So, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer limps connected astatine Manchester United, seemingly present operating connected a game-by-game ground portion the club’s hierarchy weighs up whether helium is inactive the close manager for England’s biggest team.
Could a nonaccomplishment to Tottenham successful the Premier League connected Saturday beryllium the decisive blow? Does a hectic docket of 3 games successful a week — United plays Atalanta successful the Champions League connected Tuesday and Manchester City successful the league 4 days aboriginal — mean he’ll past astatine slightest until the planetary interruption that follows?
No 1 tin beryllium certain. One happening is for sure, though: Solskjaer is warring to support his occupation heading to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this play and thing needs to drastically alteration if helium is to technologist different turnaround successful his turbulent 3 years astatine United.
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Nostalgia has been 1 of the characteristics of his clip arsenic United manager — it's understandable, fixed helium was a cardinal portion of that trophy-laden epoch nether Alex Ferguson arsenic a player. And the show of the 79-year-old Scot astatine the club’s grooming analyzable this week seemed fitting amid uncertainty astir Solskjaer’s presumption following the crushing 5-0 nonaccomplishment to Liverpool past weekend.
However, it is with a motion to his astir caller past astatine United that Solskjaer mightiness yet get done this crisis.
Much of the investigation surrounding United’s pitiful show against Liverpool focused connected the team’s inability to property efficaciously arsenic a squad precocious up the field. With nary unity oregon cohesion successful United’s pressing game, Liverpool, arsenic different opponents person demonstrated this season, had an casual clip breaking done the midfield and unpicking a defence that was woefully unprotected.
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“I was embarrassed. I americium embarrassed,” United guardant Marcus Rashford wrote connected Twitter precocious Wednesday, breaking his soundlessness connected societal media since the Liverpool game. “Our fans are everything and you didn’t merit that. We’re moving hard to effort and hole this. We person to redeem ourselves.”
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To bash that, to fundamentally prevention his job, possibly Solskjaer has to spell backmost to what has served him good for a ample portion of his tenure and revert to mounting up his squad to beryllium deeper and play connected the counterattack. After all, adopting that attack is however United has managed to enactment undefeated against City successful the league successful their past 4 meetings, winning 3 of them, and however United kept 5 cleanable sheets successful six games combined against City, Chelsea and Liverpool past season.
It mightiness look to beryllium a measurement backmost for Solskjaer, an acceptance that helium hasn’t precocious United’s play contempt immoderate large attacking additions to the squad successful the past 2 years successful the signifier of Bruno Fernandes and much precocious Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho.
But the existent concern mightiness request it, particularly implicit the adjacent week with Tottenham truthful effectual connected the interruption done Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, Atalanta prone to going each retired successful onslaught and leaving gaps successful its defense, and City having had problems dealing with United’s counterattacks.
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“Of people we person the tactics and however the manager wants america to play, but I deliberation astatine times we’re mode excessively casual to play against,” United defender Luke Shaw said successful a candid assessment.
“I think, for example, you look astatine the archetypal goal,” helium added, referring to the Liverpool game, “it can’t beryllium imaginable that they tin person 3 moving done successful the archetypal 5 minutes. We request to beryllium much compact."
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Personnel mightiness person to change, too, which puts the spotlight connected whether Rashford and Mason Greenwood bash capable antiaircraft enactment to support their spot connected the wings and whether Fred and Scott McTominay tin beryllium trusted arsenic the antiaircraft anchormen.
And past there’s Ronaldo, who continues to people goals astatine a relentless complaint but who — astatine 36 — does small else. As the lone striker, helium doesn’t person the enactment complaint to support from the beforehand similar Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino oregon Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus oregon Phil Foden.
Ronaldo mightiness inactive beryllium mobile enough, however, to pb United’s counterattacks if the squad breaks from deep.
The Portugal guardant is the large quality from the United teams from the past 2 seasons, on with the emergence of Greenwood arsenic a imperishable starter connected the close wing. They mightiness person go issues erstwhile it comes to the operation of the team, though, adjacent if they are United’s apical 2 scorers.
It makes Solskjaer's squad enactment against Tottenham fascinating, arguably his astir important arsenic United manager. Get it incorrect and it could spell the extremity for the nine large who is moving retired of time.
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