Manchester Utd are allegedly gifting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a new deal but with silverware still eluding the Norwegian, would the club be invariably better-placed posturing a meaner, ruthless side a’ la Roman Abramovich and hiring someone else with real silverware under his belt instead?
When Claudio Ranieri was sacked as Chelsea manager in 2004 he’d already proving his mettle by leading them to second place in the league and to the last four of the Champions League.
These feat in themselves would have been to most owners an impressive year worth lauding, which meant on the face of it his dismissal seemed inappropriately harsh.
However, were one to look at the cold hard facts however, it actually wasn’t.
True, Chelsea had big ambitions and Roman Abramovich’s billions impatiently demanded immediate success. The Russian tycoon didn’t hesitate to pull the plug and axed Ranieri simply because he ultimately knew there was then a much better man for the job out there. One named Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho had led Porto unerringly to the pinnacle of European football and the Russian billionaire saw in that something that really warmed his heart, in tune with his desires – three Premier League titles, titles, an FA Cup, three League Cups, an appreciable amount of juicy controversy, an iconic, provocative opening line or two to get the media buzz going, and the rest is history.
Let’s face it – football has long been a cold, cruel business, always has been and always shall be.
Now, bringing the focus to bear on one particular manager – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. A notable Norwegian with a bubbly, charming presence, pleasant disposition and a warm personality. One with a decent record in the past to boot as a player with albeit measurable skills and some laudable performances.
Solskjaer as a manager personifies everything United aim to stand for bar one thing – silverware. And this is the only box left unticked, yet it’s undeniably the singular box standing out above all else.
The affable Norwegian did play attractive football and has done his level best to replicate that even as a manager, is certainly not against utilising graduates from the club’s academy, understands the club’s DNA and traditions and has probably the dubious distinction of having scored arguably the most famous goal in the history of Old Trafford.
Now, after a histrionic 27 months in charge with viccissitudes in performances and results dominating his tenure, Solskjaer is poised for a new deal and even a pay rise. Clearly, to some who matter at least, his work has been deemed sufficient to be worthy of additional time and extra investment in his extended managerial capacity.
But, for crying out loud – since when did United have to be content and go mushy cooh-coohing over just semi-final wins as self-glorifying laurels of achievement? We grew up in an era where the managers of old and their glorious players at Old Trafford proudly, and meritoriously, hoisted aloft at least one trophy each year – and still went gladly gunning for more.
Now, for those pro-Solskjaer folks, it’s only too easy and too feeble an excuse to claim that former ‘Baby-faced Assassin’ is building something and, given time, may eventually take the Red Devils back to where they believe they should be.
Yeah, a grand claim, nonetheless, but building what substantially? And would the hoped-for results of th is grand and ambitious building plan materialise soon?
Recent history doesn’t at all suggest that eventuality, though. Too many a time his United side have come up glaringly short in the big moments that matter. Only to be given another hard knock on the head and an equally humiliating slap in the face.
Admittedly the current United boys have enough quality that good performances and impressive wins are not totally beyond them and are bound to grab a few on occasion – whether they be wins in Paris against fancied opposition or unexpexted Manchester derby successes.
The bottom line though is what matters most – does, and can, Solskjaer present United with the best and most realistically achievable opportunities to end a severe trophy drought that will soon hit four years?
Realistically, the answer to that would be a clear no – and if so, an act of ruthlessness may be urgently required.
Has Solskjaer’s work so far warranted the sack – arguable and quite possibly, no. But then th is is where many would rise up in arms disagreeing.
Then the next pertinent question would be – are there available managers out there now who would be deemed a definite upgrade on the Norwegian? The simple answer is a clear yes.
Well, the Mauricio Pochettino ship has long sailed and is now not even a blip on the distant horizon – and even then some will have pointed to his lack of silverware on his Tottenham CV as a problem had he been appointed earlier to replace the Norwegian.
But there is one other Italian in the wings, apart from the one in the dugout at Everton, who could make a big difference in bringing an end to the long trophy-drought at Old Trafford – Massimiliano Allegri.
Allegri is readily available and has made a major career out of winning trophies consistently although the erstwhile Italian has been out of a job since leaving Serie A juggernauts Juventus in 2019 and has long been linked with the Old Trafford hot seat.
Although sentimentally his appointment would not share the blushing romance that was ushered in with Solskjaer’s arrival, what is the club ultimately in this game for?
Manchester United as a commercial brand has continued to soar while the club’s real fortunes on the pitch have long since stuttered in dismal fashion. And this cannot be allowed to continue either at random or indefinitely, irrespective of the corporate nous and commercial savvy that Ed Woodward evidently has, which somehow works in detriment to, and deviates tangentially from, the real football interests of the club.
To say that Jose Mourinho was not much loved during his period in Manchester is an understatement at best, and few United fans including club officials would be desirous of recreating the ambience around Old Trafford at that point when he was boss – but at least he he did deliver silverware.
But in the case of Solskjaer, for how long can the austere, once grand club continue to persevere with a man’s salvation plan for the club comprise only of nothing but grand promises and whose CV promises a grand nothing when it comes to real, tangible success in terms of silverware?
Admittedly, and not even grudgingly, Solskjaer has made some forward steps, and United’s top hierarchy appear determined to make their partnership with him a success based solely on this – a hypothetical success in theory, at best.
Giving the Norwegian an extended deal would only further their determination to prolong the ongoing project with the futile, self-flagellating work, and all potentially for the wrong reasons obvious to all but the perpetrators at the helm.
United have already seen in the transfer market that they don’t have the irresistible allure they once did. Not many a player nowadays would give either one of their arms to be apart of the once-grand Manchester United.
However, for managers that has not been the case, fortunately for the club as they managed to lure Mourinho without having Champions League football honor prerequisites and also roped in Louis van Gaal who showed no European trophy honors.
There is also the added sense of many wanting to be the man who finally restores United to their pinnacles of yesteryear, even those with glittering silverware to display.
Whilst United continue to have that status they would be wise to utilise it to immediately attract the biggest and best names out there.
When the season ends, United may arguably be at their best the last half dozen years or more now, especially at this juncture under Solskjaer – but look how far removed they are from the real unyielding standard that is epitomized by Manchester City.
If they have the real balls and gumption needed to make a decision, then this summer would be the ideal time to make a cold-hearted, mean and ruthless Abramovich-inspired decision to brandish the axe with the club’s best interests at heart.