Why Man Utd’s win over Spurs had Sir Alex Ferguson written all over it
January 15, 2019
Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made it six wins from six games in charge against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
The trip to Wembley was billed as the first big test of the interim boss’ tenure. Did the Norwegian have the tactical nous to mix it with the Premier League’s title contenders or had he simply used the new manager bounce to build a team of flat-track bullies?
Solskjaer passed the test with flying colours and got his tactics spot on against Spurs. He secured all three points with a display that had his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s fingerprints all over it.
Since Fergie’s retirement there has been plenty of talk about the supposed ‘United way’, a perceived lack of attacking football and concern about the Red Devils’ failure to impose themselves on games.
While all of that criticism is justified, it does overlook the fact that Ferguson was always more than happy to tailor his personnel and tactics to suit the opposition. That was precisely what Solskjaer did at Wembley yesterday.
His fast-paced attackers, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, were clearly instructed to stay high up the pitch and occupy the spaces vacated by Spurs’ attack-minded full-backs Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies, leaving centre-backs Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen exposed.
While this was partly to blame for United conceding a succession of chances, it ultimately resulted in the match-winning goal from Rashford.
Solskjaer’s celebrations with his coaching staff, including Ferguson’s former no.2 Mike Phelan, made it clear this was very much a case of a training ground plan coming together. Again, vintage Ferguson.
United goalkeeper David De Gea made sure Spurs’ opportunities came to nothing, just as Peter Schmeichel did on occasions for Ferguson’s 1990s United.
To top it all, attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard has confirmed – in reference to Ferguson’s infamous dressing room dressing-downs – that Solskjaer “has got a hairdryer in him”.
This article is brought to us by our newest member of the Sports Writers Club – Rob Parker.
