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Who should be the next Manchester United Manager?

November 15, 2019

With Manchester United’s poor performance this season, Staff Writers Ozan Cetin and Spencer Towfighi provide two different options for who could replace the current manager, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.

Eddie Howe

Eddie+Howe+%28right%29%2C+who+is+currently+the+manager+of+Bournemouth+is+a+prospective+manager+for+Manchester+United.+Bournemouth+are+currently+in+7th+place+in+the+premier+league.

Photo used with permission from Wikimedia Commons

Eddie Howe (right), who is currently the manager of Bournemouth is a prospective manager for Manchester United. Bournemouth are currently in 7th place in the premier league.

The main problem for Manchester United is their current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Out of the 50 games that Solskjaer has managed the club, he has lost 21. Compare this to Jurgen Klopp, who manages Liverpool – he has operated in 155 games and only lost 20 of those games so far. 

Solskjaer should’ve been sacked from the club by now. 

The only reason he has stayed is that he is a club legend. Having played for Manchester United in the 1990s into the early 2000s when they were one of the best teams in the world, Solskjaer has become a legend amongst fans at Old Trafford and the Manchester United community. But, he is losing respect from the fans because of his poor managerial performance. 

Previous United Managers, such as Jose Mourinho and Louis Van Gaal, have had better success at this club than Solskjaer has. Both were given worse squads than what Solskjaer has now, yet they were still able to be successful. 

A great example of this is the 2017/18 season under Mourinho, where United had a struggling squad with less star potential than the team of this year and still managed to finish in second place in the Premier League. If that is something Mourinho can do, why can’t Solskjaer?

Someone who is very much qualified and suited for the role of Manchester United Manager is Eddie Howe. 

The current Bournemouth FC manager has been having recent success with the club. In his opening 11 games, he has led Bournemouth to four wins, four draws and three losses – putting them in 7th place in the table. 

Since 2015, Howe has managed Bournemouth to be an established Premier League club. Every year they have been moving up in the table from 16th in his first season to 9th in the next season. 

With Howe and Bournemouth, something that has been crucial to their success is their implementation of young English players. 

Over the summer, United signed a pair of English defenders in Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. With Solskjaer, United doesn’t have a system and tend to switch formations and tactics with every game, restricting the potential of these new players. 

If Howe was brought in, he could put a philosophy of play into place by putting in tactics and formations. 

With his recent success at Bournemouth, it seems like it would be seamless to integrate his style of play into this United squad and boost hopes again for the fans. 

Another positive with the edition of Howe is the transition to the club. The Premier League is undoubtedly the hardest football league in the world. Every week is a new competition, and wins are never set before the game.

Take the Italian League, for example, there are three dominating forces in Inter Milan, Napoli, and Juventus, but besides those are teams who are unable to compete. 

This year already, we have seen the small bottom half of the table teams in the Premier League take down the top tier teams. Norwich beat Manchester City 3-2, and Brighton beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0.

The Premier League is more wild and spontaneous than other leagues. 

Managers coming in from other leagues have been known to struggle with their team because of the more intense and physical nature of the Premier League. Howe would easily fit right in not just to the system of Manchester United but to the Premier League as a whole. 

Howe would also embody the image of Manchester United. 

The most exceptional manager of United and in the Premier League of all time was Sir Alex Ferguson. Coming into the role of the manager in 1986 and retiring in 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson won 36 trophies in those 26 years.

When he started managing the club, he was around 45 years old. Similar to Ferguson, Howe is 41 years old. Howe and Ferguson share the same charisma. Both are U.K. natives, starting their managerial career very young after a playing career, and are both British men who haven’t been around Manchester United in a very long time.

Howe would be the ideal manager for Manchester United in the future. He’s had early success with an upcoming team and has managerial experience in the Premier League. Howe carries the tactics and footballing philosophies to lead Manchester United better wins if they are to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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Massimiliano Allegri

Massimiliano+Allegri+is+another+option+to+replace+Ole+Gunnar+Solskjaer+as+Manchester+United+manager.+He+has+managed+AC+Milan+and+Juventus+FC+previously.

Photo used with permission from Wikimedia Commons

Massimiliano Allegri is another option to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United manager. He has managed AC Milan and Juventus FC previously.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently completed his 50th game as the team’s manager. The team suffered a disgraceful 1-0 loss against Bournemouth on Nov. 3. The loss is Solskjaer’s 21st loss at United, and it’s the clubs worst start to a Premier League season since 1988/1989.

The bad form has continued throughout Solskjaer’s time at United, and change is most definitely needed.

United need a manager who can control the team, read the opposition and place a strong structure into the side. No one fits this description more than Max Allegri. 

The former Juventus manager won five straight titles for the Serie A side before resigning as manager. Not only does Allegri understand how to win at a big club, he was able to transform Juventus into playing world-class football. 

United have not only struggled to win matches, but they’ve struggled to play quality football. Their playing has been slow, boring, and it seems the team has forgotten how to attack. Allegri is very tactically intelligent, which would be perfect for United.

All of Allegri’s former teams mastered the skill of keeping possession, which in the Premier League is really important. Bringing this possession-based football to Manchester United would allow the team to control their matches, which they haven’t been able to do under Ole. 

Another reason why Allegri’s tactics fit United is because of his former teams’ ability to counter-attack. A counter-attack is when a team wins the ball back from a defensive position then attacks the opposing team quickly while they aren’t fully set up. 

While at Juventus, Allegri used the counter-attack often and effectively to score goals. This counter-attacking style would fully suit United because they have players such as Daniel James, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial have lots of pace and can beat their defenders with this ability. 

Counter Attacking is the only thing that has worked this year. Therefore it wouldn’t make sense to take it out of the arsenal of attack. Allegri’s counter attack would perfectly fit United’s players.

The reason Eddie Howe shouldn’t be the United manager is quite simple; he isn’t ready for the job. Don’t get me wrong, I think Eddie Howe is an excellent manager, but he wouldn’t be good for Manchester United.

Howe has managed Burnley and Bournemouth, both small market and mid-table teams. Being the manager for Manchester United is one of the hardest jobs in the world because of all the pressure and all you have to endure. I fear that Eddie Howe’s lack of experience will come back to haunt him if appointed manager.

Max Allegri has coached teams such as A.C Milan and Juventus, two of the biggest clubs in all of football. He would be able to handle the pressure because he has dealt with it before and has the experience. 

The other reason I wouldn’t want Eddie Howe as Manchester United manager is because he reminds me of David Moyes. 

Moyes was appointed as United manager in November of 2017 and was sacked 10 months later. The club finished 7th during his only season as manager. He managed Everton before being hired by United. The reason Moyes reminds me of Hoye is because, like Howe, Moyes coached Everton, who aren’t as small of a team as Bournemouth but definitely aren’t a football giant. 

They both did quite well with their respective clubs but nothing extraordinarily special. Therefore, just like Moyes couldn’t handle the pressure coming from Everton, it is terrifying to think what might happen if Eddie Howe is appointed as manager coming from Bournemouth.  

Not only is Eddie Howe not experienced enough for the job, his resume isn’t strong enough, in my opinion. Since 2015/2016, Bournemouth’s first full year in the Premier League under Howe, Bournemouth have finished 16th, 9th, 12th, and 14th. 

Even though Bournemouth don’t have the strongest squad, if Howe is as skilled as a manager as he is made out to be, then you would expect him to be able to get his team to perform better, and clearly his teams form has been quite mediocre. 

Overall, Eddie Howe’s lack of coaching a big club and mediocre record is why he shouldn’t be United manager. Max Allegri’s winning background, experience, and well thought out tactics are why he should be appointed next Manchester United manager if they are to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 

 

 

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