When the headline after Saturday’s Manchester United game becomes: “Almost managed to reduce the gap to 14th place”, it is a crisis. We’re not talking about twelve games into the season, but only twelve games left in the season. Ruben Amorim was a beaten man after carving his way to one point at Goodison Park. What makes it all so sportingly dark is that the United manager admits he has no idea what the problem is. Then it’s really time to call Ole Gunnar.
Some are probably tired of hearing us call Solskjaer, but now Ratcliffe and the gang actually have to look back in history what has actually worked at Old Trafford. Although Solskjaer was praised for his final months of the 2020/21 season, self-proclaimed football professor Ralf Rangnick showed that his “I can fix this easily” conviction by the United management led to the opposite. Rangnick was quickly dumped from his advisory role to build United back to greatness quickly, and was told to focus on his temporary job as coach and save the season he himself helped ruin.
Then it was Erik Ten Hag’s turn. Around £600 million of player purchases later, the Dutchman has delivered two cup titles, a 3rd place in the Premier League, then 8th, then on his way to 14th place before being sacked. Just before Ten Hag was weighed too lightly, four months after he was rewarded with an extension, England Goal named Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the best United manager since Ferguson.
This was before Ruben Amorim and the sportingly darkest Premier League streak in United’s history.
For United supporters, it becomes obvious what Solskjaer did for the club when he jumped in in December 2018 and smilingly came in and built up the confidence of the United players. Exactly the same thing the Norwegian has done at Besiktas. A former Besiktas and Turkish international put it so elegantly after Friday’s Besiktas victory.
“Solskjaer’s imprint is becoming clearer and clearer every week. The players had lost all confidence, but he has patched it up. I have full faith in him. Hopefully he will stay at Besiktas for a long time,” says former Besiktas player Recep Cetin on social media.
After watching the United players scramble around Goodison Park and barely salvage the point, we understand that what Manchester United now need is an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to “patch it all up”. It definitely doesn’t calm to hear Amorim on Saturday.
-I don’t know what the problem is. If I knew, I would fix them. Right now, we just have to focus on taking it day by day. We just have to finish this season so we can look forward again,” Amorim said after the Everton game.
There is absolutely no guarantee that this will change in the few summer months before the next Premier League season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has previously responded in the affirmative that he would like to return to Old Trafford as Man Utd manager. We’re guessing a phone call from Ratcliffe with a “please, Ole” and a payment to Besiktas would have made Solskjaer get on the plane to Manchester.
