Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is making a strong case to be named permanent Manchester United manager after latest win against Spurs.
Manchester United needed to get rid of Jose Mourinho as his situation at the club had become untenable. They did that and brought in former player, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as caretaker manager until the end of the season. But after passing his first real test against Tottenham, it should not be out of the realm of possibility that Solksjaer becomes the permanent Man United manager.
With the “babyfaced assassin” at the helm, United have won all six games with him in charge. In the league, they’ve beaten Cardiff, Huddersfield, Bournemouth, and Newcastle. In the FA Cup, they beat Reading and their sixth, and latest, win came on the road against Spurs. Sure, one might argue that they should be winning all those games, Spurs aside, and it means little. But those would have been games that United would in all likelihood struggled if Mourinho was still in charge.
One of the reasons why the idea of Solskjaer taking over isn’t far-fetched is because he’s brought back that spark and Manchester United swagger that had waned once Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Since taking over, in their six games, United have scored 17 goals while conceding only three. Not to mention a player like Paul Pogba, who was so underwhelming under Mourinho, finally starting to look like the player we see whenever he goes to play with France.
When he took over, he emphasized that they were going to be an attacking team. That other teams would have to figure out how to play against Manchester United rather than the other way around. With that mindset, players seem to be more open in trying things on the field without fearing that one mistake means being dropped out of the squad or a public lash out from the manager.
Solskjaer’s first real test came in their latest fixture against Spurs and against Pochettino who has long been rumored as a candidate should he choose to go there. Manchester United beat Spurs at Wembley, in a fixture they would have likely lost had the previous manager still been in charge. It wasn’t a convincing win since David De Gea had to make numerous saves to keep United in the lead. Mourinho used that blueprint last season successfully but they were able to see the game out nonetheless.
If you wanted to pick something out, it would be Pogba’s sublime pass that led to the Rashford goal. Solskjaer has been able to get more out of Pogba in his first six games than Mourinho had all season. Pogba wasn’t even playing certain games before Solskjaer came in. It would not have surprised anyone if, under Mourinho, Pogba would have been benched for the Spurs game as they would have set out to park the bus and to stifle the game.
The reaction for many will be to chalk this run as easy competition and David De Gea doing what De Gea does. But Solskjaer has had a definite impact on the team. He’s developed a positive environment where players feel they can try things on the pitch without fear of repercussion. He’s slowly turning Manchester United back to the team they used to be under Ferguson. With the results he’s getting, he’s making the case to the higher-ups that he should be made permanent manager.
Manchester United, and Ed Woodward, cannot afford another bad managerial appointment. They’ve gone 0-for-3 post-Ferguson. Solskjaer would not be a bad pick. He’s been a fan favorite as a player and has definitely won them as a manager since taking over. With the right people surrounding him, he at least deserves a real chance.