What went wrong for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer isn’t a simple answer. A combination of various different factors played a part in the Manchester United manager’s departure.
What Went Wrong For Ole At Manchester United?
Bright Start
Many Manchester United fans have been waiting for months and even years for Ole to be sacked. However, when he first took over the club his appointment was quite a popular decision and rightly so. Ole had given the fans hope. After a successful run as interim manager, Ole had changed the morale of Manchester United.
Although Ole failed to win any trophies like Mourinho and Van Gaal, he did guide his squad to a second-place finish last season. This is the highest United have finished since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. The Norwegian also led his side to face Villarreal in the Europa League final last season, but ultimately fell short as David de Gea missed his penalty.
What Went Wrong This Season?
After a relatively successful season, Ole was backed by the board with some big summer signings such as Varane and Sancho. The biggest signing was the return of an Old Trafford hero, Cristiano Ronaldo. This raised the expectations and the club was expected to seriously challenge for the league. That didn’t happen.
After 12 weeks, United sit in eighth-place, level on points with Brighton. The results were becoming worse and worse and the most humiliating was against Liverpool. Ole’s side was humiliated by their fiercest rivals as they lost 5-0 in their own ground. Many believed that this would be the end for Solskjaer but he was given time to turn things around. However, he couldn’t find a run of form and his 4-1 defeat at Vicarage Road was the last straw.
Did Ole Know What System To Play?
When you look at world-class managers such as Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte, you can see how they will line their teams up to get the best out of their players. Solskjaer never found his style of play. This led to the team looking unorganised on countless occasions during his tenure.
The Norwegian manager was also called out for his line-ups. His constant trust in McTominay and Fred proved to be an issue at the club, especially when Van de Beek has been sat on the bench since his arrival in September 2020. His choice of captain has also been questioned. Harry Maguire has made many mistakes in a Manchester United shirt and has never looked like a reliable centre-back. However, Ole decided he was the best player to wear the captain’s armband.
Michael Carrick will take charge of Manchester United until they find a suitable replacement.
Main Image Credit Embed from Getty Images
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