Ole Gunnar Solskjaer isn’t safe at Manchester United yet, and he won’t be even if United win the Manchester Derby this weekend.
That’s because Ole and United are the same team they long have been, except that now they have the great Cristiano Ronaldo. He has saved Ole’s job of late because without him, the shaky road, or thin ice they’ve traveled so far would look much worse.
While some games have been lost at the death and others have been won by great comebacks, the constant is that this team is consistently inconsistent despite the great talent amassed for Ole.
How long will this go on?
With Antonio Conte out of the picture —and in north London now — who might replace this club legend who simply doesn’t seem to be making this team much better in the ways other big-time bosses do?
I can think of perhaps one or two as Manchester United has previously burnt through some of the usual candidates in these discussions already.
Furthermore, who might be willing to take on this heavily scrutinized challenge in the middle of this season?
Manchester United: Is Solskjaer the best candidate?
It might sound strange to ask, but unless Erik ten Hag can be pried away from Ajax, who are looking as strong as ever this season, the Norwegian club legend could be set to stay for few reasons other than the team has waited too long to replace him.
Conte was likely a good choice, yet he now sits with Tottenham, endowed with lots of power. Zinedine Zidane could be a real choice, but with his brilliant pedigree, he likely will also come with demands and some time to change this team and its roster.
While Ole and Ronaldo get along fine and have a long history with one another, I am sure that Cristiano would be okay if they brought the coach he was most successful with to England after their work together in Madrid.
Ten Haag would likely be the choice, if all things were left up to me. I believe that he has the most potential. This is not to say he will be as great as Zidane in terms of trophies and the like, but if United want a boss who might stay at the club for half as long as Sir Alex Ferguson did, ten Hag is the choice without question.
Ten Hag to Manchester United? A king’s ransom to move him from Amsterdam
It is not as though Manchester United do not have the money to get the Dutch boss to the Red Devils, only that with the position his club appears to be in right now, alongside the work the United job would entail, the price might be even more than previously imagined.
United would have a better shot at getting him this offseason than right now, and that will hold true even if Ajax were to shock the world and win the UCL this year. But in the middle of a solid, successful campaign, I’m not sure United actually has enough money to make it happen.
So what is United to do?
Unless they’re able to bring back Fergie as a caretaker manager for the rest of this year, they might just be stuck with Solskjaer through the thick and thin of an entire, multifaceted campaign. Patience might ultimately pay off as Ole might be able to right the ship, develop himself and his team further, and storm into the future with a team capable of winning multiple trophies across England and Europe.
It just seems difficult to imagine as much. It feels like his time is coming to an end and that someone better is necessary for the club to continue onward. United might win against City, as it is a game United knows how to play and win under Solskjaer. Regardless, it is the games they should dominate that are weak spots for them and it simply doesn’t feel like it’s going away anytime soon.