Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – Do Nice Guys Finish Last?
Welcome back to part two of this three part series in defense of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Perhaps more important than the statistics I raised previously is the image Ole is creating for this team. Any time a team does poorly it is this image that tends to come under scrutiny the most. So, what is Ole’s idea for Manchester United? Do the criticisms of his attempts to mold this team hold any water?
Smoke Without Fire
On the surface, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would appear too nice. He also seems to wait too long to make substitutions in games. Fred against PSG a prime example. At times, there does not seem to be a clear tactical approach other than counterattack when possible. Compounding his situation, sometimes the players can look devoid of inspiration or ideas. What might be worse is the fact that players are not rotated and rested enough under Ole. This leads to injuries like Marcus Rashford’s ongoing shoulder problems or his broken back.
None of these facts are incorrect. I would only argue that on their own they are taken out of context. They can appear as the faults of a naive and inexperienced coach. If we try to look at Ole’s decisions through the eyes of a coach rather than a fan then there is a lot more to consider than just the performances on the field.
Ole Mr. Nice Guy: Tactic or Naivety?
Take the “Ole Mr. Nice Guy” label he has been given. As fans, it is naïve to think that as a student of Sir Alex, the pinnacle of hairdryers, Ole would not have the ability to chew out his players. I believe the nice guy approach he takes in his pressers are indicative of the modern player.
Players are not built on spit and grit any more. The heavy criticisms and aggressive dominating approach of managers from previous generations cannot work with the delicate psyche of the modern player. Jose Mourinho is the perfect example of how an overly critical approach cannot work in the modern era.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still trying to build player confidence and rebuild Manchester United’s culture. He is also attempting to navigate these psychological rebuilds during a pandemic that prevents him from being able to spend any significant amount of time on the training pitch to do so.
Sir Alex wasn’t known for railing his players to the press. He preferred a magnanimous approach in the media and an iron fist behind closed doors. Ole represents the modern approach to this style of coaching and should not be faulted for it. This managerial style has gotten the best out of a lot of players. Luke Shaw, Pogba, Greenwood, Rashford, Fred, Lindelof, Henderson and Dan James have all seen some of their best football since Ole came in.
In Game Management and Tactics
In terms of on field tactics, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does sometimes have a bad habit of having to change up the team at half time. He also has the tendency to make late or no substitutions at all. Yet again, I am calling this circumstantial and placing the blame squarely on the players and the pandemic.
Take Fred being sent off at PSG for example. Many criticized Ole for not taking Fred off after picking up a yellow card, escaping a clear head butt on an opposing player. Compounding Fred’s issues, he seemed intent on continuously giving the ball away and going in on ill-timed challenges. Anyone watching that game could see that Fred was pushing the envelope with the ref that entire game. However, what were Ole’s options otherwise?
The only players on the bench that could have filled Fred’s position in midfield were Matic, Pogba and van de Beek. Matic was too slow to handle the pace of PSG’s attacking players and Pogba had been out for three weeks before the game with an ankle injury and wasn’t fit. Donny on the other hand seems to be a huge question mark in this squad. In that game, and many more like it, my guess would be that Donny just isn’t ready yet.
In so many games this season Ole didn’t have the personnel to be able to change up the game in a positive way. We simply need better players in certain positions. Fred, Matic, McTominay and van de Beek are all great players, but Fred and Matic will never be better than squad players. McTominay and Donny need more time to see how they develop.
Donny van de Beek is a Question Wrapped in an Enigma
I like van de Beek and want him to do well for Manchester United. However, there is nothing that he has shown so far suggesting he is ready to play in this United team. I could talk all day about the treatment of van de Beek, but the bottom line is he was raised as a footballer at Ajax. Ajax are a club that train their players to primarily play in a single 4-3-3 formation with very rigid tactics. This is to say that Donny’s training as a young player was a little too one sided for him. He isn’t ready to be dropped into the Premier League and immediately be successful.
He must learn to play in the fluid formations that are more common at this level. Even his former teammates, de Jong and de Ligt, have hardly lit up the European stage since leaving Ajax. Donny is a good player to hold onto the ball and in transition play. But he needs to add more to his game to guarantee he can displace Pogba or Bruno in the starting lineup.
THOSE Games Against Tottenham and RB Leipzig
Fanning the flames are the results like the 6-1 against Tottenham earlier in the season and the loss against Leipzig. Again, all circumstantial. Martial was sent off against Tottenham after at least one unwarranted yellow card. Throughout that game Tottenham were goading United, trying to the get the team to blow their collective fuse. Credit to Jose, it worked. Going a player down changes the entire approach to a game. Up until Martials sending off United were very much still in that game despite the score line.
Against Leipzig, Ole was forced to put Pogba on the bench because of the comments made by Raiola, his agent, that were hugely inflammatory in the press the night before the game. This tactic of Raiola has consistently plagued United managers. Pogba’s agent has been relentless in his attempts to thwart the United recruitment team. In addition to constantly marketing Pogba, Raiola’s agent fees were apparently at the root of us missing out on Haaland and de Ligt. Would Pogba have guaranteed our success in that game? We can’t be sure but given any time Pogba is not in the team, everyone starts to moan we need Pogba back. I am going to bet that he would have given us a much better chance.
The Domino Effect
Consider the team we must work with. We are forced to play a deep lying double pivot every game because our central defense is too frail. The only player in our defense that we cannot criticize is Maguire, despite his faults. He has played too many games and been too consistent a performer to fault him for his natural weaknesses as a footballer or the fatigue that settles in after playing 50 games a season.
The problem is who plays next to Maguire? Put aside the fact that Bailly seems to want out of United, he is too injury prone and as a result cannot develop any kind of consistency. Lindelof is not fast enough on his recovery runs and is terrible in the air which means he doesn’t compliment Maguire at all. Rojo pissed off to Boca, Smalling left for Roma and Phil Jones is simply nonexistent and a drain on United’s wage funds. The only other center back we have is Tuanzebe who is still young enough to have a few mistakes in him.
The CDM Hole
Because we lack the right partner for Maguire, or a world class CDM, we have to play a double pivot to protect the back line. Fred and McTominay work fine together, but they are not he kind of starting midfield anchors that give you loads of confidence when playing the giants of European football. The double pivot that they play together also prevents an additional midfielder from contributing to attacking play and transition through midfield because of their deep lying defensive rolls.
The real strength to the McFred duo is the durability of both players. Playing two games a week, sometimes three games in a ten-day period, not enough can be said for players who can stay fit and injury free. Combine McTominay, Fred and Matic into one player and you have the midfielder we really need. Until we have enough money in the bank there is no way we are going to purchase such a player. Until then, we rely on the players we know can be fit.
Can Pogba be the Solution?
In short, no. There are a lot of reasons why Paul Pogba is not our solution. The most glaring and obvious reason for this is the fact that for more than 18 months Pogba’s agent has been touting him to Europe’s elite. Unless Ole has the gift of gab, I don’t see him convincing Pogba to stay beyond his current deal. Ole is building for the future. He can’t plan ahead for multiple seasons if one of our star assets is not planning to stay.
Assume Ole can convince Pogba to sign a new deal. The last two seasons have shown that Pogba can be a little injury prone. Regardless of his glaring qualities, he simply hasn’t played enough games the last two seasons for a player with his profile and salary. His goals per game, key passes per game, assists, crosses, tackles have all gone down in the last two seasons.
Lets now assume that Pogba can be convinced to stay and this is a momentary blip in his form. Bruno is the first name on the team sheet when fit. Who plays alongside Pogba? With Bruno the tip of the midfield three, Pogba normally plays on the left of a two-man central midfield pivot.
Where do We Go from Here?
As pointed out above, Donny is not defensive enough to be the third man in midfield. Even though Fred and Pogba have played together many times in the past few seasons, Fred has shown his industry leads to him being out of position too much to compliment Bruno and Pogba. McTominay seems to lack the required tactical nous and positioning to be able to cover and compliment Pogba. That leaves Matic. In his prime he would have been the perfect CDM to sit behind Paul and Bruno, but alas he has lost a few yards of pace and can also be prone to fitness issues.
The bottom line is we have two choices, sign a world class CDM to compliment Pogba while also hoping that he re-signs for United. Or we let Pogba inevitably go and as a consolation Woodward will bring in a bargain bin CDM to attempt to not look so stupid for letting Pogba go.
It’s More than just rebuilding
I would also argue that the pandemic and the current crop of players are the least of Ole’s problems. Rebuilding the undying United culture was his first hurdle, which he seems to have cleared. The second hurdle for Ole is breaking free from the fact that the Glazers have tied his hands behind his back. By all counts the United ownership has not supported any United manager since the early 2000’s when the Glazers took over. Even Ferguson was left wanting
In part three of my defense of Ole I will try to break down what is at the root of the problems plaguing him. Part 3 will be an effort to attempt to look forward to hopefully greener pastures under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The soul sucking impact that the Glazer family has on this club cannot be understated. Part three will breakdown the parasitic effect this wretched family has had on our glorious football club. Stay tuned and as always Glory, Glory Man United.
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