Manchester United once again have to press the reset button after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the fourth manager to be shown the door since Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013.
United have fallen a long way in those eight years, watching from the sidelines as their fiercest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, have become the new dominant forces in the Premier League.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho came and went before beloved former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as caretaker boss in December 2018 with a brief to restore the club to former glories by tapping into its DNA.
Photo: AFP
United rediscovered their spark in a honeymoon period under the Norwegian, summed up in a breathless UEFA Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain — a result that helped persuade club bosses to hand him a permanent deal.
Despite persistent concerns over his lack of experience, Solskjaer has come agonizingly close to delivering the club’s first silverware since 2017, losing on penalties in last season’s UEFA Europa League final and finishing second in the Premier League.
Club bosses were confident enough in the direction of travel to hand him a new three-year contract in July.
Former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said in his recent autobiography that his former teammate had brought the “heart and soul back” to the club after the divisive Mourinho reign, but in the end, that did not prove to be enough.
Solskjaer, 48, said that after his side’s chastening 4-1 defeat to Watford on Saturday, he felt for the fans and understood their pain after they vented their fury at Vicarage Road.
“We’ve had a hard time since Sir Alex [Ferguson] left the club and fans who have been with us the last few years since I came in, they’ve been unbelievable, they’ve understood the situation,” he said.
“The signings this summer with Rafa [Raphael Varane], Jadon [Sancho] and Cristiano [Ronaldo] of course raised everyone’s expectations, rightly so, because we brought some top players,” he added.
The question is: Who do United turn to now to take the club forward?
The club said in a statement yesterday that they intend to hire an interim manager until the end of the season, with former midfielder Michael Carrick in the hot seat for the forthcoming games.
By delaying Solskjaer’s departure, one prominent candidate is off the market, as Tottenham snatched up a former Premier League winner in Antonio Conte.
United have been consistently linked with Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino and the Argentine might be the motivation for waiting until the summer.
Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers and Ajax coach Erik ten Hag have also been linked with the role.
United, for so long a byword for stability under Ferguson, have been reluctant to sack their managers until they feel their hand is forced.
That tipping point has been reached, with the club seventh in the Premier League, six points off the top four and out of the title race after just 12 games.
Whoever does take over at Old Trafford would need a richly talented, but bloated and unbalanced squad to work with.
United can boast abundant riches in attack, with Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Sancho, Marcus Greenwood and Anthony Martial all vying for starting spots.
However, Solskjaer’s preferred midfield pairing of Fred and Scott McTominay has often looked lightweight this season and the leaky defense has conceded 21 goals in the league, five times more than leaders Chelsea.
Any new manager would also have to work under the American owners, the Glazer family, who remain intensely unpopular among a large section of the club’s fans.
Protests have died down, in part due to the huge funds that they have made available for new players, but the underlying frustrations over the ownership model, which loaded huge amounts of debt onto the club, persist.
One thing is for certain — whoever is next in through the door is to face enormous expectations that are not to be satisfied until United are top dogs again.
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