And so, after a stretch of performances that can be labelled as a total suspension of talent and intelligence, Manchester United’s Solskjaer Experiment is over. Last night’s deflating loss—the kind where a 1-4 scoreline is generous—at Watford left the United board with no choice but to react.
Watford’s fourth goal was emblematic of Solskjaer’s diminishing influence on his team. There is no way he could have instructed Anthony Martial to take a loose touch inside his half, or asked Jadon Sancho to be jogging back instead of pressing the fast Watford forwards. In the same breath, United’s lack of structure in defensive transitions cost them again. They did not have enough players covering for a counter. That, one has to admit, lands on the manager. Joao Pedro’s strike was more a death knell than a goal.

Sack is a cruel word, especially in top-flight football with trigger-happy owners. Watford, funnily enough, are a bright example of that. Claudio Ranieri is their 20th managerial appointment over the last thirteen years. And yet, in situations like the one United find themselves in, it feels inevitable. It felt that way after the Liverpool defeat at Old Trafford, and after the humiliation against City, when Guardiola’s men played out a training session at their rivals’ patch.
It should have felt uneasy after the losses to Leicester and Aston Villa and Everton, or the absolute schooling against Young Boys. The much-celebrated last-minute rescue acts against Villarreal, West Ham, and Atalanta should have prompted questioning of the team’s structure that allowed games to stretch that deep. Instead, all we got to hear was lazy rhetoric about character and passion.