OLE’S STARDUST WITHOUT STARS
Solskjaer swaps those Galacticos for younger and hungrier winners
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER’S Manchester United revolution is in full swing – after he ditched the club’s failed policy of signing Galacticos.
United are on a 15-game unbeaten run and well in the races for a Champions League spot and FA Cup and Europa League glory.
Solskjaer has overhauled the squad, shifting the focus from signing star names in favour of home-grown talent and hungry players.
After bad punts by the club on the likes of Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez, Radamel Falcao and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Solskjaer has recruited more dynamic players.
Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Bruno Fernandes have proved shrewd buys, while Solskjaer has rejuvenated those who had lost their way. He has also put his faith in young talents such as Mason Greenwood.
The prosaic football under David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho has given way to a faster, more fluid and expansive game, epitomised by United’s stunning final counterattack goal in Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Brighton.
Former United defender David May, a Champions League and two-time Premier League and FA Cup winner, said Solskjaer’s approach has been vindicated by the side’s resurgence.
May said: “He’s not going out buying superstars like Di Maria or Falcao, who think they’re special.
“He’s getting players who fit the Manchester United way, and Bruno is that way.
“You know they’re not just here for the money, they’re here to improve Manchester United. The way Bruno’s come in, he’s been different class, and that gives everybody a boost. There’s no ego, he’s just a top player. He’s improved the team and he makes other players play better.
“We’ve only seen him and Paul Pogba play for something like 219 minutes, but in that time they’ve scored or created eight goals and conceded none, which is incredible. “It’s only going to get better.” May was backed in an MUTV group chat by former team-mate Wes Brown, who hailed the win at Brighton as proof Solskjaer has United going in the right direction.
Brown said: “It was brilliant from the start. They took control. I was smiling the whole way through.”
Brown reserved special praise for £46.6million signing Fernandes, who scored twice at Brighton, taking his tally to six goals and four assists since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in January.
Brown said: “He kept bigging up his team-mates afterwards. He gets the whole team playing.”