You are currently viewing Going, going, Ole? By Ade Ojeikere
Share this story

He was always going to be a pain in the neck for the Red Devils, except the manager was changed. His football has developed beyond the abilities of I can do it which is Manchester United. Strikingly, the celebrations surrounding his shocking return to Old Trafford Stadium blinded the eyes of the team’s faithful. All that the fans thought would give them victory was for any Manchester United squad to line up with Cristiano Ronaldo. They have found out it is always so. The team must play well to leverage Ronaldo’s presence upfront.

For a team that has been troubled by naughty stunts of a player whose only credentials was that he won the World Cup for France, the return of Ronaldo was surely the best antidote for the Red Devils to keep Paul Pogba where he rightly deserved – an average player when placed against CR7. The Red Devils are no longer talking about Pogba’s exit.

But Pogba was asked about the Juventus links after France set up the Nations League final clash with France in Turin Thursday night and he said: ”I like Torino [laughs]! ”I always speak with former Juve team-mates like [Paulo] Dybala. I’m in Manchester now, I’m under contract until June. Then let’s see. I want to complete this season at my best level, then we will see.”

The French were at the Juventus Stadium on Wednesday to train ahead of the UEFA Nations League semi-finals against Belgium and Juve fans seized the opportunity to hearken into Pogba’s ears the need for him to return to Turin. It prompted a series of messages from Juventus fans urging him to return to the club, including one which said: “Pogba constantly teases us Juventus fans, if he doesn’t arrive in the summer, I might actually cry.”

In fact, Pogba and his shylock manager have eaten the humble pie by accepting the fact that Ronaldo, the enigma was at Old Trafford. Pogba’s reluctance in staying at Old Trafford ruined the manager’s plans to fortify the squad’s midfield. The Dutch he bought from Ajax ought to have held the central midfield but Ole’s mind is stuck on Pogba with no plan B. A flexible midfield arrangement is what would free Ronaldo from his tight-marking opponents to rock the net with goals for Manchester United. Ronaldo is gifted in latching onto good passes to score goals. It didn’t start today.

One begins to wonder what goes on in the mind of Ole every time he refuses to play Donny Van de Beek or Jadon Sancho and yet goes ahead to lose a match. The thought of Sancho’s 85 million Euro signing and Van de Beek’s 35 million pound signing is not even to be discussed because both players are no ruse and far better than the arrogant Frenchman, who should have become a regular face on the bench.

Advertisements

I might not be wrong to assume that Ole seems to be the only individual or coach who doesn’t understand that with Van de Beek and Sancho’s dexterity and brilliance in the midfield, Ronaldo would not only repeat his glorious football feats but surpass them in flying colours. Or who else will play Ronaldo as a replacement in an important game yet feels comfortable losing to the detriment of the fans who are yearning for his sack?

Ever since Ronaldo emerged from his first stint with Manchester United as the world’s best player, he has played and distinguished himself for teams loaded to the hilt with exceptionally good players. Such teams complimented their star-loaded squad lists with renowned coaches who know their onions. The synergy between the coaches and the players was mouth-watering with the world’s expectant of the kind of feats such teams Ronaldo played for each new season. Need I waste space with Ronaldo’s career trajectory under super managers beginning with his godfather Sir Alex Ferguson, take a bow, Sir Alex.

Advertisements

The exit of Sir Alex brought two sides towards replacing him, with many Red Devils fans opting for a coach with the club’s DNA – preferably a former legend of the team. The other side of the coin wanted established coaches such as Van Gaal with both men quitting with ignominy despite winning laurels for the Red Devils.

Ronaldo’s resentment after the home loss to Aston Villa has raised the flag for a new manager given the calibre of players in the club, including Ronaldo. Should CR7’s body language after matches be the basis for asking Ole to go?

Advertisements
dukes-crunchies

Now that Ronaldo is feeling out of sort with the uninspiring displays of the Red Devils, the pertinent question to ask is, who recruited him for the team? Was is it the current manager’s decision or he had to join the queue to welcome CR7’s return or walk out through the exit door?  England great Gary Linker exposed how Ronaldo rejoined the team.

“I’ll put my cards on the table,” Lineker told BBC Sport: “Ed Woodward’s a good friend of mine and he’s my neighbour. He signed Ronaldo when he was in my garden!

“It was awesome. I knew when he walked in and he was on the phone to [Ronaldo’s agent Jorge] Mendes or someone. I hope I’m not giving too much away here, but he did sign him, so… yeah!

“I’ve got a fantastic picture of him on the phone with him in the back garden, which I might share one day with his permission.”

Advertisements

“When you’ve got Cristiano Ronaldo, you have to build a team and structure around him, so it can work for him,” former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright said on Match of the Day.

“If you’ve got him in your team, a match-winner, and you can’t set it up for him to be playing in there, to do what he does, he’s going to walk off the pitch like that.”

Advertisements

New recruit from Real Madrid Raphael Varane has gotten applause for his manager’s defensive tactics.

According to L’Equipe,  Varane said: ”I’m very happy with the start of this adventure. The Premier League is a league known for its intensity. There’s a different atmosphere, a different general mentality regarding football. It’s a different approach and a different experience for me.

Advertisements
Lennox Mall

”I’m taking pleasure in playing, going out of my comfort zone, finding new bearing with my teammates. It’s a different way of defending and it’s super interesting for me.”

Manchester United great Peter Schmeichel is miffed at the diabolical suggestions calling for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sack insisting that celebrated football managers such as Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho ‘don’t care’ for the club’s DNA. Schmeichel wants the incumbent manager to remain and be supported than being given the boot.

Advertisements

”I think it’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” the Dane told ITV Sport when asked about the calls from Manchester United fans to sack Solskjaer. ”Do they want another [Louis] Van Gaal or another [Jose] Mourinho? What do they want?

”It’s been tried, bringing in the so-called big-name managers and they don’t have the same care and attention to detail in the youth and development and DNA of the club as Ole has.

Advertisements
effex

”That period before him [Solskjaer], a lot of players came in and a lot of coaches left, so everything needs to be rebuilt. I hope people understand that it takes time. Remember, we finished runners-up last season, if we can do that again it will still be very good.

Barcelona’s manager Ronald Koeman is literarily a walking corpse burdened by the problems of a team deep in debts accumulated over the years. The ripple effects of such a precarious financial situation are affecting his productivity at the Nou Camp. Koeman isn’t just any coach having grown into a legend of the club based on his previous contributions as a player and once upon a time as a coach.

Koeman has matched Joan Laporta in the buck-passing game and he isn’t ready to lie on the floor for Laporta to ride on. Barcelona is stuck with Koeman knowing they would have to cough out $12 million to dispense with his services. They are resolved to staying with him until the end of the season when things would have improved a bit financially.

Do you have an important success story, news, or opinion article to share with with us? Get in touch with us at publisher@thepodiummedia.com or ademolaakinbola@gmail.com Whatsapp +1 317 665 2180

Join our WhatsApp Group to receive news and other valuable information alerts on WhatsApp.


Share this story
Advertisements
jsay-school

Leave a Reply