£150m for Pog
WHEN Ole Gunnar Solskjaer moved into the office Sir Alex Ferguson worked his magic from just over 12 months ago, he unpacked chocolates instead of a hairdryer.
He returned to Manchester United’s Carrington training base on that cold December morning and warmed it up with his caring character as he presented a bar of Norwegian’s finest sweet stuff to long-serving receptionist Kath.
It was a nice touch but the problem was it also suggested Solskjaer can be a soft touch.
Robin van Persie thinks so following his blistering attack on the United boss after his side’s 2-0 defeat by Arsenal on New Year’s Day.
The former Arsenal and United striker thought the defeat spoke volumes about the sort of characterless side they have become under the leadership of their manager.
Van Persie didn’t like the fact Solskjaer was laughing and smiling on camera as he caught a glimpse of the goals his team had conceded and accused him of being ‘too nice.’
The Dutchman is worried that United’s stars don’t fear Solskjaer and has urged him to develop more of an edge.
He’s bang on too. Just imagine Fergie reacting like that to a defeat at the Gunners? Unthinkable.
Solskjaer continues to be in awe of his former boss, to such an extent that for the first few months he was back at the club he refused to park in the spot reserved for ‘the manager.’
Ole, mate, you’re ‘the manager’ now, so stop living in the shadow of Fergie and start acting like him. There was no place in Fergie’s life for sentiment. Being brutal and ruthless is what helped define him and make the Scot so successful.
Just ask the likes of Jaap Stam, Roy Keane and David Beckham. Stam was sold to Lazio in 2001 after Fergie took exception to him claiming he’d been tapped up to join United.
Beckham got a boot kicked in his face following one of Ferguson’s infamous dressing room outbursts.
Keane was shipped out in 2005, before Fergie devoted page after page of his last book to the Irishman, portraying his former captain as an intolerable presence that needed to be shipped out.
The chances of Solskjaer being as cold and calculating with someone like Paul Pogba are slim to non-existent.
Earlier this season the United midfielder spent time travelling the world during his rehabilitation from an ankle operation, posting selfies of himself in Dubai and Miami.
He also found the time to attend his brother’s wedding in France on the eve of his comeback.
The celebration must have been a big one because he was taken ill on his return to Manchester.
Pogba made a brief return to the team but is now injured again and will be sidelined for ‘several more weeks’ of a transfer window he seems desperate to jump out of.
The Frenchman needs reining in. He should be made to go public with his future intentions, while his agent Mino Raiola needs muzzling.
It’s ironic Pogba needs a blast of the ‘hairdryer’ considering how much time and money he spends on his beloved locks, but Solskjaer doesn’t appear to have it in him – despite claiming otherwise.
He once said: “We are all different to how we manage people and Ferguson was different to every individual. Maybe I should get the hairdryer out of my pocket, because I’ve got a hairdryer.
“I’m not afraid of laying down the law. When your kids disappoint you, you tell them off.
“So you treat players similar to how you treat your kids because you want the best for them.
“But if I get disappointed? Once in a while, you have to tell them the standards.”
The time has come for Solskjaer to start practising what he preaches. above) (inset left on his £15m-a-year deal and has no intention of signing a new one.
Despite his failure to make an impact at United, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward believes Pogba, 26, remains one of the best midfielders in the world and has told Real and Juve to break the bank if they want him.
United’s attitude towards selling Pogba has softened in recent weeks following the deteriorating relationship between the club and his agent, Mino Raiola.
Pogba has been agitating for a move to Real since the end of last season, while Raiola has angered United with his criticism of the club.
There is growing concern at United about the influence Raiola and his entourage have on Pogba and how it could affect Solskjaer’s squad between now and the end of the campaign.
United will now look to sell him to the highest bidder, with Solskjaer contemplating a bid for Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen.
United have cooled their interest in Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff and are in talks with Benfica to sign Portugal midfielder Gedson Fernandes, 20.