SAVE US AGAIN, SUPER SUB
HE famously rescued Manchester United once before – now Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must do so again.
Solskjaer, who earned the title Super Sub during his glittering 11-year spell at Old Trafford, is set to take over as caretaker boss until the end of the season following Jose Mourinho’s sacking.
The baby-faced assassin, whose last-gasp goal against Bayern Munich in the Nou Camp in 1999 secured the Champions League and Treble for United, is coming home with the remit to perform a similarly heroic act, albeit in different circumstances.
Solskjaer is seen by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward as the man to unite a dressing room fractured by Mourinho, and someone who can get the very best out of underperformers such as Paul Pogba (circle).
Asked earlier this season his view of Pogba, Solskjaer said he would put the France midfielder at the centre of his plans: “Paul is a fantastic kid so hopefully we can build the team around him and keep him.” United need a calming influence to work their way through the debris left behind by Mourinho’s acrimonious exit, with many of the squad bruised by his brutal treatment needing faith restored in them, which is where Solskjaer comes in.
Even though he used him largely as an impact player off the bench, Sir Alex Ferguson always lauded Solskjaer’s reading of the game and hailed him a thinker, noting how he meticulously studied matches from the sidelines, so knew exactly what to do when he came on.
And Solkskjaer credits Ferguson for his managerial success.
Speaking in the summer before leading Molde to victory against Hibs in a Europa League qualifier, he said: “Sir Alex taught me how not to become complacent and always keep the standards up. Everything
I know about managing top footballers I learned from him.”
And, reflecting on what made playing for United under
Fergie so special – something the club are so desperate to recreate – Solskjaer recalled:
“Before every game Sir Alex would say, ‘Express yourselves, enjoy the game, show us what you can do, but work your b ****** s off ’.
“That’s the Manchester
United I want to see again,
where players move freely and get in behind. At United, we came to Carrington and worked our b ****** s off, but we never felt like we went to work.
“If I manage again in different country, my team is going to be solid, but I can never stray away from the way I want my teams to play football – with creativity and imagination, just as I learned under Sir
Alex.
“Is United still the dream job for me? Every Manchester United player who goes into management has that ultimate dream.”
In a stellar career, Solskjaer scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United after signing in 1996 for a £1.5million. He was forced to retire in 2007, aged 34, after failing to recover from a persistent knee injury. He spent two years coaching United’s reserves before taking his
first full-time managerial role with FC Molde in his native Norway. Success there led to an approach from Aston Villa, which he eventually declined.
But the lure of the Premier League proved too strong and Solskjaer took charge of Cardiff in January 2014, although he lasted just nine months, with relegation and a poor start to the following season in the Championship earning him the sack.
After such a chastening and highprofile failure, he returned to Molde, where he has continued to thrive without being able to add to the two league titles he won in his first spell there.
Although he signed a new three-year contract earlier this month, the chance to take charge at United – albeit just short-term – is likely to be too strong to turn down.
And with the job lasting only until the end of the season, when United will appoint a permanent manager – Mauricio Pochettino is their No.1 target – Solskjaer finds himself in a no-lose situation back at his spiritual home.
I would build the team around Pogba. That shows how far the kid has come