Is Ole at the wheel: Assessing Solskjaer's 12 months in charge of Manchester United
It is a year to the day since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was brought in to unite the supporters and club after Jose Mourinho exited in typical Jose Mourinho fashion. It's been a whirlwind 12 months at Old Trafford. A remarkable winning run was proceeded by an equally remarkable decline and this season the jury remains out on whether Solskjaer is the right man to restore Manchester United to their former glories.
Mourinho's departure and Solskjaer's appointment prompted an eight-game winning run in all competitions, with wins over Tottenham and Arsenal in that time. In fact, Solskjaer went unbeaten over his first 11 matches in temporary charge of United and later went on to mastermind United's remarkable comeback victory away to Paris Saint-Germain in Europe.
Solskjaer's start to life as United manager went better than anyone could have expected, with just one defeat in his opening 17 matches in all competitions. Calls for Solskjaer to be made permanent manager from those closely connected to the club grew louder and chief executive Ed Woodward answered by handing the Norwiegan a three-year deal on March 28.
It was a completely needless decision made by Woodward, yet entirely unsurprising given his track record. Even if Solskjaer won every game from there on out, he wasn't going anywhere. As it happened, United didn't win every match. Far from it. After becoming United's permanent manager, the club finished the season with just two wins from 10 matches. They didn't win any of their last six games, failed to score in four and suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to already-relegated Cardiff on the final day of the campaign.
Solskjaer's record as full-time United manager is remarkably poor. He has lost as many league matches as he has won (8), picking up just 33 points from 75 available. Startlingly, United have picked up nine fewer points in Solskjaer's first 25 league games as permanent manager as Mourinho's final 25 in charge (42 points). That is not to suggest United were wrong to sack Mourinho, but the mood is curiously far more upbeat under Solskjaer than results shows it should be.
Premier League leaders Liverpool almost have double the points of United (49 vs 25) and it's not even Christmas. The Red Devils are actually closer to the relegation zone (10 points) than they are top spot and they are only above Sheffield United on goal difference (+1).
This season has been particularly strange for United supporters. They have seen their side lose at home to Crystal Palace and away to the likes of West Ham, Bournemouth and Newcastle. They've been forced to come from behind to draw with Sheffield United, Aston Villa and Everton and laboured to a share of the points with Southampton, who had 10 men for the final 17 minutes.
Yet, they are unbeaten against the current top-six in all competitions, twice beating Chelsea, as well as recording impressive victories over Jose Mourinho's Tottenham and Manchester City in the space of three days. They remain the closest side to threaten Liverpool's unbeaten start to the league campaign, conceding an 85th-minute equaliser. United have only won six league games all season and four have remarkably come against those in the top five.
Mauricio Pochettino's availability in November certainly came at a bad time for Solskjaer. United failed to win their next three matches after Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham, drawing to newly promoted sides Villa and Sheffield United, and there were suggestions United should sack the Norwegian and hire Pochettino. Solskjaer responded emphatically with wins over Tottenham and City.
After beating Tottenham, inflicting Mourinho with defeat on his first return to United since being sacked by the club a year ago, the Portuguese seemed to lessen United's achievement by suggesting it's easier for them to play elite competition. "United's results against the best teams this season have been good," Mourinho explained. "Chelsea, Liverpool and Leicester. For the way they play, it is easier for them. They are not afriad to have a defensive approach. It is easier for them against the better teams, against teams who want more of the ball."
It seemed like a typical Mourinho comment post-defeat, in an attempt to deflect any negativity after beat his side following a poor run of results. However, he was right and was proved even more correct three days later when they turned over City in the derby.
United have struggled to break down teams who are willing to concede possession and defend deep in numbers. It was the case for 45 minutes against League Two side Colchester on Wednesday. With players like Daniel James, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, United are built to counter attack, yet they can't when teams defend on their 18-yard box. 'Counter attacks' is one of only two statistically calculated strengths currently attributed to United and it is not a surprise to learn of the three goals United have scored from those situations, two have come against teams in the top four. Their WhoScored rating against the established top-six and Leicester is 6.87 but that drops to 6.64 against everyone else in the Premier League.
Solskjaer is aware of United's shortcomings, though it was also clear in the summer yet they failed to sign a single midfielder. It's why someone like James Maddison continues to be linked with a move to Old Trafford. Jesse Lingard offers energy and drive but lacks the subtly and creativity to make the No.10 position his own, illustrated by just 10 assists in 125 league appearances for United. Maddison, meanwhile, ranks top for key passes in the Premier League since the beginning of last season (143) and has matched Lingard's tally for assists in the competition in 73 fewer appearances.
Ahead of the season Solskjaer would have banked on Paul Pogba being United's creative spark but the 2018 World Cup winner simply hasn't been available enough for the Red Devils. Pogba has only featured in six of United's 26 matches in all competitions and it's still unclear when exactly he will be back, if at all with the January transfer window fast approaching. United's gamble not to sign another midfielder, despite losing Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini in the space of six months, has certainly backfired.
However, Solskjaer will feel vindicated by his decision to offload Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku without sounding out replacements. If both, or even one, were still at the club then Mason Greenwood's pathway to the first-team would likely be blocked. Instead, the 18-year-old has scored seven goals and is the club's second topscorer in all competitions this season. Marcus Rashford is also thriving as the club's main man in attack. Even with a lean spell that saw Rashford net once in eight matches, the 22-year-old is already enjoying his best ever goalscoring season (14) and it's only December.
All in all, it's hard to know whether Ole is still fully at the wheel or not. United's results suggest Solskjaer should be a man under pressure at a club of United's size but he is not. Impressive results against the top-six have certainly helped but perhaps it is further evidence the club are drifting to mediocrity under Woodward. Where else would a similar run be accepted? Or maybe United are fully behind Solskjaer's vision and are seeing enough to know it's worth sticking around for.
They are on to their fourth manager in six years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and each appointment has brought something completely different to the table. At least with Solskjaer they have someone in charge that knows what the supporters want. However, what the the last 12 months has shown us is that it's still unclear whether he has the tactical nous and acumen to see the club through this transitional period. He certainly needs to add another dimension to United's play, as they cannot simply counter attack against every team they play, as this season has illustrated.
United legend Gary Neville believes Solskjaer needs several transfer windows before things will finally click and it would genuinely be interesting to see where the club are under Solskjaer at the end of next season. I personally hope he gets that time but football isn't that straightforward.
