Three things Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must change to revive Manchester United
After an encouraging finish to last season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United were expected to take it up a notch this season. However, any hopes that were there, came crashing down in the opening few weeks of the new campaign.
An opening day loss to Crystal Palace, an undeserving win against Brighton and an inexplicable 1-6 loss at the hands of Tottenham is what they have managed in the 3 league games so far. Sure, it’s just 3 games into a 38-game season but the manner in which they lost raises serious questions.
Talks about Solskjaer getting the sack have intensified in recent weeks as replacements such as Mauricio Pochettino are being spoken about (source – Daily Star). It is said that Solskjaer still has time but very limited and if performances don’t improve, further action could be taken. So what can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer do to change the team’s fortunes and hopefully save his job at the same time?
1. Incorporate the new signings and change the formation
The deadline day flurry of transfers cannot hide the fact that Manchester United were shambolic in the transfer window. However, now that there’s no point cribbing over that, he needs to figure out a system that will best use his available players.
A formation change could be the way to start. Switching to a back-three would use Alex Telles to the fullest and let Wan-Bissaka stay as a part of the back-three to do his defensive duties. Bruno Fernandes might have to drift out to the right-hand side given he remains one of the few good crossers of the ball.
Rashford and Cavani could play together as the former can make runs behind while the latter can hold up defenders. This provides the team with more solidity through the middle and uses a lot of United’s attacking resources.
2. Be more demanding and raise questions to the board
In the limited time that Solskjaer has been at the helm, he has produced decent results. In his first full season, he was given the required players and he led the club to 3rd place and three semi-finals. The board did not back him the same way this time. A centre-back should have been of utmost priority but the club made no efforts to sign one.
They failed to give Solskjaer his primary targets (source – Metro). This is bound to have a knockdown effect through the season. Solskjaer needs to be more demanding of the club if he wants his players. Yes, he is a club legend and has a good rapport with the club. But all those things won’t save him when the axe ultimately falls.
3. Give players the hairdryer treatment and implement a tactical philosophy
It often feels like United just play to their whims and it’s all left to whatever each player can do. There seems to be no definite strategy apart from counter-attacks. The players look utterly clueless when that does not work with teams sitting deep.
This is down to the manager having no tactics. He needs to implement some sort of tactics and plans instead of just knocking the ball around, hoping to get chances. There also needs to be a good plan B when needed.
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Another thing is that Solskjaer has protected his players too much. Even after disastrous performances, he has taken the blame but never let criticism get to the players. Even when David De Gea struggled, he backed him up abundantly. While this is a good thing, when you overprotect players, they develop complacency (just ask Arsene Wenger).
Players look like they aren’t on their toes anymore and feel like they can get away with dropping in a 3/10 performance. Even the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson did not allow this. If Solskjaer really wants to emulate his approach, he needs to hold players accountable on occasions.
