A violent game remembered for a spectacular rampage by Norman Whiteside had a poignant footnoteNot every golden goal has to glister. One of the most euphoric moments of Terry Gibson’s career was a tap-in from eight yards in a match his team would probably have won anyway. After a year of incessant frustration, it was his first goal for Manchester United – and, as it turned out, his last.Gibson was marginalised almost as soon as he was signed by Ron Atkinson, who was subsequently replaced by Sir Alex Ferguson in November 1986. Two months later, Gibson made one and scored in injury-time to secure a violent 2-0 win over the league leaders Arsenal. Not for the last time, they left...
Can the latest defensive calamity be blamed on the players or Ole Gunnar Solskjær – and should the club stand by their man?For Ole Gunnar Solskjær, perhaps space will be the final frontier. Specifically, the 70 yards of clear space Manchester United left behind them as they trotted forward for a corner in Istanbul that would in vanishingly swift order end up in their own net. Related: 'You don't see those goals at this level': Solskjær reflects on defensive disaster Related: Demba Ba sets up Istanbul Basaksehir's victory in comedy of errors from United Continue reading...
Defeat to Arsenal offered further evidence United only excel while playing on the break under the NorwegianLast time Manchester United started a league season this badly at home, they finished 18th. Football has changed a lot since 1972 and nobody is suggesting they might face a relegation scrap this season but even as the warm glow of Wednesday’s 5-0 win over RB Leipzig lingers, domestic expectations are perhaps being recalibrated. United are already nine points off the top.The obvious question, perhaps, is how United could have been so good on Wednesday, and yet so poor both against Chelsea last weekend and against Arsenal here. The answer perhaps lies in Isaiah Berlin’s division of the world into the foxes who know...
Voices gathered from Cardiff and Molde in writing a biography of Manchester United’s manager reveal much about the manAs Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s biographer, this writer was recently asked whether the military service the Norwegian performed as a 20-year-old aided the formation of a man whose career arc has taken in scoring Manchester United’s 1999 European Cup-winning goal to now being manager of England’s record 20-time champions.The answer in essence was Solskjær has a self-possession that means it was immaterial; that whether or not he did the mandatory year in Norway’s army his would still have been a life and sporting career that is a triumph of self-determination. Related: Diaries, astuteness and work ethic: the making of Solskjær the manager |...
The Manchester United attacker has risen from sportsman to statesman with his campaign for free school mealsFirst Marcus Rashford put in a decent shift on the pitch. Then came an even more impressive one off it.Barely 45 minutes after a pallid, punchless 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Saturday night, the Manchester United striker was back working his second job: a three-hour magic set in which dozens of cafes, churches, restaurants and ordinary folk all promised him they would donate free food to the poorest children in society during this half-term. Related: Open letter from UK paediatricians about free school meals Related: Children’s doctors attack Tories over free school meals Related: The Observer view on the Commons vote to let poor...