The Manchester United leadership decided in an emergency meeting after the defeat (4-1) against Watford to dismiss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the team’s manager. The disastrous dynamics in recent weeks were impossible to save for the Red Devils coach, much questioned since the bad results began to arrive. United are currently seventh in the Premier League table and are 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.
The recent lousy run of results was the final straw for United owners. Very tough defeats such as against Liverpool (0-5) or City (0-2) have been accompanied by others such as the last against Watford or previous ones against Leicester (4-2) or Aston Villa (0-1).
Despite the significant financial outlay made in the summer (Cristiano, Sancho and Varane arrived), United have been unable to be competitive in the Premier and have problems in the Champions League as well. Cristiano’s good overall performance has brought him out of major setbacks, but the situation with Solskjaer had been untenable for a long time. In addition, weighing on him is the fact that he has spent three and a half years without winning a single title (he lost the Europa League final last season).
The doubt now resides in who will be the replacement of the Norwegian. At the same time that Richard Arnold was negotiating the exact terms of the coach’s departure, he was also looking for a substitute for guarantees that could make the ship float. The club’s favorite is Zinedine Zidane, although the Frenchman seems convinced to continue on his sabbatical. Another striking option, depending on The Athletic, is that of Julen Lopetegui, for which it would be necessary to negotiate with Sevilla. Brendan Rodgers, current Leicester manager, has also been valued.
At the last minute, the name of Laurent Blanc, a former United player, among others, also came up. In any case, Michael Carrick, until now Solskjaer’s assistant, will take the team on an interim basis. United need a change of course to meet the demands of a project of which very little has been seen so far.