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Having overseen a dramatic upturn in results and performance since taking over as Manchester United's caretaker boss last December, it came as no major surprise when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was announced as the club's permanent manager in a three-year deal on Thursday.
The 46-year-old had inherited a squad with such a low morale, having been devastated by the negativity and public clashes with their former manager Jose Mourinho, but in such a short time, he has revamped the performance levels of the players and gotten the best out of most of them.
Results at the club under Mourinho were so bad that hopes of a top-four finish were all but extinguished, while United constantly lost to lesser teams, as their fans were fed up with the boring style of football on display by the club.
However, the transformation under Solskjaer has been so impactful that the club now finds itself firmly established in the top four race, while notable results have been achieved, chief of which was the 3-1 victory over PSG in the UEFA Champions League to eliminate the Ligue 1 outfit, despite trailing from a 2-0 first leg loss at home.
While there was a feeling of inevitability about Solskjaer's permanent appointment, there are a few drawbacks to it. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at three reasons why the Norwegian should not have been made United's permanent manager.
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#3 His relative lack of experience
Manchester United is undoubtedly one of the biggest football clubs in the world and also one of the most successful both on the field and off it, boasting a history so illustrious that it can only be matched by a handful of other clubs.
It goes without saying that due to its stature and prestige, the club is among the most difficult to manage, with the expectation among fans to not just win all matches, but to win with style.
The expertise and wherewithal required to manage at club the size of Manchester United is not something that can be gotten easily, requiring years of experience to attain.
While many might argue that other experienced managers like Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho all came and failed at United, or that less experienced ones like Zidane and Guardiola succeeded at Real Madrid and Barcelona, the bottomline is that these examples are few and far between.
More often than not, inexperienced managers struggle to come to terms with the heightened expectations and higher standards at bigger clubs - thus failing to match their previous standards, with David Moyes at Manchester United and Andres Villas Boas at Chelsea being ready examples that come to mind.
As a player, Solskjaer ranks high up there with the best of them. when it comes to experience, having represented Manchester United for 11 years, in which he won almost everything winnable.
However, as a coach his CV is less stellar, with his only top level experience as a manager before being appointed United boss coming at Norwegian first division side Molde as well as Cardiff, with whom he endured relegation from the Premier League).
While Solskjaer might have done well over the last three months, over a longer spell, his inexperience could come back to haunt him as United find themselves competing on different fronts. This is a fact that should have been taken into account before appointing him permanently.
#2 He has not shown the requisite tactical diversity
Ever since taking over Manchester United, Solksjaer has overseen 19 matches from the bench, winning 14 at an astonishing ratio of 73.3%, while losing just three.
There have been impressive victories over PSG, Tottenham and Chelsea, while a credible point was gotten off Liverpool, despite being injury ravaged and having to make all three substitutions in the first half.
It seems a bit preposterous to suggest that a manager who performed these incredible feats lacks tactical astuteness. However, a closer look at the manner in which United have gotten their results tells a better story.
The truth of the matter is that Solskjaer has not actually overseen any radical change in United's tactical application.
While the club might be generally more attractive to watch, there is no clear cut playing pattern whenever United files out, and for all the talk of returning attacking football to United, there are still some elements of reactional play about The Red Devils.
We keep hearing vague generic words like 'more attractive', 'return of positive football', 'freedom of expression' among others without a clear understanding of how or what exactly makes United more attractive. Are they a counter attacking team? High pressing? Or possession based side?
These are questions still begging for answers, with most of their gameplan still reactionary, dependent upon how the other team lines up rather than imposing their style on them.
Coaches like Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have fixed styles of playing, which they do not deviate from regardless of who they are playing against. Guardiola's superior tactical versatility also sees him constantly switching City's shape and style multiple times during matches.
Three months on from his appointment, and we are yet to get a true feel of exactly how Solskjaer sets his side up to play. Further down the line, this could prove problematic for him as United's manager.
#1 He might struggle to maintain this level of performance
As pointed out, United's improved performance in recent months has not been down to any ingenious tactical implementation by Solskjaer, rather it has come about because of an improvement in the output of the individual players, which in turn has positively affected the collective output.
Players like Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, among others have improved significantly since Solskjaer took over and this has been a major reason why United's resurgence.
This is taking nothing away from the Norwegian helping to bring out the best of these players by enabling a positive atmosphere, as it must also be remembered how toxic the United atmosphere was under Jose Mourinho.
The relationship between many players and the Portuguese had deteriorated so badly that there were not too many players sad to see him go.
It is no secret that when bad blood exists between players and managers, very little can be achieved and this was the scenario United found themselves in.
Solskjaer's appointment came as a breath of fresh air, with his more flexible coaching methods helping his players thrive, which was not the case under the more authoritarian Jose Mourinho.
For the moment, United players are still riding on the euphoria of the freedom of expression given them by Solskjaer, but what happens when the novelty of the new manager on the bench expires?
Would the 46-year-old still have the wherewithal to being out such performance levels? Or show the tactical dexterity to switch things up?
A similar scenario which comes to mind is that of Roberto di Matteo at Chelsea, as the Italian gaffer provided a breath of fresh air to a squad of players who had been fed up with the management style of Andres Villas Boas and led them to a Champions League crown in 2012.
However, less than six months after that spectacular triumph, Di Matteo was sacked as he failed to match those results and has been out of a high profile job since then.
Many might point to Zinedine Zidane who mounted the Real Madrid managerial saddle in similar circumstances to Solskjaer - not showing any great tactical astuteness, only giving the players their freedom but however still managed to maintain his extremely high standards for a sustained period.
However, it is pertinent to note that Zizou had a squad brimming with multiple world class players, who are among the best of all time in their respective positions and could also call on the services of the extraterrestrial Ronaldo.
As a result, it was much easier for Zidane to maintain his success levels, but these are privileges that Solskjaer does not have, hence it would be difficult for him to keep up this success rate.
