The Stunning Record Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United Squad Have Matched That Shows Board Were Right To Give Him Permanent Job

The Stunning Record Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United Squad Have Matched That Shows Board Were Right To Give Him Permanent Job
21:44, 01 Apr 2019

Manchester United's decision to award Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a full-time contract in the Old Trafford managerial seat is the first positive the club have had for many a year.  Following Jose Mourinho's departure in the middle of December, United have gone from a side devoid of attacking mentality to that of a team with excitement bubbling throughout it.

Mourinho left Manchester United under a cloud of negativity, and having amassed only 26 points from 17 Premier League games just showed the United board were right to relinquish him of his duties.

Since the Portuguese boss left Old Trafford, the club has gone from strength to strength and the emergence of Solskjaer at the helm has breathed a sense of excitement around the north west club and they have gone from a mediocre sixth spot in the English top-flight to a positive-looking fourth spot, with a real possibility they can end the campaign in third spot behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

Falling deeper into the doldrums during Mourinho's reign, the Red Devils had only scored a meagre 29 goals in those 17 league matches, but since then after 31 matches played they have amassed 60 goals and life under Solskjaer is looking rosy with a mouth-watering Champions League quarter-final clash with Barcelona taking place in April.

31 goals in 14 league matches have been scored under Solskjaer's stewardship, so that's much more like the goalscoring record we come to expect for a United side jam-packed with attacking strength, and Solskjaer's attacking mentality has brought the best out of the likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, who are flourishing under the Norwegian.

United face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night, and with Nuno Espirito Santo's side sure to have one eye on their weekend FA Cup semi-final clash with Watford then it would be no surprise to see United leapfrog Tottenham Hotspur into third place, and take another huge step to securing an automatic Champions League qualifying spot.

One staggering record that Solskjaer has masterminded is that this current United team is the first squad since the 1995-1996 squad that has seen four players score ten or more goals in the Premier League.  Marcus Rashford's strike against Watford at the weekend launched him on to the ten-goal mark to join the aforementioned Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial on the double-figure mark for the season in the league.

During the '95-'96 campaign, Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes, Andy Cole and Ryan Giggs all managed to bag double-figures in goals in that season, and the passionate United fans have had to wait over two decades to see that feat reached once again, and it's all down to Solskjaer, who has brought an attacking urgency to the club again, and has galvanised a club from the mire.

Solskjaer's achievements this season has earned him the job full-time, but after impressing during his prolonged interview, he will have to bolster the squad significantly in the summer, but his start to life as Manchester United manager couldn't have gone much better, and he will be eager to continue the progression as his reign lengthens.

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