The statistics that damn manager’s troubled reign
hhow does Solskjaer’s team stack up against those of his predecessors David Moyes, Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal? Defending is even worse than under Moyes
It is a reflection of the chaotic nature of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team that United have conceded more goals per game under his management than with any of his three predecessors at Old Trafford. The five that Liverpool scored in Sunday’s historic thrashing meant that United have now conceded 175 times under Solskjaer, at a rate of more than one goal per match.
Not even in the dark days of the David Moyes reign, which was cut short after only 10 months, did United concede as many goals per game as they have under Solskjaer. And this is despite United spending more than £175 million on defenders since the Norwegian was appointed in December 2018.
Admittedly, the difference in the defensive records of Moyes and Solskjaer is small – United have conceded 1.07 goals per match under
Solskjaer, compared to 1.06 with Moyes. But there are some deeply concerning elements of the present United team which point to multiple underlying problems at Old Trafford: the complete lack of pressing up front (where the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo has clearly not helped) and the strange absence of aggression and bite from the side.
United have won only 61 tackles in the Premier League this season, comfortably the fewest in the division. No team have made more errors leading to shots, and only two sides (Newcastle United and Watford) have kept fewer clean sheets.
United’s lack of defensive security under Solskjaer stands in stark contrast to the tenures of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.
United were generally a far more compact and solid side in those days, conceding 0.95 goals per game under Van Gaal and 0.84 goals per game under Mourinho.
Attacking freedom leaves United exposed
Much is made of the way Solskjaer has revived United’s attacking traditions of old, providing his players with an offensive freedom that was clearly missing under Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho.
United have scored 302 goals under Solskjaer, at a rate of 1.84 per game – a clear improvement on Moyes (1.69 goals per game), Van Gaal (1.53) and Mourinho (1.69), with United also taking more shots under Solskjaer. The team are visibly more incisive, especially on the counterattack, despite no notable increase in the amount of possession United enjoy, with Solskjaer, Moyes and Mourinho’s teams all averaging around 55 per cent possession. Van Gaal’s side saw far more of the ball (an average of 60 per cent), but did not create as much. Van Gaal would no doubt say that his team’s control of the ball, and their rigid structure, was key to their defensive solidity.
Solskjaer’s players are far more liberated, but there have been more than a few occasions when that freedom has created a sense of recklessness. The haphazard defending against Liverpool was the ultimate proof of this.
Lack of plan against the ‘Big Six’
Sunday’s humiliating defeat by Liverpool was a continuation of a theme rather than an outlier. United have been routinely poor against big sides at Old Trafford in the last year, failing to beat any of their so-called “Big Six” opponents at home in the 2020-21 season.
In six home matches since the start of last season, United have conceded 16 goals and scored only three. It is in these big matches where a United manager will be judged, and the Norwegian also fell short against Leicester City and in the Europa League final against Villarreal. On the latter occasion, Solskjaer was indecisive and hesitant, failing to make any substitutions that changed the game for United.
Over the course of his United tenure, Solskjaer has won 31 per cent of his league matches against the other sides in the “Big Six”, worse than Mourinho’s 32 per cent and Van Gaal’s 50 per cent.
While there have been notable away wins, there has never been the same tactical flexibility which the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have instilled at Manchester City and Liverpool.
Solskjaer has spent more money and had more time
It is well-documented that Mourinho felt he needed a new centreback in the summer of 2018. He did not get one. Moyes also did not receive significant backing in the transfer market, signing only Marouane Fellaini in the summer, while many of the players signed under Van Gaal have proven to be nowhere near the required level (Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian, Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin spring to mind).
United have spent around £400million during Solskjaer’s spell as manager, buying a series of world-class players who have strengthened the team. Based on the transfer fees and wages of the players, and their accomplishments within the game, this is surely the strongest squad that United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson left. United have also given the manager more time to make it work. Sunday’s match was Solskjaer’s 164th in charge, which is already 20 more than Mourinho. Van Gaal had 103 matches in the dugout, while Moyes had just 51. It is not hard to see why United’s supporters would expect so much more from Solskjaer’s team.