A tribute to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

By Avitaj Mitra, published on 22/11/21

In December 2018, when skies were grey, you walked into a club that had lost its way, its soul, its identity. You walked into a mess trying to fix what could be fixed, salvage what could be salvaged.

You always smiled, and so did the fans. And slowly, the hope seeped back in. And in March of 2019, when the club went to Paris with half the first team missing and a 2 goal deficit to make up, most of us had given up hope but you smiled and said "Mountains are there to be climbed" and later that night, you were proven right.

Every time the wheels threatened to come off, you trusted your players to steady it, and more often than not, they did. So whenever we were down and out in games, trailing, the fans kept calm and kept on believing because as Clive Tyldesley once said "Can Manchester United score? They always score."

It's hard to know when to give up when you support a club that scored two goals in added time to win a European Cup. You always believe that in the end everything will be okay.

So you kept on smiling and when the media questioned your players, your tactics and almost willed you to fail, you shielded them like your children and kept on plugging away.

So thank you Ole for Paris, not once but twice. For that 40 yarder by Mctominay against City in the Manchester rain. For Southampton, Atalanta and many other comeback wins. For nurturing Greenwood. For Bruno, Cavani and Varane. For bringing back Ronnie. For making us fans dream that we could win the biggest titles again, even if you couldn't take that last step yourself. This club breaks the best of men, but you never stopped believing till the end.

Though you had your flaws, one thing we do know is you loved the club like us, like a fan. You lived your dream, and while there was no silverware, there was always hope and where would we fans be without hope?

"They will be fine. I will be watching and supporting." And I know you will. I just know it in my bones, as sure as you were in front of goal. And in the end, everything will be okay.

Thank you gaffer for making us happy when skies were at their most grey.