Paul Ince reckons Manchester United ‘panicked’ by making Ole Gunnar Solskjaer manager and fears they’ve lost their fear factor.
Solskjaer had a forgettable 100th appearance in the Manchester United dugout last Sunday upon losing 1-0 to Arsenal at Old Trafford.
The Norwegian has overseen 56 wins, 20 draws, and 24 defeats at the century-mark for the Red Devils. A win ratio of 56% isn’t bad by all means, but certainly not good enough to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City.
While things this season, in the Premier League at least, go from bad to worse for United. After their third home defeat of the season, the club sit 15th in the standings and nine points behind leaders Liverpool – albeit with a game in hand.
“They’ve been inconsistent for a while now – even before Ole took over,” Ince told Ladbrokes.
“Then they went on that great run and he got the job. It was hard not to give him the job after that run. I do think the board panicked though.
“All the fans were singing his name, ordering the club to give him the job and they did. I think they should’ve waited until the end of the season. Let him have it as interim manager until the end of the season then see who’s out there, who the best man is for the job.”
The former Red Devils midfielder added: “I’m not saying Ole’s not the best man for the job, and getting that team last season into third place was a great achievement. But I look at United now compared to when I played…
“We had a presence. Teams were frightened of us. We already had teams beat before we walked out onto the pitch. Whether it was home or away, teams were frightened of Manchester United. I don’t see that now.
“Teams look at them and think they can take points from the game. We saw it against Arsenal, where United were woeful. We’ve seen Crystal Palace do it. Something’s not quite right.”
Solskjaer will have a chance to silence his doubters in United’s Champions League game against Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday evening.
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