Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
£650M reasons NOT to blame the Glazers
OLE: OWNERS HAVE SPENT BIG... AND THERE’S MORE TO COME
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has urged Manchester United’s fans not to blame the Glazers for the club’s failings.
Old Trafford supporters are looking for a scapegoat after a season which has seen Jose Mourinho sacked and Solskjaer already under the cosh just a month after signing a three-year contract.
Fingers are being pointed at executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward for a poor recruitment policy – and at the Floridabased Glazer family, who are reviled by United fans for draining more than £1billion out of the club since their highly controversial leveraged takeover almost 14 years ago.
But Solskjaer insists the Glazers have invested plenty on new players – more than £650million since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in the summer of 2013. And Solskjaer has given assurances that the Americans realise the full extent of United’s decline and will give him the funds to rebuild the team.
The United boss said: “You can’t say that we haven’t invested enough money. If you look at the money that’s been spent, the owners have invested loads of cash – and will continue that.
“I’ve been in meetings and we’ve had discussions about that.
“But you can’t change the team in one transfer window. It isn’t going to happen overnight.
“But we have the time frame – and we have the backing. We are all realistic enough to see where we are and you just don’t go bang and move from 70 points to 90 points.
“Liverpool didn’t do that and Manchester City didn’t do it.
“They got to where they are by stability, consistency and steady investment.”
Solskjaer believes that it has ironically been United’s willingness to spend big under Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho that has created some of the fundamental problems he has inherited.
United gave £60m to Real Madrid for Angel Di Maria – and then sold the Argentine a year later to moneybags Paris Saint-Germain, despite having to swallow a £20m loss.
Paul Pogba cost a world-record £89m, while another £75m was lavished on Romelu Lukaku.
But it was the decision to use a £500,000-a-week contract to lure Alexis Sanchez to Old Trafford that has arguably come back to haunt them most.
Hugely important players like Pogba and David de Gea are now demanding wage parity.
Solskjaer now wants to kick the mercenary types out of Old Trafford – despite having to admit that it will be tough to attract worldclass talent to the club without offering big wages and the chance of Champions League football.
Solskjaer said: “It’s harder to bring players in because of the money that’s being thrown around in football. But, to be honest, that is not the right type of player we want anyway.
“We don’t want them if they are only coming to this club because they were offered 20 per cent more money than somewhere else.
“We want players with the right quality and the right personality. All my life, I have always believed in human beings, and that what drives people is what makes you successful in the end.
“If they are driven by money or fame, they are not right for Manchester United. This isn’t me playing Football Manager. I need players who reflect me as a person, and my values.”
But Solskjaer is aware the pressure will continue to build if he is unable to halt a slump that has seen United lose seven of their last nine games.
They face Chelsea today in a game they must win to resurrect their topfour hopes.
Then it’s an away trip to relegated Huddersfield before struggling Cardiff come to Manchester on the last day.
Ferguson faced some testing times early in his United reign, of course, before becoming the club’s most successful manager.
But Solskjaer cautioned: “The players know the history. It means a lot to everyone, but we can’t linger on that.”