With reports linking Ole Gunnar Solksjaer with the sack, FootballRants take a look at who could replace him, if he was indeed sacked.
Antonio Conte
The fiery Italian is currently the frontrunner for the job.
PROS
Tactical Nous.
Adaptability.
Serial Winner.
Experienced.
CONS
Abrasive nature.
Short term.
Lack of success in Europe.
Brendan Rodgers
Former Liverpool boss, Rodgers has also been linked despite reports stating he covets the City job.
PROS
Tactical Nous.
Use of Youth.
Better CV than incumbent.
CONS
Implosion of teams late in the season as witnessed at Liverpool and Leicester.
Liverpool Connections.
Hefty Compensation.
Zinedane Zidane
Three UCL titles,a La Liga trophy and a CV to rival the very bests in the world.
PROS
Impressive Trophy haul.
Experienced managing a superstar dressing room.
Would command respect.
CONS
Was embedded at Madrid where he inherited a brilliant squad
Has not worked outside Real Madrid.
Inability to speak language might be an hindrance.
Seemingly uninterested in the job.
Without a doubt,Ole is going through the worst period in his Manchester United reign and would need all his tactical acumen to survive,its telling that fans didn’t sing about Ole in the traumatic defeat to Liverpool.
The extension of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s contract did not presumably come with a clause that includes five nil trashing in the hand of fierce rivals on home turf. What the hierarchy presumably had in mind was more in line with a title challenge that was emboldened by the arrival of the GOAT yet here we are lurching from one disaster to another.
Ole is not in the same league as Pep Guardiola,Jurgen Klopp or Thomas Tuchel,his perceived rivals.3 years in and Ole’s side can’t seem to defend despite been assembled with vast amount of money nor is there anything resembling a midfield when they play.
Ole looking on.
It is rather pitiful pointing out every week about Ole’s inabilities,a state of affairs that has been allowed to drag on for too long by the decision makers at the theater of dreams but there is need for Ole’s backroom staff to be scrutinized. Football people they are, there’s question mark over their abilities.Are they good enough or learning on the job?.Has Ole surrounded himself with the right personnels?.Mike Phelan does no work on the training grounds and is Ole’s assistant while Eric Ramsey has been drafted in to address the set piece issue yet Man Utd have still conceded five from set piece already.
Ole has undoubtedly helped Manchester United get out of the funk created by Jose Mourinho’s reign,its hard to think a better coach wouldn’t get more out of this band of superstars.For too long,his shady substitutes & tactical naivety has cost Manchester United.
Thekickoff for 33rd edition of the AFCON is less than 100 days away,its time to meet the favourites.
ALGERIA
Reigning champions,the Algerian’s have a very strong squad with players like Said Benrahma (West Ham),Adam Ounas (Napoli),Ismael Bennacer (AC Milan),Islam Slimani (Olympique Lyonnais) & captain Riyhad Mahrez (Manchester City).Coach Djamel Belmadi has plethora of options to pick from.
The team coasted through qualifiers unbeaten in group H & scored 19 goals in 6 matches to underline their attacking power while the core of the 2019 winning team remain,there is excitement in Benrahma’s development & there seems to be no stopping Algeria although with Ivory Coast also in their group,the desert foxes will be wary of complacency.
CAMEROON
Host & Group F winners from qualifiers,marooned in the same group as Cape Verde who took 4 points off them during qualifiers and Burkina Faso (who topped their group) and Ethiopia,the Indomitable Lions would have to roar in order to make it out. They do have the quality in A.Anguissa (Napoli),Karl Toko Ekanbi (Olympique Lyon) & Captain Eric Maxim Chuopo-Moting (Bayern Munich).Led by Portuguese Antonio Conceicao,the Lions would consider themselves capable of lifting gold.
COTE D’IVOIRE
Winners of group K from qualifiers,the Elephants are in same group as defending champion Algeria in group E alongside Sierra Leone & Equatorial Guinea.The Ivorians are not short of talents & boast the likes of Eric Bailly (Manchester United),Nicholas Pepe (Arsenal), Sebastian Haller (Ajax),Frank Kessie (AC Milan), Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace),Wily Boly (Wolves) & Captain Serge Aurier (Villareal).On paper one of the deepest squad led by Patrice Beaumelle,the ivorians should be at the business end of the tournament.
EGYPT
Africa’s most successful side with 7 titles,last of which came in 2010 .The Pharaohs are in same group as Nigeria and are ked by Carlos Queiroz boasting stars like Mohammed Elneny (Arsenal),,Ramadan Sobhi (Pyramid FC) and Captain Mo Salah (Liverpool).
GHANA
With Morrocco (Ziyech & Hakimi),Gabon (Aubameyang) & Comoros lying in wait.The black stars led by Milovan Rajevar will need players like Thomas Partey (Arsenal) & The Ayew Brothers (Swansea & Crystal Palace) to turn uup
NIGERIA
The Super Eagles finished 3rd in the last edition and would prepare for Gold this time while qualification was sewed up early blowing a 4 goal lead rankled.Led by coach Gernot Rohr,the German has Alex Iwobi (Everton) ,Victor Osimhen (Napoli) Wilf ndidi & Kelechi “SeniorMan” Iheanacho (Leicester City).
SENEGAL
The Teranga Lions were 2nd last time out & would be serious about going one better by winning it.Players like Ismaila Sarr (Watford),Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) & Sadio Mane would lead their charge.Count them out at your peril.
When Manchester United defeated Thomas Tuchel’s PSG in spectacular manner,there was only going to be one outcome.Ole becoming permanent manager,since that time Ole’s side has finished 3rd & 2nd respectively in his two full seasons in charge, throw in 4 semifinals & an European cup final & a nice little picture of a man that has worked wonders with is painted.
Cynically,it can also be pointed out that his 3rd place finish was achieved with 66 points the same number of points that was only good enough for 6th the previous season while his 2nd place finish was actually a distant 13 points behind the Champions & only cale about because Liverpool defenders seemed to be made out of glass & the Lampard experiment was still in full flow at Chelsea.All this and the meek surrender to Leicester City & Villareal in the FA Cup semis & Europa final despite inferior budgets makes Ole look like some lucky chap who won a lottery to be the Manchester United manager.
Invariably the truth is somewhere in between,Ole is neither world class,his use of substitutes is baffling even when his substitutes combine to win him games,it feels like it was achieved due to individual brilliance rather than some genius tactical work nor is he as bad as some fans will have you believe,this is the manager with the longest unbeaten away record in EPL history & who can forget that glorious night in Paris.
The conundrum is what makes you wonder how long should the process be trusted before the wheels start to fall off?.Ole has had ample time to put his stamp on the team.Gary Neville memorably quipped that he needs more transfer windows,he has had 5 yet there is no discernable style of play, it’s pitiful watching Manchester United amass 75% ball possession yet struggle to create clear cut chances all this while defending as if they never held training sessions together.Defeats to Istanbul Basaksehir F.K,Young Boys, Villareal & Leicester City has shown how much Ole seems out of his depth,even victories against Brighton, Villareal & West Ham were achieved by individual inspiration & wastefulness of the opposition.Ole has spent the most in his period as manager & no longer has any excuse especially with CR7 in the squad the ante has been upped,Ole needs to start winning & winning soon.
FA Cup winners,a good European adventure, spending most of the season in the top four.The Foxes were firmly poised to break the stranglehold of the top six & had finished above both NLD clubs the season before. They have a talented manager at the helm & owners that truly cared.There have been talks of a title battle between four teams this season but after 6 games it seems Leicester are regressing after two upward years. They currently lie in 13th place,6 points of top four.
A combination of injuries,loss of form & suspension has deprived Brendan Rodgers of a consistent team selection.it is no exaggeration to say Wesley Fofana & James Justin has been missed whule Harvey Barnes development has been stalled due to his recent long term lay off and James Madison is yet to hit his previous heights. This key players were one reason why the team flew out the blocks last season.
They have only faced two teams that finished in the top ten last season and have been on par with their XG but last season was a case of outperforming XG.The Foxes scored 68 goals from an XG of 60.0xg & significantly outperformed their defensive XG.At a point last season,they were only 8th on XG yet were 3rd in the actual league table. It was only a matter of time before the implosion (as witnessed last season).Now they are neither outperforming nor underperforming as compared to XG.The season is quite young and alarm bells shouldn’t be rung yet but its something to keep an eye on.The earlier the Foxes can find their rhythm the better for their fans.
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