After the final whistle on Saturday, Ole walked alongside his players to the away stand, if he was expecting to be received warmly he definitely didn’t read the signs well. Portuguese midfielder, Bruno Fernandez was frantically gesturing to the visibly angry fans that it shouldn’t be him (Ole) alone getting the stick but all of them. Ole turned around, walked past a group of players with shoulders down, head buried in shame, all of them wearing the look of a dejected and defeated soldier who just lost a major battle on the field, and clearly so. They have just been thrashed 4-1 by Watford, a mid-table team with a budget that cannot assemble half the players on the bench for the almighty Manchester United.
Before the international break which lasted 2 weeks, the Manchester derby ended in a demoralizing defeat in the hands of their “noisy” neighbors Manchester City who appeared not to break any sweat as they swept aside Manchester United 0-2 at Old Trafford. The break seemed like a perfect time for Ole to go back to the drawing board to conjure a perfect response away at Watford, a win here would have calmed frayed nerves who came out all guns blazing at the team for such a woeful display at home but unfortunately, it didn’t happen for him.
Right from the blast of the whistle, Manchester United players were slow to get off their mark and it was not surprising that by the end of the 90 minutes, the team was looking at another huge defeat at a ground that they were usually guaranteed of maximum points in previous seasons. The question on the lips of fans and critics alike is; how long before the board decide it is time for Ole to make way for another tactician to handle the affairs of the team?
During his post-match press conference, Ole reaffirmed his believe that he is still the right man for the job, and he stated that he can turn around the fortunes of the team and he is not ready to turn his back on them. But will the board keep faith or turn their backs on him?
January seems to be too far away for him and the board to get in reinforcements but even those he bought with a huge price tag are still not finding their way into the team, a good example is Jordan Sancho. He was brought in from Dortmund in Germany after so many years of courtship and was expected to light up the premier league but he has barely seen any game time so far, veteran and arguably the world best footballer Ronaldo has tried most times to rescue the team with his individual brilliance but at age 36, he is not the man to carry the team for 38 weeks.
The board has shown so much faith in Ole with signings and most importantly TIME, but it is simply not producing the kind of results they had hoped for when they offered him the long term contract 2 years ago. It is hard to believe that this is the same team that came second on the log last season. They have fallen off the title chase with a point margin that seems to expand with every passing week.
This latest thumping by Watford will add more misery to Ole, but if it will be enough to break the camel’s back is still up for debate. The fans have clearly made their voices heard and shown it once again today that they need a bout of fresh air at Old Trafford.
But if anyone has the ears of the board and the glazer family, help the fans to ask; what exactly are you waiting for?
