Would you be happy with Ole Gunnar Solskjær? Now with added poll.

[Gompedyret]

My last lazy translating deed today! You guys probably know this Steve Bates fella better than me, he might be plonkers but the article had a few interesting points.

From Norway's biggest Internet based paper Nettavisen[url]:

English football expert understands why the Premier League clubs are considering Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

MUNICH (Nettavisen): Molde coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is one of the hottest candidates to take over the helm of Aston Villa after Alex McLeish was sacked.

Supposedly the Birmingham club have already been in talks with the Norwegian on the job, and Solskjaer, together with his wife, have been visiting in England on Friday morning.

Nettavisen (the paper's name) is in place in Munich to cover the Champions League final, but Molde coach's name also comes up frequently in the discussion.

- Excellent step
Steve Bates is head of the football department in the newspaper The People as well as chairman of the English football journalists' Association. He has covered Manchester United for over 25 years and was close to the club throughout the Solskjaer Period at Old Trafford.

Bates believes Aston Villa and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a perfect combination.

- I think it is a great step in his career. People have talked about that he is a future Manchester United manager, which is due to Alex Ferguson's high opinion of him. But also because Solskjaer has done incredibly well as a manager in Norway, with a team that has never won gold before. He has managed to implement major changes in one season, and I understand why clubs in England are keeping tabs on him, Bates says to Nettavisen.

- Future Star
Bates and The People have been behind recent revelations about Roy Hodgson's England job and Liverpool's interest in Roberto Martinez. How real Villa's interest in Solskjaer is, he dares not answer.

But he is 100 percent sure that Solskjaer is closely monitored in the Premier League, and not just for Aston Villa.

- In England, lots of people have a perception of him as an intelligent, professional guy, who has good ideas for how to play football, Bates reflects, before he says the following:

- I think he is one of Europe's next star coaches.

- If he takes the Villa job and succeed right away, do you think it will make Solskjaer a bigger favorite to take over from Alex Ferguson at Manchester United?

- It's a great question. If one is to take over a monster of a club like United, you have to have experience. Maybe a couple of years in the Villa is too little, but maybe not, says Bates.

- Do you think OGS will say yes to Aston Villa if he gets an offer?

- Good question. He has only had one season in Norway, and my opinion is that he should rather try to get Molde in the Champions League, and gain more experience. They will probably be knocked out of group play, or even in qualifying, but it is important to have experience. Usually you get only one opportunity to train a team like Aston Villa, but Solskjaer is young and has time ahead of him, Bates says.

The English football expert said that Solskjaer will expect impatient surroundings if he becomes the new Aston Villa manager. Yet there are opportunities to succeed, believe Bates.

- It can be a great club to go to the start of his career manager. Villa's not a bad club, but they've had some great managers there who have not succeeded. Perhaps because the fans expect too much, and maybe the team is not as good as many think. If he goes there, first and foremost he must get time and patience from the fans, but it is not certain. Premier League has become very special, and all want success right away. Solskjaer can not expect anything else (to get much time), Bates says.

[tomd2103]

well that's reassuring. the same minds that appointed Keen and McCarthy were after him.

By that token, any manager we appoint will have been appointed by the same men who appointed McLeish. So we might as well give up now, eh?

Well you have to admit they haven't shown much judgement so far when it comes to appointments.

By that same token, they have picked out a manager who has a very convienient clause in his contract, and has a proven record with youth.

Can't have been luck, surely?

What's this proven record with youth?  Also, surely we should be looking for someone with a record of handling and getting the best out of senior players and internationals, because that's really what we want our team to be made up of.  We have seen over the past two seasons what happens when we rely too heavily on youth. 

[Mazrim]

No, we've seen what happens when a bell end has the use of one of the best youth systems in the country.

OGS has a proven record with youth because he's coached the United kids for years, has built a young team at Molde and has set up soccer schools in Norway and wherever.
Working with and developing youngsters is his MO.

It's more important to us that he can build teams from youngsters because that is what were focussing on.

[tomd2103]

No, we've seen what happens when a bell end has the use of one of the best youth systems in the country.

OGS has a proven record with youth because he's coached the United kids for years, has built a young team at Molde and has set up soccer schools in Norway and wherever.
Working with and developing youngsters is his MO.

It's more important to us that he can build teams from youngsters because that is what were focussing on.

Working with youth players in youth and reserve teams is completely different to exposing a team full of young players to the harsh realities of top flight football.  In the past two seasons we have seen periods of a couple of months where the younger players have featured and both have resulted in a dramatic slide down the table.   

[N'Zimidy]

No, we've seen what happens when a bell end has the use of one of the best youth systems in the country.

OGS has a proven record with youth because he's coached the United kids for years, has built a young team at Molde and has set up soccer schools in Norway and wherever.
Working with and developing youngsters is his MO.

It's more important to us that he can build teams from youngsters because that is what were focussing on.

Working with youth players in youth and reserve teams is completely different to exposing a team full of young players to the harsh realities of top flight football.  In the past two seasons we have seen periods of a couple of months where the younger players have featured and both have resulted in a dramatic slide down the table.   

Lets be fair though. Our youngsters play very much like OGS' Molde team. Attacking football, played along the ground and lots of pressure on the opposition when they have it. Under McLeish it was extremely difficult for our youth products to come into a team that played kick and run. There was no movement, no passing and certainly no attacking intention from our first team under McLeish and our form dropped when our youngsters were essentially asked to play a different sport than they've been taught to play.

If we appoint OGS it would just fit the nature of our footballing ethos that the academy and reserves have set for several years. Players like Gardner, Bannan, Carruthers, Weimann etc would just find it much easier to slot into the first team if they were being asked to play the same roles they've been playing in the youth squads for years. It's incredibly unfair to blame our youngsters for what is our ex-managers fault.

[Mazrim]

Of course it's different, that's why there is some element of risk.
Nobody is saying otherwise.

But he's not being selected simply for his experience coaching youngsters although it's cleary an important criteria, he's being selected for his tactical nous, his understanding of the game, his character, intelligence and experience as a top player in this league.
It's a promise of brilliance rather than proof of it.

By the way, any struggles we've had weren't simply down to playing youngsters. Some of them have been amongst our best players.
The senior ones have let us down too more often than not.

[Monty]

No, we've seen what happens when a bell end has the use of one of the best youth systems in the country.

OGS has a proven record with youth because he's coached the United kids for years, has built a young team at Molde and has set up soccer schools in Norway and wherever.
Working with and developing youngsters is his MO.

It's more important to us that he can build teams from youngsters because that is what were focussing on.

Working with youth players in youth and reserve teams is completely different to exposing a team full of young players to the harsh realities of top flight football.  In the past two seasons we have seen periods of a couple of months where the younger players have featured and both have resulted in a dramatic slide down the table.   

But it means he's likely to understand the development of players and how quickly they should be brought into the first team. Barring a really substantial amount of investment, youth players will form a significant amount of our team. I certainly don't want Dullins playing a huge role in the future of the football club, they're everything that's wrong with us at the moment. How many young players has Lambert brought through?

[tomd2103]

No, we've seen what happens when a bell end has the use of one of the best youth systems in the country.

OGS has a proven record with youth because he's coached the United kids for years, has built a young team at Molde and has set up soccer schools in Norway and wherever.
Working with and developing youngsters is his MO.

It's more important to us that he can build teams from youngsters because that is what were focussing on.

Working with youth players in youth and reserve teams is completely different to exposing a team full of young players to the harsh realities of top flight football.  In the past two seasons we have seen periods of a couple of months where the younger players have featured and both have resulted in a dramatic slide down the table.   

Lets be fair though. Our youngsters play very much like OGS' Molde team. Attacking football, played along the ground and lots of pressure on the opposition when they have it. Under McLeish it was extremely difficult for our youth products to come into a team that played kick and run. There was no movement, no passing and certainly no attacking intention from our first team under McLeish and our form dropped when our youngsters were essentially asked to play a different sport than they've been taught to play.

If we appoint OGS it would just fit the nature of our footballing ethos that the academy and reserves have set for several years. Players like Gardner, Bannan, Carruthers, Weimann etc would just find it much easier to slot into the first team if they were being asked to play the same roles they've been playing in the youth squads for years. It's incredibly unfair to blame our youngsters for what is our ex-managers fault.

Not blaming the youngsters at all, but I think we have seen enough evidence over the past two seasons that we can't be looking to build a team around the current crop of young players we have.  That is only going to end up one way I'm afraid.   

[D.boy]

It's all about balancing youth with experience. Unfortunately some the experienced players have been massively underperforming/not good enough but the youngsters (who have been played out of position and exposed to negative tactics) have been made the scapegoats.

[N'Zimidy]

Not blaming the youngsters at all, but I think we have seen enough evidence over the past two seasons that we can't be looking to build a team around the current crop of young players we have.  That is only going to end up one way I'm afraid.   

Why not? Clark, Herd, Lichaj and Baker certainly don't look out of place at this level. I wouldn't be against any of them being first choice as long as we have enough cover if they get injured. Then you've got Albrighton, Bannan, Weimann, Gardner, Carruthers and Delph who have looked promising at times too and will provide great cover for our first team in the coming season(s).

They've all looked very good at times in the last season and that was under McLeish. They're only going to get better and better. Plus, under OGS, they will finally start to play towards their strengths rather than their weaknesses. All we need is 3-4 solid players to come in over the summer to fill the squad, a proper manager (OGS) and we will be rocketing up the table.

[tomd2103]

Not blaming the youngsters at all, but I think we have seen enough evidence over the past two seasons that we can't be looking to build a team around the current crop of young players we have.  That is only going to end up one way I'm afraid.   

Why not? Clark, Herd, Lichaj and Baker certainly don't look out of place at this level. I wouldn't be against any of them being first choice as long as we have enough cover if they get injured. Then you've got Albrighton, Bannan, Weimann, Gardner, Carruthers and Delph who have looked promising at times too and will provide great cover for our first team in the coming season(s).

They've all looked very good at times in the last season and that was under McLeish. They're only going to get better and better. Plus, under OGS, they will finally start to play towards their strengths rather than their weaknesses. All we need is 3-4 solid players to come in over the summer to fill the squad, a proper manager (OGS) and we will be rocketing up the table.

The playing levels of the younger players have been discussed on here many times before, but from your list I honestly believe that only Clark and Herd look like certainties at the moment.  Weimann, Gardner and Carruthers need more time, but the others are questionable to say the least.  I would say that we need more like 6-7 quality players to come in during the summer and then with the right manager we should make progress.

[TheSandman]

If we're changing names I'd be quite tempted by Ole Gunnar Sandsjær.

[Monty]

If we're changing names I'd be quite tempted by Ole Gunnar Sandsjær.

But what could I do? In a way Martinez would suit me, I could be Montinez. But what could I do with OGS? Ole Gunnar Montskjaer maybe?

[KRS]

I fully expect our some of our more skillful senior players and youth players to flourish under OGS, and donkeys like Collins, Dunne and Hutton will be found out...in fact, my only concern going into next season if we appoint OGS would be our shambles of a defensive unit.

[tomd2103]

No, we've seen what happens when a bell end has the use of one of the best youth systems in the country.

OGS has a proven record with youth because he's coached the United kids for years, has built a young team at Molde and has set up soccer schools in Norway and wherever.
Working with and developing youngsters is his MO.

It's more important to us that he can build teams from youngsters because that is what were focussing on.

Working with youth players in youth and reserve teams is completely different to exposing a team full of young players to the harsh realities of top flight football.  In the past two seasons we have seen periods of a couple of months where the younger players have featured and both have resulted in a dramatic slide down the table.   

But it means he's likely to understand the development of players and how quickly they should be brought into the first team. Barring a really substantial amount of investment, youth players will form a significant amount of our team. I certainly don't want Dullins playing a huge role in the future of the football club, they're everything that's wrong with us at the moment. How many young players has Lambert brought through?

Not sure about Lambert's record with youngsters at Norwich, but found this article:

"Now we all know that Lambert has done some remarkable things at our club. The meteoric rise in league standing, the improvement of the squad and really finding ways to unlock players potential are all rightly credited to him. But there is one other thing I believe he has done which we will reap the benefits of for years to come.

Lambert has used the money gathered from promotion to build a squad of young, up and coming talent. Look at the purchases he has made this year. Anthony Pilkington, age 23. Elliott Bennett, aged 23. Daniel Ayala, aged 21. Jonny Howson, aged 23. James Vaughan, age 23. Bradley Johnson, aged 24. Ryan Bennett, aged 21.

Of all the new permanent signings, only one is over 25 – Steve Morison, aged 28.

Add this to the young players already at the club. Players like Andrew Surman, aged 25. John Ruddy, aged 25. Declan Rudd, aged 21. Jed Steer, aged 19. Korey Smith, aged 21 and let’s not forget Chris Martin, aged 23. And that’s forgetting the likes of Tom Adeyemi, Matt Ball, Josh Dawkin and others.

This is the legacy of Paul Lambert. If he left tomorrow, he’d leave behind a core unit of players that can potentially play together for 8/9 years. A settled side the likes of which we’ve not had since Mike Walker left the first time and Robert Chase dismantled the group of players that had done so well for us. A group of players that will grow in stature, ability, understanding of each other and belief in themselves as they gain experience.

For me, it’s almost Wenger-esque the way Lambert has approached Norwich City in the Premiership. Wenger builds a side around young players, gives them time to gel and get experience and they genuinely become better players for it."