A team assembled with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba along with numerous youngbloods of the names, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho. One’s eyes can only gleam with the shine of trophies. But that dream doesn’t look like it could become a reality anytime soon.
Two consecutive losses flung in the faces of The Red Devils, the very ones who have been one the favourites to win the league so far and to bring back the strayed glory of their club. These hopes have come to a standstill in the last weeks.
Taking the cause of this debacle in hand, eyes turn to the Man United boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The decisions he has made so far regarding the line-ups in various matches have raised eyebrows and questions, with many regarding if he is fit to handle this squad of mass potential and even deserve the seat of manager.
There’s no doubting Ole has done brilliant job at Manchester United. He inherited a broken house with big names like Sanchez on huge money, rough diamonds like Lukaku that didn’t fit the system and deadwood like Rojo, Smalling, Young, Darmian, etc. on high wages, without end at sight. Yet it still doesn’t seem to sit right with pundits, that a manager relegated with Cardiff City has a done better job than Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and David Moyes. Three years since he’s been at helm, there are still many doubters of the job he’s done. He has been the best manager post the Alex Ferguson era. Nobody can take that away from him. He’s swiftly turned the United’s previous disastrous transfer windows, integrated the academy and actually brought a sense of hope back to Old Trafford.
Yet, it’s not enough. It simply isn’t at Manchester United. Three years under his helm without a trophy, 2017 till United’s last cup, Solskjaer needs to deliver now. Three semi-finals and final, he was bested. Where many people identify him as a “PE teacher” in the role of a manager, Ole has great man-management skills which has blessed him through tough times. Win, defeat or draw, he has the backing of the team and the fans. But to take that next step to winning a title, it’s his best quality that will bring him down.
Where his immaculate faith has seen the meteoric rise of Luke Shaw, which English fans will be very thankful for, there are many downsides such as McFred. How an elite footballing team, with players like Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Donny Van de Beek and Jesse Lingard, choose to have Scot McTominay and Fred play in midfield is worrying. Scratch that, more than half of the mentioned players aren’t central defensive midfielders. Now the question is, why is that position being overlooked?
United have looked into key positions like centre-back, right-back and striker, but haven’t taken up the midfield as a serious position to improve. It’s not that United haven’t taken this factor into consideration, but rather see it as something that will be necessary “if the right opportunity rises”.
When asked about this unproductive pairing in a press conference, Solskjaer’s stance on the matter was that the duo displayed good results from their stats together.
“The energy they give us, the way we broke up play against Villa. I think they’re very, very instrumental together in that respect. Energy and desire.”
“I really like to have the two of them. There’s two I can trust that will always, always give you what they’ve got.”
“Fans will always have an opinion on any team selection when you’ve got good players like me. It’s easy to say who should be playing, but it’s harder to leave players out.”
These statements that the Swede has made to justify his mid-field decision, should hopefully be tangible on the field in due time, God willing, before we are wiped out from the title contenders list.
Cristiano Ronaldo returning to United was the perfect script to a romantic tale, but the most followed Instagram superstar attracts global appeal. The world is watching. He has done his part to his full-capacity and is currently carrying the team. The backing anticipated from the squad has not yet been completely fulfilled. And the only person to structure this effective and productive backing is Ole himself.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer never had his way in his playing career, he was the “Super Sub” of dreams. But management doesn’t come with a 90-minute guarantee of a football match. Three losses in five games, and the pressure is on. There needs to be looking into that midfield. If he continues to pick that midfield, relaying his trust on players that aren’t good enough, then his dream of bringing glory back to United will be a distant dream.
