Solskjaer seems like a nice enough fellow but may be out of his depth as Manchester United manager.
Despite being the boss at his old club, Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not THE coach and may not be the right man for the job in the long-term. I have written previously on the topic and have often thought he deserves more time to make innovations, to make transfers and to shape the team in his image.
This has nothing to do with liking someone, however, rather with a coach getting his players prepared to play up to a certain standard game in and game out. If Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal were both sacked because they were unable to have them play to the standard accustomed under Sir Alex Ferguson, then Solskjaer, with the additional time he’s been give and resources, should be sacked as well.
He has a loaded team with Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, David de Gea and so on, yet continues to play down to opposition and, at times, below the competition.
Inconsistency has plagued United throughout Solskjaer’s entire reign, going on a positive run for a couple weeks followed up by a string of negative results.
This year that same inconsistency is accentuated by the fact that you have Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest players in history, back on your side instead of at crosstown rivals Manchester City. A team that has the talent that United has should be winning games at a similar rate as Chelsea, City and Liverpool.
When one of them loses a match it is a shock to the system, and the pundits are talking about it as though the class valedictorian got his first B or C in their life. When United lose, it’s seen as routing and receives less analysis than it might deserve or warrant. This is, as much as anything, a clear sign that things must change at Old Trafford should there be any real hope of winning the league this season.
The Red Devils are not too many points out of first place with Solskjaer as their boss. But dropping two points here and three points there is a brilliant way to find yourself down nine or 10 points behind two or three top performing clubs.
At that point there is no turning it around and the same old excuses will be made once more. While I agree with Solskjaer that progress is measurable outside of trophies, even Mikel Arteta has two of them with Arsenal and the Gunners have been in much more desperate straits over the last few years, even before Arsene Wenger left, than United.
Both Van Gaal and Mourinho won trophies at United and both had less talented rosters than Solskjaer. His team is better on paper but one can make the argument they’d struggle against those managed by Van Gaal and Mourinho.
Solskjaer must improve going forward, otherwise, expect the sack
So, what can be done?
The Norwegian must really get on one of those hot runs that first solidified him as manager after the departure of Mourinho. He needs to make the case he is the right manager going forward. The right person to bring back the glory days like under Sir Alex.
But right now, Solksjaer is not Fergie. With time he could very well become Fergie, as Mikel Arteta might one day become closer to Arsene Wenger. But Arteta has trophies and his team continues to improve, even with some lackluster results now and again.
Maybe they can squeeze out a domestic cup or catch fire in Europe and take the crown from Chelsea. But there is just as good a chance that they falter and finish short in both competitions.
Falling short, alongside the inconsistency against lesser teams, is Manchester United’s current trademark under Solskajer. Can it be fixed? Perhaps. But can Solskajer be the one to fix it? That remains to be seen.