"I wasn't ready to take on the Cardiff job"

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes blunt Cardiff City admission


Tuesday 5th February 2019


Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted he wasn't ready to take on the Cardiff City job in 2014 in the wake of his incredible success at Manchester United.

The Norwegian was a flop at Cardiff, taking the Bluebirds down from the Premier League and winning just nine times in 30 games before being sacked after a disastrous nine-month tenure.

Bluebirds fans were shocked when Man United took the decision to appoint Solskjaer as Jose Mourinho's successor in December, but he's since won nine of a possible 10 matches.

Looking back on his spell in south Wales, Solskjaer told Sky Sports: "It wasn’t the right decision, to be fair. But you live and you learn."

"This (Man United) is a completely different club and situation to come into.

"I know the culture and identity of the club and the playing style. Manchester United, of course, suits me a lot more than a club that struggles towards the bottom of the table.

"I wasn’t ready for that fight. I didn’t say I wasn’t ready for the Premier League. That's different."

Solskjaer clinched an emphatic 5-1 win against his former club on his debut as Red Devils boss.

He remains United's interim boss, on a contract until the end of the season after being released by his club Molde.


But speculation is now rife that his impressive spell in charge could land Solskjaer the job on a permanent basis, despite the fact his previous Premier League job proved to be a failure.

He added: "My belief is to trust players and to trust them to play the right way. To try to dominate teams, to try to win games the right way. To play the way that we do now with Manchester United.


"I should have flipped that mentality into a different one at a team that struggles against relegation if you know what I mean."

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Heard him on SSN this past weekend saying that the talent and potential of Utd players any manager should be able to get the performances he’s got out of them

Heard him on SSN this past weekend saying that the talent and potential of Utd players any manager should be able to get the performances he’s got out of them

He's virtually spot on

His biggest advantage (and I believe why they gave him the opportunity) was he knows 'the Man Utd way' developed by Sir Alex Ferguson and was always going to be a breath of fresh air to the players after Jose Mourinho

Guided by Sir Alex himself and with Mike Phelan next to him on the bench, he knows the score and has done what has been asked; unlike another former player who had an opportunity just prior to Jose Mourinho's arrival

So what made him to take the job. He is clueless Ole.

I think the one thing I appreciated about Ole was his honesty, he never sugarcoated anything and always took the wrap for the poor results and performances and challenged the board and that was one of a few reasons why he got sacked.

The United job was a win win for him because the supporters were gonna get behind him no matter what as long as there was intent and a performance that was 100% in the eyes of the fans the results would really matter so much even though he hasn't lost yet but when that loss comes they will look past that as long as the performance is there.

I don't know if many managers would do what he done yes maybe get performances and intent on trying to win games in attacking fashion but along with that it's get the players who are under performing and utilising players to their strengths e.g. Pogba in terms of under performing and players like Martial playing him to his strengths and letting these 2 and others express themselves.. he went to Spurs and executed the first half well and managed to see the game out all be it with some defending and fantastic keeping from De Gea but they still won.

I hope he can keep it up and get the job, I think there is a good manager in him and he owns up when he is in the wrong and he is still learning but doesn't make excuses.

As a person I quite like him. And I certainly wouldn't blame him for taking us down as we were falling apart before he came because of Tans spat with Malky.

But what he fails to address is the mess he left us in as a result of the spate of disastrous signings he the season following relegation and the resultant bill that left us with. It took us three years to sort that out.

Still all well that ends well. We are back in the Premier and importantly playing in blue. If he had kept us up we would probably still be playing in red and for that I suppose we should thank him!

he's done a very good job at united. ironically, managing them is much easier than managing us. he deserves credit for his excellent start.

he was out of his depth from the first minute he pitched up here. most of his signings were lazily thought out, relying on his united and norweigan links to sign players who turned out to be sub standard.

Frightening how people are unable to read between the lines.

So glad he did take us down. Thank you Ole

Just goes to show that these top managers have it easier than the managers of lower placed clubs it's like racing a fiat punto against an Audi r8 .
Good managers quite often get over looked.The club got ole in and he did everything wrong for us.
Money talks and he has the respect of very good players so it's a marriage that will blossom but for how long.
I still think he's a poor manager he could only manage United really .
For us he was shit .

Frightening how people are unable to read between the lines.

think its pretty clear.

likes to have the cards stacked massively in his favour , not much interested in a fight or having to build something.

sounds like your average modern day United plastic.

Frightening how people are unable to read between the lines.

think its pretty clear.

likes to have the cards stacked massively in his favour , not much interested in a fight or having to build something.

sounds like your average modern day United plastic.

Seems strange when he reebuilt Molde like three times since he left Cardiff, making the club a bucket of money, and happy doing it. “Wasn’t ready for a fight” think that has more depth than just a relegation battle with shit players.

Conaidering budget, worst manager I've seen at the city by a strech.

Conaidering budget, worst manager I've seen at the city by a strech.

And yet the world call city the worst club to be in at the time. Who are right? You and the 0,002 % of your likes, or the rest saying the opposite?

He's had a good start at united but when you think of his first few games he had, anyone would have been able to achieve results against that type of opposition. That led to some good momentum going into the tougher games of late.

For me though, the real test will be when things aren't going United's way, will he be able to turn a couple of poor results back into a good run of form. Will be interesting to see how he fairs next season IF united decide to keep him on.

He's had a good start at united but when you think of his first few games he had, anyone would have been able to achieve results against that type of opposition. That led to some good momentum going into the tougher games of late.

For me though, the real test will be when things aren't going United's way, will he be able to turn a couple of poor results back into a good run of form. Will be interesting to see how he fairs next season IF united decide to keep him on.

You stund like Paul Ince. And yet there was an artical a few days ago showing how dramatically he changed the tactics of United. Going from top to bottom in brakedowns and several other stats. Suddenly a mediocre team rank top in Europe in stats. Not bad for a few pats on the back!

Frightening how people are unable to read between the lines.

think its pretty clear.

likes to have the cards stacked massively in his favour , not much interested in a fight or having to build something.

sounds like your average modern day United plastic.

Seems strange when he reebuilt Molde like three times since he left Cardiff, making the club a bucket of money, and happy doing it. “Wasn’t ready for a fight” think that has more depth than just a relegation battle with shit players.

sorry mate but he said it not me.

ive actually stuck up for him plenty , but am now beginning to think I gave him too much credit.

he has had the dream start at Utd but it wont always be a line of Ws and as with all clubs the hic up is coming .
thats when he earns his bacon , thats when he will be judged , and thats when he can give it the big one { should he succeed } not now.

Just goes to show that these top managers have it easier than the managers of lower placed clubs it's like racing a fiat punto against an Audi r8 .
Good managers quite often get over looked.The club got ole in and he did everything wrong for us.
Money talks and he has the respect of very good players so it's a marriage that will blossom but for how long.
I still think he's a poor manager he could only manage United really .
For us he was shit .

overall i'd agree it's easier managing united than cardiff, but it really requires a different set of skills.

managing egos, keeping a large squad of players all happy, dealing with the commercial aspect etc, bringing youth players through.

here it's all about results. getting an 11 out there and ensuring you win on a saturday. it's about getting the most from a limited set of players. there's no expectation of bringing youngsters through, nor a need to play attractive football, and there's no scrutiny in comparison to united. a small pool of first team players means you don't need to manage unhappy sidelined players.

warnock would be out of his depth at united, and solksjaer the same here.

Just goes to show that these top managers have it easier than the managers of lower placed clubs it's like racing a fiat punto against an Audi r8 .
Good managers quite often get over looked.The club got ole in and he did everything wrong for us.
Money talks and he has the respect of very good players so it's a marriage that will blossom but for how long.
I still think he's a poor manager he could only manage United really .
For us he was shit .

overall i'd agree it's easier managing united than cardiff, but it really requires a different set of skills.

managing egos, keeping a large squad of players all happy, dealing with the commercial aspect etc, bringing youth players through.

here it's all about results. getting an 11 out there and ensuring you win on a saturday. it's about getting the most from a limited set of players. there's no expectation of bringing youngsters through, nor a need to play attractive football, and there's no scrutiny in comparison to united. a small pool of first team players means you don't need to manage unhappy sidelined players.

warnock would be out of his depth at united, and solksjaer the same here.

Yes I do not what you mean by saying what you said and it's a fair point.
Problem is Warnock will never be given a chance where ole did .Time will tell weather he keeps it going at United or not but what we do no is he was awful here .
Also he was the wrong appointment by the club really.

I really don't like man u so I hope it all goes tits up love big teams to fail.

Just goes to show that these top managers have it easier than the managers of lower placed clubs it's like racing a fiat punto against an Audi r8 .
Good managers quite often get over looked.The club got ole in and he did everything wrong for us.
Money talks and he has the respect of very good players so it's a marriage that will blossom but for how long.
I still think he's a poor manager he could only manage United really .
For us he was shit .

overall i'd agree it's easier managing united than cardiff, but it really requires a different set of skills.

managing egos, keeping a large squad of players all happy, dealing with the commercial aspect etc, bringing youth players through.

here it's all about results. getting an 11 out there and ensuring you win on a saturday. it's about getting the most from a limited set of players. there's no expectation of bringing youngsters through, nor a need to play attractive football, and there's no scrutiny in comparison to united. a small pool of first team players means you don't need to manage unhappy sidelined players.

warnock would be out of his depth at united, and solksjaer the same here.

Warnock will never be given the chance there..simple as that.and nothing to do with being out of his depth and far more to do with being unfashionable

OGS depth is failure here ,and since then Molde averaging 7k and winning nothing in a league ranked lower than the leagues of Belarus and Cyprus.
it might work out, but it might work for many managers if only given the chance.

Frightening how people are unable to read between the lines.

think its pretty clear.

likes to have the cards stacked massively in his favour , not much interested in a fight or having to build something.

sounds like your average modern day United plastic.

Seems strange when he reebuilt Molde like three times since he left Cardiff, making the club a bucket of money, and happy doing it. “Wasn’t ready for a fight” think that has more depth than just a relegation battle with shit players.

sorry mate but he said it not me.

ive actually stuck up for him plenty , but am now beginning to think I gave him too much credit.

he has had the dream start at Utd but it wont always be a line of Ws and as with all clubs the hic up is coming .
thats when he earns his bacon , thats when he will be judged , and thats when he can give it the big one { should he succeed } not now.

That is not what he said. But i know you stuck up for him, probably one of the most level headed posters on here. People actually still post he signed Eikrem, Daehlie and Berger to help us stay up. He actually said when he signed them, it was for the future... He was naive though. Both in team selection and thinking he would have time to build something. He likes to build, you know.

Frightening how people are unable to read between the lines.

think its pretty clear.

likes to have the cards stacked massively in his favour , not much interested in a fight or having to build something.

sounds like your average modern day United plastic.

Seems strange when he reebuilt Molde like three times since he left Cardiff, making the club a bucket of money, and happy doing it. “Wasn’t ready for a fight” think that has more depth than just a relegation battle with shit players.

sorry mate but he said it not me.

ive actually stuck up for him plenty , but am now beginning to think I gave him too much credit.

he has had the dream start at Utd but it wont always be a line of Ws and as with all clubs the hic up is coming .
thats when he earns his bacon , thats when he will be judged , and thats when he can give it the big one { should he succeed } not now.

That is not what he said. But i know you stuck up for him, probably one of the most level headed posters on here. People actually still post he signed Eikrem, Daehlie and Berger to help us stay up. He actually said when he signed them, it was for the future... He was naive though. Both in team selection and thinking he would have time to build something. He likes to build, you know.

people also think we were in danger of going down and needed slade to save us because we had lost to 3 clubs , 2 of who competed in that seasons play off final. strangely enough we lost to last seasons play off finalists too and by the same score lines.
anyway I do think we will have a better idea on OGS should they hit a bump.

Frightening how people are unable to read between the lines.

think its pretty clear.

likes to have the cards stacked massively in his favour , not much interested in a fight or having to build something.

sounds like your average modern day United plastic.

Seems strange when he reebuilt Molde like three times since he left Cardiff, making the club a bucket of money, and happy doing it. “Wasn’t ready for a fight” think that has more depth than just a relegation battle with shit players.

sorry mate but he said it not me.

ive actually stuck up for him plenty , but am now beginning to think I gave him too much credit.

he has had the dream start at Utd but it wont always be a line of Ws and as with all clubs the hic up is coming .
thats when he earns his bacon , thats when he will be judged , and thats when he can give it the big one { should he succeed } not now.

That is not what he said. But i know you stuck up for him, probably one of the most level headed posters on here. People actually still post he signed Eikrem, Daehlie and Berger to help us stay up. He actually said when he signed them, it was for the future... He was naive though. Both in team selection and thinking he would have time to build something. He likes to build, you know.

people also think we were in danger of going down and needed slade to save us because we had lost to 3 clubs , 2 of who competed in that seasons play off final. strangely enough we lost to last seasons play off finalists too and by the same score lines.
anyway I do think we will have a better idea on OGS should they hit a bump.

With that defense they will hit a rough spot alright.. Dont think they are as good as people make them out to be.. But manager of the month. Not bad for a clueless clown, if i may say.