Why it's not fair to blame Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Manchester United's recent slump

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Manchester United was given a convincing 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, and there was nowhere to hide for the famed 'superstars' of United.

The infamous defence of the Red Devils went for a toss as Richarlison de Andrade, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lucas Digne, and Theo Walcott all found the net with relative ease. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left with his hands on his head as assistant manager Mike Phelan and coaches Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna looked on in disbelief as well.

Manchester United have entered the throes of mediocrity, and in turn, become a mid-table team at best. The critics who pointed out that the Red Devils were 'a rich man's Stoke City' before the season began, weren't far off the mark. The display on Sunday showed a lack of hunger, desire, and application by each and every Manchester United player.

The rot that has set inside Manchester United cannot be fixed quite as easy as people assume, and it is unfair to blame new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for this debacle.

People expected a lot of things from him and the Norwegian delivered at the beginning of his tenure, culminating in a massive comeback win over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, but sadly the players lost their hunger after that.

Nemanja Matic, who allowed Gylfi Sigurdsson to twist and turn and get into an empty space to score Everton's second goal, surely has no future at Old Trafford anymore. He takes an eternity to turn with the ball at his feet, and when he is without it, he can never be seen in dangerous areas or opening up spaces.

Right-back, Ashley Young, has overstayed his time at Old Trafford, as he has lost his legs and has zero defensive abilities to boot.

Manchester United do not have players who are hungry for success or who want to challenge for major honours. Strikers Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford have shown that they have the ability to win games single-handedly but have always been found wanting when the team needs them the most.

It is not Solskjaer's fault that these players do not possess the desire to do well for the club or make the fans (who pay their wages) happy.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can tell the players how to play and where to play but he cannot give birth to the obsession for doing well inside them. Manchester United have become a joke and no offence to Everton, this loss must be embarrassing to legends of the club.

The club has become so disgraceful that leave aside Solskjaer, even the great Sir Alex Ferguson would find it difficult to turn its fortunes around in a flash.

The obvious solution to this crisis is to spend a ton of money in the summer and rebuild the squad from scratch, but United must also be willing to buy players who have the hunger to do well for Manchester United and the club crest.

It is time that the superstars in the team like Paul Pogba and David de Gea take a stand and reignite the flame that Manchester United was once famous for.

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