A tactical dwarf in the land of giants: Why United will never flourish under Ole Gunnar Solskjær

Jurgen Klopp. Pep Guardiola. Thomas Tuchel. Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Spot the odd man out.

These four coaches share four Champions League crowns, four Premier League titles, five Bundesliga triumphs, three La Liga trophies and two Ligue 1 victories between them.

Solskjær’s contribution? A Europa League runners-up medal and a couple of Tippeligaen wins in Norway.

The Premier League is a land of tactical giants, and among them, Solskjær is a dwarf.

And that issue becomes more pressing now that Manchester United have a squad capable of contending for the title.

When United were searching for Jose Mourinho’s replacement in December 2018, the former Red Devils striker was the perfect interim solution.

After the malady that was Mourinho’s bitter two and a half years in charge, the cheery fan favourite was a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup.

A famous Champions League smash-and-grab against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes made him almost impossible not to appoint on a full-time basis, which United duly did in March 2019.

Then last month, despite a year remaining on that original deal, the club inexplicably extended his contract by a further 12 months.

The Norwegian has a happy knack of pulling out a vital result every time his neck inches closer to the chopping block, satisfying owners who are more interested in polishing commercial partnerships than silverware.

The Glazers’ unpopular management has also helped keep the supporters onside — but he can’t use the head office as an excuse this season.

Unlike previous vanity signings — Alexis Sanchez being the obvious one — this summer’s recruits serve a clear purpose on the pitch and bolster a squad with the quality to give the title a shake…under the right stewardship.

Jadon Sancho will ignite the division if he can import his form from Borussia Dortmund, while World Cup-winning centre half Raphael Varane represents a major upgrade on Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly to partner Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the back.

Photo: Robert Michael/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa (Photo by Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Regaining the reborn Jesse Lingard from his transformative loan spell at West Ham is also as good as a transfer.

A clutch of improving British attackers — Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Dan James — alongside Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani and Paul Pogba (if he stays) form United’s biggest strength.

Defensive midfielders Fred and Scott McTominay, plus the declining David De Gea, are the major question marks.

On paper, though, this squad is worthy of comparison with Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

But their biggest hole? An elite tactician in the dugout.

Solskjær’s counter-attacking style has pinched some famous results — away victories in both his Premier League visits to the Etihad spring to mind — but his caution hamstrings United’s ability to break down stubborn opponents.

Nil-all draws to Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea again, Crystal Palace and Leeds last season — plus a dire Europa League final against Villarreal — reinforce that.

United’s attacking riches will help them blaze past weak opponents, but the manager’s inability to balance defensive structure with attacking intent impedes them in big games.

(Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)

Under Solskjær, United have exited knockout competitions (the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League) three times at the quarter-final stage, four times in the semis and once in a final.

Sure, there’s no shame in falling to Barcelona — but FA Cup exits to Wolves and Leicester do not befit a club of this stature.

For two and a half seasons now, Solskjær has displayed a chronic inability to conceive a game plan that unlocks good opponents in important games.

His weak in-game management is another glaring flaw. His refusal to pull a Louis van Gaal and substitute penalty pariah De Gea with noted stopper Dean Henderson for the Europa League final shootout, and failure to sub the yellow-carded Fred at halftime of last year’s crunch Champions League tie with PSG that unravelled after the Brazilian’s second yellow are pronounced examples.

Solskjær’s supporters point to United’s improvement under the Norwegian, but is finishing second to their cross-city rivals the extent of their ambition?

Is losing a European final to a Villarreal — outfoxed by Arsenal reject Unai Emery and outplayed by a squad assembled on a shoestring budget — acceptable for a club of United’s tradition, pedigree and financial might?

Another question that perhaps better illustrates how under-qualified Solskjær is for a job of this magnitude: name the next-highest club in England’s football pyramid whose supporters would welcome his appointment?

Maybe Newcastle if it meant getting rid of Steve Bruce, or Everton in their anti-Rafa Benitez hysteria.

Beyond that, not a single Premier League club would trade their manager for the bloke currently occupying one of the most prestigious posts in world football.

You’d have to venture into the middle of the Championship to find a club that would embrace Solskjær. Of course, that’s a division he’s familiar with, having taken Cardiff down from the Premier League in 2014 then being sacked just weeks into the second-tier campaign.

A fabled club legend like Solskjær is clearly good for the soul of Manchester United. And that cannot be understated with the Glazers in charge, the pong of the European Super League still lingering and explosive fan protests fresh in the memory.

(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

And it’s easy to forget the nadir United sunk to under Mourinho at his most grumpy — a criticism no one could ever level at Solskjær.

The British press is a brutal beast to tame, but the media lap up his dewy-eyed references to the good old days under Sir Alex Ferguson and the 1999 treble-winning campaign. Mind you, if I’d knocked in a 93rd-minute winner in a Champions League final in front of 90,000 people at the Nou Camp, I know what I’d be talking about every time a journo stuck a microphone under my nose.

Solskjær can still play a valuable role at Old Trafford — as a number two. Let him cuddle the players and schmooze the media and provide a living, breathing, cliche-spitting reminder of the indomitable Fergie era.

Just let a proper tactician take over the clipboard.

Chelsea’s rapid improvement after replacing Frank Lampard with Thomas Tuchel shows what a powerful club can achieve when they dump an unqualified favourite son for a serious manager who knows what he’s doing.

The obvious question is who, and the obvious answer was Mauricio Pochettino, unemployed for 13 months before landing the plum PSG gig.

When Poch was snapped up, the standout candidate became Massimiliano Allegri — an expert at both navigating the politics of a massive club with tricky owners, as well as scooping a swag load of trophies. He was so good at it, in fact, that Juve have snatched him back after an ill-advised two-year hiatus.

Allegri’s countryman Antonio Conte is another serial winner who monopolised the Scudetto at Juventus, who’s now out of a job and who knows how to win the Premier League.

Zinedine Zidane is the sort of glamour signing the Glazers crave. Brendan Rodgers isn’t, but has proved his capacity to milk the most out of his squads (although the fireworks that would accompany an ex-Liverpool boss filling Old Trafford’s home dugout make this move unlikely, as much as neutrals would love to see it).

If the up-and-down Ralph Hasenhuttl can smooth out Southampton’s deep troughs, or Julian Nagelsmann succeeds at Bayern, then that pair of Jurgen Klopp proteges could be attractive targets.

And United might even get another look at Pochettino if he fumbles Ligue 1 again, and perhaps more importantly, fails to secure the elusive Champions League crown with the superstar squad he’s assembled over the European summer.

Point is, there’s no shortage of alternatives to Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Rich clubs can always avail themselves of elite managers.

And if Manchester United are serious about adding a 21st league title to their trophy cabinet, they’d be remiss not to appoint one.