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It is becoming a very unsavory tradition at Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson.
For the fourth time since the legendary Scotsman retired in 2013, the man sitting in the Old Trafford dugout faces intense speculation about his future.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer entered Saturday’s game against Everton, and reports suggest that a loss could spell the end of his term.
Fortunately for the Norwegian, those rumors were put to rest for the moment, with an impressive victory over the high-flying Toffees.
But he’s unlikely to keep the wolves out of the gate for long, especially if his inconsistent Premier League form continues.
There have been suggestions that Mauricio Pochettino has been ‘probed’ about the possibility of replacing Solskjaer.
Yet on the surface, the club remains committed to its coach, and United Executive Vice President Ed Woodard publicly endorses the man in charge.
“On the field, while there is still a lot of work ahead to achieve consistency, we remain absolutely committed to the positive path we are on with Ole as the team continues to develop,” Woodward said Thursday.
(Image: Getty Images)
“We miss playing in front of our fans and we are working hard together with our governing bodies and the relevant authorities to ensure that the fans can return safely as soon as possible.”
And while those comments may calm some of the talk, Woodward’s guarantees are by no means guarantees, as two of his predecessors would attest.
In 2013, Woodward gave a similar vote of confidence to David Moyes, just months after he left Everton to replace Ferguson.
“We don’t want the manager to be a hired gun for the next two or three years,” Woodward told the United We Stand fanzine in September 2013.
(Image: John Peters)
“We want the coach to weigh what is right for the team. He can decide. He’s the soccer expert.
“We have a manager to whom we want to give all our support. He has the same power Alex had. “
Despite promising the same support and commitment Ferguson was shown, Moyes walked out the door before the end of that season, without lasting 12 months.
And then, five years later, with the pressure around José Mourinho mounting, the Portuguese received public support from Woodward.
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(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have missed Jadon Sancho in the summer, but he still made some big moves in the transfer market with Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles and Edinson Cavani arriving.
But their start to the season has been mixed, with a home loss to Crystal Palace and a 6-1 beating of the Spurs at one end of the scale, and a tremendous 2-1 win over PSG in Paris in the other.
The question now is whether they can find the right balance.
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On that occasion, he said: “Our board, our investors and everyone at the club are aligned with the fans in what we have to do on the field and that is to win trophies.
“That is one of the reasons why we hired José Mourinho, and we have already won three [trophies] with the.
“Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to increase Manchester United’s 66 trophies and José’s 25.”
Just three months later, Mourinho was fired, replaced by Solskjaer. So while he’s right to be encouraged, the United boss doesn’t need to look too far back to see that the vote of confidence can quickly turn into something else entirely.
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