The turnaround against Atalanta has given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer some relief, but football experts are skeptical whether Solskjaer is the right person to steer Manchester United further.
– The impression you get is that they rely heavily on people who have good days and get them done. And that there is no system and a clear plan when they have the ball. I think that’s a weakness that makes them a little weak, England-based football journalist Lars Seifertsen tells VG.
After just one win in five games, Manchester United showed their potential when they turned the Champions League match against Italy’s Atalanta on Wednesday: 0-2 in the first half turned into a 3-2 victory.
– I don’t know how much back to Solskjær. I think it has more to do with the incredible mental strength of Ronaldo and the other players on the team, said French football journalist Julien Lorenz on an episode of the ESPN FC podcast published on Thursday.
On Sunday, Liverpool await the other half of the field at their home ground at Old Trafford.
Read also
I think Solskjær is safe: – A big surprise if he has to leave before the end of the season
Frank Leboeuf played for Chelsea for five years and won 50 matches with the French national team. In an episode of the ESPN FC podcast published last Sunday, he compared Manchester United to Paris Saint-Germain’s All-Star Show.
You have individual players, but you don’t have a team. What will they do together? It’s as if they don’t know each other. They don’t know what to do when they have the ball and what to do when they don’t have the ball. Lubov says it’s a big mess.
– When you see the Manchester City, Chelsea or Bayern Munich match, you see tactics, an idea, an idea of how you want to play. It is an identity. I don’t see anything at Manchester United now. The French thought they used to have it, but they no longer have it.
You won’t be able to win the league
After the 4-2 loss to Leicester last Saturday, critics were in line, and former Liverpool goalkeeper Jamie Carragher believed United would never win a major title with Solskjaer ‘at the wheel’.
“He is not at the level of other coaches like Klopp (Liverpool), Tuchel (Chelsea) and Guardiola (Manchester City), who have several years of experience winning big titles,” Carragher told Sky Sports. studio PL.
Sivertsen points out that Solskjær delegates more responsibility to his subordinates in the field of training than the aforementioned managers.
The trend in football has been much more towards coaches who are very active in coaching. Who are very involved in the details, considering how the team will play. In this sense, Solskjær differs markedly from his competitors.
Jan Åge Fjørtoft has followed Solskjær closely for Viasat, and believes Solskjær has done a lot right in order to cement the club’s values once again.
– What I scored in the match against Atalanta was that the fans deliberately stood behind Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It was quite clear that the club’s true ‘shareholders’ said: ‘You know what, we want it. We support it’, says Fjørtoft.
– Who’s the manager?
Former Manchester United player Peter Schmeichel knows Solskjaer’s entry was of great importance in bringing Manchester United together as a club.
No matter what he achieves as a coach, he has regained the heart and soul of the club, Schmeichel wrote in his autobiography One.
– Sometimes you wonder who’s doing what with Olly and the coaches. Who is the real boss? who decides? When he is interviewed before the game, he is happy to say: We chose this team. I think, “You’re the boss,” added Schmeichel. times.
The flat form of management also sparked outrage for French football journalist Julien Lorenz at ESPN FC.
– What really bothers me, and maybe I put a lot into it, but it goes to the assistants all the time. To Mike Phelan. The entire first half (against Atalanta) went between them, and I just think “come on – you have control here,” says Lorenz.
note! With VG + Sport you can catch up on the big game with radio commentary from LFCTV:
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”