Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked as
Manchester United manager on Sunday after the club’s “embarrassing”, as termed by goalkeeper David de Gea, 4-1 defeat against Watford.

The former United striker Solskjaer returned to the
club initially as caretaker manager after the dismissal of Jose Mourinho in
December 2018 and immediately produced an upturn in United’s form – including
the 3-1 win at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. However, his last
three years at Old Trafford has not been impressive.

In July, he signed a new three-year deal
but left after overseeing five defeats in their last seven Premier League
matches – a run which saw them standing at seventh position 12 points behind
EPL leaders Chelsea.

Ole had to go even though the Manchester
United management had ignored increasingly vociferous calls to relieve Solskjaer of his duties in
the wake of a humiliating 5-0 loss to Liverpool and a 2-0 derby defeat to
Manchester City in early November.

But Saturday’s crushing defeat at Vicarage
Road Stadium forced the club officials to show him the way to exit. Solskjaer
was booed by the United fans in the away end at full time at Watford.

Let’s take a look at the reasons why Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked.

No silverware won

Solskjaer failed to deliver Manchester
United a single silverware during his tenure, with the defeat on penalties to
Villarreal in last season’s Europa League final being their best effort.

Failed to match Ferguson

Saturday’s defeat to Watford was Solskjaer’s
168th game in charge of the club. In total, he won 91 of them, drawing 37 and
losing 40.

Since legendary Sir Alex Ferguson left the
club in 2013, the club was managed by David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose
Mourinho and Solskjaer. But none of them could win Manchester United the EPL or
Champions League title.

The Norwegian’s overall win rate of 54 per
cent puts him second behind Mourinho who won 58 per cent of matches. Moyes and
Van Gaal trail on 53 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively.

Overall, Solskjaer’s record against the
traditional big-six – Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and
Tottenham – was not too impressive, with 14 wins, 10 draws and 12 losses.

High expenditure

Under Solskjaer Manchester United spent a
lot in the transfer market. Solskjaer’s spending (£441m) in recruiting new
players was much higher than Mourinho (£430.8m) or Van Gaal (£309.2m). Since
2018 when Solskjaer joined Manchester United as a caretaker manager, the club
spent £312.1M in signing players, which is the highest in EPL, compared to
Arsenal’s £279.7M.