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It’s no surprise to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leading the Premier League sack race once again after Manchester United’s dismal exit from the Champions League.
But the Norwegian will simply see it as another day at the office after being under intense pressure for most of his nearly two years in charge at Old Trafford.
This is the fourth time that Solskjaer and ‘the sack’ are mentioned extensively in the same sentence and, just like in his ‘supersub’ playing days, he seems to thrive when in adversity.
Just when all hope of him keeping his job at United seems to be exhausted, they will embark on a winning career and the landscape will change completely.
After Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig, which condemned United to Europa League football after Christmas, Solskjaer desperately needs an answer in Saturday’s Manchester derby against City and more widely, about the busy holiday calendar.
However, we have been here before.
DECEMBER 2019 – Ninth in the Premier League after a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa
Rewinding almost exactly nine months and the honeymoon period that Solskjaer enjoyed when he replaced José Mourinho was nothing more than a distant memory.
Things had started so wonderfully when Solskjaer was removed from his job with Molde and installed as United’s interim boss following the toxic split with Mourinho following a defeat in Liverpool.
Solskjaer’s liberated team won 10 of their first 11 games and were permanently assigned to the spot following that miraculous comeback against Paris Saint-Germain.
But it all started to fall apart immediately from there, with United winning just two and losing 10 of 12 games between that night and the end of the season.
The 2019-20 season hadn’t started very well either, and in early December many were wondering if Solskjaer was really up to the task.
After a 2-2 draw at home with newly promoted Aston Villa, United finished ninth in the table with just 18 points from their first 14 league games.
When Mourinho was fired a year earlier, United had accumulated 26 points from 17 games, so there were strong arguments to say that things had not really progressed.
That particular week had been a good example. United had been shattered in the first half of their game at Sheffield United, losing 2-0 and were in such bad shape that Solskjaer admitted he wanted to replace all 10 outfield players.
United rallied to lead 3-2 but ended up drawing 3-3. A youth team lost them 2-1 to Kazakh minnows Astana in the Europa League and the draw with Villa led some fans at Old Trafford to boo the team.
Before a week in which United would play first Tottenham and then Manchester City, few had much hope for Solskjaer, even if the club’s hierarchy insisted he had their backing.
At his press conference to take a look at the Spurs game, Solskjaer dismissed the dismissal rumors as “lies.”
And they surprised everyone by beating the Spurs and City 2-1 to give the manager a much-needed respite.
If the victory over his predecessor Mourinho wasn’t sweet enough, Pep Guardiola’s victory over City combined excellent counterattack football with determined defense, putting an end to their rivals’ title chances.
JANUARY 2020 – United booed by their own fans after home loss to Burnley
Those big victories kept the wolves out of the gate, but not for long.
At the end of January, following league losses to Watford, Arsenal and Liverpool, plus a home loss to City in the EFL Cup semi-final, the pressure had once again mounted on Solskjaer.
Doubly so when United were booed off the pitch by their own supporters after Burnley clinched their first Premier League win at Old Trafford on January 22.
The result left United six points behind fourth-ranked Chelsea in the race to qualify for the Champions League spots.
The lack of quality in the United team was exposed by the fact that Solskjaer had turned to 18-year-old Mason Greenwood to cover for the injured Marcus Rashford. The transfer window was still open and United was screaming for reinforcements.
“We put our hands up, it’s not good enough,” Solskjaer said after the loss.
Doubts were growing again about whether he could restore United to trophy-winning force, but Burnley’s defeat, or more specifically the signing of Bruno Fernandes for £ 47 million eight days later, was a turning point.
From the bottom of that loss, United somehow embarked on a 19-game unbeaten streak in all competitions with Fernandes having a transformative effect on team performance.
The run, which came on both sides of the three-month Covid-19 shutdown, included two wins over Manchester City, a league win over Chelsea and progress in the Europa League.
Ultimately, he helped propel United to third place and Champions League football, and while they would suffer disappointment by losing the FA Cup and Europa League semi-finals, he ensured a satisfying second season for Solskjaer.
NOVEMBER 2020 – Pochettino looms after chaotic loss to Istanbul Basaksehir
Solskjaer may have received a passing grade last season, but the current one soon yielded another set of problems to solve.
A ridiculously short preseason trade, failed goals in the summer transfer market, a leaky defense, a confusing midfield, and horrendously inconsistent results, to name just a few headaches.
They lost at home to Crystal Palace in the first game of the season and were later humiliated 6-1 by Mourinho’s Spurs.
A mini comeback, which included victories over PSG and Leipzig, stabilized the boat, but Jekyll and Hyde United returned to type with back-to-back losses to Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir in early November.
The form of the goals conceded in Istanbul, in a match in which victory would have put United on the verge of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League, was truly chaotic.
The knives were sharpened again when former players-turned-experts described United’s defense as “under 10 soccer.”
Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino, the man constantly linked to United’s job, appeared on Sky’s Monday Night Football and spoke of his desire to coach in the Premier League again.
But just as many had ruled out Solskjaer, his team bounced back with four straight wins over Everton, West Brom, Basaksehir and Southampton on either side of the international break.
All the successor talk briefly went away but as they say, you are just one game away from a crisis at United and their sad exit from the Champions League, when they only needed a point from two games, leaves Solskjaer with his back to the wall. once again.
It is also true that the opportunity for redemption is never too far away. And, after all, United are only five points off the top of the table with a game in hand.
After hosting City on Saturday, they face a trip to Sheffield United next week, a home game with Leeds and the Carabao Cup quarter-finals at Everton, all before Christmas.
It could still be fun for the United manager.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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