Manchester United legend Bryan Robson visited São Paulo for a chat with Brazilian fans this week. Invited by DHL, Sport Witness was able to speak with the former club captain and see what he thinks of the club’s future.
Asked about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first months in charge of the club, Bryan Robson reckons that these results make it likely the board will keep him in the job at the end of the season.
“Yes, I think if Ole keeps going the way he’s going, with the results, I think if we finish in top four, if we get to the FA Cup final, I think Ole will be offered the job,” Bryan Robson told Sport Witness.
“Manchester United always said, when they took Ole on, they would wait until the end of the season and then make the decision whether he gets the job or whether they go elsewhere. But at this moment, the club, I would say, would be in favour of keeping Ole because of the way the results have been going.”
“In the current squad, because of the way they try to organise, they communicate with teammates, I think we only have two who are quite good at that. So we have Chris Smalling, who tries to organise, he shouts at people, he organises people. And then Ander Herrera. I’ve watched him in training, he’s an organiser. And that’s what you need from your captain.”
“I mean, sometimes you can go with ‘Paul Pogba could be a captain’, but Paul would just be the best player. So he’s the best player, so you give him the captaincy because he’s the best player. But Paul plays more of an individual sort of side.
“He’s not really saying to people ‘you come here, you come here, push forward’, or just applaud your teammate. When they give the ball away, you encourage them. You don’t always tell everybody off. Sometimes you have to encourage your teammates, you can’t just be telling people off all the time… I think Herrera and Smalling are two captains.”
Given how popular Bryan Robson himself was as a Manchester United captain, his thoughts on the current options hold more weight than most.
Ander Herrera’s recent form would make him a prime candidate if he renews his contract and continues the current level.
