Manchester United Recap: The turnaround under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

After speculation over who would succeed José Mourinho as Manchester United's manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær was hired as caretaker manager on 19 December, 2018. Being no stranger to the club, he knew exactly what everyone expected at the Theater Of Dreams.

The end came after a 3-1 away loss to Liverpool. The club, once a European juggernaut, was in shambles. Something had to change.

The Red Devils were to face Cardiff in an away game on December 22. On paper, it should have been a walk in the park. But many believed it would be a tough test. However, United won with a four-goal margin, having scored five.

The five goals were special because the last time United had scored five was way back in May 2013, under Sir Alex Ferguson in his last game in charge against West Bromwich Albion. Some people believed it to be a fluke or luck but nonetheless, it has given fans some hope in this bleak period, with some optimistically thinking of better times ahead.

And then it happened. Beating Huddersfield 3-1 followed by a 4-1 victory against Bournemouth, Ole stood with three wins in his three first games as in charge. It was not only that United had not played a draw but rather won, it was the way in which they were winning. Yes, United were again playing as an attacking minded team that they have always been till Sir Alex's time. The fans were electrified with how the team were performing.

United were taking the initiative to attack rather than sitting back and absorbing pressure. The ideal tactics with the player pool, which has been only on paper till now, were being actually executed in the game. For the first time this season, we were looking at positive double digits in terms of goal difference and the confidence of United beating teams under them has been reinstated into the fans once again.

The start of the new year of 2019 also had many surprises, but this time for the better. Ole has won the Manager Of The Month award for January after a string of victories and he continued his momentum into the next month. 25 points since taking over in his first 9 games were the most any manager ever achieved. With a 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace at the end of the month, Ole has set the club record for most consecutive away wins, eight being the number. He has only been in charge for a little over two months and what he has managed to achieve was certainly unprecedented for any United fan or anyone else for that matter. Words like fluke and luck were quickly tossed aside. The team was performing, the manager was delivering more than what had been initially expected and there was new life in the fans.

However, the real test was to come in March when United were up against Paris Saint-Germain, one of the favourites for this year's Champions League Finals followed by fixtures against Chelsea and Liverpool. The fans were hoping for something good since the first of the two games were to be played on home turf but in their hearts, they had already accepted a UCL exit. The results did not matter much for the fans, their team trying their best, attacking and worrying the other opposition, was what they really hoped to see. However, perhaps the first time under his tenure, Ole might have received some backlash from the fans. The 0-2 loss was not the issue, it was the way the team had played - too much defense oriented.

From a tactical point of view, it was a very sound choice. However, from the fans point, it instantly reminded them of the time before him and a very dull game for them, who by this point had again become accustomed to the old flashy United. Some already started believing that perhaps after his first loss, there might be some negative effects on the team and what not. But Ole put everyone's mind at ease instantly.

Not only did United manage to knock out Chelsea in the FA Cup but also managed to draw against league favourites Liverpool. This followed with two consecutive wins against Palace and the Saints showing that United could handle the big games and games that needed to be won are still being won.

However, fans were prepared for a very tough game yet again against PSG, this time in Paris. Not conceding a goal would already be considered a miracle. The lack of key players was not giving fans much hope either. What 'the Baby-faced Assassin' was left with was a bunch of youth and mostly average performing players, nowhere enough to match a powerhouse like PSG. And then the miracle at Paris happened. Defying all odds and despite being the heavy underdogs, United had upset PSG with a 3-1 margin. Ole had done the impossible.

Agent Solskjær: Mission Accomplished

The newfound love for Ole from the fans has been doubled many times over. He, without a shred of doubt in anyone else's mind, has put United at a place where no one would have imagined three months ago. In Ole we trust was in every fan's heart and they were pleading the management to appoint him as full-time manager. On the back of his performances and the love from the fans, United finally penned downed a three-year-contract with him on 28th March, 2019. The fans were thrilled to see what's next to come.

Let's break down what Ole really changed so as to get this decisive change in overall terms rather than getting match specific. Previously, every individual was more or less man marking an individual opponent, which on paper sounds good but its practicality was far from it. The idea was to try and win the ball from an individual and initiate a counter attack, which seldom happened.

Why you may ask? Well, firstly because every player is not born with the instinct to man mark and that's specially true for the midfield and forward players which we will get into in a bit. Let's look at one scenario which generally happened.

Our most forward man, Lukaku, is found to be lingering in our own half and nearer to the danger zone rather than the possession zone. The opposing full back is already onto him already, so he ain't breaking loose any time soon or quick. Also, the other opponent full back is even more up the field than Lukaku and their wing back are already into advanced positions, waiting for chances to break past.

So United have already let the opponents full control of the possession zone, and are overloaded in the danger zone, where they hope to win the ball, not by cutting passing lines or zonal defending but by man marking. This, in most scenarios would lead to three things, a foul, in an attempt to win the ball (Matic was almost booked every game, and two or three cards for the defenders every game was very prevalent). The opponent getting the ball into the clearance zone. The guys actually winning the ball without mishaps.

General Field Areas

A set piece to the opposition is a no-no. Inviting more pressure into clearance zone? United don't have the duo of Vidic-Ferdinand but rather a combination of disasters in Jones-Smalling, their performance have been average at best mostly or the young duo of Bailly-Lindelof, too inexperienced to do this task against veteran attackers.

If the ball was won, it would generally lead to a sorry state of affairs. Suppose Rashford won the ball, and is trying to make a run with the ball down the wing. He can't make a one-two run because there is no two there as that player has been busy marking some other player. And herein lies the issue. If you are asking each of your player to man mark, in a way, aren't they also being marked? Also, your wingers are marking their wing backs and they in turn are marking your wingers at the same time. United just made the task a lot easier for the opposing defenders as they will always be there to check the wingers and pressure them. That's what I meant by every player not having an instinct to mark.

The opposing defenders will of course have this but you are asking your wingers and midfield to do the same? Their instinct is creating chances and attacking, not defending. This was one of the main reasons for the lack of cohesion in the team. They were not playing in their element and were being forced into something at which they are not good at and in the end, the manager, Mou, used to say they need to put in more effort in an area where they didn't need to.

Coming back to the scenario, Rashford, having the guy he won the ball from back on his tail, is having a hard time. The opposing guy is pressing him harder because the referees are a bit more lenient as the ball is in United half, not the enemy. He only has one man to pass to, that being Lukaku. After Lukaku gets the ball, he has been given an impossible task by Mou. Hold the ball, against a defender who is already marking him and another one converging in on him. 9/10 times the possession would be lost. The other guys who have moved forward a bit, are again backpedalling and the opponents are always having the initiative in United's half, which is never a good sign. Result: Boring matches and frustrating results for the fan and the players.

Here Comes The Baby Face Assassin Looking Forward To A Bright Future

Ole, as soon as taking charge, scrapped these tactics. Because United were lacking in defense, Mou pulled back more players to reinforce it. Ole, on the other hand, changed this to an active defence,i.e., if they score one, we will score two. Man marking was reserved only for certain players to carry out and it was not be kept up at all times, only when the ball was in danger zone.

United are now more zonal marking and cutting pass lines, trying to intercept high up the pitch, pressuring the opponent to be quick rather than them taking their own sweet time. When they win the ball now, the players are happily marching forward already because they now know they would not be coming back any time soon, most likely only after creating an attack, the most prominent example being Shaw. No longer were two players trying to be CDM seen again. Matic is generally seen on the bench or being substituted, as, though he is an accomplished player at his position, he is slow in comparison to rest of the attack, and Ole fixed it by replacing him with Herrera.

Herrera is now playing more of CM, seen equally both in attack and defense rather than being used more as CDM under Mou. The wingers, generally if they are quick like Rashford, Martial, Alexis and others, along with Lukaku, at nearer to the half line, not only preventing the opposing defenders from joining the attack but also being in open and advanced attacking positions themselves. Pogba is now actively seen creating chances as his defensive duties have been reduced. So now, the midfield and forwards, rather than being passive, have suddenly been turned into active roles of attacking, which they have been wanting to.

Ole just put every player into his element, the position that they want to actually play in. The attack, which under Mou looked half hearted with defenders outnumbering United attackers generally by 2:1, now looks very dangerous. This has resulted in an attack style which seems to have been lost with Sir Alex retiring, the box overloading.

Now, in majority of the attacks, United has a minimum presence of three players inside the opposing box with more players looking to join them or being present just outside the box. The attack, which under Mou, seemed to have only two or three players committed, now has five or more players.

Ole put his trust in the players by creating ideal conditions for them and the players paid back in the correct way. The fans are also thrilled in seeing this style re-emerge again. Gone are the days when United attackers were more like defenders. Under Ole, the team delivers like it should on paper, fast and lethal attacking football. Jose generally liked to play with 4-2-3-1 which would quickly change to 4-5-1 more often than not, with every player playing defense in general. Under Ole, the formation changed to 4-3-3, with the three midfield being flexible by being played flat and giving them the opportunity to go back and forth according to their judgement. This looks good to the fans as well who have been tortured to death seeing their team always defend. They synchronization between the attackers is increasing every match and the players look more in control.

Looking forward to a bright future

As we stand here on 6th April, 2019, we can say with certainty that United is definitely undergoing a new era. Results against Chelsea and especially against City will be a key as what more to expect next season.

Minor hiccups along the way can be ignored this season as long as United manage to secure a UCL qualification spot. As far as the UCL match against Barcelona can be speculated about, it will be the same as was said against PSG - United are unlikely to survive it but then again, Ole has shown us miracles still happen, especially with him being at the helm.

Players like Shaw, Dalot, Darmian who wanted to leave previously now have considered staying under the Norwegian. This has put the fans are at ease who now know their other long term prospects are unlikely to leave soon anytime in the future. The star players not having a dispute with the manager, even if they were rumours, is a positive sign to the fans about the vibes in the dressing room. Also, Ole is working with the team he has been left with, not the one he built. After spending a quiet winter transfer, it will be interesting to see what players will he go for in the summer window. All in all, the Ole Gunnar Solskjær figure stands brightly illuminating a path for a future all United fans can't wait to see.