Wouldn’t this be something? After their midweek loss at home against rivals City in the Manchester derby, Manchester United’s miserable times continued. That was their fourth defeat in their last six league games and they haven’t claimed a clean sheet in twelve in all competitions.
Out of all cups and with not one player looking in any kind of form at the moment, there is a bit of a dark cloud hanging over Old Trafford. Now the markets are taking a turn with Ladbrokes announcing that they have cut the price on boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be sacked at the end of the season.
He is now at 10/1 with Ladbrokes not be their manager next season* (betting odds taken from Ladbrokes on April 24th, 2019 at 11:10 pm).
Optimism Fades
Solskjaer came in on a big wave of optimism at the start of the year. He was their saviour after the depression of the Jose Mourinho era. He got the club going in the right direction. United won the first eight games under the eye of Solskjaer, a run which included a win over Spurs in the league and an FA Cup success out at Arsenal. It was all smiles at that point.
PSG the turning point
Strangely it was a big success in the Champions League which started their downfall. The Red Devils again benefited from the managerial prowess of their former striker as Solskjaer masterminded a 3-1 win at PSG in the second leg of their Champions League tie. That was after having been blown away at home in the first leg, United suffering a 2-0 home loss in that opening game .
Since that magical night in the City of Lights, albeit handed to them because of a late VAT penalty award, United are W2 L7 in their last nine games in all competitions. They crashed out of the FA Cup at Wolves, were smashed apart in a 4-0 aggregate loss in the Champions League by Barcelona and now a top-four finish in the Premier League is going to be hard work.
The Red Devils are 6/1 to claim a top-four finish this season in the EPL* (betting odds taken from Ladbrokes on April 24th, 2019 at 11:10 pm). Following their loss against Manchester City on Wednesday, United sit sixth in the league, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, with Arsenal two points above them in fifth.
Pressure mounts on Ole
It’s all added up to pressure coming on boss Solskjaer already. The problem with not reaching the top four in the summer will be atttracting the kind of players that the club needs to move forward. There is going to be a big transfer war chest available in the summer. Will Solskjaer be there to spend it?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer NOT to be Man United manager on 1 January 2020 – 3/1
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer NOT to be Man United manager on opening day of next season – 10/1
* (betting odds taken from Ladbrokes on April 24th, 2019 at 11:10 pm)
