The Norwegian looks secure in his job as the top hierarchy at the club looks for excuses to keep him in the position.
Manchester United are slowly becoming the joke of English football. They have become the subject of banter as fans of other Premiership clubs see it fit to laugh at their expense. The club looks rudderless at the moment as every action emanating from within suggests a lack of vision and is devoid of purpose.
The Old Trafford side has staggered like a punch drunk boxer from one failure to the other, hoping to be propped up by the ropes. The disappointment of fans home and abroad has not pushed the board into axing club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The clear message coming from most quarters, especially those of United fans and clear-eyed analysts, suggests that the way forward is to let go of the Norwegian manager, despite his links to the club.
As it stands, the board has not shown the cojones to relieve him of his duties. Rather, they continue to back their former player at the helm of affairs.
Hoping for the storm to tide over
On Saturday afternoon, Manchester United fans received another insipid display by the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led squad. At Old Trafford, the Red Devils kept giving gifts despite Christmas being a long way off. The team received a jaw-damaging blow as they lost to city rivals Manchester City in a dominant display by the sky blues. It was only weeks ago that Solskjaer was forced to comment on his future after a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool.
United chief executive Ed Woodward is still holding back from firing the manager as he doesn’t want to end his spell with the club on another manager who has failed to deliver.
The team is now eons behind the title-challenging pack, but Woodward is hoping the current crisis will soon be over. The reluctance to show Ole the door is telling and points to Woodward as a comrade in failure.
Last week, reports filtered out that Woodward is holding back from firing Solskjaer as he (Woodward) is on the verge of leaving the club. With the sacking of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho on his tab, Woodward would have admitted another failure by firing Ole.
Despite another disgraceful performance, The Athletic reports that Woodward is unwilling to change his position on Solskjaer.
Quality squad, under-par management
United is undoubtedly packed with talented players and should be getting more than they are currently receiving. With talented forward players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba, Jadon Sancho, Jesse Lingard, Donny Van de Beek and Bruno Fernandes, the team should not be struggling to win matches.
Many top analysts have suggested that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is out of his depth and clearly cannot take United to the level they ought to be. His poor in-game management and no system of play is a damning report on Solskjaer.
The Athletic also reports that Woodward is in his final days at Old Trafford and has perplexed their fans with the tale of no available alternative.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
