Manchester United Sends a Message. But What Is It, Exactly?

This season alone, it has lost, 6-1, at home to Tottenham Hotspur and broken the club record for most consecutive away wins. It has plummeted into the bottom half of the Premier League standings, and yet laid the foundations for what may yet prove to be a genuine title challenge. It has tapped a wonderful vein of form and, concurrently, been eliminated from the Champions League.

It has found a way of, simultaneously, being remarkably consistent but feeling chronically unpredictable. It is a team that can be obdurate and astute in defense, but then also allow Demba Ba to run, unopposed, from inside his own half to score. It is a side that seems to develop a clear identity for a while and then lose it, as if it has disappeared in the mist.

At the center of all this, of course, is Solskjaer himself. It is two years since he was called in to take the helm of the club he served with such distinction as a player. And yet it feels all but impossible to assess how well he is doing, whether he is suited to the job, whether these are the teething problems of something bigger, something better, or whether this is the limit of what his Manchester United might be.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/sports/soccer/manchester-united-leeds-solskjaer.html