Manchester derby showed United owners how big a mistake they made with Solskjaer/Conte

After a poor season, Manchester United’s management has stood by its coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whom it continues to trust. But the Manchester derby showed everyone, as did the Liverpool game, that England’s top flight is elsewhere. But is it the quality of the players or the quality of the coaches?

Another abysmal performance from Manchester United. On the other hand, we’ve already witnessed a few like it this season. It took Solskjaer’s boys practically 35 minutes in the Manchester derby before they could get past the halfway line and at least stay there for a while.

At half-time, the Norwegian coach tried to change tactics. On the surface it helped, but in the second half Pep Guardiola’s charges took their foot off the gas and concentrated mainly on solid defending. It worked perfectly, as the Red Devils notched only one single shot on target in the entire match.

Solskjaer’s desperate switch to three defenders thus proved tragic time and time again, but this time the return to the traditional 4-2-3-1 was not due to injury, but as mentioned, the Norwegian coach opted for it at half-time.

The coaching staff is trying everything possible, but by all accounts it won’t be enough for the foreseeable future at least. The reason? They just don’t have it in them! Guardiola, Klopp, Conte and other top coaches are recognized for something, it’s just that Solskjaer simply put doesn’t have it and it’s questionable if he ever will…

Antonio Conte could be a great move to take a great project up a level and finally catch up with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. Solskjaer did his job brilliantly and would have deserved a “sochu” for that, but it was time to move on, or rather, it was time to move on, and it was this ideal moment that the Red Devils management missed!

A new coach?

If the Manchester United management decides to end their association with the Norwegian coach later this year, the most frequently mentioned name that could replace him is the experienced German coach Ralf Rangnick.

the 63-year-old coach has experience mainly in the Bundesliga, where he has led a number of teams. He last served as coach of RB Leipzig, where he quit in the summer of 2019 and moved into a managerial position, in which he stayed until last summer. A year later, he then signed on with Lokomotiv Moscow until 2024.

Rangnick was one of the options for the new Manchester United coach back in 2019 and according to several English media outlets, he would probably be the one the management would bring in. It must be added that the experienced German coach himself was and certainly still is reportedly very interested in the position.

He had good results at RB Leipzig and it was obvious that he is a quality coach. But how he would do with a team that has the quality to challenge for Europe’s biggest trophies is a question that only his engagement would answer. But it is certainly a sympathetic choice.

Source: Sky Sports, Transfermarkt