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On the Craven Cottage pitch, Manchester United looked – as usual, now – to a team that knew where it was heading.
Paul Pogba, not so long ago, said that he was a "virus" and that he would never again be the captain of the team, playing with Fulham in the middle ground. On the left, Anthony Martial – an exile at one point, so upset that he did not want to sign a new contract – was under threat. Behind him, Luke Shaw, publicly criticized by his former manager, looked like one of England's top backers again.
The turnaround was remarkable. A United team that had sunk into darkness for the first five months of the season was full of "joy and confidence," as Pogba later said. Each player was "at his best" as much as he could judge. United would finish the weekend in fourth place in the Premier League; In just a few weeks, qualifying for next season's Champions League, previously considered a distant possibility, became a probability.
In the stands too, United looked like a club with a destination in mind. Avram Glazer, one of the club's owners, was in the manager's box. The same was true of Jim Solbakken, Transformation Officer: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, acting head of United. Solbakken and Glazer spoke during the game, Solskjaer and Glazer spoke after.
The rumors at this point had been swirling for a while, and the murmurs grew rapidly in howls: first of all, the position of permanent director was to be lost for Solskjaer; while United was reluctant to name Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham Hotspur this summer; and finally that the decision had already been taken, that Solskjaer – then undefeated in his first 11 matches since the replacement of Jose Mourinho – had come to life so well at Old Trafford that this position would belong to him.
Seeing Glazer and Solbakken together, followed quickly by Solskjaer's admission that he had spoken to the club owner, seemed to be a fait accompli.
Few thought Solskjaer was on an unbeaten streak – a defeat in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday – should change that.
In a few weeks, after all, the Norwegian seemed to have lifted the veil that had come down during Mourinho's angry warrant; Solskjaer had restored United to something close to what it is supposed to be.
While Mourinho had been in the habit of criticizing his players in public, Solskjaer took care to praise each of them after a win against Tottenham and Pochettino, who had been the most impressive of his young reign. Where Mourinho was sullen and sneering during his public engagements, Solskjaer looks like a man who lives a dream, a good mood and a good mood.
While Mourinho constantly complained about United's transfer strategy and the greater resources enjoyed by his alleged rivals, Solskjaer seems to enjoy working with players he considers to be among the best in the world. Mourinho's relationship with some had got so much worse that his messages to players were often relayed by Kieran McKenna, the coach of the first team; Solskjaer, a former United striker, gave his attackers advice on precise moves and types of finishes.
Even at the executive level, the renewed joy and confidence instilled in the players had proved contagious, impossible to resist. As stated Ed Woodward, executive vice president of United and responsible for the club's final club nomination, at an investor call this week, Solskjaer had "made a positive impact in the world." whole club ".
A common consensus, not to mention common sense, meant that the work was his. He had dispelled the myth, expertly but inexplicably disseminated by Mourinho, that United's players were not up to par. He had proven beyond a doubt that what was holding the club was the manager, not the team.
If it's an appealing vision for United's supporters – so delighted to have been rescued by a hero of their golden age – it will seduce Woodward even more. , Glazer and the rest of the club hierarchy, a cure that is not just simple, immediate and inexpensive.
However, we must resist it. As satisfying (not to say easy) as putting all of United's recent woes at the door of Mourinho, that would not reflect reality. It was as much a symptom as the cause of United's drift in recent years; his departure and the arrival of Solskjaer were a first step on the way back. It should not be confused with the end of the trip.
Last summer, United bent to the overwhelming trend of the modern era and decided to appoint a technical director, a replacement for the role occupied by Txiki Begiristain in Manchester City and by Michael Edwards in Liverpool. Mourinho was against it, but Woodward's mind was decided.
He was however in no hurry. Earlier this season, when the media linked a potential candidate to this role, the executive in question made contact with Woodward to inform him that he was not there. Origin of articles. Woodward, imperturbable, told him that he was not expecting to make an appointment before two years.
As late as Christmas, the idea was still in the planning stage. United has contacted at least one recruiting company, specializing in sports recruitment, to determine how, precisely, it could handle a process of identifying suitable candidates. United was naturally cautious at the meeting, asking more questions than answers. This did not disclose whether it was a recruitment specialist, someone to oversee the entire operation of football or football. a figurehead. He had not decided yet whether he needed outside help to name one of them. He had not ruled out an internal appointment, nor that he would opt for a former player.
This, of course, could only have been professional discretion, if there were not many club members who still do not know how, exactly, Woodward conceives the role.
The club has not yet decided internally what title the new appointment will occupy – if and when it will be made – or what will be the incumbent's responsibilities. At the call of investors Thursday, Woodward made the obstruction. "We are looking at this role and ways to strengthen it and we will do it on an ongoing basis," he said.
This lack of clarity is not ideal. United has been associated with a succession of prestigious names – Andrea Berta of Atlético Madrid; Monchi of A.S. Roma; Fabio Paratici from Juventus; Edwin van der Sar from Ajax – and it was widely accepted that everyone would find the prospect of working at Old Trafford attractive. Without a clear and codified set of responsibilities, however, all of them risk being put aside, according to several people working in the recruitment of sports leaders.
United is stuck since the retirement of Alex Ferguson by precisely this lack of vision, this ignorance of the destination. This led to three discouraging executive appointments, years in the wild under men who were unable or unwilling to grasp the club's identity, money wasted on a quality team with low balance.
This is not something that Solskjaer can solve. This is not something that he has been used to solving. But his success must also not allow United to hide it again, to fall into the comforting but corrosive conviction that all his problems can be solved by finding a great man at the head of the team. Joy and trust will only lead you to this point. Players know where they are going. They will not get there before the club.
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