Under Pressure United

Under Pressure – that’s a song from the British rock group, Queen featuring David Bowie and that is probably what Ole Gunnar Solksjaer is feeling right now after another poor performance and result yesterday against Leicester City. One win in 5 games across all competitions for the Red Devils is not acceptable form. Manchester United’s long inconsequential run of unbeaten away matches is over and just as well I say. Inconsequential because it didn’t lead us to any silverware. The team and manager were already under pressure before the international break and this defeat has intensified that pressure on United.

Midfield Pairing Not Working

No matter which centre-midfield pairing the manager puts out, it is easily bypassed; Fred, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba have all got a run in the centre of the park but no one can exert control there. In the last 5 matches, I have seen Aston Villa, Villareal, Everton and now Leicester City overrun and outplay us in midfield.

Defensive Weakness

It was a blow for us to lose Raphael Varane during the international break and were going into this match against Leicester without Varane and Harry Maguire. Maguire made a miraculous recovery to start against his former club but was a calamity at the back. To be fair, even before his injury, he had moments of “brain fart” but he was saved by Varane and David De Gea. Yesterday, he had a rough time back at his old haunting ground. I notice a difference between the Maguire of England and the Maguire of United; he always tends to play better for his national team as do most of his team-mates. Something that has gone under the radar, is the form for Luke Shaw at left-back. He hasn’t hit the heights of last season; like his international colleague, he too has made some mistakes and isn’t as effective going forward.

No Pattern Of Play

Going forward, we still don’t have a pattern of play and is heavily reliant on the individual brilliance of our attackers to get us the goals. Mason Greenwood scored a howitzer to give us an undeserved lead and Marcus Rashford got us a second after a great pass by Victor Lindelof, one of the rare players that could emerge from this game in a positive light. Lindelof’s pass and Rashford’s run from deep are the closest we have to a system of play that has been worked on in the training ground.

Lack Of Faith In All The Players

Did Harry Maguire deserve to start the game? He was out injured for 3 weeks and only had 1 training session but was thrown in after Varane’s injury and that exemplifies again the lack of trust and faith Solksjaer had in ALL the players in his squad. Eric Bailly has only played one game for United this season and for his national team during the international break. If he played, he would be rusty but you never know what a player is capable of had the manager shown faith. Solksjaer regularly harks back to the days of Sir Alex Ferguson and quotes his old manager. What he has forgotten is how his former manager showed faith and trust in ALL his players including Solksjaer himself and was not afraid of using everyone at his disposal.

Do Or Die For Solksjaer

I seriously doubt Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will be sacked so soon due to the faith and trust of the owners and the board but if things keep going south in terms of results ahead of a tough run of fixtures, the sack will be imminent. Solksjaer has hinted at a change in formation and he will need to do that and more to save himself. He has been here before in his time as a United manager and each time, he has pulled a rabbit out of his hat. It could be a step too far or he could just save his job. Things and opinions in football change quickly and it is tied with the result and performances. I feel he has reached his maximum point and is inept at this level but I am ready to be surprised.