As soon as it was announced Manchester United would be looking for a caretaker manager, and then reported that it wouldn’t be Michael Carrick or Nicky Butt, but still someone wrapped in the history of the club, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s name was inevitably going to be pushed towards the front.
Laurent Blanc is another, but it could be argued the Frenchman didn’t quite spend long enough at Old Trafford to be fully dyed red, white and black.
There’s not an awful lot of other options, and, sure enough, the Molde manager’s name is currently being reported as a possible pick.
These claims have made their way back to Norway and there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of excitement. That’s largely because there’s a doubtful take on it.
The country’s VG have it as one of their main stories now, but based upon Solskjær being second favourites with the bookmakers, which means little to nothing.
In their own take, VG say journalist Knut Espen Svegaarden would be ‘very surprised’ to see the appointment, and quote him as saying: “The Solskjær rumours had to come, since the man undoubtedly has a big standing internally at the club, after 15 years playing and training at Manchester United. The question is, however, whether his coaching CV is good enough for a club that is striving for – again – to be the best in the world. The question is whether the knowledge of club and culture trumps the lack of experience with a big club, which Solskjær does not have.”
There’s doubt, but they’re not completely ruling it out, and it is being covered extensively in the country.
Interestingly, Molde’s league season ended in November, and they finished second behind Rosenborg. The 2019 Eliteserien doesn’t begin until March 31st.
