Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes under-fire successor Erik ten Hag comes good and says Sir Jim Ratcliffe is unlikely to have a “magic wand” to immediately turn around Manchester United’s fortunes.
This has been a miserable second season in the hotseat for the Dutchman, whose stuttering side are 11 points off the Premier League top four and have the FA Cup as their only remaining route to silverware.
But Ratcliffe’s recent minority purchase of the club from the Glazer family offers hope of long-term improvement, with the Ineos chairman also taking control of football operations.
Rumours continue about Ten Hag’s future as the summer approaches and Solskjaer, United’s previous permanent manager, would like to see him succeed at Old Trafford.
“I don’t think there’s a magic wand (at United) as in, ‘We’ve changed the owners’,” the 1999 treble hero said in the latest episode of Stick to Football in partnership with Sky Bet.
“Obviously, they’ve got their ways of working – the Glazers have still got their commercial – who knows how it’s going to be in football with that side of it.
“Obviously Erik, I hope he’s going to be successful. We hope he’s going to make it, but you never know what the new owners are thinking. It’s about results and consistency the rest of the season.”
Solskjaer knows all about any difficulties working under the Glazer family and with many of the current United squad, having been in charge between December 2018 and November 2021.
The Norwegian kept his counsel for a long time but is beginning to speak publicly again, including recently revealing some United players did not want to be captain for certain matches.
“No one said ‘no’ to being the club captain, it was just for certain games,” Solskjaer said.
“Yes, but they didn’t want to say it themselves, they had other people come up to me and say it. It was disappointing. It’s a different generation, its Gen Z. It’s petty and shows a lack of ambition.”
United players have not only been turning down the chance to skipper the side but even face a handful of underarm questions in a pre-match host broadcast interview.
“Many players said no to doing the pre-match interviews, the three questions,” Solskjaer said.
“You had the go-to’s, Bruno (Fernandes) always did it, Harry (Maguire) always did it, Victor (Lindelof) did it, David (De Gea) did it, Luke Shaw did it.
“The others were worried about the questions, so preferred not to do it. You’re scared of the whole reaction maybe, but you also understand some of the players’ mental health.”
Solskjaer has focused on the wellbeing of himself and his family since being sacked by United, turning down numerous opportunities to return to the game.
“I needed time out, and I have properly enjoyed it. Just prioritised myself, family – and I have had a few offers with (other clubs) and it’s like, ‘Nah, I’m not ready’,” he added.
“It’s one of them, it’s got to be somewhere where I can be myself, not like anyone dictating, ‘You need to do this, you need to do this’, because when you’ve been at United, you manage them, you learn a few things, and you want to do it your way next time. So, yeah, I’ve enjoyed myself.
“That’s the thing, you think, ‘I don’t really need a job’, but then if something pops up then yeah, why not?”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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