The Manchester United board has quietened the English Premier League grapevine by appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer permanently; handing the Norwegian a three-year contract.
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has transformed from a baby-faced substitute savant to a leader of one of the most famous of footballing architectures after Ed Woodward took some time out from his role as The Equalizer to hand the Norwegian a three-year contract as the manager of Manchester United.
You can do all the addition and subtraction that you like; an invisible archetype exists in our minds, a lock and key mechanism of fear that means few of us ever reach our real potential. Thank goodness, for the sake of all Red Devils, that fear didn’t prevent everyone involved in the club from making the right deal.
Flip-flops.
Moccasins.
Christian Louboutins.
As The Rock used to spew down the mic ‘it doesn’t matter’ who you are or where you come from great things can happen to us all if we apply ourselves in the right manner.
“This has been my ultimate dream, maybe a naive dream,” said Solskjaer.
It’s the naivety that I adore.
It’s the naivety that is the story within this story.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Manchester United Manager 4.0.
When Woodward appointed the 46-year-old Norwegian on an interim basis in December, replacing Jose Mourinho, United was closer to the bottom of the English Premier League (EPL) than the top.
United sat in the sixth position, 11-points adrift of the Champions League places. Today, they are fifth, two points behind Arsenal on the precipice of Champions League qualification.
Under Solskjaer, United have had a renaissance, losing only one of 13 EPL games, and reaching the Champions League Quarter-Final where they face a stern two-legged tie against Barcelona – and that’s a 73.7% win rate, folks.
Solksjaer enjoyed 11-seasons at the club, with the highlight being his winning goal in the 1999 Champions League Final, a goal that immortalised him in the brick and mortar of this great institution.
Speaking to the press on his appointment, Solskjaer said that one of the first people he called was his mentor, and former gaffer, Sir Alex Ferguson before stressing the importance of ‘improving the squad’ over thoughts of an early EPL triumph.
United haven’t won the EPL since Ferguson’s last season in charge. That was back in 2013, and Solskjaer is the fourth manager to try and step into those Tyrannosaurus Rex-sized boots.
When Woodward appointed Solskjaer, it came at an inspired time with United staring down the barrel of an EPL fixture list containing a succession of fixtures against mediocre teams.
The timing of Solskjaer’s permanent appointment is equally as brilliant.
For all of Solskjaer’s great work, United have lost back-to-back games, been dumped out of the FA Cup against Wolves, and lost a vital Champions League qualification punch-up against Arsenal.
With two ties against Barcelona and ties against Man City and Chelsea coming up, the United board will be hoping that the ‘done deal’ will add the sparkle of joie de vivre required to see United gallop past at least one post.
Manchester United’s Remaining Fixtures
EPL: Watford (H) 30/3
EPL: Wolves (A) 2/4
ECL: Barcelona (H) 10/4
EPL: West Ham (H) 13/4
ECL: Barcelona (A) 16/4
EPL: Everton (A) 21/4
EPL: Man City (H) 24/4
EPL: Chelsea (H) 28/4
EPL: Huddersfield (A) 4/5
EPL: Cardiff (H) 12/5
EPL Standings
1. Liverpool – 76
2. Man City – 74
3. Spurs – 61
4. Arsenal – 60
5. Man Utd – 58
6. Chelsea – 57
7. Wolves – 44
8. Watford – 43
9. West Ham – 42
10. Leicester – 41
11. Everton – 40
12. Bournemouth – 38
13. Newcastle – 35
14. Crystal Palace – 33
15. Brighton – 33
16. Southampton – 30
17. Burnley – 30
18. Cardiff – 28
19. Fulham – 17
20. Huddersfield – 14
EPL Odds
To Win
Man City – 2/5
Liverpool – 2/1
Top Four
Spurs 4/9
Arsenal 8/15
Man Utd 5/4
Chelsea 2/1
Relegation
Huddersfield 1/2000
Fulham – 1/750
Cardiff 1/3
Burnley 11/4
Top Goalscorer
Sergio Aguero 6/4
Harry Kane 7/2
Mohamed Salah 10/3
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 13/2
Current Top Scorers
1. Sergio Aguero – 18
2. Mohamed Salah – 17
3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 17
4. Harry Kane – 17
5. Sadio Mane – 17
Next Manager to Leave
Maurizzio Sarri 4/6
No Manager to Leave 9/4
Marco Silva 5/1
