The fact that Manchester United don’t have someone lined up to replace Solskjaer speaks volumes

That this billion-pound company doesn’t have a successor lined up shows just how chaotic this ‘will they, won’t they’ saga has been, writes Ben Burrows

‘This weekend proved a step and a bad result too far’ (Getty)

If it feels like I’ve written about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being on the verge of the sack at Manchester United in these letters a thousand times, it’s probably because I have.

The Norwegian has avoided being dismissed by the skin of his teeth on numerable occasions over the past three years, displaying a happy knack of getting a result just when he needed it most.

He did it only a few weeks ago, when – following the embarrassing 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool – he bounced back to inspire a 3-0 win over Tottenham, a result which coincidentally saw opposite number Nuno Espirito Santo relieved of his own duties a matter of days later.

But this weekend proved a step and a bad result too far, the 4-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday the final straw for the United hierarchy, who made their decision official on Sunday morning.

To say it had been coming is an understatement with Solskjaer’s tenure beset with lows that another, less patient club would surely have been far more trigger happy over.

United have handled this cycle differently throughout – with Solskjaer’s status as a legendary, Champions League-winning goal-scoring player undoubtedly buying him far more rope than he would’ve got elsewhere.

But it is now over with the question of who replaces him now paramount. United have their problems, currently, but remain one of the biggest clubs in the world. The chance to manage them is one many bosses all over the world would want to take.

United say they are keen on hiring an interim manager (because it worked out so well last time) before a decision over a permanent successor is made in the summer.

That they, a billion-pound company, don’t have someone already lined up speaks to just how chaotic this “will they, won’t they” saga has been.

For journalists, a managerial sacking is always one of the most interesting stories to cover, with so many different angles to dig into.

The immediate fallout is always dominated by the “how” and the “why” of just what went wrong, before the identity of whoever will take over becomes the next key talking point.

Football clubs never tend to make the decisions you would expect them to, which makes covering them all the more difficult – but with the sport becoming ever more ruthless at the top end, it’s a challenge we are getting more and more used to.

Yours,

Ben Burrows

Sports editor