Questions asked of Solskjær, Barkley is Tuchel’s latest success, and why did City sign Grealish not Kane? “The short answer is yes,” said Ole Gunnar Solskjær. “We’ve got loads to work on and we need to improve. We know that and I know that but I do believe in this group of players and the coaching staff. I’m very confident that we will get the best out of this squad.” Thus far, despite unconvincing performances, the evidence is that Manchester United’s board share that confidence: they gave him a new three-year contract in July. But, externally at least, questions are being asked of Solskjær. He faces a defining period – against Leicester, Atalanta, Liverpool, Tottenham, Atalanta again and Manchester City...
Where Rafael Benítez has built a team greater than the sum of its parts, Ole Gunnar Solskjær lacks a coherent planLewis Dobbin and Charlie Whitaker were veterans of a combined total of one minute’s senior football for Everton. They were the attacking options on Rafa Benítez’s bench. Their Manchester United counterparts were Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and the lesser-spotted Donny van de Beek, whose £35m fee made him £35m costlier than Andros Townsend, who earned Everton a point.Dobbin was Everton’s second substitute. In a sense, that rendered him their Ronaldo, even if 790 career goals separate them. The comparisons may end there, and Whitaker remained on the bench with the 37-year-old third-choice goalkeeper Andy Lonergan, making...
Manchester United’s Champions League win against Villarreal was ill-deserved – the team are too open and will be punished for itHow much time does love buy you? That Manchester United fans want Ole Gunnar Solskjær to succeed is understandable. It’s not just that he scored vital goals, it’s that he embodied a golden age. Who would not want a returning hero to restore the club to glory? But wishful thinking will not organise a midfield.The win will part the clouds a little. Solskjær has survived another mini-crisis, but each one leaves him slightly weaker. And this one comes with Cristiano Ronaldo. It may not be fair, given Ronaldo is 36 and, for all his goalscoring ability, increasingly an anachronism, but...
Hammers went toe to toe with Manchester United and shouldn’t have been relying on a late penalty to earn a drawSomething about it just felt wrong. Brave and heroic and wrong. Suspenseful and theatrical and wrong. This isn’t simply hindsight talking: the introduction of Mark Noble deep into injury time at the London Stadium, for the sole purpose of taking a crucial penalty with West Ham 2-1 down to Manchester United, was greeted by the home fans with the sort of qualified exultation that you might expect at a party when one of the guests turns up with a live goat. Obviously, you know, this is a very cool surprise. Well done on making the effort. We can’t wait to...
Returning star gave fans their money’s worth in 4-1 win over Newcastle but club would have been wiser investing in midfieldThey had come to celebrate Cristiano Ronaldo and they got what they had come for: not one, but two opportunities to shout “Si!” as he celebrated goals with that characteristic spread of the arms and thrust of the groin, a sort of macho version of Lionel Blair indicating he’s miming the title of a song. Everything else, for the moment, could take a back seat: the king has returned.The announcement of Ronaldo’s name when the teams were read out at around 2.25pm was greeted by a great roar. When he jogged out to warm up, cleverly maximising his exposure by...