Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s prime candidacy to become Manchester United’s interim manager for a second time appears the latest faulty strategic move by Jason Wilcox, the club’s director of football, and the chief executive, Omar Berrada.
Solskjær, whose previous tenure at United seems to place him ahead of another favoured candidate in Michael Carrick, has to be a success. If not, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will surely file his hiring alongside the Ruben Amorim, Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag fiascos, for which Wilcox‑Berrada are fully or partly responsible.
To understand why Solskjær’s second coming to the United hot seat may backfire, rewind to when his stint at the wheel ended in chaos and tears in the autumn of 2021. His final two games brought an axing that might have occurred many times during a turbulent tenure.
First, a hapless 2-0 derby defeat by Manchester City closed with the Norwegian heading for the tunnel and clapping a mortified Old Trafford which hardly returned the gesture. Then, the humiliating 4-1 loss at Watford turned the faithful’s adoration for Solskjær into the cruel currency of jeers – and he was sacked that night.
In his exit interview with the in‑house channel came the tears – a reminder of the sensitive man Solskjær is, and his enduring love of United. But elite football is a hard business and if his willingness to return as caretaker is understandable, Wilcox and Berrada should hold their breath at what would be a huge gamble.
United are listing off the field once more but when Amorim was sacked on Monday he left the team sixth – on 31 points, the same as Chelsea in fifth – and in the fight for a Champions League berth.
Ratcliffe presumably does not like to appear a chump – even once. Already it has happened thrice, via the cullings of Amorim and his predecessor, Ten Hag, who went in October 2024 after United had dithered then refused to sack him, and the departure of Ashworth soon afterwards. Ratcliffe’s first United sporting director served six months of gardening leave from Newcastle, then left after five months.
Wilcox, then the technical director, conducted the interview process to potentially replace Ten Hag in the summer of 2024, so was part of the hapless decision not to do so then. He, Berrada and Ashworth were in place when Amorim joined.
The various mishaps have caused much mirth beyond Old Trafford. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013 the club has become a quasi-comical soap opera of 12 seasons and counting which Ratcliffe’s Ineos-led project has made even more farcical.
Another hiring of Solskjær could be the latest episode. Should Wilcox or Berrada go public and explain their thinking they would surely point to the Norwegian’s previous successful interim effort, from December 2018 to March 2019.
In 19 games he reeled off 14 wins, two draws and three losses, going unbeaten in the first 11 including 10 victories. It wiped away the gloom of the end days of José Mourinho, which culminated in a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool; a highlight for Solskjær was the last-gasp Champions League knockout of Paris Saint‑Germain, which came with Marcus Rashford’s late penalty at Parc des Princes.
Wilcox and Berrada will hope Solskjær can perform the same magic again, should he be recruited until the end of the season. The logic runs that Solskjær’s sunny countenance will cheer the squad and his cult-hero status as the striker whose goal decided the 1999 Champions League final and the treble will have fans bouncing again. Likewise, it is hoped that Solskjær’s gung-ho mode will reconnect with the club’s long tradition of thrills-and-spills football after Amorim’s reactive 3-4-3.
It is not hard to imagine – certainly when he first breezes through the door. But if there is no instant takeoff and results flatline, then what? The nightmare scenario of the United who were “outfought” at Vicarage Road under Solskjær would again loom, and fan fury would turn on the interim manager – and the three higher‑ups, whose credit is already low.
History says it may well happen. Solskjær signed a three-year deal in March 2019 but what followed was a nosedive, the closing 10 matches featuring six losses, two draws and two wins, as United finished sixth.
Next came two campaigns of helter-skelter fare that featured creditable finishes of third and second and the 2021 Europa League final penalty shootout loss to Villarreal.
Yet streaked through these were several moments of crisis when Solskjær might have been sacked, an example being United’s Champions League group‑stage elimination in December 2020 after losing 3-2 at RB Leipzig when a draw was required. There was never, truly, any calm or security about Solskjær’s United, apart from at the start, when he was a novelty for players desperate for an uplift after Mourinho.
Solskjær would try to tap into that sense of positivity again. But there is also a danger that United’s season will plunge, their laughing‑stock status will rise even more and the two highest‑ranked executives will grasp for explanations when dissecting what happened with Ratcliffe.
At the end of Solskjær’s exit interview, he said: “We’ll see each other again.” Should this happen – and if so, Carrick may be asked to be his assistant, having coached alongside him before – Solskjær will be gunning for the full-time job again.
Could this be where United are heading? The list of coaches who may be considered for a summer appointment is long and includes Oliver Glasner, Andoni Iraola, Enzo Maresca, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate, Roberto De Zerbi, Luis Enrique, Carlo Ancelotti and Kieran McKenna.
But if Solskjær leads United back into the Champions League or wins the FA Cup would he really be removed for a second time? As things stand, at Manchester United, anything is possible.
