Ole texted over his first team... Fergie said, ‘that will do’
WHEN Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was parachuted into the Manchester United hot seat, he knew stability and a resetting of the compass were required.
Sir Alex Ferguson had been at United for 26 years bringing unparalleled success but when he retired three managers followed in six years: David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.
Solskjaer, a legend at the club and a hero of the 1999 Treblewinning team, quickly assessed the situation he had inherited.
“It was a bit like going to Waitrose or Tesco. You spend 100 quid. Then you get home and try to make a meal but you’ve just got a bit of everything instead of what you need to make a good meal,” he says.
“Some of the players had been here since Sir Alex, then David (Moyes) had signed a few, then Van Gaal signed a few, then Mourinho signed a few and they’ve all got different styles.”
For the meal that Solskjaer and right-hand man Mick Phelan wanted to cook up they did not have the right ingredients and he recognised that to achieve the blend he desired on the pitch, he needed to make changes.
The Norwegian says: “Not many were what we would think of as Manchester United players.
“These are players that have pace, power and personality.
“We’re influenced by Sir
Alex and that’s what our opinion of a Manchester United player is.”
On December 21, 2018, United travelled to their team hotel near Cardiff in preparation for their first game under Solskjaer.
He said: “I got a text from the manager (Sir Alex) who said, ‘Pick your team and sleep well.’
“I sent him the players I was picking and I just got a message back, ‘That’ll do the job.’”
The next day, United raced into a 1-0 lead.
Solskjaer recalls: “Marcus (Rashford) crashed that free-kick home in three minutes and the whole thing felt like it had changed. We just went 4-3-3 and told the players to be free and express themselves.’”
United won 5-1 and a text from Sir Alex arrived the following day.
It said: “I’ve been out all night celebrating getting my club back.”