On The Ball | Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs support to succeed

Manchester United fans have been understandably annoyed that no new players have arrived so far in the January transfer window. Midfielder Bruno Fernandes is expected from Sporting Lisbon, but anger, stoked by five defeats in a month, prevails. Too many fans rounded on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the press conference before Wednesday’s game at Manchester City. His crimes? A tongue-in-cheek comment that Alexis Sanchez would come back and prove the media wrong when (if) he came back from loan in Italy. What else should he have said? “Alex Sanchez was a complete flop while at United. I was not responsible for him coming but I gave him plenty of chances. I was happy to let him leave because he earned too much money and this was becoming an issue in the dressing room. He struggled to integrate, was a bit of a loner and wasn’t the best team player either. That’s why I was happy for him and others to go.” That would be closer to the truth, but imagine the reaction if those were his words? He has to play the game and we are not talking football. Solskjaer protects his players publicly but it’s not solely that which motivates him. He wants to try to get Sanchez off the books, ideally for money, in the summer. Talking him down will have the same effect on demand – and price. I’ve spoken to Solskjaer off the record and he’s very different from the common perception. He’s harder, smiles far less, more impassioned, less trusting and very determined. He’s also no fool. There are fans out there that don’t want to hear this because his team have been poor and he’s failing to get results. Not without reason, he was criticised for going into the season with a squad that was a few injuries from looking threadbare – and gaping holes have now emerged. Context is everything in understanding Solskjaer’s response. He was never going to answer a question on United target Fernandes on Tuesday, so he smiled while saying it was a waste of a question and there was no update. Reported as “Solskjaer snaps at Bruno Fernandes” question and “Solskjaer lets rip with Sanchez claim after Fernandez query”, that revved the issue up several notches. Indeed, if it was Alex Ferguson saying this it would be recognised as a classic distraction tactic. This season has been a rocky one for United and Solsksjaer has made mistakes, but United are fifth, one place above where they were when he took over. Unconvincingly in fifth, it must be said. It’s better in the cups where United have won nine of their 13 games, topped their Europa League group, reached the League Cup semis and come through a tricky tie against Wolves away in the FA Cup. United have fallen massively, but Solskjaer isn’t doing badly all things considered since United had screwed their recruitment long before he arrived. It’s said the Norwegian looks out of his depth. Which recent United manager, exactly, looked comfortable enough to wear his slippers in a press conference as Ferguson once did? Solskjaer’s not short of critics. He doesn’t have a body of work to his name as previous managers, he’s considered tactically naive, though you didn't hear that when his side beat Chelsea (twice), Manchester City, Leicester or Spurs. Solskjaer’s bizarre ‘long ball’ Liverpool jibes don’t stand up to scrutiny He’s painted as a Glazer stooge covering for his bosses as they leech on the club as it fails. Ferguson was hardly outspoken against the Glazers, was he? Solskjaer had nothing to do with that takeover. Ferguson did. There are other factors here. His predecessor, Jose Mourinho, was criticised from rubbishing his players publicly – “hanging them out to dry” in football parlance. Players hated that and it added nothing to team spirit. Sergio Ramos said Mourinho had never worn the shorts of being a player. Solskjaer has and knows what it’s like to be protected by a manager. I’m not going to pretend that the team spirit is high or that every player adores Solskjaer. They don’t. They didn’t all love Fergie or Matt Busby either. Man United fans right to worry as club trades places with Liverpool Solskjaer does have something in common with Mourinho: an excellent yet slightly imperfect command of English. This costs them, especially when things aren’t going well. Tiny nuances or an incorrect word choice can be twisted against them, unfairly so. What’s the alternative? Get an assistant with better English like Marcelo Bielsa or Mauricio Pochettino? Louis van Gaal’s imperfect English was endearing at first, infuriating after a while. Despite his perfect command of the language, David Moyes’ message was often mangled by the media, too. If your team are winning you can say what you want and the opposite is true. Ole on Wednesday's game: "It has to be a perfect performance to win with two goals against such a good team away from home. "We've done it against good teams before, and of course, the game in December gives us hope we can do something there." #MUFC #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/osEwbxDVVt — Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 28, 2020 Solskjaer might become a great United manager, he might not, but what would a new manager change right now? You think that Max Allegri would come in speaking in a Salford accent and waving a “Glazers Out” flag? He’s damned if he does or damned if he doesn’t right now, but if he’s going to survive, he needs support. From the fans, from his players and especially from those above him, because it’ll be their reputations which are shredded if he’s sacked.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}On The Ball | Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs support to succeed

On The Ball | Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs support to succeed