Antonio Conte once said, "Second place is the first loser". At the moment - under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - United seem to once again already be in a battle for merely a top four place this season. If second place is a loser, then what does that make you if you finish even lower? The Glazers don't care - Champions League football seems all they strive for. Lack of alignment with the club's beliefs remains absent, and standards are continuing to fall.
You can see exactly why fans have been calling for consideration of Conte as Solskjaer's future enters its largest phase of doubt thus far. The Norwegian has guided his beloved club out of the realms of deep darkness, but there is growing uncertainty as to whether he has the aptitude to guide his United side to silverware as manager.
It has been a tumult of reports over the course of the week. Following the emphatic defeat to Liverpool on Sunday evening, there was no urgent intent to meet that night to discuss Solskjaer's future. However - the day after - it was evident that the manager's future was being seriously contemplated, as Joel Glazer was involved in a meeting with Ed Woodward along with managing director Richard Arnold. Five hours behind in Florida, any verdict on Solskjaer's future made by Mr Glazer would likely have come later in the day. No regular briefing of backing for the manager came from the club, but neither did any concrete reports that Solskjaer was absolutely on the verge.
'Crisis' was a common word used throughout Monday. Such is the state of the upper end of United's hierarchy, co-chairman and owner Avram Glazer was in Dubai attempting to purchase a cricket team (and failed). That says everything.
It took until around 48 hours for any messages of support to come from United, but that was enough to justify safety of Solskjaer's position - for now. He took training on Tuesday after a scheduled day off on Monday, though he did still report to Carrington for a few hours of work the day after the Liverpool defeat. The Norwegian is clearly committed to put things right, and its obvious that those high up admire that. Conversely, there is now a clear acceptance from the board that there is lots to do in order to turn fortunes around. Nonetheless, the reluctancy to sack another manager has always been visible this week. Hesitancy has been a common feature of how things have unfolded.
For the coaching team, clarity as to their position does seem to have been somewhat elusive throughout the week. There have been minimal assurances communicated to Solskjaer and his staff, with absolutely no given guarantees of certainty surrounding their futures. For the first time, there seems genuine fear amongst the group that a sacking could be in the offing.
As time progressed and preparations for Tottenham this coming weekend continued, it grew more and more evident that Solskjaer would still be in charge come Saturday evening. A chance for rectification had been given, with the vast majority of the fanbase baffled as to the manager's luck to still be in charge.
The pending international break seems to have been outlined as a suitable time for a proper review, enabling a time for assessment of options whilst possibly allowing a period to transition between managers (if United were to part company with Solskjaer). Following the Tottenham match this weekend, games against Atalanta and Manchester City seem to be crucial in his attempt at redemption. The international break is a marker, but there remain rumblings that even the single defeat could spell the end of his tenure. There are no guarantees beyond Spurs, but one thing seems to be for sure - Solskjaer's fate will be decided within the next two weeks.
The manager still has support from above, so it seems. Like the fans, those within the club have a real desire for Solskjaer to succeed. Along with Woodward and Arnold, Sir Alex Ferguson was reportedly rallying behind his former player. On Tuesday, the ex-manager was spotted at Carrington and was allegedly there alongside former chairman Martin Edwards. The day after, it was revealed that they attended the complex to be fitted with a new club suit - this had been planned for some time for club officials. Fergie didn’t come into contact with Solskjaer or any of his players whilst at the training ground, according to reports.
Many questions have been raised as to whether the whole suit fitting suggestion was merely for PR. After all, the visit to Carrington was oddly well-timed following reports of Fergie's support for Solskjaer's position in charge. It's more than likely he would be trying to protect his former player - he does know him better than most people would.
Ultimately, Fergie is United's messiah. He's a god-like figure. He speaks or views something in a certain way, and people will listen and follow. Fergie must see something in Solskjaer. He's possibly the greatest manager to ever have lived; if Fergie sees something, then there must be something there. There is no way he'd back the manager who has just lost 5-0 to Liverpool without any concrete evidence of potential. Does this mean he's suggesting the players should take responsibility? Maybe. He clearly sees potential in the manager.
Possibly, Fergie is seeing parallels with the start of his management at United. He started without any silverware for a lengthy period, and came under fire just as Solskjaer is doing. However, the club stuck by him and it was possibly the best decision in their history. Biding your time can be vital, and Fergie seems to be looking at the current scenario in that manner.
I wouldn't like to think he has been used by the club as PR. If his 'backing' of Solskjaer was used by the board to try and sway the fans, then that is purely cowardly from those at the peak of the club's hierarchy. To take advantage of such a great figure's status to cover up your own mishaps is wrong - very wrong.
A reason for the lack of action taken on Solskjaer seems to be the absence of a succession plan, with the club actually unable to find somebody they view as a desirable candidate to replace him. Over the last couple of days, this has flagged suggestions that the intention was actually to sack the manager. The recruitment of a new man for the post is - as I mentioned - seemingly with hesitation due to the fear of continuing the circus of errors post-Fergie.
Antonio Conte has seemed the number one prospective replacement option all week. If he was to be contacted, it became apparent very early that he was willing to learn about the ongoing project at United. He is free and prepared to return to management having departed Inter Milan after success in Serie A, with a willingness to discuss and likely accept an offer in subsequence if there was any approach. Although he seemingly prefers not to take up any position mid-season, he views any opportunity at United as special and an exception to his preferences. There is a reported feeling that he could succeed immediately with the current crop of players. It's clear - he's very keen.
The United board, however, seem hesitant again. There is a wariness that his style is too similar to that of Jose Mourinho, with apprehension over a possible repeat of the issues within his reign. Conte's convinced, whereas his desired club are not. Some reports from Italy suggested an approach was made by United, but those slightly more reputable sources were convinced that no official talks got underway. There was a readiness to commence talks, but again reluctancy was on display from the club's behalf.
The Glazers wish for a long-term manager, but there is doubt as to whether Conte would be that. They are also searching for somebody aligned with the club's values of an attacking ethos and willingness to develop younger players, again something which Conte may not offer in abundance. High up, it's clear they aren't as keen as the candidate. Some even suggested they fear he'd put them in their place for the sheer disarray on display, which isn't too far-fetched.
Ajax's Erik ten Hag is definitely somebody who would fit the aforementioned catagories favoured by the board, but it would be extremely complicated to get a deal done with him mid-season (likewise with outside option Brendan Rodgers). Stall until the end of the season, say, and Ten Hag - along with somebody like Graham Potter - could be a more viable option.
Mauricio Pochettino has always been viewed as a long-term target by United, but he is similarly unavailable with his job secure enough with PSG. Zinedine Zidane has been rumoured too, but the issues outweigh the suitability of the French legend; the language barrier is a big problem, whilst Zidane isn't really chasing a job - especially in England.
All in all, it really seems the board of waiting for the season to be entirely unsalvageable before they act - which again shows weakness on their behalf. Ultimately, the dilemma is only being delayed.
What exactly has been reported about the internal state of the club surrounding the manager, specifically from within the dressing room? Well, there's lots to unpick still.
It has become clear that Solskjaer is beginning to lose the belief of the players. Unfortunately, this was crystallised by the Liverpool defeat. I've spoken about it a lot, but it really seemed the players had no idea what they were doing within the pressing approach deployed by the coaching team. This was all true. According to reports, next to no emphasis was placed on practicing such system in training leading up to the match. The players were thrown in the deep end unprepared, which inevitably caused some discontent surrounding the management.
Reports have suggested that there is a growing sense of doubt within the squad surrounding Solskjaer's quality as a manager, displaying a distinct loss in confidence in his ability to lead the team. There is a growing sense that he may not be the man to guide this group forward, which has developed over the past month as form begun to deteriorate. The Liverpool loss only accentuated this loss of faith.
Many players have essentially been said to view the manager as tactically inept, questioning how far he can actually take them from here. There's no doubt the team all like and respect him on a personal level - he's incredibly well-liked throughout the club - but a growing number of players are skeptical as to his capabilities to go toe-to-toe with the best managers in the country. Support in this regard is becoming limited to just the core of British players and some from overseas. Splits within a dressing room are always a telltale sign of internal unrest.
Solskjaer's manner, commitment and public protection skills are widely admired, but this ultimately isn't enough to sway players hungry for silverware. Portions of the squad seem to be discontent with the actually footballing aspect, thus are open to change.
Solskjaer doesn't appear to be the only issue amongst the players - there is concern regarding his coaching staff too. For example, there are worries that Kieran McKenna's training sessions are uninspiring and similar to those experienced in the academy. Hereby, you can see the issue with Solskjaer not even giving the pre-match talk the night prior to matches; the tactical briefing duty instead alternates between McKenna and Michael Carrick. Both of the aforementioned have been regarded as inexperienced as coaches at the top level, working alongside a relatively inexperienced manager in Solskjaer. You can see why there may be issues. In fact, many of United’s rivals are actually said to regard them as the worst coached team - they appear under-prepared, tactically poor during matches and unable to adapt in-game according to some opposing sides.
I mentioned the dressing room now developing some form of split: the split isn't necessarily toxic, but the doubt in the coaching department from the players is reportedly becoming direct questioning and challenging. Most recently, there was internal disagreement about the pressing approach when debriefing the Liverpool loss. The discussion was heated after Liverpool, and similarly was post-Leicester.
The group apparently held a meeting two days after the defeat at the King Power, with players said to hit out at each other and the management; the players didn't hold back when asked for their input by Solskjaer. One player allegedly directly grilled the manager over his reluctance to drop poorly performing players, whilst it was claimed that the management have been too reluctant to give gametime to fringe players who are training well.
It has also been reported that one player has questioned the decision to hand Harry Maguire the captaincy only six months after his arrival; criticism within the squad itself has also been growing in the form of one player criticising his teammates for a lack of motivation in training.
Sticking with the Leicester theme somewhat, Solskjaer's indulgence towards certain players has come under fire from members of the squad. An obvious example is Maguire's inclusion against Leicester following only a single training session after injury. Eric Bailly allegedly challenged Solskjaer after the ultimate loss against Leicester, asking the manager why he picked an unfit centre back over him.
Favouritism of underperforming players has been flagged up by players, whilst reluctance to play certain players has caused some confusion. Dressing room sources suggest Donny van de Beek’s training performances have impressed his teammates, though he hasn’t started in the league since May and has only featured once off the bench in the competition this season. Doubts over selection were accentuated by the inclusion of Dan James in two of the early matches before his departure, with recent confusion as to Jesse Lingard’s lack of playing time amidst good performances off the bench. The decision to name an unchanged side against Liverpool has also been questioned due to the severe underperformance of the same XI again Atalanta - it was a surprise to the squad.
Van de Beek isn’t desperate to leave United, contrary to some suggestions. All he wants is to play matches, therefore Solskjaer staying would likely cause him to depart the club. Conte - possible replacement if Solskjaer was to leave - is a big admirer of Van de Beek (so it seems). When in charge of Inter Milan, he actually went in pursuit of the Dutchman’s services. During the week, reports actually emerged that Van de Beek left his agent Guido Albers in order to join Ali Dursun. His new agent also takes care of Frenkie de Jong and is part of Victor Lindelof’s agency. Mino Raiola tried for the midfielder's services, but nothing materialised there. It's an indication that a move away could very much be in the offing if things don't change, and fast.
Paul Pogba is relaxed about contract talks, but it is growing increasingly likely that he will depart for free in the summer. Reports did suggest that it was almost definite that the Frenchman would leave if Solskjaer was still in charge come the summer, but suggestions of a rift were shut down by the player on social media.
As I alluded to with the whole Liverpool tactical predicament, there is an increasing level of challenging from players as to certain systematic issues. The inability to solve defensive problems has caused concern within the squad, whilst failure to impose authority on misfiring forwards has also been questioned. In the latter department, Solskjaer has been blamed for a lack of understanding between Mason Greenwood and Cristiano Ronaldo - there has been an apparent inability to force the pair to link up more convincingly.
It's not all doubt within the squad, though - as Ronaldo has proven. He is said to be holding the United dressing room together, encouraging players to not down-tool and to back Solskjaer. He has attempted to rally the dressing room and has encouraged his teammates to support the manager whilst he remains in charge. He has advised them to back the man in charge, giving their all regardless of their views on his tactics.
Before I finish, I'd like to detail how it is unfair on Solskjaer that things are being 'leaked' from the dressing room. It’s still growing more and more apparent that portions of the squad is turning against Solskjaer - not necessarily on a personal level, but there is severe doubt over his tactical approach. Reports over the last two days have been really damaging towards Solskjaer and his worth as United manager. It will take its toll, no doubt.
It has become clear there is now a substantial split in the dressing room, and that is really the biggest indication that change is needed. It’s getting to the stage where there seems to be some unrest between players, which cannot be tolerated and prolonged. However, the fact the manager has frankly been exposed over the last couple of days and has been given no protection from the incompetence of the board is unacceptable. He’s human at the end of the day, and some of the things being said and revealed by the media are entirely belittling.
Everything that has been reported puts Solskjaer in a very difficult position as he continues as manager, for now at least.
Phil Neville passionately had his say on the situation, stating that "people don't probably realise the things they are writing hurt families, hurt human beings, people that have problems in their lives, and nothing gets done about it."
Undoubtedly, every United fan is desperate to see Solskjaer to succeed at the helm. From here, though, it'd surely have to be one of football's greatest turnarounds.
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