Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job is not to lift the mood at Old Trafford. Not after 1,041 days. The claims of success that are made on his behalf are long outdated.
If the Manchester United job was just about getting everyone smiling, employ a comedian. Do your own jokes at this point, because you know you want to.
What Manchester United need is a manager, a coach, a leader. Someone who might not necessarily call Sir Alex Ferguson ‘boss’, or be immersed in the modern history of the place — and it is only modern history because before the advent of the Premier League Manchester United’s last title came in 1967 — but might win trophies, win titles and improve players.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now looks to be on borrowed time as Manchester United manager with Antonio Conte (right) the leading candidate to replace him
Solskjaer’s champions still cite last season’s second place but Liverpool had their best central midfielders, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, at centre half for most of it.
Chelsea were in one of their many years of transition yet somehow became the champions of Europe.
Would Manchester United have finished runners-up against a fit Virgil van Dijk, or with Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge for 38 matches? The idea that Manchester United do not need a figure like Antonio Conte to shape this squad into one that competes is so obtuse and contrary it borders on the wilful.
Yes, Solskjaer seems a good, straight guy. Yes, a lot of his former team-mates are still his friends and would rather support and encourage than criticise. We understand their conflicts. There comes a time, however, when the evidence is overwhelming.
No, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho did not transform Manchester United into title winners — although, between them, they did win the club’s only trophies of the post-Ferguson era — but that doesn’t mean the board should give up on experience, on track records, on course and distance.
Manchester United need a proven, elite coach of substance, to work with proven, elite players.
It is said Manchester United would not have a single inclusion in a combined XI with Liverpool but that isn’t strictly true. The Harry Maguire of England might get picked; the Paul Pogba of France; the Bruno Fernandes who arrived from Sporting Lisbon last year. But not now.
United went for the local hero with Solskjaer but now need a well-drilled, elite manager
And Jurgen Klopp knows what Cristiano Ronaldo could have brought Manchester United. After his signing, asked whether he was happy Ronaldo had joined United and not Manchester City, he admitted: ‘No, I cannot say that.’
The inference was clear. Any side with Ronaldo is immediately more of a threat. United now need someone to make that a reality. Past experiences with Mourinho and Van Gaal are irrelevant. United need better direction than they are getting now.
Other clubs understand this. Roman Abramovich appointed a World Cup winner in Luiz Felipe Scolari, supposedly the brightest young coach in Europe in Andre Villas-Boas and, in Maurizio Sarri, a man who, according to Pep Guardiola, played the best football in Europe.
None of them quite worked out. That didn’t mean he gave up on the idea of a transformative but possibly high-maintenance coach. He sacked Frank Lampard and brought in Tuchel. He didn’t opt for a quiet life.
He didn’t prioritise a cheery mood over performance.
The fans loved Lampard, they still love singing his name but they loved winning the Champions League as much, if not more.
It was terribly harsh what happened at Chelsea last season. Lampard remains a huge part of the recent success because he placed trust in young players like Mason Mount and Reece James.
Any side with Cristiano Ronaldo in it is immediately more of a threat and Man United now need someone to make that a reality
Yet top of the league, champions of Europe, it is impossible to argue against Tuchel’s appointment now. It is increasingly hard to make the case for Manchester United progressing under Solskjaer. Nobody there is currently going forward.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka does not look a better player than he was at Crystal Palace, nor Maguire at Leicester. Pogba is much better for France. Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Scott McTominay are not greatly advanced.
Fernandes is not as effective as when he arrived, Jadon Sancho can’t get in the team. Fred is as inconsistent as ever.
And Ronaldo? Manchester United play to his weaknesses as much as his strengths. He has still scored 11 goals in 11 games this season, for club and country, but hasn’t struck in the league since September 19 at West Ham.
It suggests that although his reputation creates panic in European and international football, over here the opposition study the evidence and decide it isn’t working. Ronaldo is losing his fear factor under Solskjaer.
And the crux is this — 1,041 days. After 1,041 days no manager should be hoping for change or even overseeing a work in progress. There should be tangible progress. Clear, visible, apparent progress.
Yet Solskjaer, like his players, is going backwards. He can no longer get by on being Not Mourinho. He can no longer earn praise for sunshine, moonlight and good vibes. Winning matches breeds positivity, too. Klopp has always had a great smile. But you see more of it, and wider, after a win.
Manchester United didn’t err giving Solskjaer the job. He deserved it, not just with the way he lifted the place after the standard confrontational end to Mourinho’s time, but because United improved under him.
Players like Paul Pogba have not improved for Manchester United under Solskjaer's tutelage
They won big games, went on a run and it was possible to believe that Solskjaer was a coach who had previously been poorly served by circumstances in English football. Maybe with better personnel, and a healthier club environment, he would thrive.
It was right to give him the chance to demonstrate this. Just as it is right to now search — sadly, in vain — for a sign he can effect further change. And, if not, act accordingly. What are they seeking, the Manchester United executives? Is it a quiet life? Elite football isn’t about that. There are constant
