As with anything in football, wielding the axe on a manager is a far easier said than done duty to carry out, even if the fans are desperate for it to happen.
Throughout this week, following Manchester United's embarrassing 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, a growing number of United supporters have been calling on the club to relieve Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of his duties and send him packing.
Although United, as reported by the Manchester Evening News on Monday, were considering asking Solskjaer to clear his desk at the club's Carrington training base, the Norwegian, perhaps by the skin of his teeth, has remained in charge, so much so that he will be given the chance to make up for Sunday's soul-destroying performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Can he consider himself fortunate? You bet.
On the face of it, however, Solskjaer's ability to cling onto his job for this long has been helped by the fact that United have no ready-made replacement to step into his shoes. No plan, up to and including 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon, had been put in place to bring a new manager in.
United had full faith and trust in the former striker to oversee this long-term project and take the club back towards the pinnacle of both English and European football. The defeat to Liverpool changed all of that, as proven by the fact that United did contemplate making a change on Monday.
However, had United pulled the trigger, who would they have turned to, especially with no plan having been put in place?
As revealed by the MEN , Italian chief Antonio Conte, formerly of Chelsea, would be interested in succeeding Solskjaer if he is to be shown the door, but United have reservations about whether or not he would be the right fit and have not made any contact with him. Reports, from the Daily Star on Thursday, claim any interest in Conte has further cooled due to the cost of hiring him.
Aside from him, the only other big-name manager currently out of work is former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane. Like Conte, United have not contacted the Frenchman, either.
If Solskjaer was on the brink and United wanted a big-name to replace him without the need of having to pay compensation to another club, those two, you would imagine, would top their wish-list. Although they have each achieved much more than many others in their occupation, do they fit what United want? Jumping from Solskjaer to Conte, for example, would be like swapping a sweltering summer's day for a stormy October evening. The difference in characteristics is stark.
Would United try and prize a manager away from another club? Maybe. But it does seem unlikely.
If anything, United, although Solskjaer deserved a crack at the job on a full-time basis after his heroics after replacing Jose Mourinho on a temporary basis, have backed themselves into a corner by going for Solskjaer on a long-term basis in the first place. With the utmost respect to the Norwegian, what has he achieved in his managerial career to deserve the gig of managing United? The fact that he probably would not have even got the job had he not played for the club tells you all you need to know.
At the time of sacking Mourinho, United should have looked to have raided one of their big European rivals. They have missed the boat for the likes of Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and most recently Julian Nagelsmann. They are the levels United should have been aiming for.
The chances of United luring any of those three to Old Trafford now are not even worth talking about. It won't happen under any circumstance. They each have their own protects to oversee and are unlikely to leave Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the lurch.
A quick scan of the latest betting odds for who could replace Solskjaer is not the most attractive viewing, it must be said. United's options are now limited and that could play into Solskjaer's hands, even if results do worsen. A time may come where United do have to bite the bullet and make a change, but who they would bring in remains a very difficult puzzle to solve.
Conte, on the face of it, seems the most logical answer, but considering United have not made any form of contact with him it suggests that they are not overly keen. Options are minimal and it is becoming more and more apparent.
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