Two comments for Ole that should have Man Utd fans worried
Robin Bairner
- 2 Oct 2021 14:28 BST
- 3 min read
If some Manchester United fans have the sense that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is simply winging it in the dugout at Old Trafford, they have been given ample ammunition over the course of the last week.
Not only have the Red Devils lost at home in successive matches to West Ham and Aston Villa before struggling to a 2-1 victory over Villarreal on Wednesday, and then being held 1-1 by Everton, the manager has made some comments that suggest that what happens on the field is almost entirely out of his control.
Solskjaer has always been regarded as more of a man manager than a tactics boss, but nevertheless, three comments that he has made lately should alarm Man Utd supporters who do not think he’s got a handle on matters in terms of a game plan.
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’We got lucky’
Following the Villarreal encounter in midweek, in which Ronaldo fired home a winner from a tight angle in stoppage-time, Solskjaer effectively admitted that it was an event that owed as much to fortune as anything else.
“We got lucky in the end,” he frankly admitted.
As Talksport pundit Jamie O’Hara pointed out: “Ole Gunnar Solskajer got away with it. He is living on eggshells right now because Villarreal should have won that game 4-1, they battered Man Utd.”
There appeared to be no thought to Solskjaer’s tactics beyond “throwing caution to the wind”, and the fact that he has effectively admitted that he had no plan beyond plying his team with as much talent as possible should be one that has Man Utd fans twitchy ahead of more important matches against tougher opponents later in the season.
Solskjaer relying on feelings and not tactics
With that kind of feeling around the place, you get moments like Wednesday night's last-minute winner
- Ole Gunnar SolskjaerSolskjaer could be forgiven for his “lucky” comment in the post-match rush on Wednesday, but he then doubled down on this in his programme notes before Saturday’s fixture with Everton.
“The impact he's [Ronaldo] had since coming back - on the players, the staff, the fans, everyone - has been sensational, and with that kind of feeling around the place, you get moments like Wednesday night's last-minute winner,” he wrote.
Feelings, not tactics, were key to the midweek win, then.
It is little wonder that Man Utd have consistently broken down at crunch time in major competitions under Solskjaer, and while they undoubtedly have a more talented group of players than at any time in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, that is not yet matched in the dugout.
