KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTING —- Dispensing with David Moyes then Louis van Gaal then Jose Mourinho was simple business for Manchester United. Results were disappointing, the dressing-room was unhappy and none of the trio had any significant back story rooted in Old Trafford’s traditions and memories.

Sacking Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, whenever it occurs, is a different matter.

Probably the Norwegian has three games in which to save his job: at Tottenham on Saturday, away to Atalanta in the Champions League next week then home to Manchester City before the ominous hiatus of an international break.

United and their fans are conflicted over Solskjaer. Fans revere him for his dramatic Champions League-winning goal against FC Bayern in Barcelona in 1999; they appreciate his modesty, his honesty and his generosity of spirit.

Even after Sunday’s 5-0 home turf humiliation by Liverpool Solskjaer spent more than 10 minutes signing autographs on the steps of Old Trafford. Most managers under that pressure would hide in waiting for a security escort then drive off at high speed.

But the majority of United fans, to judge from social media and radio phone-in programmes, also believe that Solskjaer is not competent to continue as manager. Sadly. It was an experiment which promised so much but has failed. Team meetings after the 4-2 defeat by Leicester on October 16 and then again after Sunday have erupted in anger and division.

Pogba view

Paul Pogba said openly after the Leicester defeat that change was needed, without specifying whether that meant the manager or among his team-mates. Not that Pogba may be around for much longer, either. Sunday’s sent-off substitute is out of contract at the end of the season and Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain lurk in the wings.

Solskjaer’s record over the opening nine games of the season does not lose anything by comparison with recent seasons or his three ill-fated predecessors. But it’s the dismal performances which condemn him: the tactical naivety, defensive indiscipline, muddle in midfield and fatal failure to press the opposition anywhere on the pitch.

Even worse, Liverpool took pity on United on Sunday. They led 4-0 at halftime and 5-0 soon after. They could have scored many more but eased up. This was perhaps most embarrassing of all.

Everything had begun so well for Solskjaer. He was parachuted in from the Norwegian shadows in December 2018 as caretaker in place of Mourinho. His debut brought a 5-1 win over Cardiff.

This was the first time United had scored five or more goals in a Premier League game since a 5-5 draw with West Bromwich in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge. Victories in Solskjaer’s next four league games made him the first United manager to win his opening five league games since Sir Matt Busby in 1946.

Winning run

A run of 14 wins in 19 games meant the Glazer family and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward could not resist the pressure to confirm Solskjaer in the job.

Forgotten was the fact that his only previous English managerial experience was relegation with Cardiff City in 2014. Forgotten was the fact that his only managerial success had been winning two championships and one cup with Molde in Norway.

Both those 2018–19 and subsequent 2019–20 seasons saw United total 66 points for sixth place and then third. That was only the second time United had finished in the top three since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. In 2019-20 United also reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.

This was the high point of Solskjaer’s reign. He had revived United’s attacking traditions, ruthlessly ousted players who did not suit his style (Lukaku, Fellaini for example) and strengthened the backbone of his team with important acquisitions such as Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire.

Tactically Solskjaer kept it simple and orthodox: four at the back and mostly 4-2-3-1. New talent from the academy has been lacking. The only significant graduate has been Mason Greenwood. Last season United finished second, their best finish since being crowned champions in 2013, and were Europa League runners-up.

New signings

Now it has all unravelled in the space of five months and despite the high-profile signings of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo. Varane’s adjustment to English football has been undermined by injuries; Solskjaer has failed to coax the best out of Sancho; and Ronaldo, despite his six goals in nine games, is too old at 36 to chase back and press.

Manchester United, winning or losing, are always big news. So the broadcast, internet and print media are enjoying a feeding frenzy at Solskjaer’s expense.

In his playing days Solskjaer’s ruthlessness in front of goal earned him the nickname of Baby-Faced Assassin. Instead on Sunday, sitting on the bench bereft of ideas, he resembled a little boy lost.

Moyes lasted one year; Van Gaal two; Mourinho two and a half. Solskjaer, by comparison, has done reasonably well in almost three years. Just not well enough.

#######