This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
It was back in March 2014 that the writing was on the wall for David Moyes’ career at Manchester United. The Scot had only taken charge of the Red Devils the previous summer, but a series of poor results had brought his future into sharp focus.
Having been beaten 3-0 by Liverpool, United suffered another chastening defeat by the same score-line – this time to ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City, who walked away with the bragging rights and all three points against the then reigning Premier League champions. Moyes’ response?
“I think we’ve played a very good side and it’s the sort of standard and level we need to try and aspire to get ourselves to at this moment in time. I think we need to play better. We’re needing to come up a couple of levels at the moment and we’re not quite there.”
As it would pan out, the former Everton boss would be sacked by the Red Devils hierarchy less than a month after that 3-0 reverse to City. Fast forward five years, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may just have put the nail into his own coffin with a similarly questionable verdict on matters.
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Speaking ahead of the Premier League clash against Norwich on Sunday, the Norwegian appeared to lose all memory that he is in charge of one of the biggest sides in the world.
He said: “I hope we are going to stop them because it’s always going to be difficult down at Carrow Road. We’ll need to be at our best to have a chance.”
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Against the Canaries? The newly-promoted team that have conceded the joint-highest number of goals with 21, and are lying in the relegation zone? Solskjaer’s pre-match verdict has undeniable echoes of the time Moyes completely misjudged what it is to be a manager of United.
Whatever the problem, the Red Devils’ status and reputation is that they continue to act as one of the top dogs in English football. At its core, it is fundamentally about saving face, and presenting a club that is impervious to however fall they may have fallen on the pitch. The name and tradition is what counts, and Solskjaer, like his predecessor Moyes, has shown no grasp of that.
And as speculation continues to mount over Solskjaer’s long-term future at the club, his comments ahead of the game against Norwich have simply dredged up old memories of the final days of Moyes’ tenure at Old Trafford. For the latter, he was sacked within a month. It could well be the same for the current United boss too.
