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When Manchester United lost 2-0 to Olympiacos, Ed Woodward took a photo of the scoreboard as a sobering reminder of his lowest point in charge.
Six years later, Woodward can update it with a snap of the Old Trafford scoreboard on Sunday following United’s stolid 6-1 loss to Tottenham.
He did not go unnoticed in Woodward United’s toughest defeat under him at the hands of José Mourinho, the man he fired in December 2018 for an alleged failure to carry the club forward.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer represented a “cultural reset” for United, a return to the club’s core values of investing in youth, promoted by Sir Matt Busby and followed, with great success, by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Solskjaer led United to third place last season, his best result since Mourinho took him to second place two years earlier, with the decision to name his former striker apparently justified.
(Image: Getty Images)
But, with just three games left in the new Premier League campaign, Solskjaer is under pressure after two losses at home and seemingly without the staff to pull United out of their current crisis.
As the dust settled on United’s biggest loss since their 6-1 loss at home to Manchester City in 2011, the predictable sound came from Old Trafford that it had nothing to do with Solskjaer’s position.
Certainly Liverpool’s surprising 7-2 loss at Aston Villa served to take some of the pressure off Solskjaer.
But United’s upcoming series of games will provide a true test of his position’s security.
Following the international break, United travel to Newcastle, where they lost 1-0 this time last season, to face a Steve Bruce side in the upper half of the table who will make life difficult for the Solskjaer side.
(Image: PA)
After that, it’s a return to France in the Champions League, to the scene of Solskjaer’s best moment as United manager, the 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in March 2019, which secured him the spot of permanently.
With United in such miserable shape and their defense so vulnerable, PSG’s three deadly forwards, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and former Ángel Rojo Di Maria, will relish the opportunity to tear them apart and get revenge.
After the trip to Paris there is no respite, with Chelsea, defeated Champions League semi-finalist RB Leipzig, and Arsenal to meet in a series of test matches.
If he fails in those five games, it will be difficult for United to continue supporting Solskjaer, especially with the specter of Mauricio Pochettino hanging over the embattled Norwegian.
Can Solskjaer turn things around for Manchester United after the international break? Give us your opinion here.
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
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Former Spurs boss Pochettino has always been seen as a waiting United boss and with Ferguson privately endorsing his candidacy, there will be a clamor for him to be named if Solskjaer cannot turn things around.
Solskjaer has faced the same scenario that he finally did for Mourinho two years ago, and United were unable to build on the previous season’s progress in achieving their main transfer goals. But it is always the manager, not the ones in charge like Woodward, who will pay the price for that.
Former United captain Gary Neville accused his former club of being trapped in a revolving door policy of managerial appointments, never giving them enough time or backing in the transfer market to be successful in the long term.
“This is an almost repetitive cycle,” Neville said. “We saw it with Louis van Gaal, when he won the FA Cup final and the club withdrew just as it was building a decent squad and squad. With José, they backed out of that transfer window a couple of seasons ago after giving him a contract.
“I feel like Ole did the best with these players last season, taking them to third place.
“There was no way it would reach the level of Liverpool or Manchester City.
“I thought Jose was playing a game a few years ago when he said it was an incredible achievement to finish second with that team, but on second thought, he was probably right.”
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