What's my stance on the manager? I have to say, I don't really know anymore. I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but every single matchday I’m now finding myself writing about the flaws of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United manager. We all want this current turmoil to end promptly, but there now seems to be only one properly clear way for such thing to happen. Time is running out and, to be honest, time may just be out.
There continues to be no direction, no clear system, no identity, no idea and absolutely no aim. Regardless of the personnel, we’re playing in the same dysfunctional manner every single week. There isn't any point analysing matches tactically, because there simply are none. The players look so out of place, and it’s the highest quality group of players we’ve had post-Fergie by some stretch - the list is almost endless. Everyone got the midfield that they asked for today, but the tactical approach meant they were constantly bypassed. That says everything.
The goals today once again came from moments, not phases of any momentum or prolonged quality; Mason Greenwood’s goal was courtesy of individual phenomenon, and Marcus Rashford’s came from a long ball misjudged by the opposing defence. Leicester have started the season so poorly by their present standards, and we could barely deal with them. This should never, ever be the scenario we are in. I'm dreading facing Liverpool next week, having only picked up one point in three league matches - dropping 10 points from 24 available so far. We have to compete with these top sides that we're about to come up against, but there is no evidence that we'll be able to.
Paul Pogba came out after the game and said, "We have been having these kind of games for a long time. We have not found the problem, conceding easy goals - we need to be more mature, play with more experience and arrogance in a good way. We need to find something, we need to change." He continued, "We need to find the right mentality and the right tactics, stick with it and resolve the problem." "We deserved to lose," said the Frenchman. It's awful, but he's right.
Solskjaer himself seems almost puzzled, which is not a remotely good sign given he is the man in charge. "Lately we have not been in great form, we’ve lost too many points and that is something we have to look at. We might have to change, do we need more legs in there? What do we need?"
“We were not good enough with and without the ball. You have to run, block and tackle and we didn’t do that enough." The boss also stated that, "Over the international break we have had a good look to see what has gone wrong lately, but we need to look at the whole set up and balance of the team and maybe something has to give."
Ambiguous, I know. What has to give? These quotes almost seem as though he's questioning himself, and it seems he is completely out of ideas. Whatever work was done throughout the two weeks of the international break has been ineffective, which is adding to this bad look which is further developing match by match at the moment.
One final point I'd like to make is about the involvement of certain players. The defence was shambolic today, with Harry Maguire’s inclusion following only one small training session after a multi-week lay-off an abysmal managerial decision from Solskjaer. The first Leicester goal was the epitome of how detrimental his decision proved, with Maguire nowhere near up to peak sharpness - he would never usually invite pressure and get caught out on the ball like that in such area. For the second goal, he was essentially a statue in no man’s land amidst the ricocheting ball following missing an attempted header from the initial corner. The third goal was a conjoint defensive calamity, whilst the fourth again saw Maguire lose his man criminally from a set piece.
Solskjaer admitted, "I pick the team, Harry showed no reaction and I hold my hand up if that does not work out. If we concede four, I probably made a bad decision."
David de Gea was man of the match today, with Solskjaer exclaiming that "it says everything when your best player is David but still we conceded four goals.” Scary, but true.
Jadon Sancho has still only started three Premier League matches from the eight played so far, not completing a single match in the competition; from seven league appearances, he averages only 43 minutes of playing time. Despite starting both matches, he only averages 56 minutes on the pitch in the Champions League. His only completed match was the Carabao Cup loss against West Ham. The summer addition is yet to register a goal or assist for his new club, but with more time on the pitch such feat could be achieved with greater ease. It's too early to panic but - for £70+ million - we can't settle for another Donny van de Beek situation. Why sign these big names if they aren't going to fit?
To conclude, can Solskjaer progress further than the progress he has already made? I’m starting to doubt it, severely. Whatever the eventuality, I can rest assured that it won’t take anything away from his legacy - in fact he has undoubtedly reestablished stability and positivity that has been missing for many years at this football club. However, this season is feeling almost over after eight league matches. From eight matches, dropping 10 points out of a frankly simple run of fixtures is criminal. We can’t keep settling for such mediocrity.
We have to stick with Solskjaer for now at least, so it seems. As of now, it is reported by David Ornstein that his position as United manager is understood to be 100% secure. Ultimately, inconsistency can't keep on being rewarded. Unfortunately, the owners are incompetent and football is secondary to them. It's last chance saloon.
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