The post-Mourinho era has begun. After the sacking of the ‘Special One’, Manchester United have appointed former player Ole Gunner Solskjaer as the caretaker manager until the end of the 2018-19 season.
Being the manager of a club like United isn’t an easy task. Ask Mourinho. Three titles in his first season, second to the nearly perfect Manchester City in the Premier League in his second, Mourinho has still struggled to win over the fans during his reign.
Solskjaer has his work cut out, especially after being drawn with the dangerous Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
So let us take a look at some of the changes that need to be brought in at Old Trafford:
Sign a centre back and fix the defence:
Mourinho has often been regarded as one of the best defensive managers in world football, someone who could defend a one goal lead against the deadliest of attacks and come out victorious. But his third season at United suggested otherwise. Only four clubs have conceded more goals than United in 17 games so far in the league, which is very unlike Mourinho. One of the major issue is the centre-back position.
It’s hard to imagine Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United fielding Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof as his first choice centre-backs. With the winter transfer window approaching, a centre-back is a must, or else, the question won’t be if PSG will win the tie but by how much.
Sort out the attack:
United’s frontline have been lacklustre this season, which is pretty shocking when you see some of the players they boast. It is hard to imagine players like Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford struggling to score goals.
Solskjaer should find a way to get the best out of his players. Lukaku has struggled for form this season, after having a bright first season. Sanchez has been no where close to the player he was at Arsenal. Martial and Rashford have shown glimpses but haven’t been consistent enough and Solskjaer needs to solve the frontline and bring back the good times.
Paul Pogba:
United need to get the best out of Pogba. Everyone knows what he is capable of. One of the best players in the World Cup, Pogba has shown he still has it and why he was one of the best players in Juventus. But things in England haven’t gone so well so far.
His feud with Mourinho was well known. Mourinho's pragmatic style of play has seen Pogba doing more defensive work, which isn’t suited to the creative midfielder. The £89m Frenchman has struggled to fulfil his potential under Mourinho. Now with Mourinho gone, it’s time for Pogba to show the world why he is still one of the most talented players in the world.
Style of play:
Mourinho was never a fan of attacking play. He plays to win irrespective of whether the team deserved to win or not. But when you manage a club as big as United, the fans expect a certain style of football and assert their dominance over their opponents.
The fans have been used to fast, free-flowing attacking football for the majority of their history. Mourinho has always been more concerned about conceding a goal rather than scoring one and that has to change under Solskjaer. A change in style may even benefit players such as Sanchez, Pogba, Lukaku and Martial, who are capable of scoring a number of goals.
