What happened to Man Utd stars Ole threatened to transfer after 2019 Everton drubbing?
Robin Bairner
- 10 Apr 2022 04:00 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United have known worse days at Goodison Park even than the one they suffered on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to Everton in the Premier League.
Take, for example, the 4-0 defeat that Man Utd endured against the Toffees on April 21, 2019.
That was close to the beginning of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign as manager and came shortly after the Red Devils had been outclassed by Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
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It seemed that this loss against Everton would be the catalyst to significant changes at Old Trafford, particularly in light of comments made by the manager at the end of the game.
“Some of them won’t be here next year,” Solskjaer said come full-time, referring to the players who had let him down on the field.
Man Utd have not followed words with actions
The Norwegian was speaking in ruthless terms, yet the toothlessness of the club has been highlighted by the astonishing fact that nine of the players who started that mauling remain on the books of the club near three years later.
So what happened to this hapless crew? In short, virtually nothing.
Indeed, the only players who started that game who are not still currently contracted to Man Utd are Chris Smalling and Romelu Lukaku. The nine other players in the starting XI that Solskjaer branded not good enough are still under contract, albeit Phil Jones is just returning from long-term injury and Anthony Martial is at Sevilla.
Nevertheless, this serves to highlight at how poor Manchester United’s transfer business has been. Not only have they been unable to offload players who three years ago were effectively branded not good enough, they have not been able to piece together a squad that is much better.
Solskjaer may have had his significant failings as a manager, but this highlights how weak the club’s hierarchy has been and continues to be.
For three years Man Utd have talked about making changes: it is well past due time for action.
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