With pressure mounting on Solskjaer week after week, it could be a matter of time before we see a new face in the dugout. The question is though, would Brendan Rodgers be an improvement on Ole?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position in the hot seat at Old Trafford has been under scrutiny for some time now after weeks of questionable results.
There have been numerous rumours with a saga of Antonio Conte being shut down after he joined Tottenham Hotspur. Now, the latest rumour in the news appears to be that Brendan Rodgers is next in line for the spot.
Rodgers is currently at Leicester City and the reports have claimed that he had verbally agreed to take over at Manchester United, however, it appeared that the desires of both parties did not line up. United are pushing for Rodgers to join now whilst he prefers to wait until the end of the season.
With pressure mounting on Solskjaer week after week, it could be a matter of time before we see a new face in the dugout. The question is though, would Brendan Rodgers be an improvement on Ole?
First of all, a key aspect to look at is how Rodgers and Solskjaer compare in the Premier League. Rodgers has had spells in the Premier League with Swansea City, Liverpool and Leicester.
He had a fairly successful run at Liverpool, where he battled a close title race with Manchester City, finishing second in the 2013/14 campaign. He won the LMA’s Manager of the Year for his efforts, however.
Over the course of this, he has accumulated a 47.4% win percentage. Comparatively, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has won 46.8% of his Premier League games at United.
To further understand what this means for both managers, we must look at how many games they have played. So with a 47.4% win percentage, it means Rodgers has won 122 of his 257 games managing in the Premier League.
Then, regarding Solskjaer's 46.8% win percentage, he has won 59 of his 126 games in charge at Old Trafford. Whilst the Norwegian has a similar record to Rodgers, it must be taken into account that he has only managed half the number of games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer holds only one Manager of the Month award after his 126 games in charge, which he was awarded in January 2019. Brendan Rodgers has won the award three times, but he is yet to win it in the last 7 years as his last award came about in March 2014.
When we look at the characteristics of each manager, there are some notable differences in their style of play and there’s no doubt there would be some readjustments if Rodgers took over.
It is more common for Solskjaer to line up with a 4-2-3-1, using one of the midfielding duo in a holding position and the other in a more box-to-box role. Although more recently, Solskjaer has appeared to take on a combination of 3-5-2 and 3-4-1-2.
In any formation, Solskjaer has been fond of utilising his full backs, but when fielding a lineup similar to those he used in the defeat to Manchester City not too long ago, his deployment of wing-backs is prominent.
He relies on the wing-backs to provide width in the team although this was easily countered by Manchester City who deployed their wingers high and wide, pinning the United wing-backs deep.
Brendan Rodgers has been no stranger to the 4-1-4-1 lineup in his time managing in the Premier League, employing the formation at Liverpool and in some instances at Leicester. But, despite this, it appears that Rodgers actually prefers his 4-1-4-1 tactic as more of a backup plan when managing his Leicester side.
The Northern-Irish coach has been lining Leicester up in a 4-2-3-1 system, which has proved to be majorly successful in his run at the club. He approaches games more aggressively, focusing on maintaining possession in his buildup play, whilst retaining defensive solidity with two holding midfielders.
When Rodgers may look to switch up his tactics and start games in a 4-1-4-1 shape, he may look to field a senior player like Matic as a single holding midfielder and then use bursts of pace in attack with his wingers who could perhaps be Rashford, Sancho or Greenwood.
An important factor that could also be considered is how the managers spend their money when managing a team. Solskjaer has racked up a total net spend of £312 million for the last three years. As expected for such a substantial spend, he has significantly improved the squad when comparing it to the one he inherited.
Solskjaer has carefully looked at his areas of weakness when purchasing players for his squad, but he has spent such a large sum with very little to show from it apart from a good group of players.
Brendan Rodgers and Leicester have both been known for creating considerable profit from their assets, with players like Harry Maguire leaving Leicester for £80 million and Ben Chilwell leaving for £50 million. In his time managing the Foxes which began in February 2019, he has only spent £146 million on players.
Compared to Solskjaer, who officially took over as Manchester United manager in March 2019, he has spent just over half of what Solskjaer has.
This leads us on to the next point - trophies. In his time managing in the English football leagues, Solskjaer has never won a trophy. His only honours date back to 2010-2013, where he won two Norwegian Championships and a Norwegian cup with Molde.
Brendan Rodgers’ trophy cabinet is more honourable after a successful stint at Celtic where he won seven trophies in total. On top of these, Rodgers has also managed to win Leicester City an FA Cup and a Community Shield as recently as last year. Therefore, when we look to measure success with trophies, Brendan Rodgers takes the crown.
Whether or not Rodgers’ success and philosophy would carry over into the United job is something many are still unsure about. Inheriting a squad with such strength in so many positions gives fans hope that Rodgers could make an impact as head coach at United. Perhaps if we see him take charge at, he could lead United to their first major trophy since 2017.
Originally published for The United Stand.
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