Manchester United fans appeased in the end of last season that change came. Jack Wilkinson examines whether he’s been in a position to deliver on such a promise…
This was the consequence that signalled the beginning of the gloomy death of Manchester United .
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer beginning – a draw out of his first 11 matches and 10 wins – turned into nothing more than a distant memory from the time Theo Walcott rattled to complete a defeat Merseyside.
Gary Neville declared the performance at Goodison Park”rancid” and, after apologising to the traveling United fans unfortunate enough to be present in person, Solskjaer promised change – wholesale change.
It was a steely statement of intention directly out of this Sir Alex Ferguson textbook and, five months on, the manner in suggests it’s a promise he’ll honour.
Ferguson was already barking out orders, before the ink had dried on his first Manchester United contract in 1986. Then-chairman Martin Edwards was advised of the Scot’s desire to sign as much as eight players, and Brian McClair, Viv Anderson and Steve Bruce were signed within 18 months of his birth.
This decisiveness in the transport market appears to have rubbed off on Solskjaer.
Players deemed no longer fit for purpose are shown the door by any means necessary. Whether it be the departures of Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera, Romelu Lukaku and Matteo Darmian’s earnings, or the funding and pushing through of loan prices including Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling – there’s a ruthless edge to United’s payments.
One thing Solskjaer has to master, though, is the ability Ferguson had time and time to accommodate his playing style to match new personnel and stay competitive.
After the humbling defeat at Everton, Solskjaer set out the basic principle that he wants to specify his own time at United. “I want my team to be the hardest working team in the group,” he said. “That’s what we were beneath Sir Alex.”
While this addresses Solskjaer’s first concerns along with his team’s work-ethic, it’s tough to see how that translates into the shift in style United fans are yearning for.
United’s initial four Premier League games this season, and their four final season following the defeat at Everton, provide indication about what he will pay , apart from the fact that it is very much still a work in progress.
On the 1 hand, United have enjoyed more possession, won more duels, conceded fewer objects, and run a mean of 106.9km per game – all positive indications which Solskjaer’s philosophy has been implemented.
On the other, an alarming drop in winning the ball up the pitch and both interceptions suggest it’s going to take some time to allow the squad to successfully juggle their supervisor’s requirements.
And time is what will determine Solskjaer’s odds of success – period. Will he be given the opportunity to see the project he’s started out?
Ferguson famously acquired time, six-and-a-half years before he won his first league name, but it’s a valuable commodity in the modern game. Outcomes have clouded decision on United’s start to the year, but progress is being made to go with the dressing space refresh Solskjaer promised.
“It does take time,” Neville said. “Not only to actually get people in the dressing room all facing the same direction, yet to find the quality in that is needed.
“It required Pep Guardiola 12 months, three move windows. It’s taken four years or Jurgen Klopp three to influence the civilization in what he would say everything he wants to perform and is his culture, his style, and find a team fully.
“This is going to be a very long game at Old Trafford. Solskjaer will want the aid, to play the game that is long. He’s going to have really strong leadership during the next two or three seasons to be in a position to get those five or four transfer windows that he wants”
United are on their clean slate from the seven years which have passed since Ferguson’s retirement. Following the outcome of the previous three below David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, the tenure of Solskjaer is one that’s working but must be granted time to where they feel that they belong, to reestablish the club.
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