As Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was described several times in the English media as too kind and too undemanding towards the blasé United players who did not deliver. This was the impression from the outside. English journalists and “experts” took a smiling, playful and empathetic Norwegian as weak. When we hear from Ten Hag about his experience of “today’s players”, we get yet another confirmation that Solskjaer’s so-called weakness was a strength.
Although results were absent for some hectic autumn months in 2021 for Solskjaer’s United (after Ronaldo’s sudden United signing, we’ll just mention it), Solskjaer had led United to 2nd place in the Premier League the season before. Precisely with smiles, encouragement. empathy, but also tough demands and direct feedback to individual players.
We well remember how Solskjaer jumped in as a substitute days before Christmas Eve 2018, when a cranky and seething Jose Mourinho was fired. Then Solskjaer changed everything in the space of a few weeks, where the players got back their smiles, lowered their shoulders and gained the confidence to deliver on the match arena. 26 points from the first 10 games were the result of the Solskjaer method, stronger than any other manager in Premier League history.
After his dismissal in November 2021, Ralf Rangnick convinced the Man United management to pay him for the role of substitute and advisor. We can’t bear to be reminded of how this went, you know the story. Then came the stone-faced Ten Hag in 2022. The “experts” applauded, finally a tough coach who would get a handle on Manchester United and underperforming players.
Where Solskjaer left United in November 2021, the Red Devils were in 7th place in the Premier League, 12 points behind Chelsea at the top. When tough Erik ten Hag was tipped out in the transfer to November 2024, Manchester United were in 14th place.
Erik ten Hag’s agency has produced an interview podcast with his client (where they manage questions and edit answers), it was especially a part of the interview we got hung up on.
-My generation had much thicker skin. You could be much more direct. If I was with my players, they would be demotivated… This generation struggles to deal with criticism,” says Ten Hag.
The players can’t stand being criticized. We think it has to do with the way you do it, Erik.
We let Raphael Varane take his version of what happened in the dressing room with Ten Hag as coach. For the record, we remind you that Varane has played under coaches such as Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benitez, Zidane and Didier Deschamps.
“We had a big conversation (with Ten Hag), where we told each other things we thought, but then I didn’t play for almost two months. I said that I didn’t agree with some things when it came to the relationship between him and the team. It was something I thought was not good for the team, because some of the players were not happy at all,” Varane told The Athletic this month.
We believe the Solskjaer method beats the Ten Hag method seven days a week. For those who are in doubt, look at what is happening at Besiktas with Solskjaer on guard.
