Man United accidentally reveal club legend as new manager
Manchester United appear to have confirmed who their new manager will be, announcing the news before deleting it.
Fan favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is thought to be the front-runner to take over as caretaker manager after Jose Mourinho was sacked on Tuesday.
And on Wednesday, United appear to have confirmed that the Norwegian Solskjaer is indeed the new coach.
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A page on the club’s website referred to the former striker as “our interim manager”, before it was taken down.
A video featuring Solskjaer scoring the winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 1999 was captioned: “Solskjaer becomes our interim manager, 20 seasons after clinching the Treble with THAT goal at Camp Nou…”
And the Norwegian Prime Minister ran with it.
Erna Solberg welcomed Solskjaer’s appointment on social media, writing: “Great day for Norwegian football. Good luck keeping control of the Red Devils.” She later deleted the tweet as well.
The straw that broke the camel’s back
Appointed to much fanfare in the summer of 2016, Mourinho became the first manager in the club’s history to win a major trophy in his maiden season.
Mourinho’s Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield successes were followed by finishing runners-up in the Premier League and FA Cup last term, but this campaign things have gone awry from the outset.
United have their worst points return after 17 matches in the Premier League era, with Sunday’s chastening 3-1 loss at Liverpool leaving them 19 points behind their bitter rivals.
They also face an eye-watering 11-point gap to the top four, leading the club to dismiss a manager they handed a contract extension in January.
A club statement on Tuesday morning read: “Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect.
“The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and wish him success in the future.
“A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”
Ideal replacement?
The club have quickly set about finding an interim replacement, with reserve team coach Solskjaer fitting the profile the club are looking for.
The 45-year-old signed a new three-year deal at Norwegian club Molde at the start of December, extending his second spell at a club he rejoined after an ill-fated spell at the helm of Saturday’s opponents Cardiff.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant Mike Phelan is reportedly in the frame to work with Solskjaer, with talk of former Paris St Germain manager and United defender Laurent Blanc coming in as interim replacement understood to be wide of the mark.
Training was taken on Tuesday by first-team coach Michael Carrick after Mourinho was told the news by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in a face-to-face meeting at the Aon Training Complex.
The Portuguese left in a car at around 12.25pm local time and was later seen leaving his home at the Lowry hotel, where he was met by cameras and asked how he was feeling. “OK, my friend,” Mourinho said, before posing for pictures.
While the sacking shocked the footballing world, talk of the manager’s impending departure appeared to be building in the United dressing room before the announcement.
Few are understood to be sad to see him leave, both in terms of the club’s players and staff, with Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino believed to be the main target to take the reins next summer.
with AAP