How Solskjaer Got Sacked From Old Trafford

The inside story of Old Trafford’s latest managerial mess is that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was officially sent packing from his managerial duties due to confusing tactics, misguided selections, and bemusing team talks.

Reports said all these issues and more led to the Red Devils legend being dismissed on Sunday by the United management after almost three years on the saddle.

The lack of structure, identity, and plan cost was costing United week in, week out, and the dismal showing at Vicarage Road on Saturday confirmed that there was no way back. An emergency meeting on Saturday night between Joel Glazer and Woodward set the wheels in motion for firing Solskjaer; a decision that many of the United faithful believe should have been taken weeks ago.

Managing Manchester United was for the Norwegian only supposed to be a temporary measure. He was the club hero brought in to repair the damage done by Jose Mourinho; to boost morale, get the team back on track and bring about a cultural reboot.

And to that end, he succeeded. But having been handed the reins on a permanent basis, he was suddenly tasked with returning the Red Devils back to the top of the English and European game.

Unfortunately, such a task has proven elusive for elite managers in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and so it was for someone of Solskjaer’s lesser coaching capabilities too.

With United sitting 12 points off Premier League leaders Chelsea after just 12 games played following another humiliating defeat against Watford on Saturday, the board’s hands were forced, and Solskjaer had to go.

It all started unraveling for Solskjaer after the 4-2 defeat at the hands of Leicester City on October 16. Despite talks of a ‘crisis’ following United’s slow start to the season, there was real belief during the October international break that they could turn it around.

But following their humbling at the King Power Stadium, players began to question whether the team was on the right path. Senior members of the squad began to question Solskjaer’s tactics while there was confusion as to why club captain Harry Maguire – who was at fault for at least one Leicester goal – had been picked to start, despite not being fully fit having been rushed back from injury.

It is not the first time Solskjaer’s decisions have left players bemused, either. GOAL understands that during pre-season, United worked on a more attacking 4-4-2 diamond formation, as well as a 4-3-3 system, both of which gave hope of more minutes to fringe players such as Donny van de Beek and Jesse Lingard.

Solskjaer outlined with those players what his expectation would be in terms of their playing time over the season, only to then revert to his comfort blanket of 4-2-3-1, leaving those players who thought they could be in with a chance of forcing their way into the starting XI back on the bench.

Solskjaer is a nice guy. He is the sort of man who said goodbye to every member of staff at Old Trafford as he left, and stopped for selfies and autographs with fans even when the result had been terrible.

But that did him more harm than good in some ways, as it became clear that he did not like having difficult conversations. It was gathered that players were not given explanations as to why they were being left out of the team, and Solskjaer found it difficult to make hard calls on big decisions.

Inside the club, Solskjaer will be fondly remembered for all that he did in the healing process after Jose Mourinho’s reign, while on the pitch he did get the team to second place in the league and a Europa League final.

But mounting a serious title challenge, even with over £450 million ($605m) spent on transfers, always looked beyond him. The belief is that Solskjaer has left Manchester United in a far better place than when he took over.

However, the interim manager that replaces him faces a huge task in getting the team back on track this season. Once more, they are in a mess of their own making. – With Goal.com reports

Solskjaer’s time at Old Trafford