Should Manchester United fans really be patient about Ole Gunnar?
Tenth in the Premier League table with 18 points after 14 games and Manchester United have endured their worst start since 1988. The team, in fact, is now closer to the relegation zone than the top four, yet not everything looks gloomy at the moment- that’s what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes.
This is the worst ever tally for a United manager in the post-Ferguson era. David Moyes, the chosen one, garnered 36 points from his last 22 games while Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho had 37 and 35 points respectively from their final 22 games. Regardless of the recent struggles though, Solskjaer says that his “boys are closer to winning than losing games.” And this may not bode well for every supporter, but he has may just be right.
What spectators have been treated to during Solskjaer’s short reign at Manchester United is that is the development of youth. What we tend to forget, however, is the fact that it is a gradual process. The Norwegian is simply working towards what United was known for in the past, and not on the lines what they are at the moment; a club spending money for glory.
However, Football365 have compared the first 100 games in charge of Solskjaer at Man United and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool — and the Norwegian surprisingly comes out on top.
Have a look at the figures, provided by Football365.
Played: Solskjaer: 100 Klopp: 100
Won: 56–50
Drawn: 20–29
Lost: 24–21
Goals scored: 186–182
Goals conceded: 104–108
Points (all comps): 188–150
PPG (all comps): 1.88–1.5
Premier League points: 113–125
Premier League PPG: 1.74–1.81
Overall win percentage: 56% — 50%
Klopp was given time by Liverpool to transform them into title challengers, delivering the Champions League and Premier League in back-to-back campaigns.
But that is not what United fans want. Yes, he had an instant impact on all the United players and management but with all the talent Red Devils have they surely deserve more than everything that is happening right now. They deserve to win and lift more trophies. Things have surely changed a lot recently regarding rules and regulations but nothing should affect the team in form team if the manager and coaches work hard and well continuously. This is truly embarrassing for a club of United’s size, with Old Trafford a fortress that intimidated opposition teams for so long during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. So far this season, the Red Devils have scored just two goals in home league games, and have conceded ten. Ole has always been optimistic in every post-match conference but in contrast, no results have been seen so far. With the likings of Pogba, Van De Beek and Bruno Fernandes in the midfield and Rashford and Greenwood ahead they haven’t performed up to the mark.
Mauricio Pochettino, who Mourinho replaced at Spurs last November, is still available and his shadow will loom ever larger over Solskjaer. And after such a brutal defeat, which featured an awful performance by United’s players, it would be no surprise if the Argentine gets a call from executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward during the next international break.
United’s next game is a Champions League match against Basaksehir in Istanbul on Wednesday, with a trip to Everton in the league to follow three days later. Let's see how they perform in both matches as every match is important for Ole now for him not to be sacked in the near future. United is a really big club and for them to not get the desired results is a matter of big concern. They need to buckle up and do good for themselves and their fans as well and keep up their pride. It is high time for them to act like a big club and prove everyone wrong that the Red Devils are as good as they were during the times of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Being a loyal and die-hard fan I just hope for the best for this club and hope to see Manchester United winning titles and lifting up trophies real soon. Of course, frustration is vented when things do not go to plan and social media is the perfect platform for this. But nothing should be taken away from the fact that when we live up to our name, and we are united, we will always be better and emerge stronger.
