This goes beyond a manager – United are on their knees
All the crises that have gripped Old Trafford since Ferguson retired, this feels like the most desperate
When Jose Mourinho was Manchester United manager, senior sources prided themselves on having a two-pronged approach. Mourinho would attempt to bring short-term success while they would restructure the club, behind his back if necessary, so that they were in a better place for the future.
It is a theory that always looked suspect and not least because Mourinho was given a new contract in the same year he was fired (sound familiar?) and never more so than now with United having, finally, also sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after probably the most abject performance, in losing 4-1 to Watford, since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. And that is in a crowded field of poor performances.
United have also released one of the oddest statements published following a managerial sacking with the announcement that Solskjaer’s assistant, Michael Carrick, will be in charge “for forthcoming games while the club looks to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season”.
So a caretaker followed by a caretaker with presumably that choice being overseen by Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman who is himself serving time before he leaves? That was supposed to be at the end of this year but now may be at the end of this season – and even then he may stay as a consultant. It is an extremely odd state of affairs.
United believe the statement was one that was all about being transparent; instead it has caused yet more confusion and doubt as to whether they know what they are doing.
The clear inference is that whoever they want is unavailable until the end of the season. Either that or they do not have anyone in mind – which would be negligent. Also, where will that leave the caretaker/interim/stop-gap and who – of any stature – would accept the role on those terms? And what if he does a good job?
Bizarrely, there are echoes of Solskjaer’s own appointment – which is not a good sign for a club who claim to have progressed in the past three years. When the Norwegian arrived in December 2018 he, too, was an interim charged with simply making things better as United undoubtedly eyed Mauricio Pochettino, then Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach.
It is unclear when that plan was ditched but Solskjaer winning his first eight games certainly helped change the thinking as United went down the road of a “cultural reset” and invested in him instead. “We’re at base camp,” one senior source said, adding that it was important to be patient and support Solskjaer.
United undoubtedly did that but if they were at base camp then, where are they now? In all the crises that have enveloped United in the past eight years, this latest one appears the most intense. After David Moyes came Louis van Gaal and then Mourinho, but it never felt as desperate as this.
Much has been made of Solskjaer having given United back their “soul”, of the team being in a better place than they were three years ago. But where is the tangible evidence to support that ethereal claim beyond having spent an awful lot of money to secure two back-to-back top-three finishes in the Premier League for the first time since Ferguson retired?
There were no trophies, unlike under Van Gaal and Mourinho, and the bare fact that this United squad are the strongest since Ferguson stepped down is another indictment given their underachievement as well as some cause for hope if the right manager arrives. Only at United, surely, can a club bring in Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho and go backwards.
Meanwhile, former midfielder Darren Fletcher has been appointed technical director, a role he has never fulfilled before, and John Murtough has been promoted into another newly-created role: that of football director.
This has been part of Woodward’s master plan after he realised United did not have the “lightning rod” who could consolidate all the football departments. But it also looks like another compromise. Fletcher and Murtough share the role while United argue they have overhauled their recruitment, scouting and analytics departments. But who drives the vision?
United understandably stand accused of being a commercial venture, with a football team attached. The football has seemed secondary since Ferguson left.
The hunt for Solskjaer’s successor has started inauspiciously. First with the long process that has led to his sacking and secondly in the hope that Carrick might buy more time with some good results before they buy themselves even more time with another interim manager. That smacks of an organisation trying to be too clever by half.
Three years ago it was said that Solskjaer was looking at a “threeyear vision” for United. Whatever United argue, can they seriously claim the vision has come to fruition or that the intervening years have been a success?
Bizarrely, there are echoes of Solskjaer’s own appointment – which is not a good sign