Terrace Talk: Man United - Perish the thought: Has the Ole bounce ended?
Here’s a bout of possible déjà vu for you. “Nobody wants to say it out loud, but quite a few Reds are thinking it: has the Ole Bounce ended? The sensible response to this is to shrug and say you knew this day would come. The post-appointment euphoria and adrenaline would only take them all so far. Eventually, old problems would resurface and remind the Powers That Be of the need to address them.”
That was actually written here a few February days after United salvaged a desperate draw against Burnley, a game followed by a very unconvincing win at Leicester. The warning shot-cum-reality check turned out to be a tad premature but it’s perhaps better timed now. Two defeats in a row, and with the memory of the first leg humiliation against PSG still fresh-ish in the mind, have caused some cautious voices to be raised about the danger of us getting too carried away by Ole at the wheel.
So, in the interests of balance... One such voice, an august colleague of 25 years standing and unrivalled connoisseur of all things United, puts the case for turning down the giddyometer a tad here: “Defeat at Wolves may have come as a surprise to those who have fully converted to Ole’s reformation, but less so to the more sceptical. Whilst impressive victories and goal tallies racked up against relegation fodder has reinvigorated the Red masses, Burnley’s tactics at Old Trafford in January indicated how impotent this team can look against opponents who sit deep, defend in numbers and look to out-United Solskjaer’s men on the break. Burnley’s lack of quality meant they failed to hold on to what would’ve been a deserved win, but Wolves proved a different proposition, even with their ultra cautious approach to commiting men forward. Unai Emery also clearly saw enough in January’s FA Cup tie to vary his approach to a successful end last weekend.
The general consensus has been that belief in Solksjaer had passed crucial tests with the three victories at Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea, whilst the Miracle Of Paris set him on the road to canonisation.
However, surely it would be misguided to place any ongoing store in that result in France, which owed far more to the unparalleled arrogance of PSG’s prima donnas than any real measure of ability from United’s patched-up team.
Solskjaer’s instructions were absolutely spot-on but was also simply the ‘same old’: defend in numbers and snatch what you can on the break. Smalling and co. managed to deliver at the back, but quite what Fred and McTominay did on the night to justify their lauding remains a mystery, whilst all three goals were gifts from the Gods. It was a result for the ages, but the performance was one of spirit rather than quality.
Admittedly, Solskjaer’s one-dimensional approach may possibly be good for how opponents like Barca will play. But if Messi turns up, to be met by McTominay marshalling him, Reds had better start praying now.
Ouch.
As it happens, I am being repeatedly told United had planned to announce Ole’s permanent appointment during this imminent international break. If that’s true, would the last week, or the sort of dark doubts above, have put them off? I doubt it.
Ed Woodward moves slowly but deliberately. Example: I am also now told he decided to fire Mourinho eight weeks before D-Day, and had set up Operation Succession with Ole and Molde well in advance of that. The original plan, or so I am assured, was a gentle- men’s agreement was reached whereby no decision or announcement on a permanent appointment would be made public before May. That would now have to be quietly put aside, if the stories are true.
Personally, I agree with many of the criticisms expressed above by my old colleague, yet also think we should appoint OGS nonetheless. This is based on two things: girly sentiment, and the sight this week of my beloved first choice Zidane going elsewhere. (My ultimate Ideal Wonderland choice of Roy Keane would, I accept, be less then welcome by many.) I’d be quite happy to see the back of the dullard Mickey ‘Shorts’ Phelan, however, whose reputation has become ludicrously over-inflated during his piggybacking on Ole this past three months.
We shall meet again after the break, and after (hopefully) exploiting Watford and the gap in quality between them and us.
I know it’s hard not to think about Barcelona 24/7, but let us try. Europe is on our collective mind enough as it is...
