not drag his name into every single sacking conversation simply bc their lack of research backs that notion.
But that isnt half of whats wrong with this piece ⤵️
This article came out a few mins after Chelsea lost meaning it was prewritten except for a few paras. Classic case of pre-conceived notions being treated as facts on the back of a correlative result.
Also Ole is mentioned only on twitter not once in the article. Very clickbaity.
I understand journos have to churn out content. Trust me, I'm a professional writer who has to meet deadlines so I know the grind.
But the article says CFC are now considering sacking Lampard, I find it hard to believe @TheAthleticUK could get such info mins after the whistle.
Over the last one year of running this account, I've primarily focused on writing threads about the long term aspects of Ole's process — squad building, philosophies, squad introductions etc.
This thread will be a collection of some of my favorites. Hope you enjoy. ⤵️
1. Ole's Squad Building
An in-depth look at the process behind Ole's rebuilding in his first full season in charge of #mufc & how meticulous and well planned it was:
2. My first long thread (before I started naming them).
I used to read a lot of comparisons between Ole & managers at other clubs. This thread is trying to unpack why the United job Ole took over is unlike any other & why his process deserves more time.
Arsenal is still a massive club & it too big a jump too soon for Arteta. He's talented but to manage Arsenal, you need experience. His entire career is 3 yrs as an asst. Arsenal isn't where you learn management 101. The PR designed to give him confidence backfiring doesnt help.
The blame should fall as much on Arsenal as anyone else. They trusted him, built a narrative around him that they've found the next Pep, placed insane expectations on him to reinvent football and with no experience of handling such pressure, he's now understandably panicking.
It's clear Arteta is a good coach, but that's 10% of being a manager, especially at a big club. Can he handle the red tape above him, the politics beside him, can he handle the media narratives, the player expectations & pressure, the million other intangibles that he needs to?