Eleven league games into the season and the black clouds have already started to surround the Theatre of Dreams. Manchester United’s recent home loss against arch-rival Manchester City in a derby game didn’t go down well. But that is not the only thing making more and more supporters lose faith in the current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ability.
Both the recent results and the quality of football have been far from convincing. The team is sitting sixth on the league table and have already conceded more goals than 12 other teams in the Premier League. Ole’s capability to manage a team filled with star players is under the strict scrutiny of football experts at the moment, alongside his tactics and team selection. But amidst all these, his former teammate Gary Neville is suggesting that Ole’s stint at United is far from over.
This is what Gary Neville had to say about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
After the defeat in the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Neville said in an interview, “The plan all season has been to stick with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until the end of the season, and that’s where I’m at, even after Saturday“. So, Gary is indicating that United’s owners and board members are not going to side with the majority of their fanbase under current circumstances and are rather willing to back the manager as they have done before.
United are currently 9 points off the table-toppers Chelsea with the same amount of games played but the fans and the experts including Neville believes that with Ole at the helm, the team cannot catch up with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. The recent comebacks against Villarreal and Atalanta may have produced exciting matches to watch for the spectators but doing these repeatedly over the course of a season will only showcase the incompetency of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as a head coach out in the open.
Although Neville believes, the club is ‘not prepared for a new manager’ as they have already slipped out on the opportunity to sign Antonio Conte in recent weeks. As things stand, some reports are linking former RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick with Manchester United but that deal is also quite complicated and just full of rumours at this stage.
According to Neville, the club and its owners have planned something for the future in the past two or three years with Ole being at the centre of it. But at this point, making that dream come true is looking near impossible. So, Neville thinks, if United are going to give their all to defend their plan and their manager, they better do it with their helmets on.
