The ManicaPost
With less than two weeks until the Premier League season starts — and only two friendlies remaining — Solskjaer has yet to make any big-name signings, a significant departure from the approach of his predecessors.
Also absent have been avoidable headlines and controversies. Instead, the 46-year-old has gone about his work in a quiet, understated way, completely at odds with the tenures of Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal. The status of those two men within the game ensured United were box office, even if the actual team were not.
So, have United really changed their strategy – and, if so, is Solskjaer at the heart of it?
No big names for the sake of it
When Zinedine Zidane seemingly sounded the death knell for Gareth Bale’s Real Madrid career, it was informative how quickly word came out of United that they would not be in the market for the Welshman.
Bale to United stories have been a staple part of every summer transfer window since before he left Tottenham for Real Madrid in 2013. It is not that Solskjaer is against signing big names but they have to fit his preferred way of playing. Angel di Maria, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and, more recently, Alexis Sanchez have all been bought despite, seemingly, their style being at odds with the manager’s philosophy.
Big money has been spent on others – Memphis Depay, Radamel Falcao, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and current squad member Fred – all of whom lacked either the fitness, ability or application for the task in front of them.
Bale’s China move called off by Real Madrid
Solskjaer wants a squad of younger, motivated players – very much in keeping with how Sir Alex Ferguson managed. As was the case with Mourinho and Van Gaal, he will choose his targets in conjunction with the recruitment department. It will then be up to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and head of corporate development Matt Judge to do the deals.
Mourinho and Woodward ended up at loggerheads this time last year, when the former wanted to sell Anthony Martial and buy a central defender and the latter blocked the Frenchman’s sale and then determined there was no attainable target better than the centre-backs United already had.
Over the past week, Nicky Butt has also had an upgrade to head of first-team development. The Treble-winning former United midfielder will work closely with Solskjaer to decide which players are capable of moving from the junior ranks to the senior. The former England midfielder will be responsible for steering each one through the transition.
Developing and recruiting the right players is one thing, getting rid of those he deems surplus to requirements is quite another. It remains to be seen whether the “baby-faced assassin” can cull stars in the brutal way his former boss did with such regularity, but there is evidence he can use the carrot and stick approach to positive effect.
It is understood Jesse Lingard was given a severe dressing down over a controversial summer social media post. Yet, rather than react badly, the England international has responded by putting in a series of outstanding performances in training.
Solskjaer has noted how 26-year-old Lingard finishes either top, or close to it, in many of the individual tasks. He has been willing to forgive, therefore, an indiscretion he puts down to the exuberance of youth, confident his harsh words will ensure it won’t be repeated.
Over the past five years it has not always been obvious how United intended to play.
Either the system changed, or personnel arrived who did not appear to fit a particular pattern. It was not scattergun but at times it did appear that signings, sometimes for big money, were made without sufficient thought being put into how they would fit the overall team shape.
United were supposed to be appointing a technical director to address these recruitment flaws, though that is still to happen.
Even without a role now in place at many of Europe’s elite clubs, Solskjaer has his own clear idea of how he wants his team to play. Four at the back, two deep in midfield, three attacking in front of that and a centre-forward. Crucially, he wants them all to have pace and he wants players who can interchange.
New £15m signing Daniel James may be viewed, even by some at Old Trafford, as a bit of a gamble – but he fits Solskjaer’s template. And on tour the Wales winger was a significant threat, though his final ball was not always up to scratch.
Eight times in four games James was sent flying by opponents not quick enough to stop him, and three of those instances involved Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko.
“Pre-season is not about results,” said Solskjaer. “It is about finding a style that suits the players. We’ve made good strides towards becoming the team we want to be.”
It was informative also to see how Marcus Rashford and Martial interchanged positions.
Both were used as the main striker, as well as wide in the line of three in behind, and Solskjaer has been working to make them more of a goal threat.
Rashford’s highest club tally for a season is 13. Martial’s is 17 but that was in his 2015-16 debut campaign. Those figures need to rise. Romelu Lukaku, for all his obvious faults, has scored 27 and 15 in his two seasons with the Old Trafford club. — BBC.
