FOWLER Ole deserves a break, Ed... and Poch sighting was another own goal
For all the briefings coming out of Manchester United that they are going to stick by their manager as he tries to rebuild the team, a single picture really can say a thousand words.
And the image of Woodward’s new PR man, Neil Ashton, striding alongside Mauricio Pochettino as the Argentine walked into Brentford’s Griffin Park ground on Wednesday night was pretty damning.
Pochettino was probably there to lend his support to Marcelo Bielsa.
The Leeds boss was facing a tough promotion clash against the Bees and the pair have been close since Bielsa was working for the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys 35 years ago and he signed 13-year-old Poch for the club.
But why the hell was Woodward’s new PR man accompanying him?
There might have been a simple explanation.
And if I was in Ole’s shoes, I would have been knocking on the door of my boss to discover just what it was first thing on Thursday morning.
Even if the meeting was innocent, the sight of a United employee alongside an elite manager, who just happens to be on the job market, was not a good look.
Solskjaer is facing a period of games that will make or break United’s season.
They go into tomorrow night’s clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge sitting eighth in the Premier League, only by virtue of having a better goal difference than Wolves. If they beat the Blues for the third time this season, they will move to within three points of Frank Lampard’s fourth-placed team. And their hopes of finishing in the top four will be revived after a poor run of results that has seen them pick up just four points from five games in 2020. A defeat would virtually leave them needing to win the Europa League to qualify for the Champions League. Ole (right) has got his dream job – one of the biggest in football – but he inherited a squad that had no identity.
There are players there who have been signed by Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.
So it was always going to take Solskjaer time to put his own mark on the team. He clearly has the backing of the club’s owners to clear out underperforming players and put his future in the hands of a younger generation made up of new signings and academy graduates. And Woodward (below left) has been steadfast in his stance that United’s fifth manager in seven years will be allowed to see the job through. But didn’t Mr Woodward give Moyes a vote of confidence? Didn’t he sack Van Gaal 24 hours after the Dutchman had won the FA Cup because he already had Mourinho lined up? Senior football club executives are paid the big bucks to take tough decisions. And it must be tempting to make another change when top managers such as Pochettino and Max Allegri are available for hire. But Woodward also has a duty of care to the man he appointed less than a year ago with a promise to stick by him through the tough times that were clearly on the horizon. Solskjaer deserves a full and frank explanation why his boss’ new PR guru was in the company of a man who is being touted to replace him. And, if a certain Argentine does walk into Old Trafford as the new manager in the summer, then more questions need to be asked on whether Mr Woodward is a little too naive to be United’s kingmaker.