Manchester United lost or should one say crushed by Liverpool at home on sunday. One has to begin to wonder how come a team which did not play to its full potential win with such a margin at home. I have been a staunch supporter of the view and vision of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Sadly his view is akin to a man running on the highway during a blizzard. The end result is meant for a collisiin like no other and Ole despite his tall status he enjoyed as a player at Man united has sullied his image with lack of imagination as the manager. The loss against Liverpool was weeks in the making but what made it worse was his total lack of leadership on the touchlines as a manager. Sooner or later he would be sacked and if Ole is under the illusion that his United managerial trajectory isnt same as Jose then he cant be farther from the truth.
The third season curse-
Jose Mourinho always had the monkey on his back about his third season at every club he has managed. At United it was no different. This was at a time when most of the players were just coming off the World Cup. Take your mind back to United hosting Newcastle at home. Newcastle were 2 up within no time, they carved open a clueless man united defence consisting of Lindelof and Maguire (acquired for 80 million) before Mata, Martial and Sanchez won the game for United. Sounds similar? Ole faced the same against Atalanta this past week in the Champions League. When yet another United number 7 saved him the blushes. I mean no disrespect to Atalanta but in their prime years under Sir Alex they would have walked through Atalanta with a 5-0 thrashing.
Making fans fret about the games -
Bastian Schweinsteiger made a pertinent point when he said he doesnt know what hes watching when he watches United play. Ole has made fans fret to what depths they could fall this week. His constant support of Fred is beyond belief. Fred was, is or never will be a United player, he has no tactical awareness or game knowledge. One cannot assume what Ole actually views in him, even an casual football fan will tell you Midfield wins you the game in a league such as the EPL. Ole yet went ahead without Pogba who had a blistering start to this campaign and made him sit on the bench. Wasnt he fresh? There was nothing tactical about this. Jose's Reign also had the same forebrooding and dread before a United game. Both the managers talked about a process which any United fan saw as one without rationale. Fred is Ole's Fellaini a player Jose loved and to be honest Fellaini was light years ahead of Fred in work ethics.
Having wrong players start the game -
The last weekend loss to Leicester was a case in Point. Maguire was rushed back into the team when Varane got injured during the international break, Ole played a half cooked Maguire due to no other alternatives. His apparent and visible dislike of Donny Van De Beek is yet another example. Ever since Donny has walked through the doors of United, he hasnt been afforded an entire game. What could be his problem with Donny? how can you term a player good or bad without even giving him a proper go? yet someone like Mctominay and Fred start every game without the fear of their places being in jeopardy. McFred as they are known are given a free run to do what they please because they know Ole is going to look the other way.
The cost of being Mr .Popular-
A legendary manager once said "Never be friends with the players because you never know when they can stab you in the back" Ole thinks being a big brother to the players is going to win him their confidence. It in fact has set him up for failure right from the time he adopted this mentality. Once he gets sacked he would possibly wonder what went wrong during this season which began with so much promise. He would have to be brutally honest that this was the cost of pushing the dirt under the rug which got accumulated so much that it came back to bite him.
Can United Still Trust Ole?
The simple answer to this is no. One has to wonder how a team with the likes of Ronaldo, Sancho, Varane, Cavani and Fernandes, Rashford, Shaw, Martial and Pogba is languishing at 7th in the table. There is something terribly wrong in the way the players are being managed. I have named 9 players who have the capability to shine on their on their day. Ole is stifling the players, he spoke about releasing the handbrakes. Those have just been claims which have not come to fruition.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Like Jose Mourinho is on the brink and whoever comes in next Zidane, Conte or somebody else will make this team a EPL winning side. Ole was backed like no other manager before him since Fegries' retirement. When not if Ole is sacked he might retreat back to Norway and cast a long lookback at his time at United and say may be just may be he isnt manager material after all. As they say "Good Guys always dont finish first"
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