Man Utd urged to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and move Ed Woodward to a 'commercial role'

Posted Friday, January 10, 2020 by Express.co.uk

Manchester United have been told to make serious changes in order to improve their fortunes on the pitch.

Manchester United chiefs have been urged to move Ed Woodward out of the executive vice-chairman role he is currently in and bring in someone who has experience running a football club. ESPN’s Mark Ogden believes the first thing a new official should do is hire a new manager and fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Solskjaer is under significant pressure at United at the moment.

The Red Devils have won just two of their last six games, and are at risk of being overtaken by Tottenham in the race for the top four.

They also missed out on their number one transfer target, Erling Braut Haaland, who snubbed them for Borussia Dortmund.

Many fans have grown tired of Woodward’s leadership of the club after spending £150million on players last summer, only to fail to replace leading striker Romelu Lukaku.

Man Utd urged to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and move Ed Woodward to a 'commercial role'
Man Utd have been urged to fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Image: GETTY)

Woodward, in his role as vice-chairman, has a massive say in transfers and has been criticised by many for prioritising the club’s finances over winning trophies.

And Ogden explained on ESPN FC that he believes the club needs a change of direction, and that will start with moving Woodward into a commercial role.

"He’s obviously a commercial genius, he’s the one who made the club so much money,” the pundit claimed.

"Maybe you have to put Ed back in a different role, on the commercial side.

"Then, you bring someone in, a football administrator, who knows how to run a football club.

"His responsibility will then be to get a new manager, a new coach."

Ogden then took aim at Solskjaer, and criticised the former striker for his management of the team.

The Norwegian has been at the club for just over a year now, and failed to capitalise on the momentum he sparked when he took the job as a caretaker.

Man Utd urged to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and move Ed Woodward to a 'commercial role'
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under significant pressure at Man Utd (Image: GETTY)

There was suggestion at times earlier this season that he would be fired by Woodward and replaced with Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked by Tottenham at the end of November.

The ex-Spurs man was believed to be a leading candidate for the role at Old Trafford after Jose Mourinho’s dismissal in December 2018.

And Ogden believes United need to take the plunge now and get rid of Solskjaer, because he simply isn’t good enough for the job.

"For all Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s popularity, he’s not qualified to manage that football club,” he continued.

"He’s not a coach of the yield of Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola or Mauricio Pochettino - who is available.

"You look at him and say ‘how has he got that job?’

"He’s got the job because he used to play for the club, but this is the guy who got Cardiff relegated from the Premier League and spent the rest of his time managing in Norway.

"That’s off the pitch, on the pitch, they’ve just got problems in every area.”