{"id":394536,"date":"2026-01-07T19:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T19:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/394536\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T19:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T19:30:08","slug":"solskjaer-would-be-a-huge-risk-for-manchester-uniteds-beleaguered-hierarchy-manchester-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/394536\/","title":{"rendered":"Solskj\u00e6r would be a huge risk for Manchester United\u2019s beleaguered hierarchy | Manchester United"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ole Gunnar Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s prime candidacy to become Manchester United\u2019s interim manager for a second time<\/a> appears the latest faulty strategic move by Jason Wilcox, the club\u2019s director of football, and the chief executive, Omar Berrada.<\/p>\n

Solskj\u00e6r, whose previous tenure at United seems to place him ahead of another favoured candidate in Michael Carrick<\/a>, has to be a success. If not, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will surely file his hiring alongside the Ruben Amorim, Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag fiascos, for which Wilcox\u2011Berrada are fully or partly responsible.<\/p>\n

To understand why Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s second coming to the United hot seat may backfire, rewind to when his stint at the wheel ended in chaos and tears in the autumn of 2021. His final two games brought an axing that might have occurred many times during a turbulent tenure.<\/p>\n

First, a hapless 2-0 derby defeat by Manchester City closed with the Norwegian heading for the tunnel and clapping a mortified Old Trafford which hardly returned the gesture. Then, the humiliating 4-1 loss at Watford turned the faithful\u2019s adoration for Solskj\u00e6r into the cruel currency of jeers \u2013 and he was sacked that night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his exit interview with the in\u2011house channel came the tears \u2013 a reminder of the sensitive man Solskj\u00e6r is, and his enduring love of United. But elite football is a hard business and if his willingness to return as caretaker is understandable, Wilcox and Berrada should hold their breath at what would be a huge gamble.<\/p>\n

United are listing off the field once more but when Amorim was sacked on Monday<\/a> he left the team sixth \u2013 on 31 points, the same as Chelsea in fifth \u2013 and in the fight for a Champions League berth.<\/p>\n

Ratcliffe presumably does not like to appear a chump \u2013 even once. Already the count is three, via the cullings of Amorim and his predecessor, Ten Hag, who went in October 2024 after United had dithered then refused to sack him, and the departure of Ashworth soon afterwards. Ratcliffe\u2019s first United sporting director served six months of gardening leave from Newcastle, then left after five months.<\/p>\n

Wilcox, then the technical director, conducted the interview process to potentially replace Ten Hag in the summer of 2024, so was part of the hapless decision not to do so then. He, Berrada and Ashworth were in place when Amorim joined.<\/p>\n

Jason Wilcox (left), Manchester United\u2019s director of football, confers with Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The club\u2019s fortunes have declined further since the latter arrived as minority shareholder. Photograph: Michael Regan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The various mishaps have caused much mirth beyond Old Trafford. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013 the club has become a quasi-comical soap opera of 12 seasons and counting which Ratcliffe\u2019s Ineos-led project has made even more farcical.<\/p>\n

Another hiring of Solskj\u00e6r could be the latest episode. Should Wilcox or Berrada go public and explain their thinking they would surely point to the Norwegian\u2019s previous successful interim effort, from December 2018 to March 2019.<\/p>\n

In 19 games he reeled off 14 wins, two draws and three losses, going unbeaten in the first 11 including 10 victories. It wiped away the gloom of the end days of Jos\u00e9 Mourinho, which culminated in a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool; a highlight for Solskj\u00e6r was the last-gasp Champions League knockout of Paris Saint\u2011Germain, which came with Marcus Rashford\u2019s late penalty at Parc des Princes.<\/p>\n

Wilcox and Berrada will hope Solskj\u00e6r can perform the same magic again, should he be recruited until the end of the season. The logic runs that Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s sunny countenance will cheer the squad and his cult-hero status as the striker whose goal decided the 1999 Champions League final and the treble will have fans bouncing again. Likewise, it is hoped that Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s gung-ho mode will reconnect with the club\u2019s long tradition of thrills-and-spills football after Amorim\u2019s reactive 3-4-3.<\/p>\n

It is not hard to imagine \u2013 certainly when he first breezes through the door. But if there is no instant takeoff and results flatline, then what? The nightmare scenario of the United who were \u201coutfought\u201d at Vicarage Road under Solskj\u00e6r would again loom, and fan fury would turn on the interim manager \u2013 and the three higher\u2011ups, whose credit is already low.<\/p>\n

History says it may well happen. Solskj\u00e6r signed a three-year deal in March 2019 but what followed was a nosedive, the closing 10 matches featuring six losses, two draws and two wins, as United finished sixth.<\/p>\n

Next came two campaigns of helter-skelter fare that featured creditable finishes of third and second and the 2021 Europa League final penalty shootout loss to Villarreal.<\/p>\n

Yet streaked through these were several moments of crisis when Solskj\u00e6r might have been sacked, an example being United\u2019s Champions League group\u2011stage elimination in December 2020 after losing 3-2 at RB Leipzig when a draw was required. There was never, truly, any calm or security about Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s United, apart from at the start, when he was a novelty for players desperate for an uplift after Mourinho.<\/p>\n

United\u2019s players badly need a morale boost, but there are big question marks over Solskj\u00e6r. Photograph: Matt West\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Solskj\u00e6r would try to tap into that sense of positivity again. But there is also a danger that United\u2019s season will plunge, their laughing\u2011stock status will rise even more and the two highest\u2011ranked executives will grasp for explanations when dissecting what happened with Ratcliffe.<\/p>\n

At the end of Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s exit interview, he said: \u201cWe\u2019ll see each other again.\u201d Should this happen \u2013 and if so, Carrick may be asked to be his assistant, having coached alongside him before \u2013 Solskj\u00e6r will be gunning for the full-time job again.<\/p>\n

Could this be where United are heading? The list of coaches who may be considered for a summer appointment is long and includes Oliver Glasner, Andoni Iraola, Enzo Maresca, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate, Roberto De Zerbi, Luis Enrique, Carlo Ancelotti and Kieran McKenna.<\/p>\n

But if Solskj\u00e6r leads United back into the Champions League or wins the FA Cup would he really be removed for a second time? As things stand, at Manchester United<\/a>, anything is possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ole Gunnar Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s prime candidacy to become Manchester United\u2019s interim manager for a second time appears the latest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-394536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}