Ole can never succeed here, and it’s nothing to do with his ability.
Like most of us, I’ll always love Ole for all he did for us - all of it, and his love for our club. But as a manager, his track record, and even his understanding of what is needed to compete in modern top-level football, is patchy, to be generous. But I can’t blame him for taking the job. How could he say no?
Yet, even if he was a superb manager, how could he do anything with this squad? Who can turn Young, Bailly, Jones, Smalling, Darmian, Mata, Matic, Sanchez, or Fred into top-level footballers? Last time I checked, Solskjær was a manager, not a magician. Let’s be honest - David May, Kieran Richardson and Luke Chadwick could get into this side. Maybe even William Prunier.
Even if he manages, by some miracle to get us into the top four by seasons end, that is a Pyrrhic victory. All that would do is convince Woodward and the Glazers that value can continue to be “extracted” from the club in the form of increased commercial revenues, without significant re-investment into the squad, and without meaningful commitment to a 5-10 year investment strategy into the scouting and coaching setup, and the playing squad. As long as Manchester United continue to qualify for the Champions League for 3/5 years of each cycle, commercial income based on our global fanbase will continue to grow, and that is what matters to our executive. Success on the field is secondary.
Olé is the wrong man for the job. I adore him, and he has been placed in an impossible situation. He is under-qualified, and over-eager. His love for the club cannot make players better, or make him able to create a squad with the capabilities to challenge at the very top, with a board unwilling to invest appropriately.
He’s going to be sacked by Christmas. I just hope that when he is, we all serenade him off, and we don’t allow this to tarnish his reputation with us.