Solskjaer sacked by Man Utd

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked as Manchester United manager after an “embarrassing” 4-1 defeat at Watford.

Solskjaer signed a new three-year deal in July but leaves after overseeing five defeats in their last seven Premier League matches – a run which sees them 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.

The Old Trafford hierarchy had ignored increasingly vociferous calls to relieve Solskjaer of his duties in the wake of a humiliating 5-0 loss to rivals Liverpool and a 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester City in early November.

But his position was discussed by United officials on Saturday evening following the crushing defeat at Vicarage Road, before the announcement of his dismissal followed on Sunday morning.

Solskjaer was booed by a number of the United fans in the away end at full time, although midfielder Bruno Fernandes appeared to try to redirect their frustration towards the players.

Goalkeeper David de Gea labelled the defeat “embarrassing” but added: “It’s easy to blame the manager or the staff but sometimes it’s the players.”

Asked what this result meant for his future, Solskjaer told Sky Sports: “I am working for and with the club. Of course we have good communication and if the club are thinking of doing something that is a conversation between us.”

Ole’s journey ‘at the wheel’ ends without a trophy

Former United striker Solskjaer returned to the club initially as caretaker manager after the dismissal of Jose Mourinho in December 2018 and immediately produced an upturn in United’s form – including the 3-1 win at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

‘Ole’s at the wheel’ became a trending topic as Solskjaer was appointed on a permanent basis in March 2019.

He was unable to lead United into the top four of the Premier League that season but did achieve third and second-place finishes in his two full seasons in charge.

However, Solskjaer failed to deliver silverware during his tenure, with the defeat on penalties to Villarreal in last season’s Europa League final being their best effort.

How did Solskjaer compare?

The Norwegian departs Manchester United with an inferior win percentage to that of Jose Mourinho, the man he replaced. Here, we take a look at the numbers…

Saturday’s defeat to Watford was Solskjaer’s 168th game in charge of the club. In total, he won 91 of them, drawing 37 and losing 40.

Of Manchester United’s four permanent managers since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure from the club, including David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho as well as Solskjaer, the Norwegian’s overall win rate of 54 per cent puts him second.

Mourinho’s win rate is the highest of the four at 58 per cent, while Moyes and Van Gaal trail on 53 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.

Manchester United’s recent derby defeat to City, when they were comprehensively outplayed by Pep Guardiola’s side only a couple of weeks after a 5-0 humbling by Liverpool, underlined the gulf between Solskjaer’s side and the teams competing for the title.

Overall, Solskjaer’s record against the traditional big-six – Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham – is mixed, with 14 wins, 10 draws and 12 losses.

His win rate of 39 per cent in those games is higher than Mourinho’s and considerably higher than Moyes’ but it is lower than Van Gaal’s. The Dutchman won 10 of his 23 meetings against the big-six – giving him a success rate of 43 per cent.

Solskjaer’s win percentages put him on a similar level to his predecessors but therein lay the problem for him.

He was originally appointed on an interim basis in order to provide short-term improvement, which he did in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign, but the remit changed when he took the job permanently.

From there, the challenge was to turn Manchester United back into Premier League title challengers but the defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool showed they remain a long way off their rivals.

Indeed, a big-six mini-league of head-to-head meetings since Solskjaer’s appointment puts Manchester United 18 points behind City and 23 behind Liverpool.

That, of course, is despite heavy investment in the squad. This summer, Manchester United brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane at considerable expense.

The idea was to turn the side into title challengers but instead they find themselves 12 points off the summit. Performances have largely been even worse than their standing suggests.

Their latest round of spending pushed their net spend under Solskjaer to GBP312m – GBP33m more than any other Premier League side and GBP196m more than City and Liverpool’s combined.

Manchester United have long been lavish spenders in the transfer market but they have now invested more under Solskjaer (GBP441m) than they did under Mourinho (GBP430.8m) or Van Gaal (GBP309.2m).

Expectations have risen accordingly and Solskjaer was unable to meet them. He kept the side at roughly the same level of his predecessors but more was required. Manchester United will now pin their hopes on a new manager to restore their former glories.

Man Utd’s upcoming fixtures

November 23: Villarreal (a) – Champions League, kick-off 5.45pm

November 28: Chelsea (a) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports

December 2: Arsenal (h) – Premier League, kick-off 8.15pm

December 5: Crystal Palace (h) – Premier League, kick-off 2pm

December 8: Young Boys (h) – Champions League, kick-off 8pm