What went wrong at Manchester United after Sir Alex retired?
The Baby-Faced One
Ole Gunnar Solskjær, also known as the baby-faced assassin, took over as caretaker manager after Mourinho was shown the boot. With Ole at the wheel, his newly rejuvenated United team went on an 11-game unbeaten run, winning 10 games, keeping 5 clean sheets, and scoring 28 goals.
The streak was ended in a Round of 16 clash against PSG in the UEFA Champions League, where United were defeated 2-0 at Old Trafford. Against all odds, Ole’s side scored three away goals in Paris in the 2nd leg to advance to the Quarter Finals on away goals (Agg. 3-3). And finally, it looked like Manchester United were back!
Ole was later offered the permanent position as manager. Though United showed glimpses of creativity and quality under him, the 2018/19 season was still disappointing, as United finished 6th in the league, missing out on next campaign’s Champions League, and it was their first consecutive trophyless seasons in 30 years.
Manchester United’s 2019/20 campaign looked promising though, and it was his first full season in charge. He seemed to be going in a different direction to what previous managers were in terms of signings, as Ole brought in players that filled the massive gaps in our starting XI rather than just buying superstars. He brought in Harry Maguire for a world record transfer fee for a defender, and he slotted right into our back-line and took on the captaincy at the club.
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Daniel James was brought in after being praised by Wales manager and United legend, Ryan Giggs. James was clearly brought in as a squad player, but his pace makes him a great bench option to bring on at the end of games to have a run at the opposing back-line.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was the third and final signing of that summer, and he is essentially the replacement for Gary Neville at right-back, as we have never had a proper right-back since then. Rafael and Antonio Valencia have plugged the gap for a while, but Rafael was mostly just an attacking threat, and while Valencia did a decent job for a few years, he was a converted winger.
With a clearly strengthened squad, United were off to an abysmal start to the season, as they were 8th in the league at Christmas. Fortunately, Bruno Fernandes was brought in on the final day of the January transfer window, and he put some real pep in our step. The season was put on hold from the middle of March to the middle of June due to the global pandemic.
After the return, the Red Devils seemed unstoppable as they went 9-3-2 (W-D-L) to finish the season, scoring 29 goals, allowing just 13 and keeping 6 clean sheets along the way. United reached the semi- finals of the UEFA Europa League and finished 3rd in the Premier League, once again bringing the club back to the Champions League, where they belong.
Bruno Fernandes was the difference maker for the season, as most of his games played for Manchester United were after the return of football. He managed 12 goals and 8 assists in only 23 games with the club. At the conclusion of the 19/20 campaign, United had clearly taken another step in the right direction. The question is: are we going to take two more steps back again?