There is no guarantee the Norwegian would restore a sense of positivity like he did first time round – and failure would be a nightmare
Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s prime candidacy to become Manchester United’s interim manager for a second time appears the latest faulty strategic move by Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football, and the chief executive, Omar Berrada.
Solskjær, whose previous tenure at United seems to place him ahead of another favoured candidate in Michael Carrick, has to be a success. If not Sir Jim Ratcliffe will surely file his hiring alongside the Ruben Amorim, Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag fiascos, for which Wilcox-Berrada are fully or partly responsible.
To understand why Solskjær’s second coming to the United hotseat may backfire, rewind to when his stint at the United wheel ended in chaos and tears in the autumn of 2021. His final two games brought an axing that might have occurred many times during a turbulent tenure.
First, a hapless 2-0 derby defeat by Manchester City closed with the Norwegian heading for the tunnel and clapping a mortified Old Trafford which hardly returned the gesture. Then, the humiliating 4-1 loss at Watford turned the faithful’s adoration for Solskjær into the cruel currency of jeers – and he was sacked that night.
