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Sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? Mirror Football writers decide if Man Utd boss should be fired


That night in Paris, when Manchester United knocked Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League, looks some way back in the distance right now.

Each week you don’t think it can get much worse… and yet each week, the beleaguered Red Devils find new ways to prove you wrong.

This weekend, it was at St James’ Park where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side produced another dire, drab, punch-less performance as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle .

That meant that, for the first time in 23 matches as a manager, Steve Bruce emerged victorious against the side for whom he led with distinction some 25 years ago.

Solskjaer waves to the Man Utd fans at full-time

The latest non-showing from his side has led Solskjaer to apologise to supporters, with his side languishing in 12th. He has also admitted that a Champions League return in 2020-21, and even a top six finish, may already be out of reach.

Simply, this wasn’t what he was hired for. Quite frankly, Jose Mourinho was dismissed for less.

So should Solskjaer now go? Should Ed Woodward sack the man he jumped to appoint on a permanent basis back in March, after fine early results as caretaker boss?

With two weeks and an international break until United’s next fixture, we asked Mirror Football’s writers to put themselves in Woodward’s shoes and decide: Should Manchester United sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer?

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John Cross – No

Definitely not.

They absolutely have to stick with him and I think they will. They’ve tried the experienced manager with Louis Van Goal, tried the tried and tested winner in Jose Mourinho and now they’ve gone club legend with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They can’t keep chop changing the philosophy let alone the manager.

They have to back Solskjaer even if they finish mid-table this season.

Every time we start out with a manager, people say he’ll need time and it’ll take three or four windows. One bad run comes on the back of one window and we’re suddenly having these debates. Sorry, but it’s a joke.

United did actually improve their squad in the last window. They really did. £150m on British talent: Harry Maguire, Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. And guess what? They’ve been three of United’s best players this season.

Give them another three windows, a holding midfielder, better options in attack and they might just be getting somewhere.

If they press the panic button, a new manager will come in and he will find the squad is not good enough, just like Solskjaer is now. You really think Jurgen Klopp got it right overnight? He didn’t. Nor Pep.

Stick with Solskjaer, give him time, be true to United’s values of old. That’s giving young players a chance, playing football with flair and another key element: not firing managers every five minutes.

Another tough weekend for the Norwegian

Andy Dunn – No

Now that he has bought into the idea of some sort of project, the least Ed Woodward can do is show a bit of class and give Solskjaer a fair crack.

Below the top two is much of a muchness and with a few players back from injury, results can pick up.

Take stock in the transfer window or at the end of the season.

David McDonnell – Yes

Manchester United let their heart rule their head when they appointed Solskjaer on a permanent basis.

They had given themselves until the end of last season to make a long-term decision and should have waited until then, rather than rushing in and appointing Solskjaer on the back of an impressive run, which was largely down to the bounce effect of a new manager and the lifting of the toxicity left by Jose Mourinho.

It was a reactive decision, rather than one made within the context of a coherent long-term vision, and United are now paying the price.

The current malaise is down to years of mid-management at the very top of the club, with regard to managerial appointments and player acquisitions. United allowed Lukaku, Sanchez, Fellaini and Herrera to leave, without replacing them.

Although Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and James are all good signings, United also needed to bring in a proven goal scorer, established midfielder and a right-sided player. The failure to do that has handicapped Solskjaer and left him with a unbalanced squad lacking in the quality and depth required to compete at the top end of the Premier League.

Sacking Solskjær will not solve those problems, but he is clearly out of his depth and surely cannot survive much longer with United in such a desperate situation, with seemingly no way out of their predicament under him.

Is Solskjaer’s message getting across?

Darren Lewis – No

It is true to say that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears not to have improved (m)any of the players he has either bought or inherited at Manchester United.

The trouble is, United’s biggest problem is a lack of quality – especially in midfield. The truth, also, is that in their current state they are not that big a draw. The time to take over is at the end of the season when you can clear out more of the dead wood.

Would a Max Allegri really fancy the job at this stage of the season with even the January transfer window three months away? Possibly not.

This is a period in which United may have to sit and suffer.

Neil Moxley – No

Whether or not to sack Solskjaer is only part of the question, the rider to this is: ‘Who’s going to take over if the answer is: ‘Yes’?”

There was a huge bounce when the Norwegian arrived. United’s big mistake was appointing him on a permanent basis before the end of last season.

They didn’t have to rush. Where was Solskjaer going? He wasn’t going to walk out of Old Trafford in a hissy fit after not being given the gig.

Be that as it may, the season is barely getting going – although alarm bells should be ringing – because Manchester United aren’t very good, are they?

Decision-maker-in-chief Ed Woodward should, however, start demanding answers from the manager as to why this situation hasn’t improved. He should – in his head – be working on a contingency plan.

I wouldn’t pull the trigger yet. Solskjaer deserves more time.

But the clock is ticking more loudly now. Unless there is a marked improvement by start of December, the situation may become untenable – and if Woodward doesn’t have a back-up, he too should be shown the door if the manager departs.

Woodward’s own position has to be in question also

Mike Walters – Yes

The real issue is not whether Manchester United should sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – but whether he should have been appointed in the first place.

There was always going to be a huge element of risk attached to the knee-jerk rush to hand him the reins after that unlikely Champions League heist against Paris Saint-Germain.

Frankly, United’s record since Solskjaer was handed the manager’s job on a full-time basis in March has been dismal – just four wins, none of them away from home. And two of those wins, against Watford and West Ham , were undeserved.

They are now just two points off the relegation zone and Solskjaer himself already admits, after just eight games, that a top-four finish is a distant prospect.

And to shift both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez out of the club, without replacing either of them, was pure madness.

Sorry, Ole, it’s no longer a case of if, but when. And international breaks seem an increasingly popular time for regime change…

Solskjaer pushed out Lukaku, now scoring goals for club and country

David Maddock – No

No matter how bad things look – and OK, they looking absolutely shocking because it appears he is a coach without a plan – the reality is, Manchester United made their decision only at the end of March to take a new direction.

That direction is to move away from their recent policy of trying to win things with individuals, not teams, by buying old players at ridiculous prices.

The new plan is a young coach building for the future. So, what did they think was going to happen…he’d put together a team of teenagers and they’d win the league this year?

It takes time, it will take at least four transfer windows to get anywhere near a competitive side. Of course you can argue that he is not the man to implement the new plan, but after less than five months of football, how can you know?

James Nursey – Yes

United were ill-advised to give the Norwegian the job permanently last season when he was on the crest of wave after the euphoria of the exit of unpopular Jose Mourinho.

He is blatantly out of his depth and not experienced or successful enough as a manager to make it work.

United should start sounding out candidates now to replace him and pull the trigger on Solskjaer once they have a top quality candidate ready to step in.

Someone like Mauricio Pochettino or Brendan Rodgers, who are both good at working with youngsters, would be my suggestion.

Seeking divine intervention

Darren Wells – No

It was a poor showing against Newcastle, but let’s not forget the recent win over Leicester and the draw with Arsenal – which they should have won.

The players need to take some responsibility for their inconsistency.

When United appointed Solskjaer they could have gone for a number of managers with more proven track records, but they picked him to lead the long-term project and he at least needs to be given some time.

This is no quick fix, as they will need at least two more transfer windows to offload some of the deadwood and bring in players who want to play for United and restore some of the club’s DNA.

The performance rang a few alarm bells, and Solskjaer does need to sort the slump out sooner rather than later, but sacking him now is not the answer.

Tom Hopkinson – No

Sacking Solskjaer now would be pointless.

The man United really need – Mauricio Pochettino – isn’t gettable and even if they did bring someone else in, what’s to say he wouldn’t get a 12 or 13-game bounce as Solskjaer did and then similarly fade away.

That could lead to double the compensation having to be shelled out with no guarantees that the incoming manager would be able to turn the club around either.

Max Allegri and Jose Mourinho are the biggest-name managers out of work but the return of Mourinho is not going to happen and, as much as Alegri has achieved in Italy, there are no guarantees he will make something big happen straight away in the Premier League.

United would be better waiting until the summer while working on Poch – and with him – to make sure that if the deal can be done everything is in place for the transformation to begin.

The ideal replacement is going through his own interesting time at Spurs

Neil McLeman – No

Once again, it is question time at Old Trafford.

Are Manchester United’s performances and league position acceptable? No.

Can you expect much more from this squad? Probably.

But how can teams that United have played in the last two games – Arsenal and Newcastle – have better strikers than the Premier League’s richest club?

And would sacking Solksjaer, who still enjoys popularity among fans, be the solution? I would say not yet.

There is no obvious quick fix. Who would come in – or be willing to come in – to this situation?

Giving Solksjaer the full-time job was a short-term reaction last season and Manchester United need long-term planning. Sacking Solksjaer in mid-season is not the answer.





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