Liverpool humiliation should be the death knell for Solskjaer’s reign
By now, only politeness or delusion can explain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s continued position as the manager of Manchester United.
Politeness, because Solskjaer is an affable man, popular with his players, club staff and the United supporters. To tell Solskjaer he no longer belongs at Old Trafford is the United equivalent of shooting Bambi’s mother.
Or delusion.
Because, for all the evidence before our eyes, there are those who still imagine that Solskjaer possesses the skill and imagination to restore United to the summit of not just domestic but European football.
The reality, however, is this: for the first two and a half years, Solskjaer did a good, if not spectacular, job as United manager.
He returned them to the Champions League, incrementally improved the club’s final league position year-on-year (sixth, then third, then runners-up) and, for the most part, reconnected United’s squad with their fanbase after the trauma of predecessor Jose Mourinho’s final months.
Yet he is no longer doing a good job.
That does not make Solskjaer a dud, or a fool, or a man deserving of mockery. It simply makes him a reasonable coach who made United a lot better than they were, but then stopped doing so.
And when an employee ceases to be performing well, showing little to no indication of plateauing, let alone improvement, then it is in everybody’s interests for a change to be made.
The 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool on Sunday should be the death knell for Solskjaer’s reign.
The scale of the humiliation was clear in the scoreline, but it cannot be argued that this performance was a one-off. Many aspects of United’s incompetence in this game had been trailed in the opening weeks of the season.
The gaping holes between the team’s midfield and defence were visible in worrying performances at home against Aston Villa, Everton, Villarreal and Atalanta, in addition to away matches at Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. United lost only two of those seven games but could, quite easily, have lost them all.
Over the past week, their defensive vulnerabilities have been mercilessly exposed.
Against Leicester last Saturday, Atalanta in midweek and Liverpool, United conceded 11 goals. At that rate, they average a goal conceded every 24 minutes. They are already eight points behind the Premier League’s leaders after only nine matches. They are out of the Carabao Cup after a home defeat by a second-string West Ham United side. They remain in the Champions League by the skin of their teeth, requiring last-gasp winners and surging, often desperate, comebacks to win their last two group games at home after being beaten away by Switzerland’s Young Boys in the opener.
United’s flaws are psychological, as well as tactical.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the touchline during Sunday’s embarrassing 5-0 loss to Liverpool (Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
They have experienced emotional highs this season, but fail to build momentum.
Take the return of Cristiano Ronaldo after 12 years in Madrid and Turin and his two goals against Newcastle United on his second debut for the club, which was followed immediately by that defeat against Young Boys. Or a last-minute winner at West Ham in the Premier League, followed by Carabao Cup elimination by the same club three days later. Or Ronaldo’s late winner against Villarreal, preceding a flat 1-1 home draw against Everton. And then the dismal crescendo — the hope provided by rallying from 2-0 down to beat Atalanta, then battered by Liverpool.
Some senior players are devastatingly out-of-form, most notably Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. If they are not underperforming individually, then they are visibly, palpably frustrated, as seen by reckless challenges by Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, who were both booked against Liverpool, or Paul Pogba, who was sent off within 15 minutes of arriving as a half-time substitute.
Fernandes, for his part, has taken his hand-flapping (sometimes towards referees, other times at his team-mates) to a new level in the opening months of this season.
United’s players may get along well with Solskjaer but they appear to be a squad desperately in need of a hands-on head coach, somebody who will lead the way on the training pitch, dragging them into a shape and organisation befitting of an elite club. This was never more obvious than for the first Liverpool goal, when United’s players, one by one, sought to press the ball but did so too slowly on each occasion, signifying a failure on the training pitch to adequately drill the team.
For those who work closely with Solskjaer, alarm bells were ringing long before Liverpool ransacked United’s home on Sunday.
One source close to the United manager privately said they thought the manager looked “stunned, like a ghost” in the days that followed the Europa League final defeat on penalties by Villarreal back in May. Even for Solskjaer’s allies, that defeat took them aback. The night that was supposed to be a launchpad, the first trophy won under him that would engender the belief to challenge for greater honours, instead became a stress signal.
Those with a sharper eye on United last season knew they had failed to beat any of Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur at home; that they failed to win 10 of their 19 home Premier League matches.
Solskjaer attributed this to the absence of fans amid COVID-19 restrictions, yet many noted stylistic failings that left United either too open, when they set up ambitiously, or unable to break opponents down, when they set up cautiously. The balance rarely seemed right at Old Trafford, yet away from home, United went the top-flight season unbeaten.
It was a riddle of contradictions and United were often inconsistent, not only between games, but also within them, producing periods of play that veered between extremes all too often.
United could have been proactive and sensed their manager’s limitations after that Europa League final shootout in Gdansk. But instead, the hierarchy doubled down on Solskjaer.
In the summer, conscious the Norwegian would be entering the final year of his deal, they awarded him a new three-year contract, with the option of the fourth. Only in the past month, his top assistant and former Sir Alex Ferguson lieutenant Mike Phelan received a new contract of his own.
Newspaper reports have claimed coaches Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick were also in line for new deals. Ferguson’s influence at the club appeared to be resurgent, with his fingerprints over the Ronaldo re-signing. That may help Solskjaer in the coming days, although it may not be enough.
Behind the scenes, the United top brass have spoken for a long time of the culture developed by Solskjaer and a happier atmosphere at the club’s training ground. In the summer transfer window, United trusted him to escalate his rebuild, agreeing deals potentially worth over £130 million combined for Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo.
Mohamed Salah wheels away after scoring Liverpool’s fifth goal against United on Sunday (Photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
In the case of Sancho, United spent two years pursuing the England winger’s signature from Borussia Dortmund, yet after his first couple of months at Old Trafford, he could be forgiven for wondering whether, exactly, they had stopped to consider how they might like to use him.
As for Ronaldo, his return brought acclaim — including from this writer! — but despite his personal moments of glory, including two late match-winning goals, his signing has only served to further exacerbate the imbalances in Solskjaer’s setup.
So here we are, reflecting on yet another season when any glimpse of a Manchester United title challenge evaporates just as the Halloween outfits go on sale.
It is often seen as a brutal and callous suggestion for a journalist or pundit to insist a manager should be sacked, yet in this instance, such a conclusion is now irresistible.
Solskjaer is a man who made United better but does not possess the skill set to make them the very best.
The time for United to act was most arguably back in the summer, but now, the case is indisputable.
https://theathletic.com/2909949/2021/10/24/liverpool-humiliation-should-be-death-knell-for-solksjaer-reign/
Liverpool humiliation should be the death knell for Solskjaer’s reign
By now, only politeness or delusion can explain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s continued position as the manager of Manchester United.
Politeness, because Solskjaer is an affable man, popular with his players, club staff and the United supporters. To tell Solskjaer he no longer belongs at Old Trafford is the United equivalent of shooting Bambi’s mother.
Or delusion.
Because, for all the evidence before our eyes, there are those who still imagine that Solskjaer possesses the skill and imagination to restore United to the summit of not just domestic but European football.
The reality, however, is this: for the first two and a half years, Solskjaer did a good, if not spectacular, job as United manager.
He returned them to the Champions League, incrementally improved the club’s final league position year-on-year (sixth, then third, then runners-up) and, for the most part, reconnected United’s squad with their fanbase after the trauma of predecessor Jose Mourinho’s final months.
Yet he is no longer doing a good job.
That does not make Solskjaer a dud, or a fool, or a man deserving of mockery. It simply makes him a reasonable coach who made United a lot better than they were, but then stopped doing so.
And when an employee ceases to be performing well, showing little to no indication of plateauing, let alone improvement, then it is in everybody’s interests for a change to be made.
The 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool on Sunday should be the death knell for Solskjaer’s reign.
The scale of the humiliation was clear in the scoreline, but it cannot be argued that this performance was a one-off. Many aspects of United’s incompetence in this game had been trailed in the opening weeks of the season.
The gaping holes between the team’s midfield and defence were visible in worrying performances at home against Aston Villa, Everton, Villarreal and Atalanta, in addition to away matches at Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. United lost only two of those seven games but could, quite easily, have lost them all.
Over the past week, their defensive vulnerabilities have been mercilessly exposed.
Against Leicester last Saturday, Atalanta in midweek and Liverpool, United conceded 11 goals. At that rate, they average a goal conceded every 24 minutes. They are already eight points behind the Premier League’s leaders after only nine matches. They are out of the Carabao Cup after a home defeat by a second-string West Ham United side. They remain in the Champions League by the skin of their teeth, requiring last-gasp winners and surging, often desperate, comebacks to win their last two group games at home after being beaten away by Switzerland’s Young Boys in the opener.
United’s flaws are psychological, as well as tactical.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the touchline during Sunday’s embarrassing 5-0 loss to Liverpool (Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
They have experienced emotional highs this season, but fail to build momentum.
Take the return of Cristiano Ronaldo after 12 years in Madrid and Turin and his two goals against Newcastle United on his second debut for the club, which was followed immediately by that defeat against Young Boys. Or a last-minute winner at West Ham in the Premier League, followed by Carabao Cup elimination by the same club three days later. Or Ronaldo’s late winner against Villarreal, preceding a flat 1-1 home draw against Everton. And then the dismal crescendo — the hope provided by rallying from 2-0 down to beat Atalanta, then battered by Liverpool.
Some senior players are devastatingly out-of-form, most notably Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. If they are not underperforming individually, then they are visibly, palpably frustrated, as seen by reckless challenges by Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, who were both booked against Liverpool, or Paul Pogba, who was sent off within 15 minutes of arriving as a half-time substitute.
Fernandes, for his part, has taken his hand-flapping (sometimes towards referees, other times at his team-mates) to a new level in the opening months of this season.
United’s players may get along well with Solskjaer but they appear to be a squad desperately in need of a hands-on head coach, somebody who will lead the way on the training pitch, dragging them into a shape and organisation befitting of an elite club. This was never more obvious than for the first Liverpool goal, when United’s players, one by one, sought to press the ball but did so too slowly on each occasion, signifying a failure on the training pitch to adequately drill the team.
For those who work closely with Solskjaer, alarm bells were ringing long before Liverpool ransacked United’s home on Sunday.
One source close to the United manager privately said they thought the manager looked “stunned, like a ghost” in the days that followed the Europa League final defeat on penalties by Villarreal back in May. Even for Solskjaer’s allies, that defeat took them aback. The night that was supposed to be a launchpad, the first trophy won under him that would engender the belief to challenge for greater honours, instead became a stress signal.
Those with a sharper eye on United last season knew they had failed to beat any of Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur at home; that they failed to win 10 of their 19 home Premier League matches.
Solskjaer attributed this to the absence of fans amid COVID-19 restrictions, yet many noted stylistic failings that left United either too open, when they set up ambitiously, or unable to break opponents down, when they set up cautiously. The balance rarely seemed right at Old Trafford, yet away from home, United went the top-flight season unbeaten.
It was a riddle of contradictions and United were often inconsistent, not only between games, but also within them, producing periods of play that veered between extremes all too often.
United could have been proactive and sensed their manager’s limitations after that Europa League final shootout in Gdansk. But instead, the hierarchy doubled down on Solskjaer.
In the summer, conscious the Norwegian would be entering the final year of his deal, they awarded him a new three-year contract, with the option of the fourth. Only in the past month, his top assistant and former Sir Alex Ferguson lieutenant Mike Phelan received a new contract of his own.
Newspaper reports have claimed coaches Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick were also in line for new deals. Ferguson’s influence at the club appeared to be resurgent, with his fingerprints over the Ronaldo re-signing. That may help Solskjaer in the coming days, although it may not be enough.
Behind the scenes, the United top brass have spoken for a long time of the culture developed by Solskjaer and a happier atmosphere at the club’s training ground. In the summer transfer window, United trusted him to escalate his rebuild, agreeing deals potentially worth over £130 million combined for Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo.
Mohamed Salah wheels away after scoring Liverpool’s fifth goal against United on Sunday (Photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
In the case of Sancho, United spent two years pursuing the England winger’s signature from Borussia Dortmund, yet after his first couple of months at Old Trafford, he could be forgiven for wondering whether, exactly, they had stopped to consider how they might like to use him.
As for Ronaldo, his return brought acclaim — including from this writer! — but despite his personal moments of glory, including two late match-winning goals, his signing has only served to further exacerbate the imbalances in Solskjaer’s setup.
So here we are, reflecting on yet another season when any glimpse of a Manchester United title challenge evaporates just as the Halloween outfits go on sale.
It is often seen as a brutal and callous suggestion for a journalist or pundit to insist a manager should be sacked, yet in this instance, such a conclusion is now irresistible.
Solskjaer is a man who made United better but does not possess the skill set to make them the very best.
The time for United to act was most arguably back in the summer, but now, the case is indisputable.
https://theathletic.com/2909949/2021/10/24/liverpool-humiliation-should-be-death-knell-for-solksjaer-reign/
