Manchester United were quite clearly not prepared for this alarming collapse in form.
Not wanting it to happen is one thing. In some ways the club’s optimism on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is commendable.
But not having a contingency plan in event of total collapse is gross mismanagement and under-planning, for a club of United’s size.
It has become quite apparent that Manchester United had no ‘plan B’.
Interim troubles
United have stood by Solskjaer and chosen not to act. But the board cannot be impressed with results.
One clear reason for not wanting to make a decision so far could be due to concerns over who would step in.
Long-term targets Mauricio Pochettino and Erik Ten Hag are in work and unlikely to become available anytime soon. So United would prefer to wait until the end of the season.
In that event, who steps in between now and the end of the season?
Nobody on Solskjaer’s current staff could credibly step into a role as his interim replacement.
Mike Phelan is too closely tied to Solskjaer to be seen to actually make an impact on the players, while Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna both lack the experience to take over, and are likewise also too closely associated to the Norwegian.
There are no obvious caretaker coaches outside of that already at the club, barring promoting an under-qualified youth coach.
And there is little sense bringing in a former United player from outside the club to become caretaker/interim boss. The club did this with Solskjaer and are still playing it out.
Don’t go there again
The experience with hiring Solskjaer as interim boss shows the trap United can fall into. Even if the perfect candidate was readily available.
An interim manager should be exactly that. A bridge to a better, preferred option.
United lost sight of this with Solskjaer. The club were swayed by his impressive interim results and hired him full time in March 2019, rather than sticking to their original plan to calmly evaluate options in May. The team’s form nosedived shortly after.
The club should have absolutely no appetite to go down this approach for a second time, unless the interim boss was of the highest quality, like a Ralf Rangnick, if he wanted to be considered on a short-term basis.
The decision appears to be (a) stick with Solskjaer or (b) hire a permanent replacement right away.
United are ill-prepared for this, from all angles. From the perspective of finding a permanent successor and also to have an interim ready, if this secondary ill-advised route was selected.
A move to dismiss Solskjaer could still conceivably happen this week. The club have had two weeks after the Liverpool result to prepare for this.
For many fans the 5-0 home defeat was the final straw and that is when the changes should have been made. Two weeks on, a lack of preparation for such a meltdown has left United dithering, without direction, and surely behind the scenes – scrambling to assess potential replacements.
There’s either a lack of ambition at United or incompetence. Quite possibly a mix of both.
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