Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is, as the cliche states, “saying all the right things.” What else is he supposed to say, given the dire straights the club is in right now, other than stay the course, it’s going to be a very long rebuild.
However, at the same time, his remarks sometimes come off like a real life version of the “this is fine” dog in the burning house meme. The club’s worst start in 30 years is what it is, and you just can’t put lipstick on that pig. Sitting in tenth place, with just two Premier League wins as they head into their last match before the second international break, is unacceptable at Old Trafford.
“I just know sometimes when you walk off games, we’re not doing bad here,” Solskjaer said at his weekly news conference ahead of the trip to Newcastle United.
“Sometimes there’s a gap. I’ve felt that a couple of times but not very often. I can’t think about what anyone else is thinking about us. We will need to improve and that is what we have to do.”
The goal for this season was top four, and that looks extremely unlikely right now. Actually, the top six will be a mighty struggle, and that shows you how far the club has fallen from the Sir Alex Ferguson led heyday.
Solskjaer played under Sir Alex, and he referenced Fergie Time, and how it’s light years away right now.
“We’re not in the ’90s now,” the Norwegian continued.
“It’s a different era, a different group that we’re building. We know there are going to be ups and downs. I’m ready to see these boys blossom. There’s not many clubs with our stature that play the young players that we do. They’ve got a chance to come through and we’re sure some of these will be part of a successful team.”
That said, let’s take a look at what lineup OGS might pick in a bid to get a win at the league’s 19th place side.
We’re thinking AWB will be good to go (illness) in time for this one, but if he’s not, then Diogo Dalot would likely get the call at right back.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction at Newcastle United
Marcus Rashford
Daniel James Jesse Lingard Andreas Pereira
Nemanja Matic Scott McTominay
Ashley Young Victor Lindelof Harry Maguire Aaron Wan-Bissaka
David de Gea
Manchester United at Newcastle United FYIs
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Kickoff: Oct. 6, St. James Park 4:30 pm
Form Guide: Manchester United DLWDL Newcastle United LDLDW
Google’s result probability: 50% Manchester United win, 28% draw, 22% Newcastle United victory
Referee: Mike Dean
Odds: Newcastle 4/1, United 10/11, Draw 12/5
Prediction: United 1, Newcastle o
The Red Devils are so due for a win right now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.