Sarri is nearing the end at Chelsea, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold shone for Liverpool while Leicester and Rodgers look like the perfect fitWith Ole Gunnar Solskjær suggesting afterwards that Paul Pogba may operate deeper at times and Luke Shaw playing like a left‑back-cum-libero against Watford, this first win as the permanent manager suggests his brave new world will continue to feature a brightness of approach. Solskjær wishes to harness Pogba’s all-round ability to give more control of the ball as United are primarily a counter-attack unit. This was how Shaw opened up Javi Gracia’s impressive team with a majestic Matthias Sammer-like pass that put Marcus Rashford in to open the scoring. Before then United were poor as they...
My former teammate getting the Manchester United job was brilliant for him, and don’t be surprised if he makes a success of itI was a Norway teammate of Ole Gunnar Solskjær but now I am head of coaching education for the Norwegian football federation and it was absolutely marvellous and brilliant – as well as really surprising – that he got the offer to be Manchester United temporary manager last December. Related: Ole Gunnar Solskjær needs to be more than high priest of Fergianity | Jonathan Wilson Twitter: follow us at @guardian_sport Related: I feel so privileged to be Manchester United manager, says Solskjær Continue reading...
Manchester United’s new permanent manager has calmed nerves and brought back the spirit of 1999 but is inexperiencedBackwards, then, to a glorious future. Where change has failed, let there be continuity. After six years of churn and unconvincing change, Manchester United in appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjær on a permanent basis have turned not merely to an icon of their past but to a manager who seems determined to be a conduit for that past. Let there be progress through history. Let it always be 1999.It is a popular move and, on the face of it, a good one. Solskjær has transformed this season. Yet Ed Woodward’s track record is such that every time he takes a decision the instinct is...
Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s Manchester United return has prompted debate about the qualities of former players as managers – and German academics may have an answerJust how exceptional a manager is Ole Gunnar Solskjær? For all the praise lavished on the likeable Norwegian, I remain glued to the fence. Don’t get me wrong. He’s clearly doing well. It’s just that it is fiendishly tricky to separate the upturn in Manchester United’s mood and form since he took over – as reflected by that spectacular feat of alchemy in Paris – with the obvious fact that any club with that much money and world-class players should be winning most of their matches. Related: Nurture and nature the keynotes as Solskjær displays complete...
Ross Barkley’s difficult return, VAR inconsistency in the FA Cup, Nuno Espírito Santo impresses and James Maddison’s classRoss Barkley would have known what kind of reception awaited him at Goodison Park: the type rained down on previous Everton escapees such as Wayne Rooney and Joleon Lescott. Goodison might not be much longer for this world, with the latest suggestion being a new stadium for 2023, but for now it retains old‑fashioned menace to those who have transgressed the Evertonian code. Barkley’s crime among the faithful is to have left Goodison on a cut-price transfer to Chelsea in the January transfer window of last year after running down his contract. As he left the field after being substituted in the 65th...