Man Utd great Neville proven right with Solskjaer and Klopp Liverpool comparison

Published on: 06 April 2020

When Gary Neville claimed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was getting things right back in September, plenty of eyebrows were raised, while rival fans had a little giggle.

The Old Trafford icon was speaking after a run of mixed results that had left United with just five points from their opening four games.

Neville was quick to cite the examples of both Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Pep Guardiola at Manchester City as managers who took a while to get the formula right for their side.

The former full-back even warned United supporters that their side would continue to drop points.

"What Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have done at Manchester City and Liverpool, it took time to get right," he said on his Sky Sports podcast back in September.

"It took Guardiola 12 months, three transfer windows, because he had a better squad in the first place. It's taken Klopp three or four years to affect the culture fully and get a team fully in what he would say is his style, his culture and what he wants to do."

Before adding: "It does take time. Solskjaer is working more with a squad like the one Klopp picked up at Liverpool than the one Guardiola inherited at City. From that point of view this is going to be a long game at Old Trafford and it's going to be frustrating at times.

"There are going to be results like Southampton, Wolves and Crystal Palace along the way, but when you watch the team a lot of the principles are correct.

"They seem to be playing the right way. You see Daniel James score that goal (at St Mary's) and you see the way in which they are trying to play.

"The style of it is right. The bones are there but there's still a very long way to go, and it's going to be bumpy along the way."

Neville was right. There have been plenty of bumps in United's season this year.

A draw at home to Aston Villa, a defeat away at Watford, an embarrassing semi-final first-leg League Cup defeat to Man City, and a woeful showing against Burnley at Old Trafford are just some of the standout low points of United's campaign.

In the summer, United completed the signings of two 21-year-olds in Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, as well as centre-back Harry Maguire, with Solskjaer placing emphasis on young homegrown stars.

And although he changed tactics in January and spent big on Bruno Fernandes, the Portuguese has certainly made his presence known at the club.

Since joining United ranks from Sporting Lisbon back in January, Fernandes has scored three goals and claimed three assists in eight appearances.

While since that woeful showing against Sean Dyche's side, United are unbeaten in the 11 games that followed.

The Reds are also just three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League table after overcoming arch-rivals City in their last league outing before the coronavirus outbreak forced England's top-flight into shutdown.

But prior to the suspension, those little giggles from rival supporters have come to an abrupt end, as Solskjaer and United were eyeing a place in next season's Champions League.

And Neville, not for the first time recently, was once again proven right.

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

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