Solskjaer feels that six more signings are required - a full back, two central midfielders, a No 10, a striker and a winger. The club have promised him that funds are available. [Times]
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retains Manchester United’s full support despite woeful form
January 24 2020, 12:01am,
ole-gunnar-solskjaer-retains-manchester-united-s-full-support-despite-woeful-form-lgb69mr6k
United believe that Solskjaer cannot be judged until he has been able to work with a squad that he has bought himself.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retains the support of the Manchester United board, who want him to stay on as manager and build a team in his own image.
United are in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season under the Norwegian. The 2-0 defeat by Burnley on Wednesday left them six points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea with 14 matches left.
But despite enduring their worst season in 30 years, United’s support for Solskjaer at present remains undiminished and there is a feeling within the club that he should only be judged when he has been able to work with a squad that can play his style of counter-attacking football. The starting XI that Solskjaer selected against Burnley contained players signed by five different managers.
Sir Alex Ferguson brought in Phil Jones and David de Gea; José Mourinho signed Fred and Nemanja Matic; Louis van Gaal purchased Anthony Martial while Juan Mata was a David Moyes signing. Solskjaer’s three signings (Daniel James, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka) started and the team was completed by two academy products in Brandon Williams and Andreas Pereira.
If Solskjaer fails to deliver after a number of new signings are made, United will look to appoint a new manager. Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in November, would feature on their shortlist, as could Gareth Southgate, who is presently in charge of England. Julian Nagelsmann of RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel are admired by members of the United hierarchy too.
During Wednesday’s defeat, United fans turned their anger on Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, and the Glazer family, who own the club. Hundreds of fans tried to smuggle P45s with Woodward’s name on them into Old Trafford, but it is understood that stewards confiscated many and only a handful made it through.
Solskjaer feels that six more signings are required — a full back, two central midfielders, a No 10, a striker and a winger — and United have promised him that funds are available.
That said, talks between United and Sporting Lisbon over Bruno Fernandes have stalled as United are unwilling to pay the £68 million fee that Sporting are asking for the 25-year-old midfielder. Fernandes is understood to be annoyed with the conduct of both clubs during negotiations and wants to seal his transfer to United as soon as possible. The Portugal international stormed down the tunnel after Sporting’s 2-1 defeat by Braga on Tuesday.
United also want to sign a striker this month to ease the problems caused by Marcus Rashford’s back injury, which will keep him out for two months.
United are aware that Edinson Cavani is available, but the 32-year-old is unlikely to join the club unless PSG and the player himself lower their demands. PSG want a €20 million (£16.8 million) fee for the striker, who is out of contract in June, and he is demanding a two-and-a-half year contract worth about £360,000 per week. Under those terms, the package would cost United about £65.6 million and Cavani has a poor injury record. The forward, who turns 33 next month, has missed 42 games in the last two and a half years through injury.
33 points off the top . . . and no one to take responsibility
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Signed a three-year contract as full-time manager last March. United are now fifth in the table on 34 points. At this stage last season, they had accumulated 45.
Chances of survival They appear to be good. Has the board’s backing.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward
Many United fans lay the blame for their team’s nosedive at his door. In their eyes, he is culpable for poor signings and is a stooge of the Glazer family.
Chances of survival His position is the safest. The Glazers like the money he keeps bringing in through commercial deals.
Board Consists of 12 people: Woodward, the six children of the late Malcolm Glazer, the former chairman Cliff Baty, the chief financial officer Richard Arnold, who is managing director, and the directors John Hooks, Man Utd Sawhney and Robert Leitao. Joel and Avram Glazer, the co-chairmen, are the main family members involved.
Chances of survival There is little appetite for any member to quit.
Owners The Glazer family
Headed by Malcom Glazer, who died in 2014, they bought United for £790 million in 2005.
Chances of survival The family deny that they want to sell to interested parties in Saudi Arabia.
Transfer negotiator Matt Judge
Woodward trusts him to negotiate transfers and new contracts. On his watch, United signed Alexis Sánchez on an eyewatering deal worth in excess of £400,000 per week.
Chances of survival Woodward thinks Judge is doing a good job.
Squad In need of an overhaul as it contains players from five different managers: Solskjaer, José Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Chances of survival Nemanja Matic, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling (on loan at Roma) and Phil Jones all need to be replaced. United need new faces in attack too.
Excuses, excuses....
Solskjaer has always fronted up but after his eighth league defeat this season on Wednesday, mostly to teams United fans would expect to beat, his words have a familiar feel (writes Matt Tench)
Manchester United 1-2 Crystal Palace (August 24 2019)
“We just weren’t clinical enough. They scored two very easy goals. We dominated the game but we didn’t control it. We should have dealt better with the last five minutes. We created enough to win the game. But we didn’t defend well enough.But now it’s time for the boys to get together.”
Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester United (October 6 2019)
“We’re disappointed, of course we are. The players worked hard, they ran their socks off but at the moment we’re in a position we’re not used to. The boys, some of them, lack that little bit of composure and confidence in the last bit and you can tell. We don’t create enough chances to win a game of football.”
“[On finding solutions] That’s the million dollar question, now, isn’t it? Luckily for us it’s now the international break. We get time to evaluate what’s been going on in the first eight games. Many of the games have been very similar. It’s my responsibility and I need to sort their heads out. It will take however long it will have to take [to improve] because it’s a journey we’ve started on and the culture is getting there. I can’t give you any time but we’ll get there.
“We’ve given ourselves a big, big uphill task to get among the top four, never mind top six, this season but it’s tight and we’ve just got to get a run together and get the confidence back in the boys. [As a club] we’ve come together and discussed the direction we’re going. If you only walk on sunny days you’ll never get to your destination.
“So we’ll have these days, we’ll have these downs. It’s disappointing but we’ll keep on working.”
Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United (November 11 2019)
“We had a lack of quality at times in front of goal. I thought the front four looked promising but flattered to deceive a little bit today. It looked like we could create chances but we just didn’t have the last pass or the last finish and that’s something we need to improve on.
“It’s one of those things that if you want to be challenging for top four, you need to be winning games like this... You can’t really say it’s one of those days because it has been too often now away from home. You have got to react.”
Watford 2-0 Manchester United (December 22 2019)
“It’s very disappointing. I’m disappointed with the first half, more than the second. It was slow, a testimonial pace, no urgency and coming into half-time, you expect a reaction. It’s about reaction now we need to bounce back. That’s not good enough. We have to see a reaction.”
Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United (January 1 2020)
“I felt they [Arsenal] played really well, and sometimes you’ve got to hold your hands up. The boys were trying to get up to them but we were not quick enough. We knew they were going to come out of the traps quickly. We took one or too many touches maybe a few times.But you saw in the second half that their energy died a bit and we had loads of it, but we just didn’t manage to get the goal.
“The boys who are playing have been fantastic and have really put an effort in.”
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United (January 19 2020)
“You are never happy when you lose a game. First goal, it’s disappointing to concede from a set piece. We don’t deal with that well enough. I thought we weathered the storm well at the start of the second half and for the last half an hour we were excellent.We had the majority of the possession in the second half, pushed them back and created chances. Big chances. We created the pressure. I think they looked nervy. The players gave us everything. I’m disappointed with conceding from a corner and with the last kick — but very many positives.”
Manchester United 0-2 Burnley (January 22 2020)
“The players are giving everything, they have done absolutely fantastic so far this season but they know it wasn’t good enough tonight. The boys looked mentally tired towards the end, we didn’t find that creativity.We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.
“When you are at Man Utd you are privileged because you are playing for the best club in the world. Sometimes you go through periods like that and it is a test I am sure they are going to come through.”
January 24 2020, 12:01am,
ole-gunnar-solskjaer-retains-manchester-united-s-full-support-despite-woeful-form-lgb69mr6k
United believe that Solskjaer cannot be judged until he has been able to work with a squad that he has bought himself.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retains the support of the Manchester United board, who want him to stay on as manager and build a team in his own image.
United are in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season under the Norwegian. The 2-0 defeat by Burnley on Wednesday left them six points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea with 14 matches left.
But despite enduring their worst season in 30 years, United’s support for Solskjaer at present remains undiminished and there is a feeling within the club that he should only be judged when he has been able to work with a squad that can play his style of counter-attacking football. The starting XI that Solskjaer selected against Burnley contained players signed by five different managers.
Sir Alex Ferguson brought in Phil Jones and David de Gea; José Mourinho signed Fred and Nemanja Matic; Louis van Gaal purchased Anthony Martial while Juan Mata was a David Moyes signing. Solskjaer’s three signings (Daniel James, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka) started and the team was completed by two academy products in Brandon Williams and Andreas Pereira.
If Solskjaer fails to deliver after a number of new signings are made, United will look to appoint a new manager. Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in November, would feature on their shortlist, as could Gareth Southgate, who is presently in charge of England. Julian Nagelsmann of RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel are admired by members of the United hierarchy too.
During Wednesday’s defeat, United fans turned their anger on Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, and the Glazer family, who own the club. Hundreds of fans tried to smuggle P45s with Woodward’s name on them into Old Trafford, but it is understood that stewards confiscated many and only a handful made it through.
Solskjaer feels that six more signings are required — a full back, two central midfielders, a No 10, a striker and a winger — and United have promised him that funds are available.
That said, talks between United and Sporting Lisbon over Bruno Fernandes have stalled as United are unwilling to pay the £68 million fee that Sporting are asking for the 25-year-old midfielder. Fernandes is understood to be annoyed with the conduct of both clubs during negotiations and wants to seal his transfer to United as soon as possible. The Portugal international stormed down the tunnel after Sporting’s 2-1 defeat by Braga on Tuesday.
United also want to sign a striker this month to ease the problems caused by Marcus Rashford’s back injury, which will keep him out for two months.
United are aware that Edinson Cavani is available, but the 32-year-old is unlikely to join the club unless PSG and the player himself lower their demands. PSG want a €20 million (£16.8 million) fee for the striker, who is out of contract in June, and he is demanding a two-and-a-half year contract worth about £360,000 per week. Under those terms, the package would cost United about £65.6 million and Cavani has a poor injury record. The forward, who turns 33 next month, has missed 42 games in the last two and a half years through injury.
33 points off the top . . . and no one to take responsibility
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Signed a three-year contract as full-time manager last March. United are now fifth in the table on 34 points. At this stage last season, they had accumulated 45.
Chances of survival They appear to be good. Has the board’s backing.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward
Many United fans lay the blame for their team’s nosedive at his door. In their eyes, he is culpable for poor signings and is a stooge of the Glazer family.
Chances of survival His position is the safest. The Glazers like the money he keeps bringing in through commercial deals.
Board Consists of 12 people: Woodward, the six children of the late Malcolm Glazer, the former chairman Cliff Baty, the chief financial officer Richard Arnold, who is managing director, and the directors John Hooks, Man Utd Sawhney and Robert Leitao. Joel and Avram Glazer, the co-chairmen, are the main family members involved.
Chances of survival There is little appetite for any member to quit.
Owners The Glazer family
Headed by Malcom Glazer, who died in 2014, they bought United for £790 million in 2005.
Chances of survival The family deny that they want to sell to interested parties in Saudi Arabia.
Transfer negotiator Matt Judge
Woodward trusts him to negotiate transfers and new contracts. On his watch, United signed Alexis Sánchez on an eyewatering deal worth in excess of £400,000 per week.
Chances of survival Woodward thinks Judge is doing a good job.
Squad In need of an overhaul as it contains players from five different managers: Solskjaer, José Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Chances of survival Nemanja Matic, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling (on loan at Roma) and Phil Jones all need to be replaced. United need new faces in attack too.
Excuses, excuses....
Solskjaer has always fronted up but after his eighth league defeat this season on Wednesday, mostly to teams United fans would expect to beat, his words have a familiar feel (writes Matt Tench)
Manchester United 1-2 Crystal Palace (August 24 2019)
“We just weren’t clinical enough. They scored two very easy goals. We dominated the game but we didn’t control it. We should have dealt better with the last five minutes. We created enough to win the game. But we didn’t defend well enough.But now it’s time for the boys to get together.”
Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester United (October 6 2019)
“We’re disappointed, of course we are. The players worked hard, they ran their socks off but at the moment we’re in a position we’re not used to. The boys, some of them, lack that little bit of composure and confidence in the last bit and you can tell. We don’t create enough chances to win a game of football.”
“[On finding solutions] That’s the million dollar question, now, isn’t it? Luckily for us it’s now the international break. We get time to evaluate what’s been going on in the first eight games. Many of the games have been very similar. It’s my responsibility and I need to sort their heads out. It will take however long it will have to take [to improve] because it’s a journey we’ve started on and the culture is getting there. I can’t give you any time but we’ll get there.
“We’ve given ourselves a big, big uphill task to get among the top four, never mind top six, this season but it’s tight and we’ve just got to get a run together and get the confidence back in the boys. [As a club] we’ve come together and discussed the direction we’re going. If you only walk on sunny days you’ll never get to your destination.
“So we’ll have these days, we’ll have these downs. It’s disappointing but we’ll keep on working.”
Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United (November 11 2019)
“We had a lack of quality at times in front of goal. I thought the front four looked promising but flattered to deceive a little bit today. It looked like we could create chances but we just didn’t have the last pass or the last finish and that’s something we need to improve on.
“It’s one of those things that if you want to be challenging for top four, you need to be winning games like this... You can’t really say it’s one of those days because it has been too often now away from home. You have got to react.”
Watford 2-0 Manchester United (December 22 2019)
“It’s very disappointing. I’m disappointed with the first half, more than the second. It was slow, a testimonial pace, no urgency and coming into half-time, you expect a reaction. It’s about reaction now we need to bounce back. That’s not good enough. We have to see a reaction.”
Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United (January 1 2020)
“I felt they [Arsenal] played really well, and sometimes you’ve got to hold your hands up. The boys were trying to get up to them but we were not quick enough. We knew they were going to come out of the traps quickly. We took one or too many touches maybe a few times.But you saw in the second half that their energy died a bit and we had loads of it, but we just didn’t manage to get the goal.
“The boys who are playing have been fantastic and have really put an effort in.”
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United (January 19 2020)
“You are never happy when you lose a game. First goal, it’s disappointing to concede from a set piece. We don’t deal with that well enough. I thought we weathered the storm well at the start of the second half and for the last half an hour we were excellent.We had the majority of the possession in the second half, pushed them back and created chances. Big chances. We created the pressure. I think they looked nervy. The players gave us everything. I’m disappointed with conceding from a corner and with the last kick — but very many positives.”
Manchester United 0-2 Burnley (January 22 2020)
“The players are giving everything, they have done absolutely fantastic so far this season but they know it wasn’t good enough tonight. The boys looked mentally tired towards the end, we didn’t find that creativity.We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.
“When you are at Man Utd you are privileged because you are playing for the best club in the world. Sometimes you go through periods like that and it is a test I am sure they are going to come through.”
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