United name Solskjaer as Mourinho replacement
▶ Richard Jolly picks out the main issues in Solskjaer’s United in-tray
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that the chance to become Manchester United manager “was an opportunity I had to take”.
United announced Solskjaer as the interim replacement to Jose Mourinho, who was fired by the club on Tuesday.
Solskjaer, a former Norway striker who played for the Old Trafford club for 11 seasons, will be a caretaker manager until the end of this season.
In a statement posted to their website yesterday, the club said: “Manchester United announced today that former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the 2018/19 season.
“Solskjaer scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United between 1996 and 2007. In 2008 he became the club’s reserve-team manager, before taking the managerial role at FC Molde in Norway.
“Solskjaer will take charge of the first team with immediate effect and will remain in place while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new full-time manager. He will be joined by Mike Phelan as first team coach, working alongside Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna.”
“Manchester United is in my heart and it’s brilliant to be coming back in this role. I’m really looking forward to working with the very talented squad we have, the staff and everyone at the club,” the Norwegian said. “This is an opportunity I had to take.”
Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward said: “Ole is a club legend with huge experience, both on the pitch and in coaching roles.
“His history at Manchester United means he lives and breathes the culture here and everyone at the club is delighted to have him and Mike Phelan back.
“We are confident they will unite the players and the fans as we head into the second half of the season.”
The Norwegian club released a statement stressing that they were only “lending” Solskjaer to United. He has a contract with Molde that runs until 2021.
United appeared to accidently announce the appointment on their website on Tuesday, with a video appearing on the club’s official website celebrating Solskjaer.
A video of him scoring the winner for United in their 1999 Champions League final triumph against Bayern Munich was accompanied with the headline ‘The most famous night of Ole’s career’.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg also appeared to confirm Solskjaer’s appointment, writing on Twitter: “Great day for Norwegian football. Good luck keeping control of the Red Devils.”
Manchester United replaced a Uefa Champions League-winning manager with a Champions League-winning player.
Jose Mourinho’s temporary replacement is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the man who scored the dramatic winner against Bayern Munich in 1999 but whose only spell in a Premier League dugout ended in relegation with Cardiff City.
But as his interim spell begins against his old club on Saturday, the Norwegian has plenty to do.
Improve the mood after the misery of Mourinho
This should be the easiest bit. Where Jose Mourinho divided, Solskjaer has to unite: tellingly, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward used that word and significantly the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust were quick to endorse Solskjaer.
The fan favourite will benefit simply by not being Mourinho, by not sounding paranoid or bitter. He will be an upgrade to morale if he does not indiscriminately criticise his players and damage their confidence.
But a bubbly character who has described United as his dream job should bring a more upbeat attitude. It helps, too, that his new assistant Mike Phelan was popular with the players when he was Alex Ferguson’s No 2.
United have a gifted squad, despite Mourinho’s gripes. Solskjaer and Phelan need to encourage them. Perhaps, with a better atmosphere, David de Gea and Anthony Martial may be persuaded to sign longterm deals.
Deliver the results after Premier League woes
The most obvious requirement for any manager. While United, 11 points off the top four, are unlikely to qualify for the Champions League, a run of one win in six domestic games is wretched.
The next five, against Cardiff, Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Reading, offer a chance to get victories, momentum and something of a feelgood factor.
Sort out the defence and find some continuity
Mourinho used to be the master of miserliness but only four teams have conceded more goals than United. Apart from a five-game run where Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw comprised the back four, Mourinho changed the unit every game; sometimes the system, too.
For all his gripes about the club’s summer failure to buy a centre-back, Eric Bailly was one of the best in the division last season and Lindelof has improved since last year. Solskjaer should build around them.
Pick Pogba – United cannot afford to ignore him now
Paul Pogba played 15 minutes in Mourinho’s last three league games. It showed the breakdown in their relationship which, as the Frenchman exerts a sizeable influence in the dressing room, was all the more damaging.
Pogba is a World Cup final scorer and was the costliest player on the planet: whatever his long-term future, United cannot afford to ignore him now. Not when they are picking the slow, labouring Nemanja Matic and Marouane Fellaini.
Add some pace and change the style of play
The hardest bit, and not merely because a crowded festive fixture list gives less time on the training ground.
United have been left behind by teams who press better, run further and faster and are tactically cleverer.
They will not become Liverpool or Manchester City overnight, but they do have some players who would suit a more progressive, pacier style of play.
Picking a passing midfielder, the overlooked summer signing Fred, would be a start.
Time to put some faith in the young guns at Old Trafford
Mourinho liked to quote statistics about how many minutes Marcus Rashford played, but he also had an innate preference for experience.
As this could be a wasted season for United, the best thing Solskjaer could do is prepare them for the future and leave a positive legacy.
That should mean prioritising younger players such as Rashford and Martial. Shaw and Diogo Dalot should be installed at full-back, though that would be harsh on the deserving veteran Young.
The older contingent of Matic, Fellaini, Antonio Valencia and Alexis Sanchez may suffer, but Solskjaer’s successor is unlikely to grant them pivotal roles anyway.