Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer go their separate ways. There is no alternative to the decision, but it is at least four weeks late. A comment.
“This is not Manchester United.” Goalkeeper David de Gea said what all the fans of the Red Devils thought on Saturday night. The 4-1 defeat at relegation candidate Watford was the negative climax of a catastrophic development in recent weeks.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was certainly not solely responsible for this development, but his end as United coach is still the long overdue consequence with no alternative.
The English record champions seldom played attractively under the direction of the Norwegian, they were more or less a coincidence, but often appeared as a closed unit that worked for each other and thus became Premier League runners-up last season, and even made it to the finals of the Europa League one.
In the end, however, the team seemed to be able to do nothing more than rely on the brilliant moments of last-minute returnee Cristiano Ronaldo, despite million-dollar commitments in the summer like that of Jadon Sancho. In games like against Watford, simple basic virtues such as struggle and passion fell by the wayside – the last sign that club legend Solskjaer no longer reached large parts of his star ensemble.
Manchester United: Zidane would not be the ideal solution
The United bosses would have had to pull the rip cord and sign a new coach at least four weeks ago as a result of the 5-0 home clap against Liverpool FC. One who tidies up and arouses new motivation. One who also helps his players tactically. Antonio Conte, for example. But he has been the head coach at Tottenham Hotspur since the beginning of November.
The market doesn’t offer that many options. The clubless Zinedine Zidane may be a man with international experience and the charisma of a champion. In the recent past he made a name for himself at Real Madrid not necessarily as a developer, but more as an administrator.
In addition, he speaks hardly any English and has little ties to the island or the Premier League. An ideal solution looks different. Especially since people around the French keep hearing that he would like to become a national coach after the 2022 World Cup – and that he is not aiming for a new club job until then.
Other preferred candidates in the media such as Erik ten Hag (Ajax Amsterdam), Brendan Rodgers (Leicester City) or Mauricio Pochettino (Paris Saint-Germain), who, according to information from SPOX and GOAL is by no means averse, will initially be difficult to get out of their contracts.
A delicate situation for those responsible, which they probably could have saved themselves if they had struck at Conte. But no matter who comes in the end: it can’t really go any worse than last under Solskjaer.
