Storm clouds gathering for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
The sun shone bright, if low, over Manchester United’s training ground on Friday morning, a sign, according to their likeable Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that there are still rays of hope in his position as manager of the world’s self-styled biggest football club.
Defeat Saturday lunchtime at Goodison Park, however, and — to borrow Solskjaer’s metaphor — the storm clouds will be increasing over Old Trafford, and the appointment of a fifth United manager in the seven years since Alex Ferguson retired will be a question of 'when', not 'if'.
Some reports suggest Mauricio Pochettino has already been approached, and that Solskjaer will join a list that features David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and Jose Mourinho.
Sources insist that intel is somewhat premature but there is, equally, no denial that the situation at the club, while not yet terminal, is becoming concerning as far as Solskjaer’s job prospects go.
Two perfunctory displays against Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir in the past seven days have brought into focus Solskjaer’s inability to dredge any degree of consistency out of United, either individually or collectively.
Yes, away form has been more than presentable — the defeat in Istanbul brought to an end a run of 10 consecutive away victories — but United have yet to win at home in the Premier League this season, their worst start to a home campaign since 1972.
The day also dawned yesterday for Solskjaer with his team just four points above the relegation places and, already, nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
There is much goodwill towards Solskjaer at Old Trafford, from owners and supporters alike, and benign home fixtures against West Brom and Basaksehir to come immediately after the international break but a repeat of his visit to Goodison in April last year, when United were beaten 4-0, and it is not impossible to imagine Solskjaer will be on the brink of seeking new employment.
“You have to be mentally strong, there are demands on Manchester United players, coaches, and manager,” said Solskjaer.
“There is an expectation, we are at the best and biggest club in the world and you don't expect anything but criticism. Then, it's how you deal with that setback and from what I've seen from the boys they've been very focused.
“They've shown strong leadership since I come in and today it's sunny in Manchester, I don't expect the wind to turn, always pressure and expectation’s on us.”Â
Even ignoring Solskjaer’s cult-hero status among supporters who will never forget his pivotal role in the club’s 1999 treble-winning campaign, there is no doubt that the 47-year-old has been hampered by poor management above him.
United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is the culprit most often pointed at by fans and, certainly, a seemingly scattergun approach in the transfer market, a number of over-priced and dubious signings, and a fast trigger finger when it comes to the manager’s position have all contributed to their fall from grace.
By any reasonable measure, the signings of Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba, and Harry Maguire have represented terrible business financially and the imbalance of the squad currently at Solskjaer’s disposal borders on the laughable.
Summer signing Donny van de Beek looks to have no route into a packed midfield department while Solskjaer has the same problem of a lack of central defensive numbers that afflicted Mourinho, and led to his public complaints, well over two years ago.
The specialist striker Solskjaer sorely needed when he allowed Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to leave last summer has also failed to materialise and has left him using combinations of Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford in that role.
But nor has the United manager been helped by the behaviour of some of his leading stars.
From Maguire’s legal problems to Greenwood breaking Covid rules with England, to Pogba’s constant gripes about wanting to leave; all too often United have looked like a club on the brink of complete dysfunctional meltdown.
When a national treasure like Rashford earns the contempt of pundit Roy Keane for his appalling body language and lack of effort, as he did in last week’s defeat to Arsenal, then Solskjaer and United really do have a major problem.
Unlike his predecessor Mourinho, Solskjaer remains too diplomatic —  some would say too nice — to call out players publicly and even used the current pandemic to offer them a get-out-of-jail excuse.
“Times are different, times are strange, a strain on the players, football is not the same without fans and passion,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone’s been in the situation the players are now, had months and months of playing with uncertainty and unknown with the virus and pandemic.
“We have to look after them, physically and mentally and think how my players cope with the whole situation. I’m a definite believer in these boys and will come and show how much they care.”
Sadly that has not been evident often enough on the field for several months now. Keane has become something of a caricature in his punditry but where United are concerned, his criticisms are heartfelt and usually come with a large degree of validity.
Last weekend he claimed, not for the first time, that the current group of players will cost Solskjaer his job, a prospect that would leave United back where they were in the summer of 2013 when Moyes was charged with rebuilding a squad which, frankly, Ferguson and his employers had allowed to become old and stale.
“I am going to say all my conversation with the club have been planning long term,” claimed Solskjaer. “Of course, we want results short term but I’ve had positive good dialogue with the plans we have put in place.
“We have planted a seed, the tree is growing. Some clubs just rip up that tree and see if it is still growing and see if it is still getting water underneath.”Â
On a day when Solskjaer was in the mood for metaphor, however, it was not hard to imagine that much more of this and he will soon be facing the axe.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
