As you might expect after a 6-1 home hammering, Manchester United’s manager is under pressure.
You cannot gloss over that the team has under-performed this season early on – but the speed at which the media has turned against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been truly shocking, just three games into the season.
The Athletic are already speculating whether it is time for United to ditch Solskjaer and call on Mauricio Pochettino.
The Mirror reports United are ready to take a tough stance and sack Solskjaer if it is deemed necessary.
After just three games, surely Solskjaer deserves better than this – after a transfer window in which the manager was given none of his first choice targets.
One report from The Athletic even claimed the board are behind Solskjaer, but suggested anonymous players have doubts he is a ‘top, top, manager’.
It was an unsavoury leak, designed to paint both players and managers as the problem – any one but the board.
The blame game has started
The United PR machine has begun to fire up to find a fall guy quickly. They are well aware fans are not happy.
The main reason for this is a shambolic transfer window – and focusing purely on Solskjaer and results is an issue of deflection.
The Mirror‘s report was ugly in terms of how it attempted to portray Ed Woodward as a selfless individual willing to take a tough call to sack Solskjaer for the good of the club.
One thing you will never hear is a claim that Ed Woodward is willing to take responsibility for the club’s problems.
Woodward, a frontman for the Glazer ownership of the club, is onto his fourth manager at United, and every transfer window under his command ends up looking shambolic.
Solskjaer is not blameless, nor is he perfect. His job will ultimately be judged on results, and with a tough fixture list, there is a chance that by November his role is untenable if United lose the majority of the matches after the international break.
But he does deserve better than having sacking stories leak after three games, after a mess of a summer – on and off the pitch.
Until Ed Woodward takes responsibility and either quits his role or moves aside to let ‘proper football people’ run the club, United’s issues will stay the same whoever the manager is, and Solskjaer’s replacement will be subject to the same cycle of flickering hopes of success followed by failure.
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