3 ways Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can fix Manchester United's woes

Modified Sep 09, 2019 08:56 GMT

Southampton FC v Manchester United - Premier League

Manchester United haven't enjoyed the best of starts to the 2019/20 Premier League campaign. After their emphatic 4-0 victory over Chelsea on the opening day of the season, the Red Devils could only manage 2 points from their next 3 games - drawing away to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton, and losing at home to Crystal Palace. Since taking over as the permanent manager of Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has managed to win just 3 out of his last 16 games. While the performances have been decent, the results haven't been in the favour of the Norwegian.

Solskjaer has assembled a squad of young, hungry players who are willing to give their all on the pitch. However, a lack of experience amongst the players is causing them to lose crucial points from winning positions. Moreover, some of the decisions from the manager in recent games have been questionable as well.

The Red Devils have a tough run of fixtures after the international break and the results in these games might determine Solskjaer's long-term future as a Manchester United manager. Hence, the Norwegian needs to make some amends in order to get his side back to winning ways. Here are 3 ways Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can fix Manchester United.

#3 Make early and correct substitutions

One of the most visible problems with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season has been his decisions regarding substitutions. He is either leaving it too late to make substitutions - which does not give the players coming on enough time on the pitch to make any sort of impact - or is making the wrong substitutions. The game against Southampton was a prime example of this.

Solskjaer took Juan Mata off, who was undoubtedly Manchester United's best player on the pitch that day to bring on Nemanja Matic. With the quality Mata possesses on the ball, he could have been pivotal in breaking down the Saints' defence when they decided to defend with their lives in the final 10 minutes of the game and could have potentially won the Red Devils the game.

Secondly, Mason Greenwood was brought in the 82nd minute, leaving him with no time to impact the game. Greenwood looked sharp after coming on at the Saint Mary's stadium, and had Solskjaer brought him on earlier, he could have changed the outcome of the game in United's favour. Solskjaer needs to learn to make quick and correct substitutions, especially in the decisive moments of the game.

#2 Come up with a Plan B

Manchester United sold the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku, Ander Herrera, and Alexis Sanchez in the span of a year and haven't replaced a single one of them. While many United fans would be glad to see the back of most of these players, this does leave them thin in terms of squad depth. Whatever opinion you may hold on players like Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini, everyone would agree on the fact that they offered something different in the final third and had game-changing goals in their locker. After their departure, Manchester United lack a plan B and can only bring on 17-year-old Mason Greenwood as an attacking option in the dying moments of the game.

Despite his high-pressing, attacking football being aesthetically pleasing, Solskjaer needs to develop a plan B when things don't go his way. He can do so by throwing players with notable aerial presence such as Scott Mctominay into the firing line while bringing on the likes of Diogo Dalot after his return from injury, who is more than capable of whipping a quality ball into the box.

#1 Revert to the 4-3-3 formation

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has deployed his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation so far, with Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay in a double-pivot in the middle of the park and Jesse Lingard playing as a number 10. While this formation works great when Manchester United come up against teams with players of similar quality, it fails miserably when playing against sides that prefer to sit in a low-block and let the Red Devils enjoy all the possession.

This is because Paul Pogba, who is Manchester United's most creative player on the pitch, finds himself far too distant from the opposition goal and is forced to defend way too much off the ball, which is not really his strongest suit. Paul Pogba's best return for Manchester United came last season when he was deployed further up the pitch while Matic and Herrera provided protection behind him. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to revert back to the same formation in order to get the best out of the Frenchman. Moreover, reverting back to a 4-3-3 would also get the best out of Scott McTominay, who is a natural box-to-box midfielder and will provide Manchester United with energy and tenacity in midfield.

Edited by Sai Teja