Can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer come to the rescue of United?
It approached like a slowly advancing train but, when it came, the sacking of Jose Mourinho arrived as a cataclysmic event at the Theatre of Dreams. Some would say that it was the kind of drama the club had been lacking all season – and hope that the next act under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be a more successful one for the club. For the Norwegian it really is a dream come true and some observers would say that, in his heart of hearts, he’s never really left Old Trafford. After all, he was a true linchpin of the Alex Ferguson side that was in its pomp in the late 90s. He also cemented a place in the club’s history with his injury time goal in the 1999 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich securing not just the title but the treble for United.
Having said this, it’s going to be quite a mountain for him to climb as the club languishes a long way down from the top of the table and with little chance of emulating their Manchester rivals, for this season at least.
A lot has been made of Mourinho’s extravagant ways and the £400 million he spent on players during his 36 month tenure. The result has been a squad of undoubted talent, but with very little motivation to perform at their best for a manager who lost the dressing room some time ago. So the one thing that Solksjaer won’t be lacking when he takes the reins is a real depth of talent. But it’s going to take all his skills as a man-manager to bring players like Pogba back on board. In fact rumour has it that when the players were polled to discover their support for Mourinho shortly before his sacking only Matic and Lukaku were on his side.
But the last thing the players can expect is a soft touch. In his time in charge of Molde FK and Cardiff City he’s gained a reputation for giving his best and demanding the best of his players. In Norway it’s been undoubtedly true, while his time in Wales was notably less successful. But there’s no doubt that the has the skills to work with the players to turn them into a team that believes in itself again.
One particular area where Mourinho was found to be lacking was in nurturing young talent at United and even criticizing young players for their immaturity. For a club with such a strong heritage of seeing players rise up through the ranks of the youth team to playing at the highest level, this was seen as a major failing. If Solskjaer continues in the way he’s been managing the Norwegian team this is sure to be addressed. For example, young players including Stian Rode Gregersen and Fredrik Gulbrandsen have thrived under him and when he gave Braut Håland the chance to play against Brann at just 17 years of age he rewarded him with four goals in a match-winning display.
It’s also very likely that he’ll be willing to put the ugly, defensive strategies favoured by Mourinho firmly behind the team. In his time at Molde he has experimented with a number of approaches including 4/3/3 and 4/2/3/1 formations which proved to be very successful.
But the proof of the pudding really will come when the team plays its first few matches under his control. In a pleasing irony, the first match in charge will be against Cardiff City which shouldn’t prove too much of a stretch. Subsequent matches against Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Newcastle should also give him quite a gentle introduction with the first main test coming when United meet Spurs on January 13th.
Anyone fancying their chances with some Premier League Betting seem to have some fairly certain results on the cards for the next couple of games with odds of 11/20 for United to beat Cardiff and an even more decisive 27/100 against Huddersfield. Hopefully Lukaku will also be able to regain his scoring skills and occasional No. 9 Anthony Martial can continue to deliver.
But at 750/1 to win the Premiership this is surely beyond even skills of the Norwegian – although, as he proved in the 1999 Champions League Final, he’s always been capable of delivering big surprises.