Ole Solskjaer Retires

andrew1977

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_2690166,00.html

He has been tormented by injuries in the past few seasons but what a clinical finisher when he was in peak form . He saved our necks in many important matches during his career

As a united supporter i wish him all the best in the future .. a true United legend who will never be forgotten !

20 Legend

Guy:Incognito

A bit out of the blue (ish) no? Maybe Utd fans have a bit more insight but I dont remember hearing anything over the summer bout him retireing. I thought the knee thing was temporary.

Great player.

Irish Wolf

Great player indeed..

And what's with the caption Sky decided to bung under his photo.. "Solskjaer: Forced to quit".

~Rebel~

That a pity. I wonder will he get brought on one last time at OT to say his goodbyes?

Does this mean a new striker so? Tevez, Rooney and Saha are all great and everything, but with Saha's dodgy fitness and Rooney's occasional feet troubles ye could find yerselves a bit light at times (like now)..hope yee dont get Anelka though. Not sure how much he'd play and i like watching him. Also finally seems to have settled himself down and stopped being hassle for everyone. Dont want United getting a stable, confident, in form Anelka!

Guy:Incognito

Irish Wolf wrote:

And what's with the caption Sky decided to bung under his photo.. "Solskjaer: Forced to quit".

Retiring through injury is pretty much being forced to (by the injury) retire in fairness.Dont think that they were trying to imply someone shoved him out of the club and football.

~Rebel~ wrote:

Does this mean a new striker so?

I'd imagine Fergie knew about this for awhile or at least had a very good idea he was going to have to retire. This type of thing rarely happens overnight.

Creamy Goodness

sad day tbh.

he was a great player and a good loyal player to utd.

Irish Wolf

Stekelly wrote:

Retiring through injury is pretty much being forced to (by the injury) retire in fairness.Dont think that they were trying to imply someone shoved him out of the club and football.

Yeah - I get it - but why not just state the facts.. "Solskjaer: Retiring through injury".. without the sensationalist rubbish..

Carry on - just my unlove of Sky shining through..

jank

Was leathal in his prime, but will always be remembered as a supersub rather then a world class striker. Could have done the business in many a first team.

A move now for a anelka?

Thing is if all are fit who plays?
Cant imagine saha and anelka wanting to be 3rd and 4th choice strikers!
A move for Defoe may be more likely, he is used to being 4th choice:D

Daemonic

Amazing player, tremendous loyalty which is rarely seen anymore.

The Sparrow

Shame to hear it all right... He was great for Utd. Obv the CL final in '99 will be what he was remembered most for but he popped up with important goals so many times.

I remember him scoring 4 goals in the last 20 mins when he came of the bench in Utds 8-1 defeat of Notts Forest a few years ago. Great stuff!

applehunter

Daemonic wrote:

Amazing player, tremendous loyalty which is rarely seen anymore.

Thats bollix. Its easy to be loyal when your earning 30k plus every week.

Will always be remembered for the goal in 99

PHB

It's been coming for a while. It's not really out of the blue, he's been struggling to get back, and few expected him to play many games this season. Was kinda hoping he'd get back, have only ever seen him play once in real life, was hoping to change that this year. Alas, hopefully he'll have a testimonial.

IMO he is a dying breed of footballer, doesn't want to fame or the glory, just wants to play football. Hopefully he'll be staying on as a coach or something.

Peyton Manning

The word God gets thrown around far too commonly these days, but this man truly was a God in English football. Sad that it had to end this way but Im guessing he might have had another injury setback in the past few days in training.

Thanks for the memories Olé - I'll deffinately be there at the inevitable testimonial.

besty

Gutted!
A true great for us. 126 goals in 300 odd games IIRC! And THAT goal!

Thanks for the memories 20legend!

Peyton Manning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-OANja52d0

I will always remember him for the Munich goal, but this goal made me jump around the place more than any other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYiO7PoCZyY

Attractive Nun

Absolute legend. I have a strange memory from primary school of me and a few friends chanting 'Ole Gunnar Solskjaer' to the tune of 'Stand up (for the champions)'. Must have been 9-10 years ago. One of the best finishers in the Premiership for years - shame he became so injury prone, but his coming back from years of injury to win a Premier League medal is a great achievement to retire with.

herbieflowers

That game against Forest a few seasons back...wow...what a striker, I remember reading b+efore that he used to (as a kid) stand in front of an empty net and just repeatedly kick the ball in for hours upon end...great player and a model pro

leninbenjamin

that sucks. i always wanted him to go out on a bang, at least have a decent season before he left. guess it was inevitable though.

still i hope he goes into coaching someday, he is such an intelligent player.

heyjude

applehunter wrote:

Thats bollix. Its easy to be loyal when your earning 30k plus every week.

And how much is Jermain Defoe earning at Spurs ??? and how loyal will he be ?

Solskjaer was the perfect team player, he was content to sit on the bench if needed, never moaned, gave 110% when called upon and was prepared to play in whatever position Fergie needed.

How many other top strikers would have been prepared to come on as a sub one week, score a goal or two and without complaining,sit on the bench the following week. Or how many top strikers would come on and play as a wide player in midfield rather than their regular striking position.

Ole put the team first, which is why he is so popular with the fans, he never wanted to go anywhere else and it wasn't down the money he was earning, I just think the guy loves the club

smemon

great player, the silent assassin, i always thought he was the henrik larsson of Utd...

clever, could adapt to any situation, always good for a goal..

nobody will forget the man at OT.. responsible for the most valuable/memorable goal ever scored in Utd's history..

it's as if his retirement is almost like a death in the family

Jazzy

Archimedes wrote:

The word God gets thrown around far too commonly these days, but this man truly was a God in English football

hes above julian dicks and john fashanu but he is nowhere near a kenny dalglish, dennis law, dennis bergkamp or kevin kilbane

_blank_

Wow, this is a bit out of the blue alright.

What a player though.

My favourite memories of him are the four goals he scored against Forest when he came off the bench, that goal against Liverpool in the video earlier in the thread, and of course the night in the Nou Camp.

20LEgend



Delighted i got to see him play before. The man is a hero. One of the most natural strikers you could find.

Hobart

Yep, great player. Pity that his career went out on a whimper as opposed to a bang.

cournioni

heyjude wrote:

Solskjaer was the perfect team player, he was content to sit on the bench if needed, never moaned, gave 110% when called upon and was prepared to play in whatever position Fergie needed.

How many other top strikers would have been prepared to come on as a sub one week, score a goal or two and without complaining,sit on the bench the following week. Or how many top strikers would come on and play as a wide player in midfield rather than their regular striking position.

Ole put the team first, which is why he is so popular with the fans, he never wanted to go anywhere else and it wasn't down the money he was earning, I just think the guy loves the club

You couldn't have hit the nail any sweeter. Ole was what United was all about, absolutely 100% commitment every time he put on the United shirt regardless of where he was playing, or if he was on the bench. Since he joined the club he was United through and through, getting involved with all sorts of supporters fundraising. He donated £70000 towards the supporters fund to keep Glazer out of the club. Should tell you all about the man.

True United legend.

county

Daemonic wrote:

Amazing player, tremendous loyalty which is rarely seen anymore.

as above,ole showed total loyalty to the club and fans especially.

bohsman

Hobart wrote:

Yep, great player. Pity that his career went out on a whimper as opposed to a bang.

In fairness coming back from injury last season and helping them win the league was going out with a bang.

jobonar

bohsman wrote:

In fairness coming back from injury last season and helping them win the league was going out with a bang.

a great season to leave after!

will always be a legend. he was a bargain!

Hobart

bohsman wrote:

In fairness coming back from injury last season and helping them win the league was going out with a bang.

My point is/was that the last few seasons for him have been destroted by injury.

It would have been nice for him and the fans had he returned in some capacity this season and retired playing.

He's one of the few players I have genuine respect for. He never bitched or moaned, like some other prima-donnas, when he was played out of position and I never remember him having any problem with any contract he was offered throughout the years. A couple of memories I have of him are '99 (being pissed and cheering on Manu with a bunch of Manc supporters!!! (yes it's true)) and a foul he made against Newcastle (I think it was Rob Lee) to stop them scoring, with the cheeky smile on his face as he was sent off.

Great respect for the guy, hope his retirement is as good as his career.

As an aside, the selling of Rossi looks as if it might backfire, do you think SAF would have sold Rossi had he known of Ole's retirement (not suggesting that he did/didn't) and will he be replaced by some striker this week?

chopperbyrne

Wasn't he originally a Liverpool fan or is that just a silly rumour?

Hobart

chopperbyrne wrote:

Wasn't he originally a Liverpool fan or is that just a silly rumour?

By all accounts, he was a Liverpool fan, I haven't heard it directly from him though so it may still be a "silly" rumour.

chopperbyrne

Great player though. Hope he gets a good testimonial.

Maybe Keane and Cantona will come back for it?

Mr Alan

yea he was a liverpool fan. member of the fan club and everything until he joined Utd.

zAbbo

I guess no-one would dislike OGS, even rival fans can respect his attitude and hardwork. One of the best natural finishers in the Premiership alongside Robbie Fowler.

Shame to see him finishing up, but playing last season was a mini-miracle considering his injuries.

At one stage he was the best right sided midfielder, keeping Beckham out of the team, and deemed good enough to cover that position after he left.

Dave!

hmmm, didn't Sir Alex say, when asked about a new striker, that Saha and Ole were coming back, so he's not looking to take on a new one? And he also sold Smudge and Rossi... Any chance Ole sprung this on him out of the blue?

Of course Alex knew he'd have to replace Ole soon, but maybe not right now.

Still, an absolute hero at Old Trafford. A gentleman and a great role model. Hopefully he'll stay on at the club in some way.

Mushy

What a player. Deinately one of my favourites to see on the pitch. Neer moaned when on the bench, and did a hell of a job when coming off of it. Hopefully other pros can follow his example in the future.

Theboinkmaster

PORNAPSTER wrote:

You couldn't have hit the nail any sweeter. Ole was what United was all about, absolutely 100% commitment every time he put on the United shirt regardless of where he was playing, or if he was on the bench. Since he joined the club he was United through and through, getting involved with all sorts of supporters fundraising. He donated £70000 towards the supporters fund to keep Glazer out of the club. Should tell you all about the man.

True United legend.

100% agree - an inspiration to everyone. If I was buying a Utd shirt today I'd get his

Xavi6

Well as much as I really, REALLY hate United it's impossible to dislike Solksjaer. One of the best finishers I've seen in the game and he deserves every compliment paid to him. Although that night in '99 was one of my worst ever!

Kimbot

Evan as a pool fan I have to admit OLE is an absoltuly fantastic player. I wish him the best.

Hyzepher

OGS attitude is what made him stand out of the crowd. His committment to his team and his career while always trying to do the right thing. His total professionalism towards whatever role he was given will be missed and is something of a rarity amoung players of such high exposure.

He is no doubt one of the best finishers ever to grace English football and in my opinion under estimated by most. Although he had an impressive career with Utd I still have a sense that he really never showed us his full potential, partly due to injury and partially due to SAF really using him off the bench rather than from the start.

it is sad to think that we will no longer see him play.

mike65

Great and annoying player (if you are the opposition!).

Mike.

Sizzler

Always did his best for the team...I remember this moment with great fondness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBjy4jO-Dd4

stovelid

applehunter wrote:

Thats bollix. Its easy to be loyal when your earning 30k plus every week.

In fairness, he could have got the same (if more) money with a different team if he wished..

When he joined MU, my mates called him "The Lesbian" Hopefully he'll get a good testimonial, a total legend.

Peyton Manning

Remember after he scored 4 against Forest after being brought on as a sub, he said 'the manager said to just hold onto the ball, dont do anything over the top but of course thats not how I like to do things!"

weemcd

Bit of a sad day really, feel like I'm mourning him or something. Saw this on bbc news and headed straight for the soccer forum. Hopefully united will sort out some sort of decent testimonial for him.

This was a complete shock, but I suppose the groundworks always been there for his retirement, in all likelihood it would have been at the end of this season anyway,we knew he was going to take up some form of coaching/ambassador role in the next year or two its just been brought forward.

Versatile and potentially lethal at any time, a true red devil. He will be sorely missed.

"You are my Solskjær, my Ole Solskjær,
You make me happy, when skies are grey,
Though Alan Shearer, was fúcking dearer,
Please don't take my Solskjær away!"

ROCKMAN

sad day, great player ,thanks for the memories .

Necronomicon

I was gutted to hear this, naturally, the guy has been my hero for so long. All the main highlights have been mentioned in the thread already. I remember last year someone posted a video of all his United goals, I'll try to find it in a sec.

He had a decent season last year, before injury really took him out for the last time. Having a hand in United winning back the title, not the worst way for him to go out. I hope he becomes a prominent member of the United staff.

sofireland

Think he's involved in coaching the u19s or something, but i have a feeling he'll become an ambassador for the club a la Bobby Charlton.

Thanks for the memories and the Goals Ole!!!

redzerdrog

good player, great atitude and a great pro

Im_No_Superman

Was gutted to hear the news this morning. One of the best finishers to play for United imo. Model pro aswell, never ever remember hearing or reading him get into any stupid "celeb" problems. Nice to see he will be staying at the club in some capacity.

Dave!

http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=472176

Ole takes Reds coaching role

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took temporary charge of United’s reserves side in Lisbon on Wednesday morning, and it marks the former Reds striker’s first steps into the coaching side of the game.

Solskjaer, who ended his playing career last month due to injury having scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for the Reds, won’t be taking up the Reserves role full-time, but Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that the Norwegian has joined the club’s coaching staff.

The 34-year-old has not yet been given an official job title, but he is to work closely with technical skills development coach Rene Meulensteen, with particular emphasis on coaching strikers throughout the club's ranks.

Sir Alex told ManUtd.com: “This is an ideal trip for Ole to come along and get involved with the coaching side of the game.”

Ole led the warm up and took charge of a strong reserves team including Tom Heaton, Dong Fangzhuo, Lee Martin, and Darron Gibson against a Sporting Lisbon team made up of first- and second-year Academy scholars.

I'm sure everybody will be pleased to read this