SOLSKJAER’S BEST XI

SOLSKJAER’s by Silvio Scicluna

It has now been over two years since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over the reins as Manchester United manager. In this time he has analysed the players he had at his disposal when he first took over, bought new players in transfer windows as well as moved a few players on that were not in his future plans. Throughout this time, fans and pundits alike have debated as to what the manager’s best XI is and I feel that now, two years plus into the job, a line-up which one can say with a degree of confidence that is Solskjaer’s best XI is clearly beginning to emerge.

When settling on a final best XI, first and foremost a manger has to ultimately decide on what the best tactical shape he wants his team to play in. Solskjaer has tried various formations throughout his tenure but the majority of matches are played in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. We have seen other tactical deployments such as the 3-4-1-2 or 3-5-2 with three central defenders, mostly used against the big six in England or against top teams in Europe. There were also instances when we have seen a diamond midfield in a 4-4-2 formation. Both these setups have been fairly successful when used but, as Solskjaer himself recently admitted, they were used mainly as an adaptation to limit our opponent’s strengths rather than focusing on our threats and expressing how we want to play. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with adopting a ‘horses for courses’ selection at times. For sure it manifests a manager’s tactical adaptability. But, as we have been seeing in United’s recent run of good form (at the time of writing we are second in the league, within reasonable distance of the leaders), when the team plays in a 4-2-3-1 setup, it tends to favour our players’ strengths to the maximum. And sure enough we are now seeing a more consistent selection of players that seems to indicate that the boss is slowly discovering his best XI. From what we are seeing, the following are Solskjaer’s current favourites:

Goalkeeper: David De Gea For the first time in his career at United, De Gea now has serious competition in Dean Henderson. The latter had a stellar season on loan at Sheffield United last campaign. He has broken into the England squad and is not short of confidence. De Gea is still in possession of the no.1 jersey but if Deano stays patient and professional, a permanent changing of the guard might not be too far away.

Defence: Aaron Wan‑Bissaka, Victor Lindelöf, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw Most will agree with me that Wan-Bissaka, Maguire and Shaw are nailed on first choices. Probably the biggest debate is Lindelöf. There have been instances lately when he came into the side that Eric Bailly has shone and there are some who will argue that he is better than Lindelöf. He is however very injury prone and that seems to work against him. Lindelöf, on the other hand tends to suffer against tall strong target men and gets bullied at times. But as things stand, if Lindelöf manages to shake off his chronic back problems, he seems to be Solskjaer’s preferred partner to Maguire and Ole tends to prefer a settled centre back partnership.

As for the full backs, Wan-Bissaka doesn’t seem to have any serious competition at the moment. Dalot has gone out on loan and FosuMensah has left so his understudy is Brandon Williams. Some might argue that United should go out and buy another right back to offer stiffer competition to Aaron and force him to up his

BEST XI

game, ostensibly when going forward and not defensively since he is considered to be the best tackler in the league. If they do, it will not be dissimilar to what the signing of left back Alex Telles has done to Shaw’s evolution. It’s fair to say Luke is playing the best football of his career at the moment and Telles’s arrival has had a lot to do with that.

Defensive midfield: Scott McTominay, Fred The use of a double pivot in front of the defence seems to be Solskjaer’s preference and going on what we have seen, McTominay and Fred have played the majority of the matches this season. In these two, the boss sees stability and security first and foremost. They are both energetic and dynamic type of players, best suited when teams press against us. They can beat the press, win back possession, and allow United to play their favoured counter attacking game with pace. As an added bonus McTominay is also chipping in with his fair share of goals. However, against teams that play with a low block, Solskjaer sometimes goes with a double pivot of Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba, when the onus is more of trying to build from the base with probing passes rather than stifle the opposition. Attacking Midfield: Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford Talk about making the best out of a bad situation! When Mino Raiola came out with the ill-timed bombshell that his client Pogba will not renew his contract with United (on the eve of an important CL clash with Leipzig no less!), many feared that this would have complicated the French star’s relationship with Solskjaer. However, the opposite seems to have happened as both player and manager have made the best out of the situation by putting the team’s interest first. Both men love Manchester United and want the best for the club and the team. Now Pogba is in the form of his life and Ole cannot keep him out of the side. The right sided attacking midfield position might not be the best suited to Pogba’s attributes but it’s working. He’s playing well and scoring goals.

What more can one say about Bruno Fernandes? We have run out of superlatives for our Portuguese magnifico. In the year he’s been at the club, he has been an absolute revelation in the number 10 role. Goals, assists, penalties, free kicks, leadership, inspiration. You name it, he’s provided it. As for Rashford, many will agree that his best position and where he is most effective is as an outside left attacking midfielder. From there he loves to cut in on his preferred right foot and do some damage. Although also good enough in my opinion to play up top, this works best for Marcus when he plays, for instance, in a 3-5-2 with split strikers off the sides.

Central striker: Edinson Cavani When Cavani joined United in the summer, there were many sceptics who thought that this was a questionable transfer at best. How could United be planning for the future by buying a 33 year old on a free transfer, they opined. Those who argued in this manner were not considering the fact that in Cavani, United were acquiring a proven striker of international pedigree. But did he still have it in him? From what we have seen so far, Cavani has not only provided goals but his general demeanour both on and off the pitch has been impressive. His professionalism is without question and he is proving to be quite the mentor for the likes of Mason Greenwood et al.