Manchester United were so desperate for a cultural reset after the toxicity of Jose Mourinho’s tenure that they lost sight of what was unfolding on the pitch.
Sources within the club have insisted to i that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaves United in a far better position than when he took over, with his successor, whoever that may be, having “strong foundations” to build on.
The appointments of a first-ever sporting director and football director earlier this year, former midfielder Darren Fletcher and John Murtough respectively, was seen as a big step forward for the club, something Solskjaer played a prominent role in pushing for.
What has transpired in the last month, however, as United inexplicably overlooked serial winner Antonio Conte to give Solskjaer yet more time to see his project through, shows that while there may be a new structure in place, the senior figures at the club are still making the same old, ill-advised poor decisions.
The club were desperate to see Solskjaer succeed, which is why they delayed sacking the Norwegian even after the humiliating defeat to Liverpool last month and the chastening experience at home to Manchester City that followed.
With the league position slowly improving year on year – Solskjaer steered United to the first back-to-back top-three finish of the post-Ferguson era last season – the club were so satisfied they gave the Norwegian a three-year deal at the start of the new campaign.
The warning signs, however, were simply being ignored. While the results were impressive – such as the record 29-match unbeaten Premier League away record – the performances, time and again, were below par, with individual brilliance from an expensively assembled squad bailing them out, week in, week out.
One major contributor to the chaos has been the future of Ed Woodward. The executive vice-chairman had been due to depart the club at the end of the year, but his exit has still not been finalised, with sources telling i that he could stay on for a few extra months before taking a consultancy role at the club.
With the Glazer family owners remaining very much out of the day-to-day running of the football side of things, Woodward winding down and Fletcher and Murtagh honing their craft, Solskjaer has remained without too much scrutiny, until another disaster at Watford became too much.
Sacking the Norwegian came as no surprise, which makes it even more unfathomable that the club did not have alternatives lined up. In November, with 26 league games to go, United are effectively writing off this season by planning to start with Michael Carrick in charge, before appointing an interim until the end of the season followed by a permanent coach next summer. They do not know the identity of either of these appointments.
The foundations may have been laid, but the structure is still unsound. More so than ever.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3CDSQYF
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