Ole and Frank both have long way to go
TOO EARLY TO JUDGE EITHER AS THEY BUILD THEIR CAREERS
AS United used their first winter break in the Premier League to prepare for a game they knew could prove fatal to their top-four chances, the mood was dark.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side had taken four points from their last five Premier League games and they were being roundly mocked for signing a striker on loan from China on the final day of the January transfer window.
They were seventh, six points behind Chelsea in fourth, and faced a trip to Stamford Bridge when the season resumed.
United won in west London, Odion Ighalo has become a cult hero, Solskjaer’s side are unbeaten in 15 games and if they beat Bournemouth at home tomorrow they will go above Chelsea, for a few hours at least.
In a little over two weeks the teams will meet for the fourth time this season, in an FA Cup semi-final. It would be a surprise if United aren’t above Chelsea in the league by then and they will be favourites to win that game.
Solskjaer will be looking to extend his head-to-head record against Frank Lampard to 4-0 this season, which coincidentally was the result at Old Trafford when they met on the opening day of the season.
That result proved initially to be a false dawn for United and for the first six months of this season Solskjaer came in for criticism – out of his depth, too nice, tactically clueless, only in the job because of what he did in the Nou Camp - the brickbats rarely stopped.
Lampard, on the other hand, was a natural. He’d turned to Chelsea’s glittering array of young talents and had quickly moulded them into a young, vibrant and exciting team that was really going places.
Those descriptions could quite easily be flipped now.
United are playing some of the best football in the Premier League at the moment.
Chelsea were on a five-game winning streak until defeat at West Ham on Wednesday, but since the end of November they’ve lost to the Hammers twice, Everton, Bournemouth, Southampton and Newcastle. They’re losing games that Solskjaer’s United were losing in the first half of this season and the commitment to youth has waned as a result.
Chelsea are being plagued by issues that Lampard is struggling to sort out, while Solskjaer looks to have fixed the problems that were hindering United.
Comparisons between Solskjaer and Lampard were inevitable, given both are club legends who had been promoted into managerial jobs at the clubs they represented with distinction on potential and reputation, rather than any clear success.
While Lampard may not have been worthy of the praise he received at the start of the season, Solskjaer wasn’t deserving of the criticism he was getting.
The fact is the pair are both learning on the job.
Neither has managed a club at this level previously and both will make mistakes. Right now Solskjaer’s stock has climbed and Lampard’s has plummeted.
That trend may continue, but both clubs look keen to give their managers time.
Long-term judgements can wait, but that won’t stop social media rushing to a conclusion.