Questions about whether Solskjaer is the right man to bring trophies back to Old Trafford have been raised since he was appointed as full-time manager in 2019.
There are now growing doubts following United’s poor run of form, losing three of the last six games against mid-table teams.
United are already off the pace in the Champions League and have fallen behind their rivals in the Premier League ahead of a tough run of fixtures.
Solskjaer has assembled a star-stunned squad capable of competing for European honours. However, a draw against Everton at home with yet another underwhelming performance does little to prove their title credentials at this stage.
But, this squad is in a transition phase with the introduction of three first-team players. United are in search of a new formulation and playing style that brings the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho in particular.
There shouldn’t be a major outcry unless the performances continue to look disjointed as the season unfolds.
Solskjaer should be criticised for his questionable team selections and poor in-game management. But calling for a replacement manager at this time will only cause more disruptions.
Degrading his legendary status at the club as a player and the impact he’s had as a manager is also unfair.
Here’s a look at why Solskjaer has earned his managerial role and the right to see the rest of this season out.
Progress
Many see the lack of silverware as the defining factor when assessing his time at the club so far. But I judge him based on the overall impact he’s had as the culture of this football club has been reset.
United were stripped of an identity and had no clear direction under Jose Mourinho. Fans were tired of his defensive style of play that went against the club’s history of attacking football.
The standards have risen since Solskjaer’s arrival and the mood has lifted.
Contrary to popular opinion, he does have a playing style as the team look to play fast-paced attacking football with greater width and allowing the right players to overload in the box. This has been proven as United are among the highest goal-scoring teams in the league and have netted five or more goals on ten different occasions under Solskjaer.
The team have shown consistency by securing top-four finishes in consecutive seasons in the Premier League. None of the previous managers has been able to it in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. This side also has the record for the longest run of games undefeated away from home.
Squad Rebuild
The reason why expectations have shifted from wanting to close the gap to challenging for European titles is down to the exceptional squad Solskjaer has built.
There seems to be a recruitment strategy now in place as he’s managed to offload several older squad members while also signing top-quality players. Harry Maguire, Champions League Varane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, are arguably three of the best defenders around. Recruiting Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and bringing back Ronaldo will go down as some of the biggest signings in the club’s history.
Under Mourinho, the team’s chemistry was deteriorating as any issues he had with the players were made known to the public. In contrast, Solskjaer has afforded care and concern when needed to bring the best out of every player.
This style of man-management has been successful with the seamless integration of Mason Greenwood into the first team, Luke Shaw’s transformation and both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial having their best goal-scoring season under his reign.
Solskjaer has also maintained the club’s tradition of providing opportunities to young players by giving more debuts to teenagers than the previous managers.
But the rebuilding stage is coming to an end and the pressure is well and truly on, especially if United don’t make it out of the Champions League group stage. This team shouldn’t be getting outplayed every week.
However, the work that Solskjaer has done since his arrival deserves praise.
You can criticise the manager when the team is underperforming, while still hoping he succeeds with the squad he’s built.
He will be judged at the end of the season if the performances don’t improve. But the club’s transformation under Solskjaer shouldn’t be overlooked.
We’ve seen this side make a comeback after a bad spell of games and the same can happen again.