 TEDDY’S CORNER

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Dear All

If there is one thing which we must all agree about is that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer loves Manchester United! He tried his utmost best as a manager, and no one can ever deny him that, but it was not good enough. Way back in December 2018, he picked a team which was in shambles on and off the pitch. He reinstated the United way within the internal structures, brought back values which were side-lined during Mourinho and Van Gaal’s reign, signed some great players over the past 3 years and reinstated the youth policy within the Club, giving the likes of Scott and Mason the chance to shine. He had the mammoth task to rebuild a team which would challenge the noisy neighbours and the scousers who have now taken the stance as the best two football teams in England. If I had to criticize Ole from my armchair, I would say that he could have tried to bring more experienced coaching staff alongside him. Alex Ferguson always had shrewd, experienced number 2s alongside him – Knox, Kidd, McLaren, Queiroz, Meulensteen. McKenna and Carrick might be intelligent and good tacticians, they might become great coaches in the future, but during the past 3 years they did not seem to have the cutting edge required to step up the team when it mattered. As for Mike Phelan, he has always been a great guy but not sure he is Man Utd coaching quality (always had this gut feeling, even when he was Fergie’s number 2). We had fans comparing Ole’s first years with Sir Alex. I never agreed with such comparison. When Fergie joined United, he had won the league with Aberdeen in Scotland, breaking the Rangers-Celtic monopoly, won the Cup Winners Cup with the Dons beating the mighty Real Madrid in the final and was Scotland manager in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He had experience and he showed it when dealing with the boozing lot he inherited from Ron Atkinson. Took a while but was it worth it! Ole’s CV compared to Sir Alex when he took over was ‘slightly’ different.

Having been, let’s say, unlucky with the Europa League final, this had to be the year when the bar of our objectives was meant to be raised. With Ronaldo, Sancho and Varane coming in, most of us were dreaming. When we drew at Southampton, the way we played started to drill back those feelings that we were still not good enough. Our style of play still lacked convincing. The optimistic ones like me thought it could be a matter of time until the team gels together and the new signings fit in. However, game after game, it was all about a Ronaldo masterpiece or a De Gea miracle. As Gary Neville rightly pointed out, we were not winning as a team but thanks to individual brilliance. It was getting edgy. Sancho was on the bench most of the time and everyone was questioning why we brought him in after all, especially when most of us would agree that our top priority was

Ole did not seem ready to play any different cards. He sticked to the McFred partnership and completely omitted the option of Van de Beek. In various occasions, he trusted Matic who nowadays is quite slow for the pace of the Premier League. We were seeing abysmal individual performances from players who were shining last season and during the Euros, namely Fernandes, Maquire and Shaw. Confidence disappeared and that humiliating trashing against our eternal rivals was the no-way-back. I heard United fans citing the times when we were battered by Newcastle and Southampton during the Fergie glory days. One cannot evoke such comparisons and escape the contest. The way we gave up against Klopp’s men was embarrassing. The way we never turned up against City was shameful. The performances against Leicester and Watford were saddening. There was no way Ole could have stayed on that bench. Player power? Against who? Ole, the nicest guy you can think of? De Gea saying ‘we do not know what to do with the ball’ after losing 4-1 to Watford gave me and many others a lot of food for thought.

Time to move forward! Ralf Rangnick and the gegenpress. To be honest, I did not know a lot about this coach. His name was being thrown here and there in the speculation pre-Ole’s departure. Probably his profile and pages about his tactical masterclasses have never had so many hits on the web since Reuters reported he would be the next Manchester United interim manager. I have since read a lot about his knowledge of the game, the science he applies to the tactics and the discipline he is renowned for. His philosophy on paper seems to be the right medicine our team needs at the moment but as we all know, the proof is in the pudding. The interim manager will inherit a squad which surely does not lack quality but might have an identity problem on the pitch at present. If the players warm up to him and accept him as their new manager then we might have some exciting t i m e s ahead. The way he has been hailed by so many great coaches he has mentored makes you wonder how good this guy is. He has never managed a Club of the stature of Man Utd. He has never managed in the Premier League. 6 months to instil a philosophy might not be long enough. Expectations at Man Utd are always sky high and I feel that some fans think we found the holy grail. If there is anyone who will carry that grave and risk his/ her life, that is me. But I am keeping my feet firmly on the ground. We can have the best manager in the world, but the football domain nowadays is dominated by player and business power, hence one needs to be cautious with over enthusiasm. I am by nature optimistic and hope to be writing a more positive article towards Easter.

For the time being let’s look forward with positivity, keep supporting our team in the good and the bad and keep that red flag flying high cos Man Utd will never die. Wishing you and all your loved ones a

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Yours United,

Teddy