[ad_pod ]
Looking back at it, the decision to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on a permanent basis back in March seems strange.
It’s not as if the Norwegian was in high demand, nor was there the chance that he would leave the club if the decision had been delayed until the end of the season. This is a man who has spoken of his admiration for the club on a number of occasions, even calling the role his ‘dream job’ in the past.
So, in that respect, it seems strange that Manchester United didn’t at least wait until the season had ended to make a decision on whether or not to appoint a man who, let’s face it, is woefully under-qualified for a job of this magnitude.
Watch the video below to find out what Jesse Lingard is like off the pitch in the latest Match Of The Bae with Emma Conybeare…
Yes, his unbelievable run after succeeding Jose Mourinho, in which the Red Devils lost just once in 17 games, winning 14 of them, was very impressive.
But those higher up at Old Trafford should be experienced enough to know the effects of a ‘new manager bounce’, a short-term impact reinforced concretely by the fact that United have just two unconvincing wins from their six games since his permanent appointment – they have lost the other four.
There is clearly more to United’s problems than Solskjaer. The players are back to their ways of old under Mourinho, looking lost, disinterested and lethargic whilst the opposition better them in every department – again, there are a lot of problems at the club beside the manager.
However, that is all the reason more not to have appointed Solskjaer in March. So many bad decisions have been made since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, but to give the former Cardiff and Molde boss a three-year deal is up there with the worst.
If his impact is to merely be a short-term boost, they are now stuck with him for three years unless they give him a hefty pay-off to remove him from his contract.
What made United chiefs think that he was the answer for that amount of time? Chelsea have appointed Guus Hiddink and Rafa Benitez in the past to get them out of a rut, even watching the latter win a trophy, and still realised that there were people better suited for the job in the long-term.
The players’ performances in the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Everton on Sunday looked far worse than anything they managed to muster up under Mourinho, and in a time of crisis such as this, it appears that only a manager of real pedigree with a good understanding of the market can even begin to patch it up.
Solskjaer, with a few Norwegian titles and a relegation with Cardiff under his belt, doesn’t appear capable of being anything other than a short-term cheerleader – as hasty decisions go, this one tops the lot.