Manchester United have dominated news on the football front this week, mainly with the sacking of the Portuguese manager, Jose Mourinho on Tuesday.
However, my opinion is that yes Mourinho did not get the backing from the board that he wanted, but his constant negativity and him wanting to dwell on the players that the board did not give him was his downfall. The board had offered him an extension to his contract last season, only for this to be their biggest mistake, especially with Mourinho's record of not performing in his third season at a club, which made him almost lose his passion and fight for the club.
Mourinho has to carry most of the blame, especially with him calling out several of the club's star players countless times, most notably Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Eric Bailly. He often defended the team as a whole, yet he criticised and picked on too many players in the squad, eventually getting rid of their hunger to perform well.
To be perfectly honest, as a Manchester United fan, I was relieved when Mourinho left the club on Tuesday, and once it became public on Wednesday that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be the caretaker for the rest of the season, I was overjoyed. The Norwegian does not have the most managerial experience out there, yet for an interim role, he is perfect.
Solskjaer had a truly successful career at Manchester United, staying for 11 years and being crucial to several title wins, most notably for scoring the decisive goal in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich in the final minute of the match. After retiring in 2007, he went on to coach the reserves of the club for four years, leading them to several trophies. He then went back to Norway to coach Molde FK, where he won two Tippeligaen titles and the Norwegian cup. Afterwards, he had a disastrous spell in the Premier League with Cardiff City, eventually leaving the club and going back to Molde FK, where has stabilised the club even more.
Having been coach by football's greatest ever manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, Solskjaer knows the principles of the club, and stated them in his first interview ever since he was announced as interim manager saying,
The fans of the club will truly be ecstatic with the decision to get Solskjaer in for the rest of the season, as they continue to look for a manager that will lead them on in the long-term. The United legend will get the club connected back with the fans, who will be eager to watch some attacking football again, after having endured several years of degrading and boring football.
Solskjaer might be a risk in terms of managerial experience, but due to the short-term contract that he has been offered, he is the perfect man for the job. The league for United is practically over, unless they can find a way to sneak into the top four and get themselves Champions League football for next season.
Whilst this appointment has been faced with plenty of positive and negative criticism, it is an indication that the club wants to get back to the fluent football that was played in Old Trafford in the past, and the philosophy of blooding youth into the first-team as much as possible.
What is for sure is that the club needs further change higher up in the running of the club. Manchester United need to somehow get Ed Woodward out of the recruitment and football-side of things, as he is a great businessman, managing to keep on getting the club's share value on the rise and securing crucial sponsorships, but Mourinho was the third manager that was not successful in his reign, and the player signings that were made were clearly not up to scratch.
Let's hope that the biggest club in world football will get back on its feet and surge forward to the beautiful attacking football that was played in the past, and more importantly, winning titles.
Manchester United's next fixture, and Solskjaer's first as Manchester United manager, will be away to his former side, Cardiff City, on Saturday at 6.30pm (GMT+1).
Mourinho's sacking was inevitable, with the team being very inconsistent, but the board of directors obviously saw their away defeat to Liverpool as the final straw. The performance away at Anfield was dire, with all of the United players looking as if they were not playing for their own manager. The tactics employed by Mourinho were very defensive, and Liverpool's attacking play tore them apart.
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| Mourinho's Manchester United were dreadful on Sunday against league leaders, Liverpool, losing to them 3-1. |
The club decided to take action two days after the loss, with them sacking Mourinho on Tuesday, through a statement on the Official Manchester United website, in which the club said,
Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect.
The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future.
A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.The club was obviously frustrated with Mourinho and the results that the team was getting. However, Mourinho had predicted that the team would struggle throughout the season, with the club not giving him the players that he wanted, when he said in a press conference that he "would like to have two more players. I think I am not going to have two. I think it's possible I am going to have one. It's possible."
However, my opinion is that yes Mourinho did not get the backing from the board that he wanted, but his constant negativity and him wanting to dwell on the players that the board did not give him was his downfall. The board had offered him an extension to his contract last season, only for this to be their biggest mistake, especially with Mourinho's record of not performing in his third season at a club, which made him almost lose his passion and fight for the club.
Mourinho has to carry most of the blame, especially with him calling out several of the club's star players countless times, most notably Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Eric Bailly. He often defended the team as a whole, yet he criticised and picked on too many players in the squad, eventually getting rid of their hunger to perform well.
To be perfectly honest, as a Manchester United fan, I was relieved when Mourinho left the club on Tuesday, and once it became public on Wednesday that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be the caretaker for the rest of the season, I was overjoyed. The Norwegian does not have the most managerial experience out there, yet for an interim role, he is perfect.
 |
| Solskjaer scored the goal to secure the UEFA Champions League for Manchester United in the 1998-99 season, completing the treble by winning the Champions League, Premier League and the FA Cup. |
Solskjaer had a truly successful career at Manchester United, staying for 11 years and being crucial to several title wins, most notably for scoring the decisive goal in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich in the final minute of the match. After retiring in 2007, he went on to coach the reserves of the club for four years, leading them to several trophies. He then went back to Norway to coach Molde FK, where he won two Tippeligaen titles and the Norwegian cup. Afterwards, he had a disastrous spell in the Premier League with Cardiff City, eventually leaving the club and going back to Molde FK, where has stabilised the club even more.
Having been coach by football's greatest ever manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, Solskjaer knows the principles of the club, and stated them in his first interview ever since he was announced as interim manager saying,
Attacking football, giving youth a chance and winning. Biggest club in the world, best supporters in the world, best players in the world.Solskjaer will be joined by one of Sir Alex's former assistants, Mike Phelan, who's attacking philosophy was crucial to United's success over the years. He will also keep first-team coaches Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick, who are still young as coaches, yet their insight is crucial for the squad.
The fans of the club will truly be ecstatic with the decision to get Solskjaer in for the rest of the season, as they continue to look for a manager that will lead them on in the long-term. The United legend will get the club connected back with the fans, who will be eager to watch some attacking football again, after having endured several years of degrading and boring football.
 |
| Solskjaer during his first interview as Manchester United manager. |
Solskjaer might be a risk in terms of managerial experience, but due to the short-term contract that he has been offered, he is the perfect man for the job. The league for United is practically over, unless they can find a way to sneak into the top four and get themselves Champions League football for next season.
Whilst this appointment has been faced with plenty of positive and negative criticism, it is an indication that the club wants to get back to the fluent football that was played in Old Trafford in the past, and the philosophy of blooding youth into the first-team as much as possible.
What is for sure is that the club needs further change higher up in the running of the club. Manchester United need to somehow get Ed Woodward out of the recruitment and football-side of things, as he is a great businessman, managing to keep on getting the club's share value on the rise and securing crucial sponsorships, but Mourinho was the third manager that was not successful in his reign, and the player signings that were made were clearly not up to scratch.
Let's hope that the biggest club in world football will get back on its feet and surge forward to the beautiful attacking football that was played in the past, and more importantly, winning titles.
Manchester United's next fixture, and Solskjaer's first as Manchester United manager, will be away to his former side, Cardiff City, on Saturday at 6.30pm (GMT+1).
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