The six Man Utd players most responsible for Ole sacking

Carlo Garganese

• 21 Nov 2021 13:22 GMT
• 5 min read

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was finally put out of his misery on Sunday as Manchester United sacked the Norwegian manager following a dismal run of form.

During the 4-1 defeat to Watford on Saturday, which was the final straw for Ole, it had seemed as if his players had almost stopped playing for him.

It was just the latest game in which a string of Man Utd stars had performed well below their standards.

So which Man Utd players have been most responsible for Solskjaer getting sacked?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has continued to score goals at a fantastic rate since his return to Man Utd this summer – he has an impressive nine strikes in 13 appearances in all competitions.

However, it has become clear that Ronaldo is a player who doesn’t play for the team any longer. Instead, he performs at expense of the team.

The Daily Mail recently revealed that Cristiano is the worst presser in the Premier League and runs less in the Champions League than the Wolfsburg goalkeeper. This has made it very difficult for Man Utd to defend from the front and undoubtedly has contributed heavily to United’s disastrous defensive record.

Paul Pogba

It has been abundantly clear for months now that Paul Pogba has no interest in being at Manchester United.

The Frenchman’s contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of the season and he has no interest in penning an extension. Instead, he will leave Man Utd on a Bosman for the second time in his career, with Real Madrid, PSG and Juventus the favourites to sign him.

This season in particular, Pogba has strolled around the pitch without a care in the world. This led to him being dropped by Solskjaer before an injury ruled him out until 2022. Man Utd’s record signing did nothing to help save his boss.

Harry Maguire

Harry Maguire has sometimes been unfairly criticised by fans and the media since he broke the record transfer fee for a defender when joining Man Utd in 2019.

His first two seasons under Solskjaer were reasonably steady, in all truth, but this campaign he has been an unmitigated disaster.

Incredibly, he has already made nine errors leading to opposition goals in 2021-22. The majority of these have arrived in the last month or so and coincided with the disastrous run of form that has ultimately led to Solskjaer’s sacking.

During the 4-1 thrashing by Watford, Maguire was sent off at 2-1 after he clumsily miscontrolled the ball and then took down Tom Cleverley.

Jadon Sancho

It is not actually Jadon Sancho's fault that he makes the list as it has been Solskjaer's gross mismanagement of his talents which has left the England star without a goal or assist in any of his appearances so far for Man Utd.

Man Utd's year-long pursuit of Sancho almost became like an obsession as they relentlessly negotiated with Borussia Dortmund, attempting to bring down the German side's asking price.

Eventually, he would sign for £73 million but he has barely made an impact. Yes, Sancho needs to shoulder some of the blame, but Solskjaer has not given him a run in the team, with minutes and starts here and there not enough to stamp an impression at a new club. As a result, the player looks completely bereft of confidence - something he exuded while in Germany. And this is something that it is obviously a bad look on Ole.

David de Gea

Last season Solskjaer had the unenviable task of choosing between David de Gea and Dean Henderson to be his first-choice goalkeeper. Unfortunately, the Norwegian shied away from the decision and even insisted that he had two number one keepers at the club.

Solskjaer has actually received praise for making the right decision in selecting De Gea to be his main man, but the Spaniard's impressive run in the team last season only came after Henderson was ruled out with Covid.

De Gea's words after the Watford defeat suggest he does not rate Solskjaer's talents.

"It was embarrassing, the way we played today," De Gea told BBC Sport. "The first half was very poor - it's not acceptable for this club and the level of players that we have. It's another nightmare. There's been some difficulties but I don't really know what to say.

"I have been in difficult moments with this club but we are in a difficult situation - we don't know what to do with the ball, we are conceding a lot of goals. It's a horrible moment."

De Gea had thrown Solskjaer under the bus.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

After one relatively good season with Crystal Palace, Solskjaer felt the need to ask Man Utd to spend £50m on Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The young right-back had displayed a keen eye for a tackle and earned a reputation for being one of the best one-on-one defenders in the league.

The problem is, even with that fabled reputation, Wan-Bissaka is dreadful with the ball, and a team of Man Utd's stature will have the ball more often than not. He has always been criticised for his attacking output, but in recent months it has actually been his defensive performances which have caused more concern.

Wan-Bissaka was torn to shreds by the Watford attack in Saturday's loss and played a part in the second goal conceded with a truly awful clearing header that went straight to an opponent. His continued selection in Solskjaer's starting XI became a stick with which to beat the manager.