Ed Woodward, one of the Premier League’s great spin-men, will soon be gone. Much of his eight-year reign over Manchester United has been defined by chaos, one poor decision inevitably giving way to another and another. And at the top of the tree, there is little margin for error.
Amidst the din of little violins which surround Manchester City’s struggles to afford £160 million Harry Kane, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can be heard dragging United into the here and now, sometimes against the efforts of his superiors.
It is fitting too, that the Norwegian has been rewarded for those efforts. As United announced he has signed a new three-year deal worth £25m, with the option for a further year, Woodward turned to the watchword which has epitomised the shift in thinking in the corridors of Old Trafford: “Progress”.
At some stage in every dynasty, trophies must give way to smaller triumphs. That is why Solskjaer has ticked all the right boxes, the outgoing chief executive vice-chairman pointing to United’s relative success – a second-placed finish in 2020-21 and reaching the Europa League final – as having been “achieved with a blend of young, homegrown talent and top-class recruits”.
Confirmation came within 24 hours of Jadon Sancho being unveiled as a United player. His willingness to swap superstardom in the Bundesliga for a new challenge is promising in itself.
The forward’s protracted transfer from Borussia Dortmund is finally over; so begins another all over again. Paul Pogba’s future looks increasingly uncertain as the French midfielder stalls on a new deal, spurred on by the devilish voice at his shoulder of the self-styled super-agent Mino Raiola.
Whether Pogba leaves or not, the feeling in camp is that Solskjaer is indeed making “progress” – a great word, which covers all manners of ills and is intrinsically difficult to measure.
Since taking over from Jose Mourinho in December 2018, initially on an interim basis, he has overseen a return of 180 points – only title-winners Manchester City (221) and Liverpool (217) have fared better.
There is one rather glaring final step that Solskjaer is yet to achieve. An awful record in semi-finals was overcome in the Europa League, only for United to lose to Villarreal on penalties in the final. A trophy is still missing as vindication of the project.
For want of a real alternative, and buoyed by “seeing this exciting team develop further” – and the trajectory will surely be even steeper with Sancho aboard – that is good enough for now.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2UKFwl9
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