‘Too late, damage done’ – football world reacts to Solskjaer sacking

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:54 CDT
• 6 min read

Manchester United announced on Sunday that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked as manager.

The confirmation of the Norwegian's departure came after a shocking run of results, including embarrassing losses against Liverpool and Manchester City at Old Trafford.

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Solskjaer somehow survived those losses, but he position eventually became untenable after a 4-1 humbling away at Watford.

It was probably Man Utd's worst performance of the current campaign, and was compounded by a red card for captain Harry Maguire.

Following the loss, Solskjaer and his players were booed by the Man Utd away fans.

The massive news came on Sunday morning, with Twitter naturally going into meltdown with a flurry of reactions, both positive and negative.

Reaction to Solskjaer's dismissal

Perhaps the reaction that people immediately looked for was that of Gary Neville.

The Sky Sports pundit has been criticised over the past few weeks for refusing to call for Solskjaer's exit despite the clear drop in results and performances.

On Twitter, he paid tribute to Ole, saying:

"Thank you Ole. You did us proud . The last two months were tough but before that you restored some soul into the club."

BBC Sport contributor Raj Chohan believes the damage has already been done this season and question why the club did not act to appoint Antonio Conte before Tottenham.

"Too late. Damage done. You should’ve done this ages ago and you’d now have one of the best coaches in world football in Antonio Conte in the dugout."

United We Stand editor Andy Mitten described the last couple of months as "horrendous", writing:

In the announcement confirming Solskjaer's exit, Man Utd said that they would be seeking an interim manager until the end of the season.

This has been criticised by most, who have questioned the lack of a plan B an succession plan if Solskjaer were to leave.

Evening Standard writer James Robson wrote:

"United have given themselves time to get the right appointment, but have also effectively written off the season in November. No succession plan points to ongoing structural mess."

Chief Man Utd writer for the Manchester Evening News, Samuel Luckhurst, wrote:

"It's strange #mufc are seemingly prepared to write off a season when there are 26 games left in the league and two left in the Champions League group stage. Additional confirmation they had no succession plan in place."

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