Meeting their match
Tough run for Solskjaer's side starts with Liverpool test
Squeaky bum time. That’s what Alex Ferguson called the title runin but for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the latest man to take the Scot’s seat in the dugout at Manchester United, the end of the season is nowhere near but many are suggesting that his end is nigh.
United face great rivals Liverpool at the weekend in what is a horrible run of games for any club.
Jurgen Klopp’s side visit Old Trafford to kick off five weeks in which United play Spurs, Manchester City, Watford, Chelsea and Arsenal in the English Premier League and two make-or-break games in the UEFA Champions League against Atalanta and Villarreal.
United enter the game having come off a defeat to Leicester City in the league, the 4-2 win for the hosts marking the third time in a row that they have beaten the Manchester outfit.
That defeat came on the back of a disappointing run before the international break where United drew with Everton and lost to Aston Villa.
“Over the international break, we have had a good look to see what has gone wrong lately. But we need to look at the whole setup and balance of the team and maybe something has to give,” Solskjaer told the BBC after defeat at Leicester.
“Lately, we have not been in great form, we’ve lost too many points and that is something we have to look at. We might have to change. Do we need more legs in there? What do we need?”
United played Atalanta in the Champions League in between Leicester and Liverpool. That game marked the halfway point of the group stage, which also got off to a disappointing start with defeat away to Young Boys in Switzerland.
“Every game is important in the league and the Champions League is hard. They’re big games, all of them. Leicester away is as big a test as Atalanta at home,” Solskjaer said.
“We’ve got to dust this off, maybe make sure we come in again we have fresh minds, looking at themselves in the mirror. I look myself in the mirror, and make sure we perform again.”
They are not performing and the next few weeks will be as stern a test as any and some corners are questioning whether Solskjaer can overcome the challenges he faces.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher raised his doubts in his role as a pundit on Sky Sports.
“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done a really good job as Manchester United manager. This could have gone horribly wrong for United. He came into the job with experience from Scandinavia and a year at Cardiff,” Carragher said of the Norwegian.
“I can’t judge Solskjaer against Jose Mourinho or Louis van Gaal, who did average jobs themselves. Solskjaer will not win a Premier League or a Champions League as Manchester United manager.
“He is not at the level as Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel or Pep Guardiola, who have got years of experience and have won major trophies.
“Ole hasn’t got that. So where he’s got them means he’s done a really good job. But this team is a good team.
“He knows himself as does every Manchester United fan, that he isn’t at the same level as the other manager at the top of the Premier League.”
Solskjaer, who saw success as a player at Manchester United but has yet to win a trophy as manager as his threeyear anniversary approaches, dismissed Carragher’s claims.
“No, it doesn’t affect me,” Solskjaer said in his press conference ahead of the Champions League match against Atalanta on Wednesday.
“Of course you see comments once in a while, I didn’t know what he was saying now. Of course we have got Liverpool on Sunday as well, so Jamie is always looking at these little things.
“I have got my values, I have got my way of managing. I believe in myself and as long as the club believes in me, I am pretty sure Jamie Carragher’s opinion is not going to change that.”
As well as the backing of the club, the manager has been backed by some of his former teammates that are now employed as pundits. Former fullback Gary Neville, a colleague of Carragher on Sky Sports, has suggested that Solskjaer will not be sacked.
“The club won’t sack him. The club will stick with him. The fact that they’ve had those experiences with David Moyes and with Jose and Van Gaal, I think they’ll stick to plan,” Neville said on an Instagram Live.
“Ole is under pressure but they won’t sack him, there’s no doubt about that. I know that won’t please some of you. I know some of you want a new manager. I’ve never asked for a Premier League manager to be sacked in the 11 years since I stopped playing football and that’s not going to happen now.”
While Neville has not asked, some fans have called for Solskjaer to be replaced. The pundit dismissed that, just as he did the notion when it was raised that Antonio Conte would be able to come into the club and win the title with this current squad.
“I’m not in to that, giving someone a squad. We tried that with Jose, ‘Give Jose a squad and we’ll definitely win the league.’ We didn’t, and in the end it was a mess and everybody wanted him out.”
Neville has urged everyone not to panic.
“Let’s not panic here. There’s no need to panic. Everyone will want Manchester United to panic. There’s nothing that can be fixed in the next 10 minutes. Stick to plan, get though the season, see what happens this season,” he said. “Obviously if then there isn’t a trophy or it continues to go as it is, then Ole will come under great pressure. He knows that, having been in the job for three and a half years at that time.”
If Solskjaer is going to win a trophy or even if he is to make it to the end of the season will depend on results in the coming weeks. Time for him to change the tide.