Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is rapidly becoming a divisive figure amongst masses, given his side’s teetering run of form in the English top flight.
Over the last 6 Premier League appearances, the Red Devils have managed to secure a solitary win against Spurs, whilst getting humbled by the likes of Aston Villa (1-0), Leicester (4-2), Liverpool (5-0) and most recently, arch-nemesis Manchester City (2-0).
The dismal scorelines reflect the sheer gulf of quality between the current United squad and its rivals, which has led to a complete loss of faith in the Norwegian by fans and former club legends alike, all of whom seem to demand a change in leadership with immediate effect.
Longtime friend and former colleague Rio Ferdinand is the most recent critic to have come into the fray, stating that it’s time for Ole to “hand over the baton” and vacate his position for a suitable successor.
While featuring on the popular Vibe with Five podcast, the former united centre-back who has always held Solskjaer in high regard shed light on his position in-depth, expressing anguish over the Red Devils missing the “philosophy” and “identity” that they’ve stood for over the years.
According to the 43-year-old, no manager can truly attain success unless there is an element of fear driving players to give their best on the field, which is what the united dressing room is missing. He named the likes of SAF, Pep, Klopp and Tuchel to drive his contention home.
While Ferdinand acknowledged Solskjaer’s contributions in laying the foundation for the side since Jose Mourhino’s exit in 2018, he couldn’t help but project scepticism over the Norwegians competence of winning the league title for Manchester United.
This scepticism is only reinforced by the fact that even after a resplendent transfer window that saw Sancho, Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo sporting the Red jersey, Man United haven’t been able to pose a threat in any of the major competitions.
They head into the international break dropping to the 6th position, with a mammoth 9 point difference from the table-toppers Chelsea.