Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeased disgruntled Manchester United fans with the assurance in the end of last season that change was coming. Jack Wilkinson examines whether he has been in a position to deliver on that promise…
This was the result that signalled the beginning of the dismal demise of Manchester United at the conclusion of last year.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer beginning – a draw out of his first 11 games and 10 wins – became nothing more than a distant memory by the time Theo Walcott rattled to finish a defeat on Merseyside.
Gary Neville labelled the operation at Goodison Park”rancid” and, after apologising to the travelling United fans unfortunate enough to be there in person, Solskjaer promised change – wholesale change.
It was a statement of objective directly out of this Sir Alex Ferguson textbook and, five weeks , the manner in which Solskjaer has gone about changing United suggests it is a guarantee he’ll honor.
Ferguson was barking orders out before the ink had dried on his Manchester United contract in 1986. Then-chairman Martin Edwards has been advised of the Scot’s desire to sign as much as eight players, and Brian McClair Viv Anderson and Steve Bruce were signed up within 18 weeks of his birth.
This decisiveness from the transport market seems to have rubbed off on Solskjaer.
Participants deemed no longer fit for purpose have been shown the door by any means necessary. Whether it be the departures of both Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera, Romelu Lukaku and Matteo Darmian’s sales, or the funding and pushing through of loan deals for Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling – there is a ruthless edge to United’s concessions.
One thing Solskjaer has to learn, however, is the ability Ferguson had time and time again throughout his reign at Old Trafford to accommodate his playing style to match personnel and stay competitive.
Following the humbling defeat at Everton, Solskjaer set the basic principle that he would like to specify his own time. “I want my team to be the hardest working team in the league,” he explained. “That’s exactly what we had been under Sir Alex.”
While this addresses the first concerns within his group’s work-ethic of Solskjaer, it is tough to realize how that translates into the shift in playing style United fans have been longing for.
United their final four final season following the defeat at Everton, and four Premier League matches this year, give indication about what he will repay on, other than the fact that it is very much still a work in progress.
On the 1 hand, United have enjoyed more possession, won more duels, conceded fewer objects, and operate a mean of 106.9kilometers per game – all positive signs that Solskjaer’s doctrine has been executed.
However, the other, an alarming fall in winning the ball high up the pitch and both interceptions suggest it’s going to take time to allow the squad to successfully juggle their manager’s demands.
And time, ultimately, is what will determine Solskjaer’s probability of succeeding – moment. Will he be given the opportunity to see out the job he has begun?
Ferguson famously acquired until he won his first league name, but it’s a valuable commodity in the game. Outcomes have clouded decision on United’s beginning but progress, yet slim, has been made to choose the much-needed dressing space reset Solskjaer.
“It will take some time,” Neville explained. “Not only to actually get people in the dressing area all facing the same direction, yet to find the caliber in that is needed.
“It took Pep Guardiola 12 months, three move windows. It is taken four years or Jurgen Klopp three to influence the culture in what he would say everything he wishes to do and is his culture, his style, and receive a team.
“This is going to be a lengthy game at Old Trafford. Solskjaer will want the help to play the game. He’s going to have really strong leadership during the next two or three seasons to be able to get those five or four move windows that he wants”
United are on their fourth clean slate from the seven years that have passed because the retirement of Ferguson. After the results of the three under Louis van Gaal David Moyes and Jose Mourinho, the tenure of Solskjaer is one that’s working but must be given time where they believe that they belong, to reestablish the club.
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