The Absolute Chaos Of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United –
The day before a game, we usually train tactically based on how the opponent plays. Before United, Pep said, “We don’t know how they’re going to play. We shall see.” And we stopped training after 10 minutes. That was Kevin De Briner speaking about Olegon Solire’s Manchester United. >> Yeah, but mountains are there to be climbed, aren’t they? During one of the roughest transitions to mediocrity in all of existence, Manchester United, in [music] their desperation, decided to gamble on something that they did not
fully understand. Vibes, nostalgia, fan service, all of the above. The most shocking thing about this is it almost worked kind of. United under Solire was in a lot of ways the most memorable Manchester United post Ferguson. It had everything. the new manager bounce, the club’s signing of the decade, the return of the king.
For a second, it really did look like everything was falling into place until an unfortunate series of events led to the downfall of this tenure, leaving a lot of people thinking, “What could have been had things been different?” Unfortunately, God did not want this generation of United fans to experience pleasure. So, of course, we will never know.
But for the plot, perhaps the ride was worth it. And it all kicked into gear thanks to a special dismissal. [music] Seven wins in 17 games, the worst start to a season in 28 [music] years. That’s how Jose Mourinho began the 2018-19 football season as Manchester United manager. Days were sad.
We’ve already covered the details of it in another video if you want the complete context, but all you really need to know about this period for the purposes of our current story is that by the time Manchester United played Liverpool on the 16th of December 2018, there was already a strong feeling that Mourinho’s stint had run its course. According to some reports, 90% of the squad had lost respect for Mourinho.
I don’t think the reports were necessary, if you ask me. We could all see what was happening with our own eyes. The football was dire, the atmosphere toxic. Paul Pogba, stripped of the vice captaincy, was openly feuding with the boss. These two were having rap battle staredowns during training sessions. It was a lucrative day to be a lip reader.
Let’s let’s just leave it at that. So, rocking up at Anfield right at the start of Liverpool’s best era since before the league even began was never going to end well. Liverpool, the soon-to-be Champions League winners of that season, had 36 shots at David Deea. They had 65% possession.
There were 11 men and 11 training cones on the pitch that day. Mourinho was sacked a day [music] later. So, here we were 6 years post glory days. Every effort to reestablish what was once the status quo proved futile. Mourinho, a win at all costs. Grinder did not work. Louis Vanhal, inexperienced disciplinarian, did not work.
Moyes, an in attempt at a carbon copy in the form of a fellow Scott, I guess. Nope. Here’s your fun fact of the day. Mourinho was fired 6 months after David Moyes’s original contract was supposed to run until some food for thought. Sir, Alex Ferguson had reportedly drafted a four-man short list of managers he wanted to take the reigns upon his departure.
The club had burned through two of them in Vadal and Mourinho at this point and the other two were unfortunately managing Liverpool and Manchester City. I doubt those two were were still options. But perhaps that did not matter. Perhaps the reason United were failing was because the incoming man did not understand the club at a fundamental level.
As a matter of fact, every one of the managers since Fergie was accused of just that to to some degree. Perhaps what United needed was someone familiar with saving the club from impossible situations. [music] In a very surprising turn of events, Manchester United appointed the manager of Moulder of the Norwegian first division.
[music] It was on a caretaker basis, so nothing drastic. Still kind of odd, right? Not until you saw who it was. >> SA FOR MANCHESTER UNITED. MAGNIFICENT GOAL GOES GOES goes >> the man dubbed the babyfaced assassin. Over an 11-year period at the club as a player 96 to 2007. Oleshshire was more or less never a guaranteed starter apart from one year in 2003.
But he made his mark in so many other ways, mainly as one of the most effective super subs of all time. In a lot of ways, he had the best seat in the house as a fan more than anything else and in doing so excelled at analyzing the game before making an impact. Moreover, he made many an impact of the Lost Ditch variety. Newcastle know this all too well, but nobody knows it quite like Bayern Munich.
>> You’d have a tough job finding any fan of the club that held ill will towards him. The Manchester United board were well aware of this and it’s pretty clear that they sought to take advantage of it. The decision-making across the board since Ferguson’s departure had been nothing short of abysmal.
Transfer activity had been in the mud courtesy of the almighty Ed Woodward. Many a golf course had been enjoyed by the Glazers. All while Peter, aged 10, routinely endured emotional abuse on the playground. Solar was not hired for his managerial record. For that he boasted a good career in Norway with Moulder, a couple trophies to boot, and an abysmal one in England with Cardiff City.
He took charge of them in January 2014. And like the iceberg that chef up the Titanic, he sent the ship that is the Bluebirds right down to the bottom of the ocean. Relegation and out the door by September 2014. Soulshshire, albeit hired on a temporary basis, was hired for Vibes. And even though everyone knew it, it was a smart move.
As some stories go, when Ollie returned, he was immediately embraced by all those involved with the club. He reportedly went to the staff Christmas party unannounced, receiving the welcome of a king. On his first day back in Carrington, he belineed to receptionist Kath Phillips, [music] gave her a hug and a box of her favorite chocolates.
Prior to her passing in late 2024, she was the Manchester United receptionist for almost 56 years. From Busby to Bruno, [music] some may say, Sol knew what was truly important and what was expected to calm the nerves of the masses and bring back all that was good surrounding the club’s ethos. And from the owner perspective, it was also quite strategic.
If things go tits up, blame him and his lack of experience. if they go well proclaimed that they recognized his united DNA would restore things to normal. The risks were minimal. What could go wrong? [music] People get a new job and they say it’s the dream job they’ve had and they’ve always dreamt about or play for that club or manage this club.
That’s more true to any to me than to anyone. We can believe him as he admitted that he requested an interesting clause in his Moulder contract. >> I went to Cardiff because I thought it’s a potential for me to do well with them and then impress everyone at Man United but it didn’t work out. Went back to Moulder.
When I signed a new contract there, I always said if Man United come in, I want it in my contract, I can go for on a free. >> It was showtime. The mandate for Sora [music] was quite simple on his temporary basis. fourth place and Champions League qualification. Under Mourinho, this seemed an impossible task at one point.
An interesting stat about United is that they had not scored more than four goals in a Premier League match since before Ferguson retired. Solar did that in his first match, 51. To be completely fair, they did so against a newly promoted, soontobe relegated Cardiff side. So perhaps not the greatest test of resolve, but it was at least interesting to see that almost all of the players that were once subject of major criticism under Mourinho showed up in this game in a very very big way.
Pogba got two assists. Martial scored. Rashford scored. The new manager bounce produced by this tenure goes toeto toe with [music] the best of them. Rashford was bringing out the elasticos. Pogba became a sharpshooter. Solshai won his first eight games in all competitions and even picked up the Premier League manager of the month award for January, making a lot of people question what changed.
Tactically, very little initially, but psychologically everything. It’s been very good. We have a coach that values us, a really happy coach. He’s given confidence back to the players. He gives freedom to play football again. Maybe we lost that before. The first day he arrived, he told us to enjoy playing football again.
Then the results came by themselves. That quote does a lot of heavy lifting, especially because of who it came from. Paul Pogba, a man that Mourinho once labeled as a virus in the dressing room because of his attitude. >> I was going to be there for 4 months, >> so I was just going to make them enjoy playing football and enjoy running forward, playing forward, play like Man United team should do.
I remember Ashley Young’s comment when we walked out of that uh meeting. I just hear him behind me. Thank we’re talking about being Man United again. >> United were in a better state, but still not expected to produce anything remarkable in the year. So when they drew PSG in the UCL round of 16, the expectation was a routine defeat to a far superior side.
Something thought of as more or less inevitable when the first leg at Old Trafford ended in a 2-nil defeat. No team in Champions League history had ever recovered from losing 2-nil at home in the first leg. Nobody was even entertaining the idea that United could come back. Actually, that’s not true. One person thought otherwise.
>> So, where does this leave the Tai? You got a mountain to climb in Paris now. >> Yeah, but mountains are there to be climbed, aren’t they? Cuz you can’t lay down and say this is over. >> Sol and United rocked up to the park deonce with somewhat of a depleted squad. 10 senior players were out injured or suspended.
So Oie had to rely on kids and yet >> YES PERFECT START. LUKAKU SCORES. IT’S RASHFORD AND MANCHESTER UNITED have produced the impossible. >> 3-1 sealed by a Rashford penalty that made me think for the first time this this V thing. It might be all right. Every United fan was in a state of disbelief. Some were um more euphoric than others.
Man United might not thank me, but get the contract out. Put it on the table. [snorts] >> Let him sign it. Let him write whatever numbers he wants to put on there. Ollie’s at the wheel, man. He’s doing it. He’s doing his thing. Man United are back. >> That should have been the closing. I should have let you do it tonight. >> The memes became reality because only 3 weeks later, the appointment was made permanent with a three-year contract.
However, of course, like clockwork, it immediately seemed like a poor decision. The win against PSG marked the 14th win in Solar’s opening 17 matches. What followed was eight defeats in 12, including a horrible Champions League quarterfinal exit against Barcelona. Lionol Messi and Barca showed that United simply were not ready for this level yet and then proceeded to show that they are also allergic to quickly taking corners.
A few weeks later, the Inquisition on the tactics employed came in thick and fast. Formation was 42-31 almost always. Philosophy was counterattacking and when it worked, it was genuinely spectacular. Rashford speed, Martial’s movement, Greenwood’s finishing, Lukaku’s strength. But we all know the fundamental problem of being a counterattacking side is that not every team takes the initiative.
When United faced teams that sat deep at Old Trafford, content to defend and hit them on the break, they often looked completely lost in possession. The squad could embarrass City, could shock PSG, could dismantle Chelsea, but they drop points to anything resembling anything close to a low block. Something needed to change.
As I [music] said, initially at least, it seemed that this appointment was a mistake. But on the flip side, it was also clear as day that there was a significant improvement in the toxicity levels around the club. Soulshshire with his alleged quote unquote PE teacher energy was kind of doing exactly what he was brought in to do, improving morale.
On the pitch, however, things would get worse before they got better. From the highs of Paris in March 2019 to September 2019, a month into the new season, United’s [music] record was five wins, four draws, 10 defeats, statistically closer to relegation. A lot was made in the press over United implementing some sort of a quote unquote cultural reboot at the club.
Lukaku, Alexis, Herrera, Valencia, Darmian, and Maran Fellaini were all gone by the end of 2019. Quote, I’ve said it many times. This is a rebuilding job. End quote. Perhaps Oie knew all that had to be done. He brought in Aaron Wisaka, Harry Maguire, and Dan James. Steps in the right direction, filling positions that needed reinforcement.
And though the 201920 season started with a sensational 4-nil win versus Chelsea, it was rough sailing from there until January. In the midst of this, after a 2-nil loss at West Ham in September, cameras caught a conversation between Ed Woodward and Phil Jones. Brav, we are finished, mate.
What do you mean we? You haven’t played since 2013. That was hurtful. For legal reasons, I made that conversation up. Jones played twice uh that year. A major issue was that Manchester United were playing a system that required creativity, risk-taking, and bravery. However, they had nobody that was really capable of doing this at a high level.
Something it wasn’t clicking. Now, after 24 games, by the end of January, United were in fifth place, 36 points off of first place Liverpool. It was at that moment that something happened. Lightning struck. A cool breeze permeated the air. The poor United, that was BB before Bruno. The new United, that’s AB.
When you watch a football game with your girlfriend for the first time and she pronounces my name like Bruno Fernanch, £47 million. And Bruno Fernandez was a Manchester United player. 47 million. My goodness, that was a steal. Taken from Sporting, Bruno was just something else. It’s a wonder that he wasn’t more highly sought after.
Goals, assists, intensity, and most critically, a mentality that demanded more from everyone around him. He arrives in January 2020, and in only 14 games in the Premier League, scored eight, and assisted seven. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were both firing at all cylinders. Mason Greenwood emerged as what millions at the time believed to be the future of Manchester United. Left foot, right foot.
he could do it all. Obviously, he turned out to be something extremely sinister, but at the time, he held the hopes of many. With Bruno, United suddenly had an onfield leader. And in the remaining 14 matches, AB, United went unbeaten and secured third place in the final day of 201920. Only their second top three finish post Ferguson.
Lockdown football was wonderful for this team. Perhaps it was a mixture of not having the pressure of 75,000 people bearing down on you. Perhaps it was something in the air. Yes. Yes, that was the joke. It was also the season of the semi-final. League Cup, FA Cup, Europa League. None were won.
But in the name of progress, the signs were positive. >> Man United are back. >> Oh, Rio, why do you have to do that? The 202021 season was similarly inconsistent at the start. And when I say inconsistent, I really do mean it. It’s a season that saw United win by nine goals to nil against Southampton and yet also suffer a 61 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at home.
That was the third game of the year, by the way. And then we have the Champions League collapse. Group stage exit finishing behind PSG and RB Lifetick. At home, the team was horrendous. Only nine wins in 19. Six losses and four draws. On the other hand, it was also a really good season for a lot of reasons. The home record was awful.
Sure, but oddly enough, United were undefeated away from home. 12 wins, seven draws. Make it make sense. Luke Shaw had been at the club for almost a decade at that point, but decided to have his best season as soon as he got some competition. It makes sense, I guess. Alex Telles was brought in to be his successor, but Shaw did not allow it.
Edison Cavani brought in the kind of elegance that Manchester United lacked at the front for years. And that jawline, oh my god. Bruno Fernandez went from good to great and topped all the charts for United. 28 goals, 17 assists in 58 total games. He scored and assisted goals that pulled United from the devastation of early UCL elimination to the Europa League final.
Unfortunately for them, they faced the final boss of Europa. >> Unai Emmery in a match that had to be decided by penalties. The world was subjected to one of the strangest penalty shootouts of all time, 1110. That’s right, every single player took a pen. Unfortunately for United, it was goalkeeper David De Gea who ultimately missed his.
Which is why I don’t think Roy Keane was too mad at him. It’s not his job to score penalties, but it was United’s job to bring hope and belief back to the fan base, which is I would say it’s what they did. With a second place finish in the league, something was cooking. Earlier in Soulshshire’s tenure, the general gameplay of the team wasn’t optimal, but the prevailing sentiment was that with ball at feet, the team had jumped leaps and bounds.
Once counterattacking was the only option, but a bit of playing out the back began to creep in. And then finally, by the start of 21-22, the club was finally looking like a real contender. The first three games of the year, leadeds, Southampton, and Wolves were breezed through. Solshshire had built a team that pressed as a unit that was dynamic in structure.
It just needed minor adjustments to the existing personnel. Nothing too drastic. Well, what we know at the moment is that Manchester City are in talks to sign Cristiano Ronaldo. >> Uh, what? >> Manchester United in advanced talks now to sign Cristiano Ronaldo. >> Manchester United have signed Cristiano Ronaldo. It has been confirmed.
>> Wait, wait, wait. Hold on, hold on, hold on. >> Madira, Manchester, Madrid, Churin, and Manchester again. Cristiano Ronaldo, the prodigal son, the man who made so many a United fan, the man who convinced me to break the bank and purchase a pair of those sweet orange mccurials in 2008 after deciding to leave Juventus.
Rumor had it that Manchester City were pushing hard to make him theirs. Another rumor has it that the sound of violently loud chewing of gum echoed across the UK when that rumor dropped. And so in the fastest deal that I think Edward would ever finalize, Ronaldo was read once again in August of 2021. If the announcement was electric, the reality was even more.
In his second debut at the end of August against Newcastle United, Ronaldo scored twice at home and made all the grown men in that stadium feel young again. But it wasn’t just Ronaldo. Along with him came Jadden Sancho, one of the hottest prospects in the world. Here we had a player who had just had his best years at right wing for Dortmund with some crazy numbers.
And then there was Rafael Varane, World Cup winner, fourtime Champions League winner, and still only 28 years old. But wait, there is even more. This win against Newcastle sent United into first place on the log. The first team was in the best state that it had been in in nearly a decade. The United Academy was in great standing. For obvious reasons, the hype levels were through the roof with this one.
The best was surely only to come, right? Well, let’s cut right into it, [music] shall we? The fall of Ole Gunshi’s Manchester United run can be attributed to a lot of things. miscommunication, perhaps unrealistic expectations from the fans, but the biggest reason, which also is such a strangely misunderstood reason, is Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Ronaldo fans have probably already left the video, which I I think is a bit odd. I myself am a Ronaldo fan, but if you’re still here, it’s not because he was a bad player. It’s not because he was problematic on arrival. In fact, most of what we heard at the time was about how professional he was.
and how good of a role model he was to the youth. We don’t need to spend that much time talking about Cristiano Ronaldo. We all know what kind of a player he is and was. The man scored 24 goals in all competitions as a 37year-old playing for a dysfunctional Manchester United. His instincts were clearly still laser sharp.
Anyone who questioned his quality clearly worked or still works at this building full-time. No days off. Now, here’s where the dilemma kicks in. Unfortunately for Olli, this meant that he now had to rethink the entirety of the philosophy, strategy, and approach [music] that he had been building over the last two and a half years.
The truth is that Oie needed to adapt to the circumstances at hand. And according to the reports at the time, the dysfunction of his approach only led to worse results. Everything seemed to be going all at once for him. Solshshire also had his favorites and was accused of poor man management.
A good example is Marcus Rashford. From even earlier in his tenure, it was public knowledge that Marcus Rashford was playing through a back injury. But Solai continued to play him, risking further injury and leading to what many believed was the reason for his gray patches. There was apparently heavy delegation to his staff in Michael Carrick, Mike Felen, Darren Fletcher, all of whom were said to have unclear job designations as a whole.
And with how they would all flap their arms on the sidelines, oftentimes seemingly taking turns in the technical area, it’s no wonder that the players weren’t really taking what they were saying to heart. Where it seemed that Solar had settled on a formation in the seasons prior, a dynamic 42-31 built for the counter, now there was a change every week in structure and approach.
Playing Ronaldo as a sole striker, playing him with someone else, perhaps Cavani or Martial or anyone else available. playing with two midfielders, perhaps three, a back four, perhaps a back three. We don’t know. It’s what prompted that initial quote from Kevin De Bruyne from the start of the video. Even Pep Guardiola, a man that is known to lose sleep over trying to guess what his opponents will do, simply gave up because this was clearly not something worth losing sleep over.
Manchester City won by 2-nil, by the way. So, yes, Ronaldo caused some strain. But was he the problem? Maybe indirectly. It’s gray. But that statement is probably closer to false than the opposite. In the game directly after Ronald’s debut, West Ham [music] United, United won by two goals to one. But it was only thanks to a David Dee late penalty save that that happened.
It was a sloppy game by Man United. Many made note of the warning signs though, and unfortunately they would all be proven correct. The next run of games were absolutely abysmal. However, there were two very similar instance of momentary joy. Both from Ronaldo, both in the Champions League, both late winners. First, Villa Royale >> Lingard Ronaldo >> and then at Atlanta.
>> USEFUL GREAT HEADER RONALDO. >> IT GAVE THE masses hope, but it wasn’t enough. West Ham got their revenge immediately and knocked United out of the League Cup. Young Boys claimed a 2-1 win. Don’t make the joke. I promise you it’s not funny. I [music] promise you, bro. And finally, Liverpool 24 October 2022.
The infamous 5-nil at Old Trafford. I refuse to speak about this on account of the Vietnam flashbacks that they induce within me. Fine, I’ll talk about it. Within 5 minutes, United’s defense was cut through like butter. Nabi made it 1-0. Then Dioa made it too. Then Salah, then Salah, then Salah. This period was more or less the peak of the Harry Maguire meme era.
Members of parliament all over Africa were chomping at the bit. >> He became the biggest threat at the center of Manchester United’s defense, tackling Manchester players and giving assist to opponents. >> The only real piece of restbite came in a 3-nil win to Spurs. Tom Brady was in attendance, a match named Elsako.
As Nuno Espirto Santo and Ole Gunnels were both fighting for their lives at declining clubs, Ronaldo made sure United came out on top. Nuno was sacked, but Ollie wasn’t saved. The negativity and hit pieces that have been floating around him were reaching critical mass by this point. The memes were relentless.
The calls of tactical ineptitude were loud. Everyone that considered themselves an expert, the football Einstein as many like to call them, were saying the same thing. The coach is out of his depth. You really do have to feel for him. Soulshshire built a project that for all intents and purposes appeared to be picking up real momentum only to then have to switch everything up and around at the arrival of Ronaldo and an everchanging environment.
Unfortunately for him, that is the job. Rumors of dressing room unrest and senior players questioning tactics became media staples. But unlike Mourinho and Von Hull and Moyes, it’s hard to tell the extent of the truth or toxicity in this. All sources seem to say that the players unanimously liked the man, didn’t have problems with him as a person. It was just as a manager.
That’s a whole different question. The final blow, however, was dealt at Vicarage Road. 4-1 to Watford as this United team honestly did not seem like they knew what they were doing at all. Harry Maguire was red carded. Watford had a penalty saved. Ollie was visibly dead inside. If we didn’t know already what was coming, perhaps the fact that none of United’s senior executives decided to make the trip to Watford to see the game gave us an indication.
It seems that a decision had already likely been made. The halftime against Watford and you. That’s it. So the team talk at halftime was about whoever wants to play can play. Get your hand up if you don’t want to play. A couple of the lads actually in tears and next morning you get a text.
I want to see you in your in my office. [music] >> With a rather unusual final act. Solire requested a farewell interview. >> You know what I mean? What this club means to me and what I wanted to achieve here. I wanted wanted us to take the next step to challenge for the league to win trophies. There’s going to be journalists asking me about interviews.
No, I’m not going to do any interviews. >> Unlike some of his predecessors, he didn’t [music] sound bitter. >> I think everyone knows I’ve given everything for this club. The club means everything to me. But uh unfortunately, I couldn’t get the results that we needed and um it’s time for me to step aside. >> It was obvious to everyone just how much the establishment meant to him.
And despite what you may have heard online by the rats on Twitter, there was visibly no love lost between United fans and Ollie. When United played their next home game, banners that paid tribute to Solar’s contribution as both a player and a manager to the club came out in droves.
At that point, it was clear that Ollie had to go. But that didn’t mean the human element was forgotten. And as an overall, in a weird roundabout way, like I’ve already said, Olly did do what he was brought in to do. He restored the positivity, developed young players further, namely Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwidth.
[music] But business is business. Let’s, you know, let’s separate emotion from data here. Zero trophies won. League finishes, sixth, 3rd, second, sacked 12 games into the new season with United in seventh. One European final, lost, multiple semi-finals, all lost but one. An overall 54% win rate. We can all play the whatif game all that we want regarding how Solshshire would have fared had the Ronaldo signing not gone through had there been perfect conditions.
But the reality is that when you’re competing with Pep Guardiola’s systemized dominance, Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal pressing, Thomas Tuckle’s tactical flexibility, you need more than hot and quick transitions. His tenure was exactly what it appeared to be. A club legend with genuine qualities who reached his level. And that level was good. It just it just wasn’t great.
And in the ruthless economics of elite football, good gets you respect. Great gets you trophies. Oi delivered one. United needed
