How much longer can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hold on to his job as Manchester United manager?
With performances as bad as the one against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, surely the Norwegian's departure is only a matter of time?
This isn’t just a blip or an unfortunate run of results. It’s a widespread problem that needs solving sooner rather than later.
There were to be no Cristiano Ronaldo heroics this time around, as United were humiliated at home by one of their fiercest rivals for the second time in two weeks.
In some ways, this 2-0 derby defeat was worse than the 5-0 loss to Liverpool. The scoreline was not as bad but United were totally dominated in their own backyard. Not that it was surprising, of course, which is damning in itself.
This performance merely underlined that last weekend's win over Tottenham wasn’t a revival. It was an anomaly against a side who were in even worse form.
The systemic problems that plague this Manchester United team persist and who is to blame? Solskjaer has previously said the responsibility for poor results lies with him and it’s hard to disagree. He looked out of his depth in his particular fight.
In the blue corner was Pep Guardiola, a serial winner who has developed a well-drilled, perfect passing team who know how to win.
Consequently, this turned into a training game, but one played to the backdrop of the City fans mercilessly mocking their United counterparts with regular chants of "You’re f*cking sh*t!"
Solskjaer sat helpless in the red corner, unable to produce a meaningful response from a bunch of individuals who seem unable to play together as a unit.
Thumped by Liverpool.
— Goal (@goal) November 6, 2021
Dominated by Manchester City.
It's a tough time to be a Manchester United fan at the moment 😔 pic.twitter.com/os6HSZaLRY
Defensively, they were a shambles, again. The back three, which had offered solidity and security against Spurs, was taken apart by smart crosses into the box and neat movement from City.
The midfield, meanwhile, was unable to get any kind of foothold in the game. In the opening 15 minutes, the visitors had 74 per cent of the possession.
The United players looked terrified and sat back inviting City to press them: a big mistake against such superior opposition.
For the back five system to work, they needed to be a tight defensive unit but as Joao Cancelo whipped an inviting ball into the box and Eric Bailly finished into his own net, all confidence appeared to drain away.
There appeared to be no way back for United after just eight minutes of play. Indeed, this mis-match proved that the gulf in class between these two city rivals is now seismic.
Solskjaer had said in his pre-match press conference that United are still the biggest team in Manchester but while they might be far ahead when it comes to silverware won, United are no longer on the same level as City.
If they don’t make big changes soon, past victories are all the fans will have to cling to, and it was notable that "Ole’s at the wheel! was only sung loudly in the away end.
Pain 😳 pic.twitter.com/7p6THbaYwN
— Goal (@goal) November 6, 2021
City supporters even ironically demanded that Solskjaer be given another five years in charge, and why wouldn't they? Because if he remains at the helm, they won't re-emerge as a credible threat to their 'noisy neighbours'.
At Old Trafford on Saturday, City were everything United weren’t and deserved to win by more than two goals. Guardiola's team was precise, classy, quality and moving with a coherent plan; Solskjaer's passive, sloppy, slow and clueless at times.
It is no wonder the full-time whistle was met by boos. The home support have not turned on Solskjaer vocally, of course, and they won’t.
He remains a club legend for what he did in 1999 but their loud vocal backing of Donny van de Beek – a player who has been underused by Solskjaer – spoke volumes.
As Cristiano Ronaldo huffed and puffed, looking frustrated as an isolated front man with no service, one could only wonder how many goals he would have scored against United’s fragile defence if that move in the summer had ended in him wearing blue and not red.
Did he make the wrong decision? If he was intent on winning things, then it would seem so, because United aren’t going anywhere under the current management.
