The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer project

By Josh Coleman, published on 19/05/21

It has been over two years now since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was named interim manager of Manchester United on the 19th December 2018, taking charge of an out of form and mentally strained squad left by his predecessor Jose Mourinho. At the time, all looked hopeless. While winning several trophies, no Utd side looked capable of reaching the levels of success and dominance found under Sir Alex Ferguson, the football wasn’t exciting, and the squad seemed merely a group of individuals.

This is where Ole comes in. Starting with his first game, Ole’s United side brushed aside Cardiff City, beating them 5-1. This was a breath of fresh air for many, free flowing, attacking football that was easy on the eye. This fantastic form continued as they went on to remain unbeaten until the 12th February, where he saw his side first lose 0-2 to PSG in the Champions League.

The character and team spirit was then clear to see in the second leg, where Solskjaer’s United side overcame the deficit, going on to win 3-2 on aggregate, thanks to a 94th minute Marcus Rashford penalty. A game and a moment that will live long in United fans’ memory. Pushing on to finish 6th after an awful start, Ole earned himself a three year contract with the club, meaning his project had officially begun.

In the 2019/20 season, we saw Ole begin the transformation from a Mourinho squad to an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer squad. Bringing in names such as Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan Bissaka and Daniel James during the summer. We also saw the departures of players who didn’t fit the system, such as Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling.

The squad was now beginning to fit Ole’s profile. He was able to begin the development of his own tactics and the development of the squad as a team. This was made even clearer with the signing of Bruno Fernandes in late January 2020, an addition which gave Solskjaer the much needed creativity in the no. 10 role. Despite crashing out of three semi-finals, Utd looked to be moving in the right direction. Reaching the latter stages of all knockout competitions they were involved in, as well as becoming the ‘best of the rest’ in the Premier League behind Liverpool and Man City, securing a 3rd place position.

In the 2020/21 season, we have seen the project in full flow. The team has become one of the most, if not the most, likeable side that we have had post-Sir Alex. OGS’ side has come close to perfecting his 4231 structure, playing free flowing football that is unpredictable and devastating to opposition sides, such as in the 9-0 victory over Southampton in February.

The exceptional man management skills of OGS has also truly come to the fore, with Luke Shaw becoming one of the best full backs in the world despite years of injury setbacks and a torrid time under Mourinho. Shaw listed Solskjaer as a factor in helping him to restart his career, describing his man management skills as ‘Second to none’ at the end of March 2021. While the season is not yet over, Solskjaer's side look to be on their way to finish 2nd, being the only side to really push a fantastic City side to the latter stages of the season, as well as the opportunity to take home the Europa League in the final on the 26th of May.

While the project isn’t complete, you can already see the pieces coming together. We have an ongoing away PL unbeaten record that currently stands at 25 games, we have achieved back to back top four finishes for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson was manager, and have scored more goals this season than they have done under any manager post Sir Alex. Let down only by inconsistency and mistakes.

Going forward, it is not unrealistic to see the project lead to another golden age for United. Signings of a CB like Raphael Varane to partner Maguire at the back could plug the holes in defence, a holding midfielder such as Declan Rice could strengthen Ole’s midfield pivot, enabling more control in the midfield. A natural right sided forward such as Jadon Sancho would also balance Ole’s front three to extend creativity to the right side of the attack. I believe these signings could lead to a squad capable of fighting for a title. In addition, Utd’s youth system has some incredible talent throughout, meaning that this could be more than just short term success..

Solskjaer is one of the most underrated managers in the league. Despite proving himself tactically against top managers such as Guardiola, Mourinho and Bielsa, he still finds himself as the target of generally unfair criticism. However, with the project beginning to take its full force, and a team with increasing strength in depth, I have full confidence that under the helm of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer we will begin to see the successes of past United sides back at Old Trafford again.