Manchester United have reportedly started planning life without Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as reports are making the rounds that some top officials at the club made contact with Mauricio Pochettino over the possibility of replacing the Norwegian tactician.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2018 as caretaker manager and he impressed the board of the club after winning 14 Premier League games in the remaining 19 matches of the 2018-2019 season. Hence, United offered him a permanent contract on 28 March 2019 which ought to expire in 2022.
The 2019-2020 season was his first full season at the club and it was a mixed season for the 47-year-old coach who is a former player of the club. There was a point in the season some fans of the club wanted him out and then, towards the second half of the season, he began to enjoy the goodwill of most of the fans due to a good run of games.
At the end of the prolonged season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led Manchester United to lose 8 matches, drew 12, and win 18 matches in 38 Premier League games which were enough to overtake Leicester City and Chelsea on the league table. He and his boys finished 3rd behind Manchester City and Liverpool.
Though with this performance, most fans of the club were having high hopes that such a good run of games would continue in the 2020-2021 season, some fans of the club were still left disgruntled because Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led the team to three semi-finals – EFL Cup, FA Cup, Europa League, and failed to win any of the titles.
Fast forward to the new season (2020-2021), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his boys have been finding it difficult to settle down and play like the Red Devils the fans want. In three Premier League games, they have lost two and won only one game. It is so bad that United have conceded a total of 11 goals and the team managed to score just 5 goals in three matches which have placed them in the 16th spot on the league table.
To make matters worse for Solskjaer, he led United to lose scandalously on October 4 when Tottenham visited Old Trafford for the hosts’ third Premier League match. Tottenham won 6-1 which has apparently clicked the panic button at United.
Though some critics believe that the current state of the club is not solely the fault of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but the fault of the entire board of the club, yet, the board of the club feels the way forward is to get a new manager if Ole continues to turn out unfavorable results.
Hence, Pochettino who has been without a job since he was sacked by Tottenham in 2019 due to a poor run of games is seen as a possible replacement for Ole.
According to a report by Daily Star, Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is not ready to sack Ole despite the call for his sack, but Woodward’s disposition might change if United’s poor run of games continues.
