After Manchester United were taken apart by Liverpool at Old Trafford, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan compared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to a ‘one legged man’ after their humiliation at the hands of Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Jordan compared Solskjaer to a “one-legged man attempting to run the 100-meter race in under ten seconds” the day after Manchester United were convincingly trounced 5-0 at home by a clearly superior Liverpool selection.
Jordan, long an uncompromising critic of the Norwegian boss totally unconvinced of Solskjaer’s ability to lead the club back to their former glory days, has never been known to pull his punches whenever it comes to pronouncing judgment on the former Cardiff manager.
With United signing Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, the pressure understandably piled up on Solskjaer. Unfortunately, a Mohamed Salah hattrick, together with accompanying goals from Naby Keita and Curtis Jones, shredded United into a confetti mess on Sunday in Liverpool’s one-sided massacre.
And Jordan again reiterates his contention, as always, that it was a mistake giving Solskjaer the position of United boss in the first place, and that even any attempts to criticize him because of that is ridiculous.
“The ridiculous thing now is, it’s like asking a one-legged man to run 100m in under ten seconds, and then telling him off for not doing something you know he can’t do,” Jordan said to TalkSPORT.
“It is becoming ridiculous now because everybody with half a brain knows, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer isn’t really capable of managing these players, and getting from these players what is required.
“You might wish it so but wishing it doesn’t make it so.”
Solskjaer was promptly promoted to the Old Trafford hot seat after a successful stint overseeing the club on an interim basis after then manager Jose Mourinho had been sacked by the Red Devils.
He creditably won 14 of his 19 matches, including a sensational match in the Champions League which saw United overturn two away goals and progress past Paris Saint Germain in dramatic, and was subsequently given a three-year contract in March 2019.
Despite very few pundits and journalists agreeing with the decision, the former Cardiff City and Molde manager did effectively inject some much-needed possibility and enthusiasm into the Reds, with the likes of Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand heralding the appointment, particularly the latter, who gleefully rubbed his hands together and optimistically stated “Man United are back” after their victory over the French giants.
The following years saw Solskjaer leading the club to third and second place finishes, as well as the Europa League final last season which they lost on penalties to Villarreal.
Jordan has reiterated his stance that the current arising criticism of Solskjaer is “ridiculous” as he feels the Norwegian had all this while been in a role he simply was not ready for.
“Some of the observations that are being made my pundits, are just silly,” said Jordan.
“Rio Ferdinand made silly observations a year ago, Gary Neville was making silly ones yesterday, and the evidence is clear.
“It doesn’t matter how many players you bring in.
“The culture, the temperature, the tone, the tactics of a football club are set by the individual who has the gravitas to concentrate the minds of elite footballers – he doesn’t have that factor.
“It doesn’t make him an absolute abject failure, it does not make him an awful football manager, it just makes him that little bit short for what is required for Manchester United.”
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
