Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future as Manchester United coach is on the line. According to reports from British media such as the Daily Mail and The Sun, Man United’s management has contacted the Argentine coach, Mauricio Pochettino, to replace Solskjaer.
Reportedly, Man United’s management has lost patience with Solskjaer. Because, almost two years working with Man United, there was no significant change that the Norwegian coach gave to the Red Devils.
That’s right, Man United last season qualified for the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Premier League Cup and European League, and finished third in the 2020-2021 Premier League. However, Man United’s performance is in freefall this season.
It was proven in the first three Premier League matches for 2020-2021, Man United only packed three points. Most recently, David de Gea and his friends were beaten by the visitors, Tottenham Hotspur, with a score of 1-6.
If he is fired, Solskjaer’s record is much worse than the two previous permanent coaches of Man United, namely Louis van Gaal (2014-2016) and Jose Mourinho (2016-2018). Why is it said to be worse?
It is said to be worse because Solskjaer failed to win a trophy with Man United. For almost two years with Man United, Solskjaer’s achievements as mentioned above, namely qualifying for the FA Cup semi finals, the English League Cup and the European League, and finishing third in the Premier League 2020-2021.
What about Van Gaal? The Dutch passport coach was still able to bring Man United to win the 2015-2016 FA Cup after a narrow 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the top party.
Mourinho was even better. For almost 2.5 years dealing with Man United, Mou, Mourinho’s nickname, gave three trophies to the Old Trafford public. Call it the 2016 Community Shield, the European League and the 2016-2017 Premier League Cup.
Therefore, if later Solskjaer is still given time by Man United’s management to clean up, then the 47-year-old coach will not waste it. Because, in today’s modern football era, there are rarely clubs who are kind enough to retain a coach who never gives them a title.
Liverpool management made the exception. In the 2015-2018 period, Jurgen Klopp failed to provide a trophy for Liverpool. However, thanks to the patience and support from management, Klopp has now turned Liverpool into one of the strongest clubs in the world. Evidently in the last two years, Klopp provided four trophies for Liverpool, including the Champions League and English League titles.
