Manchester United have been a team in turmoil since the departure of Alex Ferguson, during that time they have gone through 4 managers and whilst there has been a smattering of success and silverware, they are far removed from the team who showed such dominance for such a long period of time. United have once again gambled in an attempt to get back to where they were, hiring the likes of club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and backing him heavily in the transfer window. You get the sense that United just need a solid season or two to get back on track, will this be the gamble that gets them there? Bogoljub Karic and I take a look.
Signings
It was apparent last season that this United defense was not fit for purpose, players like Jones, Smalling and Rojo would struggle to get into many teams, and whilst Bailly and Lindelof have been solid, they need support. This is why Solksjaer has gone to the market and bought young English hopefuls like Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who cost £130 million collectively. These players will most definitely give United more depth and a more dynamic defensive line-up, assuming that they both hit the ground running.
Heartbeat
One of the biggest issues with United is that they have brought in too many mercenaries, players who play for the cheque and not the club and with just 4 days left until the transfer window closes, they have failed to get them out of the club. Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba, Matic, Lukaku, players who have failed to reach their talents regardless of which manager is in charge. United need to get these bad apples out of the dressing room if their gamble is going to pay off. The talents of these players, especially in the case of Pogba and Lukaku is there for all to see, but these players have poor attitudes and that is something which Fergie would never have stood for.
Ole Ole Ole
When Solskjaer came in after the players turned on Jose Mourinho, it made sense, a club legend who understands the fabric of this team and what it means to pull on the red shirt. He was the perfect man to come in, shore up the team, gee up the players and essentially become a much needed cheerleader. The team got that new manager bounce and they ended up finishing the season in much better shape than when Ole took over. Sadly however, we believe that this is not the man for the job, he has never proved himself in management, at least not to compete at this level and unfortunately his lack of experience, man management and tactics will come back to bite him. When the pressure is added to this situation, we expect Ole to be the first one thrown under the bus.
The transfers which they have made could very well pay off, the decision to give Solskjaer a contract however, is something which won’t.
