Manchester United v Cardiff City: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer waves as Juan Mata leaves him drowning at Old Trafford
Old Trafford showers an old hero with love and then watches a new one make himself immediatley at home
For a moment early in Manchester
United's 2-0 win against Cardiff
City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer forgot what he was doing at Old Trafford.
The Cardiff City manager had stepped into his technical area for the first
time, and was semaphoring signals to his players, making sharp karate-style
chopping motions to indicate the lines he wanted them to take up.
Spotting him there, the regulars in the Stretford End started up a chant.
“Ole, Ole give us a wave,” they demanded.
Temporarily putting aside his primary purpose of the evening – to inflict
further misery on the United faithful – he duly obliged.
He waved like it was 1999 all over again. Maybe he was practising for future
times.
Maybe, momentarily, he thought the grand ambition he has nursed since he
retired as a player had been suddenly realised and he was now manager of the
club he once graced with such distinction.
But then it was understandable if his lines of communication were blurred.
It was like old times when he stepped out into Old Trafford: his name was echoing round the stadium.
It is a rare evening indeed when both sets of supporters are chanting in unison.
But here, the second he appeared from the tunnel, the United followers and the boisterous visitors from Cardiff came together to acknowledge the Norwegian.
He was accompanied, incidentally, as he walked to the bench by a security guard. Presumably to protect him from being hugged to death by Fred the Red, the United mascot.
Solskjaer holds a particularly elevated position at Old Trafford.
In times of trouble, United fans tend to revert to the old days in their song book. Names like Eric Cantona and George Best ring from the stands.
And that of Solskjaer. His name has been sung loud and long this season, with every mention bringing back memories of triumph, of last-minute winners, of putting the ball in the Germans’ net.
For years there was a banner along the front of the Stretford End in his honour: Olegend it read.
It was taken down this summer. Not as the result of a diminution in respect, but in order to make room for a new one: David Moyes, The Chosen One.
Never mind banners, here was Solskjaer back in person, pitting his managerial wits against Moyes.
And how he could have done with the resources the United boss had at his disposal last night.
No wonder Moyes was smiling afterwards. He may not yet be in possession of the team he wants, but how it helped to have Robin van Persie back, eager, energetic and scoring his first goal since November.
Just as significant, playing behind him was Juan Mata, the new signing.
Hungry for the ball, pointing at colleagues where he wanted it played, taking all the free-kicks, the recruit from Chelsea exuded the sort of confidence that has latterly been so missing from the United team.
In his insistent injection of zest and adventure, he looked exactly what was needed.
Back in the winter of 1976, anyone with a pair of eyes knew, too, what Tommy Docherty needed as Manchester United manager.
He was desperately short of snarl and guile, his team too easily brushed aside.
He needed some strength and power in midfield. He needed some scrap.
So what did he do? He went out and bought Jimmy Greenhoff, a player of grace and touch, a forward full of craft and invention.
It was a very Manchester United thing to do. It worked, too, Docherty’s team went on to win the FA Cup.
And in many ways, Moyes is continuing that tradition.
To the outside observer what he is desperately short of is some heft in midfield, he needs a left-back, he could do with a solid centre-back.
Instead he has bought Mata.
Mind, you suspect if Docherty had been in charge, he would have dispensed with all caution and unleashed Wayne Rooney and Adnan Januzaj alongside that new front pairing.
But they both started on the bench, more likely a symptom of the United manager’s innate conservatism than because Mata insisted on his signing that he had to make his debut alongside Phil Jones.
As the game wound down, as Mata passed like it was a training exercise and United eased to three points, Solskjaer stood in his technical area, arms folded, a philosophical expression on his face.
“You look at Van Persie, he had three goes for his goal, that’s someone who wants to score a goal,” he said.
“That’s what we need, a bit more of that oomph.” He has only been employed in the Premier League for a month, but it is long enough to recognise there is little he can do to match such riches.
"Management is a much easier game when you have at your disposal the players Moyes now has.
So the visitor did what he could in the circumstances. He waved in acknowledgement as the Stretford End once more sang out his name. Per The Telegraph
But then it was understandable if his lines of communication were blurred.
It was like old times when he stepped out into Old Trafford: his name was echoing round the stadium.
It is a rare evening indeed when both sets of supporters are chanting in unison.
But here, the second he appeared from the tunnel, the United followers and the boisterous visitors from Cardiff came together to acknowledge the Norwegian.
He was accompanied, incidentally, as he walked to the bench by a security guard. Presumably to protect him from being hugged to death by Fred the Red, the United mascot.
Solskjaer holds a particularly elevated position at Old Trafford.
In times of trouble, United fans tend to revert to the old days in their song book. Names like Eric Cantona and George Best ring from the stands.
And that of Solskjaer. His name has been sung loud and long this season, with every mention bringing back memories of triumph, of last-minute winners, of putting the ball in the Germans’ net.
For years there was a banner along the front of the Stretford End in his honour: Olegend it read.
It was taken down this summer. Not as the result of a diminution in respect, but in order to make room for a new one: David Moyes, The Chosen One.
Never mind banners, here was Solskjaer back in person, pitting his managerial wits against Moyes.
And how he could have done with the resources the United boss had at his disposal last night.
No wonder Moyes was smiling afterwards. He may not yet be in possession of the team he wants, but how it helped to have Robin van Persie back, eager, energetic and scoring his first goal since November.
Just as significant, playing behind him was Juan Mata, the new signing.
Hungry for the ball, pointing at colleagues where he wanted it played, taking all the free-kicks, the recruit from Chelsea exuded the sort of confidence that has latterly been so missing from the United team.
In his insistent injection of zest and adventure, he looked exactly what was needed.
Back in the winter of 1976, anyone with a pair of eyes knew, too, what Tommy Docherty needed as Manchester United manager.
He was desperately short of snarl and guile, his team too easily brushed aside.
He needed some strength and power in midfield. He needed some scrap.
So what did he do? He went out and bought Jimmy Greenhoff, a player of grace and touch, a forward full of craft and invention.
It was a very Manchester United thing to do. It worked, too, Docherty’s team went on to win the FA Cup.
And in many ways, Moyes is continuing that tradition.
To the outside observer what he is desperately short of is some heft in midfield, he needs a left-back, he could do with a solid centre-back.
Instead he has bought Mata.
Mind, you suspect if Docherty had been in charge, he would have dispensed with all caution and unleashed Wayne Rooney and Adnan Januzaj alongside that new front pairing.
But they both started on the bench, more likely a symptom of the United manager’s innate conservatism than because Mata insisted on his signing that he had to make his debut alongside Phil Jones.
As the game wound down, as Mata passed like it was a training exercise and United eased to three points, Solskjaer stood in his technical area, arms folded, a philosophical expression on his face.
“You look at Van Persie, he had three goes for his goal, that’s someone who wants to score a goal,” he said.
“That’s what we need, a bit more of that oomph.” He has only been employed in the Premier League for a month, but it is long enough to recognise there is little he can do to match such riches.
"Management is a much easier game when you have at your disposal the players Moyes now has.
So the visitor did what he could in the circumstances. He waved in acknowledgement as the Stretford End once more sang out his name. Per The Telegraph
Comments