18th December 2018 is a significant day at Manchester United in the 2018/19 season– it was the day the club’s board decided to get rid of former manager Jose Mourinho after two and half years in charge. At the time of his dismissal, United looked like a club in disarray and desperately in need of a new lift and direction. Their noisy neighbors flying high under Pep Guardiola, eternal rivals – Liverpool on the path on dominance and greatness under Jurgen Klopp and down south in London, Spurs had a clear path with Pochettino and Levy vision, Arsenal and Chelsea regrouped under Emery and Sarri leaving the 20th English champions looking lost. The Old Trafford job did not look enticing for jobless Zinedine Zidane to jump at. Desperate times calls for desperate measures; United looked to one of their own to bail them out. Former player – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer answered the call to take over the reign on a temporal basis till the end of the season. He would be supported by another old member of the family in Mike Phelan and current assistant manager Michael Carrick. The trio objective was simple; rediscover Manchester United. The timing of on-loan Molde manager, Solskjaer was timely. United had winnable fixtures on paper and it was believed these games would help the manager settle well into his new role before taking on more tougher fixtures. So far, the former United striker has come out on top in all games winning his first six matches as United boss even surpassing the great Sir Matt Busby. His man management approach is a welcome in a dressing that was toxic under the Mourinho regime. Players seem to be liberated and ready to put in over a 100% in every game, silly errors are being cut out and the big boys are getting back to their very best. Paul Pogba is the most obvious example; the French World Cup winner is back to his best, dominating games and providing the team with attacking impetus to win.
Sunday’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley was his first real test as the previous five were winnable. He passed the first real test but it can all be attributed to the extraordinary performance of David De Gea. The Spanish number one is a United player so he played his part in denying Tottenham for scoring before and after Marcus Rashford’s goal. United were pragmatic in their approach, they attacked intelligently and were able to punish Spurs after Tripper’s error which allowed Pogba set up Rahsford who still had a lot to do in beating Lloris in Spurs goal.
United played with a proper strategy and right mentality. The forwards interchanged and supported the midfield. Eriksen was well policed to limit his danger though Spurs still managed to create a bucket of chances but were unable to find the solution to beat an inspired De Gea in goal. Solskjaer has changed the Red Devils mindset, their second half approach would have seen them concede and probably lose the game under the Portuguese if he was still in charge. Manchester United remain sixth but are level on points with Arsenal and are just six points of a top-four place. The momentum and new found belief is back and Old Trafford should be electric again with the next two home games against Brighton and Burnley.
Has the on-loan Molde manager done enough in four weeks to be considered on a long term basis? Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have all appointed former players as managers and all these clubs enjoyed success under their respective managers. Is it the fact that these ex-players understand the club and its philosophy better than breeds success or their tactical and coaching skills and being former players with a proper understanding of the dressing room that helps them in succeeding? Whatever the case, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has turned the corner for a club that looked to have lost its identity at one point. Does he deserve to be considered strongly amongst other highly rate candidates for the job come the end of the season? He has made a very good start; one would expect him to lead United to a respectable finish at the end of the season and who knows, he might even win a trophy by the end of the campaign. As the months go by, it would become clearer if this idea can become a serious proposition.