THE PREM ERA 15OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER
W
hat is the reality
about Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer as manager
of Manchester United?
It’s a red devil to know.
When his side were easily beaten
by Manchester City in the League Cup
semi-final, a fourth defeat in four semis,
the answer seemed clear: here is a man
who forever flatters to deceive.
A couple of weeks later, thanks to a
fine run of victories, Solskjaer’s side were
top of the Premier League and looking
like credible title challengers.
Perhaps the truth was evident in
another moment of this season – the
goal conceded to Istanbul Basaksehir in
a Champions League group fixture, when
Demba Ba was allowed to run from the
halfway line unopposed following a United
corner. This was more than a nightmare;
it should never happen to any team at
any level.
That’s the thing about Solskjaer, you
can argue it any which way you wish.
Optimists are convinced he will prove
the doubters wrong and deliver a cascade
of trophies to Old Trafford. Realists think
the club are just wasting time while
Solskjaer remains; talking incessantly
about United’s glory days of the past
while rival clubs stride ahead with
world-class leaders.
I have always been a sceptic. Solskjaer,
it seems to me, is an accidental long-term
manager of a great club – appointed
not on the basis of significant previous
achievements, but thanks to a honeymoon
period as interim boss that culminated in
an unexpected and supremely fortunate
Champions League triumph away to
Paris Saint-Germain.
Two years later, he is still there, his time
characterised by inconsistency – a good
spell, a bad spell, a good spell, another
bad one – and all without any rhyme or
reason. Each time he has been close to
the sack, a surge of form has saved him.
It is more than reasonable to argue
that this does him credit. Yet the same
swings of fortune do not assail the very
best managers of our age, likeJurgen
Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Max Allegri.
That fourth semi-final defeat, a 2-
loss at home to arch-rivals City, was
typical of his time. Inspired by Bruno
Fernandes, the club’s best signing in
several seasons, United were amid
a streak of fine results taking them
towards the top of the Premier League.
Solskjaer was buoyant beforehand.
“No excuses now,” was his battle cry,
with Fernandes’ influence on the club
being compared to that of Eric
Cantona’s arrival 30 years ago.
Afterwards, well, oh dear. Solskjaer
admitted that defeat was about “a lack
Knocked out...
Manchester United
players react to their
League Cup defeat
to Manchester Cityof quality compared to City,” having seen
his team outplayed and Bruno Fernandes
struggle in the heat of a major occasion.
His team had wilted in similar fashion
in the Champions League, sustaining
three defeats that knocked them out
of the competition. Was that the end
for Solskjaer? While rumours abounded,
the team perked up again, the manager
kept on smiling his boyish smile, and
recruited former team-mate Darren
Fletcher as first team coach.
“Darren has the United DNA running
through his veins, and he knows exactly
what it takes to be a Manchester United
player,” said Solskjaer.
It was a worrying sign. It was one more
admission that Solskjaer believes he canrelentlessly trade on the past rather than
develop as a manager with his own style
and philosophy.
Football people love to think there
is DNA of a club. It’s just a myth; and
a foolish one.
Arsene Wenger completely changed
Arsenal as a club; from his combination
play on the field to new training methods
guided by science.Jurgen Klopp brought
his distinctgegenpressingtactics to
Liverpool, a system he had used at
Borussia Dortmund, and certainly
not an Anfield tradition. That’s what
the finest managers do: impose their
smart ideas rather than imitate others.
Trophies are the consequence.
If we can observe anything about
Solskjaer it’s that his Manchester United
are most effective in counter-attack mode.
It is a way to play, a way that can be highly
successful, asJose Mourinho has proven.
Yet, two years into the job, isn’t his
United defence still too fragile and his
team too inconsistent for this strategy
to conjure a first Premier League title
since Alex Ferguson’s retirement?wasting time while
Solskjaer remains
Realists think the club are just
Like many before him, Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer was unable to follow in Alex
Ferguson’s footsteps by bringing the
glory days back to Old Trafford...Following
Ferguson
David Moyes
July 2013-April 2014
Win rate:
52.94%Louis van Gaal
July 2014-May 2016
Win rate:
52.43%Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer
Dec 2018-Nov 2021
Win rate:
54.17%Ralf Rangnick
(interim)
Dec 2021-May 2022
Win rate:
37.93%Jose Mourinho
May 2016-Dec 2018
Win rate:
58.33%Ryan Giggs
(caretaker)
April 2014-May 2014
Win rate:
50%Michael Carrick
(caretaker)
Nov 2021-Dec 2021
Win rate:
66.67%Erik ten Hag
July 2022-
The ex-Ajax coach is
the fifth permanent
United manager since
Alex Ferguson’s exit.