Ole Gunnar Solskjaer out: Manchester United search for new manager as owners lose patience with club ‘legend’
- A 4-1 away loss to Watford proves to be the final straw for United owners, with the club in seventh place and 12 points behind leaders Chelsea
- ‘Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision,’ read a club statement
As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer trudged forlornly towards Manchester United’s fans at Vicarage Road, the merciless booing that greeted the ashen-faced Norwegian served as a bitter coda to his failed reign.
United had just suffered a 4-1 thrashing against lowly Watford, the latest in a long list of calamitous defeats during Solskjaer’s three years in charge. The axe was about to fall on the United manager and the club’s supporters had finally turned on a man they regarded as a legend for his heroics during his Old Trafford playing days
Solskjaer was sacked on Sunday with seventh-placed United languishing 12 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and six adrift of the top four. It was a dismissal that felt years in the making after Solskjaer repeatedly dodged the bullet during previous troubled periods.
“Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision,” a club statement read, adding that Michael Carrick will take the helm. “While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.”
There was an alarming lack of cohesion, direction and fight in a star-studded team that flopped despite the close-season signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.