The 2020/21 season has been a rollercoaster of emotions for Manchester United fans so far, from the highs of starting the Champions league group stage with six points against the toughest two opponents in Group H. To the devastating low of being fourteenth in the Premier League after 7 games, having only picked up a staggering 1 point from 12 at home, leading many fans to be angry at Ole’s mindset going into the tough games against Chelsea and Arsenal, as it appeared the red devils did not try to win the games and seemed happy with securing a point.
A facet of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching that has been criticised since he was given the caretaker job has been his tactical naivety and his ability to install a system to break down defensive teams. We have seen success from Ole’s United side using a range of tactical systems, from a 5 at the back counter attacking style which worked well against Manchester City in the 19/20 Premier League season, with Manchester United winning both games. More recently we have seen more success with a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond system which makes use of Manchester United’s depth in the midfield positions, this system allows Ole to star summer acquisition Donny van de Beek who thrives in the box to box role along side Fred or Bruno Fernandes. This balance allows Manchester United to be more defensively structured with also having the threat of goals as it allows the midfield and attack to be more creative.
The criticism of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s this season has been party due to inconsistency in team selections, and not playing the best player for a role, something Donny van de Beek has suffered from as he has spent a lot on time on the bench this season leading to Dutch legend Marco van Basten to comment that he thinks Donny made a mistake joining Manchester United. Another example of this is the use of promising defender Axel Tuanzebe who came into the starting XI against PSG after a significant amount of time on the side lines due to injury. An impressive performance against some of the world’s best players in Kylian Mbappe and Neymar lead to fans calling for him to replace captain Harry Maguire who has hit a stint of low form after a controversial summer when he was arrested. However, Axel’s game time has not improved since his impressive performance and he is now being used as a bench option.
Heading into the hectic December schedule where games come thick and fast Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must set Manchester United on the right track for a top 4 finish and the run of games approaching could be a chance to establish a platform to build on into the new year.
Scoreboard Blog 