Manchester United fans would not have tolerated this kind of run of form from Jose Mourinho or Louis van Gaal. They certainly would not have taken it from David Moyes. So what makes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer so very different?
United have taken eight points from their last eight Premier League games. A point a game over the course of a season would get you 38. In old money they would call that relegation form and the only excuse open to Solskjaer is that these are not his players, this is not his team.
Solksjaer’s United, the one that started so vividly under him back in winter, has been steadily regressing for weeks. United are a team devoid of imagination, tempo, rhythm and ideas.
Ole was given the credit for the revival that followed his arrival. That brilliant run of form that peaked in the Parc des Princes as United stunned PSG in the Champions League had United fans worldwide signing Ole’s praises.
But since that win in Paris, United have played 11 matches and won only two. If Ole gets the credit for United’s bounce on his arrival he must take responsibility for what has followed.
He didn’t buy these players but he does coach them and in recent weeks one wonders what they have been doing daily at Carrington.
Solskjaer has said that he is prepared to act ruthlessly against those who have failed to take their chance.
“My job is to work for the club,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports.
“I have to manage for the club, and manage the players, yes. You give people a chance, but sometimes, you’ve got to be ruthless and say: ‘Sorry but you had your chance.’
“‘I’m not afraid to do that.’”
That sounds good, but what has to worry United fans is that Ole followed up that statement by starting Young, Jones, Matic, Mata and Sanchez against Huddersfield on Sunday. Where is the youth that he promised that he would promote?
The pressure is mounting on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and if the United manager does not start next season well, he may find that being a club legend is not enough to save him from being fired.
