Manchester United’s list of managers after Sir Alex Ferguson has had some truly contrasting personalities, both, in terms of playing style and nature, but such direct conflict in ideology has rarely been so evident.
That is the case with Erik ten Hag and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and that ideological divide only widens further with each interaction with Ten Hag.
In many ways, they were polar opposites anyway, as Solskjaer is a club legend who brought the feel-good factor back to the club after Jose Mourinho, while Ten Hag was the master tactician who came to instill a culture.
However, what was not expected was a basic, fundamental difference in how they see their own tenures in charge at Old Trafford.
That is where Ten Hag is directly fighting against Solskjaer’s assessment and evaluation of “success”, a fight that he is losing right now with each loss.
A tale of two managers
First came Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the team instantly felt freed of the proverbial shackles imposed on them by Jose Mourinho.
Immediate improvement was seen and the team that was languishing down the table consistently improved their tally to finish third and then second in successive seasons.
However, there was a major heartbreak, as the trophy drought stretched endlessly. Solskjaer was winning games in the league, his team was scoring goals, but they always came up short.
Mourinho remained the last man to win a trophy at the club but according to Solskjaer, trophies can’t be the sole barometer for success, and can even hide the real struggles.
Try telling that to Erik ten Hag and his repeated comments about United being the second-most successful club in England after Man City due to their two trophies
Firstly, here are Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s original comments for context, said all the way back in March 2021- “In the league position you see if there’s any progress for me, that’s always the bread and butter of the season that you see how capable you are of coping of ups and downs any cup competition can give you a trophy but sometimes it’s more of an ego thing from other managers and clubs to finally win something.
“But we need to see progress and if we perform well enough the trophies will end up at the club again. It’s not like a trophy will say that we’re back, no.
“It’s the gradual progression of being in and around the top of the league and the consistency and the odd trophies. Sometimes a cup competition can hide the fact you’re still struggling a little bit.
“You’ll end up with trophies if you’re consistent enough anyway and sometimes lucky enough.”
Now, to contrast it directly with Ten Hag’s comments which he uses as a retort to any and all criticism at this point- “Listen, we won, the last two years, behind Manchester City, the most trophies in English football, so we performed already the last two seasons. And listen to me, that is the reality, they are the facts.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is winning the fight right now
Would you rather have one memorable game in a season on which everything hinges or see the team play winning football every week with a pattern of play?
Of course, if the latter came with guarantees of no trophies, the former would be preferred, but that’s not the case.
Solskjaer’s United was sometimes remarkably unlucky in knockout games, just like Ten Hag’s United have rode their luck in some games en route to the two trophies.
The reality remains that trophies provide moments of extreme joy, and a place in history, but the league and the consistency in results there shows the progress and potential of the team.
Ten Hag had mitigating factors last season due to injuries, but barring a similarly freak occurrence this season, there’s only so many times he can repeat the two trophies line without it coming across as a crutch to lean on.
Furthermore, as cynical as it sounds, qualification for the Champions League is far more important for a team’s finances than the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
The beauty of winning those two cups lay in the fact that one broke the trophy drought and the other broke a competition drought (FA Cup).
Ask many United fans, and it’s likely they won’t accept another season like last year, as memorable as the end was to it.
Solskajer and Ten Hag have stood on the opposite extremes of this debate and with each league performance and loss, the Norwegian is winning it.
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