A year has passed since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed caretaker manager of Manchester United. He wasn’t completely surprised to be offered the job. He knew that Jose Mourinho had lost serious support inside Old Trafford and had been sounded out for his thoughts, and he had attended a couple of games in the stadium which he often lit up.
Life was great in Norway, his family living on one of the three islets which make up his hometown of Kristiansund. Solskjaer’s then club Molde – from the rival town an hour away by the stunning Atlantic highway – was flourishing under his tutelage. But who would turn down Manchester United?
Solskjaer made his entrance in front of 700 staff at the 2018 club Christmas dinner. Introduced by Ed Woodward as “our super sub” he took to the stage to a rapturous reception, with young employees singing songs about his legendary exploits as a player. Solskjaer was charged with lifting the mood after months of Mourinho miserabilism – following a decent enough first 18 months by the Portuguese.
‘Super sub’ indeed, because he had been brought into to save United’s bacon once again, as he had done so many times with his boots on. He was only caretaker and nobody really knew what to expect, but as the weekends went by and United won game after game, so his power and confidence grew. He put forward his thoughts about which players should be kept and who should be moved on using an old-fashioned flip chart after a meeting with Woodward turned into something more detailed.
By March, when United had picked up more points than any other team in Solskjaer’s reign and knocked out PSG away, there was a clamour to make the position permanent from fans. The club was quick to respond.
And then results dipped. Badly. The end of last season was dreadful. The players said that they were mentally shattered. I asked Woodward what his take was on the catastrophic end of last season and he said: “I can’t deny that, he (Solskjaer) can’t deny that and everyone is putting their hands up. But I also spoke to some of the players at the end of the season and they said it was the hardest season they had experienced.”
I asked him why.
“It was in three parts,” said Woodward. “A tough first phase in terms of the environment they were in and a huge amount of media scrutiny. Then there was a fantastic run when Ole came in as caretaker. Then there was the ‘When is Ole going to get the job?’ stage with more scrutiny which evolved into a time when it didn’t work in terms of what the players were delivering on the pitch. That mental and physical situation shattered them.
“Ole had switched them almost immediately into playing a more dynamic style of football, of one pass through the middle not multiple passes, ball possession but also counter-attacking at pace. That created an increased level of load that the players were not ready for.”
Woodward also added that the decision to appoint him wasn’t based on Champions League qualification, which United missed out on.
United have been hit and miss this season, but let’s look at the stats. Solskjaer has won 28 of his first 54 games as United manager, drawing 13 and losing 13. It’s a better record than Sir Alex Ferguson who won 26 drew 17 and lost 11. It’s inferior to the records of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. David Moyes didn’t last a year.
You can argue Solskjaer’s position either way. United are sixth, as they were a year ago.
United fans are supportive of him. They sing his name at games and, in polls, 85% of fans don’t want him dismissed. That has never wavered, but the support is not unconditional. United have done well in the cups this season, but after the draw against Aston Villa two weeks ago, they’d amassed a pathetic four wins from 14 league games. Solskjaer, who was always the player for the big occasion, has a habit of getting a result when he really needs one – such as the team beating Tottenham with their best performance of the season. They topped that with an even better showing at Manchester City three days later. That will keep the sceptics in the media away for a few more weeks, but if journalists are looking for dissent from fans, they’ll struggle.
After three failed managers, the bulk of United’s support are happy to see the Norwegian try something different. There’s little appetite from fans or the club for sacking another manager. It’s seldom dull either – and there have been glimpses of brilliance, too. Ten minutes at Sheffield United being a recent one before the two big wins, plus a better record against the top six than any other team. It would be more concerning if United were beating the poorer sides but coming up short against the best. That would illustrate a true decline, but United’s record against the top six is fantastic.
The league position can’t be ignored, but success in a cup or cups will help. A trophy is important this season, even the Carabao Cup. Another Europa League or FA Cup would be most welcome and given United’s record against better sides, they should be serious contenders. There’s also money to invest – serious money – and Solskjaer’s record in the summer transfer window has been encouraging with an excellent first three signings. Three more good ones and Manchester United will start looking like a proper side once again.
This is all best case scenario stuff. United’s league season has been stop and start – with far more stop: the draw against Everton on Sunday wasn’t a huge surprise. That’s also to be expected from a talented young team which is still short of top-level players and experience.
The run of winnable games which awaits United over Christmas, should provide a more optimistic assessment for Solskjaer’s first year report card, which at the moment reads something like: ‘Does not always get the results his hard work deserves.’
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