The strangest and most strenuous Premier League season in history is about to reach its climax.
Nine games stand between Manchester United and that most elusive, debatable of words; progress. Despite the cynics, it’s still fair to suggest a second-place finish will represent a progressive season for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
The Norwegian rarely finds solace for more than a few weeks at a time, such is the level of scrutiny that comes with a job in charge of United. One week it’s ‘Ole Out’ on social media and the next Solskjaer is being lauded as better than Pep Guardiola, depending of course on the result United have achieved.
Solskjaer’s mantra is never to get over-excited when United win, but to take the defeats in his stride, a sensible one given the reactive and fickle nature of fandom these days — most of which can only be expressed online in the era of behind-closed-doors football. It doesn’t get mentioned enough that Solskjaer has lost the swell of his most ardent supporters in the past year, the match-going United contingent who would be chanting his name every week without fail.
Whatever you think about Solskjaer, you cannot argue he still has improvements to make as a manager.
Many of the criticisms aimed at the former Cardiff and Molde boss centre around his tactical acumen, and there is a key change he can make for United’s last nine league games of the campaign, which might alleviate the pressure.
Solskjaer’s default formation has been 4-2-3-1 virtually ever since Bruno Fernandes arrived at United in January 2020. That system gives the risk-taking Portuguese playmaker the freedom he requires to make line-breaking passes and dovetail with the central striker and two wide men who tend to cut in.
It also, more often than not, means Fred and Scott McTominay start in the two central midfield roles, as Solskjaer values the energy they bring as well as the protection for the back four. That dual defensive midfield pivot was badly missed earlier in the season when United were hammered by Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 at home, a game which has shaped many of Solskjaer’s tactical decisions this season. Since then, he hasn’t often been compelled to risk playing just one of ‘McFred’, as they’re dubbed by supporters.
But the key change fans will be eager to see during the Premier League run-in will be in that area, with all eyes on whether Solskjaer is brave enough to pick a single pivot.
Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek are options to play slightly higher up the pitch, bridging the gap between defensive midfield and Fernandes, while Solskjaer may even consider the Portuguese in a slightly less advanced role.
With United to face Brighton, Burnley, Leeds, Aston Villa and Fulham among their last batch of league encounters, surely the time has come for Solskjaer to be tactically courageous and release the handbrake against these sides? It will be a different story against Spurs, Liverpool and Leicester, admittedly.
It was in the autumn of 2019 when McTominay and Fred began to blossom as a partnership in midfield that Solskjaer gave a glowing review of the pair, foreshadowing what was to come.
“[McTominay] has been excellent and now him and Fred have a good relationship,” said the manager. “They’re playing well together. They did it last season [2018/19] — there were quite a few games where they played well together when we had some injuries, like PSG and Arsenal.”
And against such opponents, the double-pivot really ought to remain.
But United need to remind themselves they can play with just one man there against the Premier League’s lesser lights.
The run-in, with a top four finish already (virtually) rubber-stamped — with the gap to fifth place now eight points — can be the perfect platform for Solskjaer to experiment.
In truth, playing only one defensive midfielder should be the norm for a club like United. It’s time for them to assert their dominance and superiority over some clubs and make a habit out of it.
