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Andy Mitten
Andy Mitten

OpinionOle Gunnar Solskjaer can breathe a sigh of relief as win at Norwich stops the rot for stuttering United

  • Red Devils secure first away win of the season at Carrow Road
  • United score more than one goal for the first time since they put four past Chelsea on the opening day of the season

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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can breathe a sigh or relief after a timely win over Norwich. Photo: Reuters
Andy Mitten
Norwich City away was the one to fear for Manchester United. Not Liverpool at home or Partizan Belgrade away, but Norwich. That was the game coaches at Old Trafford knew was vital three weeks ago amid the poisonous mood following the defeat at Newcastle which saw the team slip to 14th. Had they lost at home to their biggest rivals Liverpool, United would have lost to the reigning European champions and a team with a 100 per cent winning record in the league. Partizan a few days later was in the less important Europa League and a group in which United had started well. That could be overcome. Losing to a Norwich team in free fall could not.
United know this season is going to be a tough one which requires leeway from fans should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer eventually become a successful manager. The club intend to be patient with him while he continues to recruit well, to blood young players and to jettison the toxic influences in the dressing room. Not all fans are quite so tolerant and they have a point – Manchester United should not be just above the relegation zone with two wins from their opening nine Premier League games. Nobody expects this team to win the league this season; nobody expects a relegation fight either. Even the most staunch Solskjaer supporters know there have to be some standards, some goals, some entertaining games and less of the drudgery which cost his predecessors their jobs. You can’t be well down the bottom half of the table when you have the highest wage bill in the league, you can’t ask for three or four transfer windows to make someone else’s team your own when you’re losing at Newcastle.

Solskjaer could have talked all he liked about building for the long term – and he’s started doing that by overseeing and sanctioning the signings of Dan James, Aaron Wan Bissaka and Harry Maguire. All three have enjoyed solid starts to their United careers. Yet Solskjaer also needs results in the short term. He can be as bold as he likes in introducing young talents like Brandon Williams, the man of the match in Belgrade, or midfielder James Garner, 18. Fans do want to see kids brought on, but they want to see wins more.

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Norwich had surprised everyone by being promoted last season and done the same when they beat Manchester City in September, but they’d lost three and drawn one of the four games since that shock victory and failed to score in three of those games.

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba has been missing through injury. Photo: Reuters
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba has been missing through injury. Photo: Reuters
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Had United lost at Norwich on Sunday, they would have been 15th in the league after 10 games without an away league win all season. Dissatisfaction with Solskjaer would have started to become more apparent at games, not just online. It really was a must-win.

Nobody will get carried away at beating the 19th placed team, but the 3-1 win shook off several monkeys which have been clambering on United’s back. 

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