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Very few Manchester United fans would have been against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being made the permanent manager at Old Trafford last month.
Their former striker made a real positive impact after arriving at the club in December, replacing Jose Mourinho at the helm, with the club in a bit of a mess. The self-proclaimed Special One had fallen out with a number of his key players, and he had differences with members of the board, and particularly Chief Executive Ed Woodward.
There was an immediate change when Solskjaer was made manager at Old Trafford. He won all of his first eight games in charge, and got the side playing a much more attractive, attacking brand of football.
He also led United to the Champions League quarter finals, as they pulled off an incredible comeback away against PSG in the second leg of the round of 16. This led to him being given the job on a permanent basis, with him signing a three-year contract.
Since signing that contract, things have taken a turn for the worse. United have lost seven of their last nine games, been knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona, and humiliated 4-0 by Everton at Goodison Park.
There has been a lot of criticism of the players in recent weeks, and it is clear that some of them have been playing way below the level expected of them. Here are five men who have let Solskjaer down in recent weeks.
#1 David de Gea
For many years, de Gea has been considered the best goalkeeper in the world. The Spaniard has been named in the PFA Team of the Year on five occasions since 2013, and has been named Manchester United Player of the Year for four of the last five seasons. Although this has been undoubtedly the weakest United squad that we have seen in the Premier League era, de Gea has constantly shone, and was thus included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2018.
However, in recent weeks, he has not been the same player, and there have been a number of high profile errors that he has made. In the second leg against Barcelona, he let a weak shot from Lionel Messi slip through his grasp, letting the Spanish giants go 2-0 up on the night, effectively ending United’s hopes of progressing. He was then at fault on both occasions as United lost 2-0 to City in the Manchester Derby.
#2 Ashley Young
Young is currently one of United’s longest serving players, having been signed from Aston Villa in 2011 by Sir Alex Ferguson. Young was signed as a winger, but has reverted to full-back in recent years, and has often been the senior figure in this United side, with club captain Antonio Valencia featuring rarely in the past few months since Solskjaer took over at Old Trafford. He has also had to lead a back four that has chopped and changed since the turn of the year, due to a lack of form and regular injuries to some of United’s centre backs.
But in recent weeks, Young has been well off the pace. In both legs against Barcelona, the 33-year-old looked out of his depth, and made a number of errors, in particular in the lead up to Lionel Messi’s first goal in the second leg. It may be harsh to single out Young in a position he isn’t natural, but he is a senior player, and he should be taking a leading role in this side.
#3 Paul Pogba
Pogba has been regularly criticised during his time at Manchester United since his £90 million world record move from Juventus. There is no doubting that he is a world class talent. He was a World Cup winner with France last summer, and he was one of the scorers in the final against Croatia. His numbers from midfield this season are excellent. In the Premier League this season he has scored 13 goals, as well as providing nine assists.
Yet he has been criticised a lot in recent weeks, and rightly so. Pogba doesn’t stand up to be counted enough in big games at United, and on far too many occasions, he simply goes missing. In the Champions League, he was sent off in the first leg against PSG, and United progressed without Pogba in the second leg. Pogba should be a crucial player in this team, and needs to do more when his side needs it. In Solskjaer’s best interest, he needs to let Pogba leave Old Trafford this summer.
#4 Alexis Sanchez
Sanchez was superb during his time at Arsenal, and was considered amongst the best players in the Premier League, if not the world. He was a constant threat for the Gunners, and was a huge part in any success they managed while he was at the club. When he made the move to Old Trafford in January 2018, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan going in the opposite direction, it was seen as what could have been the start of a shift in power back in the direction of United, who beat City to his signature.
However, since moving to Old Trafford, Sanchez has been dreadful, and has been a shadow of the player that we saw at Arsenal. In the league this season, he has started just eight games, scoring only one goal and providing just three assists. The biggest problem is that he just doesn’t seem to care when he is on the pitch. At least at his highest points with Arsenal he was putting in the effort, but it just doesn’t seem to be the case now. For someone who is paid so much, and has so much experience, this simply isn’t good enough.
#5 Romelu Lukaku
There was a lot of competition for Lukaku’s signature when he joined Manchester United in 2017, with Jose Mourinho beating his former club Chelsea to the Belgian’s signature. He cost United £75 million, and was signed as a replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had an excellent first season at Old Trafford. Lukaku had a good first season at United, scoring 27 goals in all competitions, helping the Red Devils to second in the Premier League.
Yet, this season, Lukaku has been off the pace. He has been slow, laboured, and simply not at the level that has been expected of him. His goal record has also suffered, and he has netted just 12 Premier League goals since the start of the season. His poor form has meant that he has often found himself out of the team under Solskjaer, and even when he has played, his performance levels have certainly been down. It doesn’t help that Lukaku has been making noise about wanting to play in Italy, and his heart just doesn’t seem in it at United anymore.
