‘Somebody else run for Ron’ – Cristiano Ronaldo is Man Utd’s best player… Solskjaer must find a system that suits him

MY BIGGEST frustration with Manchester United is people saying ‘Well they have all these superstars’ but you still need to have a team.

The likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, they have got big personalities and players.

GettyMan Utd should prioritise building a team around Cristiano Ronaldo, says Troy Deeney[/caption]

GettyOld Trafford boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has plenty to ponder ahead of Saturday’s trip to Tottenham[/caption]

The difference for me is the way it is run and the way it is organised.

Everyone has big characters, big players and big money. Some United players are on bigger money than they are paying at City and Chelsea.

So why are they still being more successful?

It has got to be to do with the management of the whole building, top to bottom.
Within that is the manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

He takes the brunt of it. I was shocked how United were pulled apart by Liverpool.

You’d have to say it was billed as the first challenge of the season for them to show whether they are on the same level as City,  Chelsea and Liverpool. They definitely fell short.

You are sitting watching thinking ‘this is the disparity between the two’.

In terms of what’s gone afterwards, it is always harsh with United because every time they lose a game it’s ‘Ole is not the man’.

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And when they start  winning a couple, they are suddenly on the cusp of  getting back to greatness. It is a fine line.

I think the fans’ frustration  is this: You still don’t know who their best XI is.

When everyone is fit, what is their best team? Who are the main wingers? Why isn’t Jadon Sancho playing? There are so many questions that aren’t being answered.

The argument of Cristiano Ronaldo being the solution or the problem for Ole goes out the window when you are talking about a generational talent.

If I had Ronaldo at 36, and we have all seen the stats of him not pressing, I would expect two players behind him that could do that. He  is your best player so it’s pretty simple.

Play your best players and play a style of football that will get the best out of them and be more dominant with the ball.

Look at Chelsea, for example. Under Frank Lampard they played a certain way and everyone said “they’re good but they’re young”.

PATroy Deeney believes Cristiano Ronaldo remains world class[/caption]

As soon as Thomas Tuchel comes in, no-one has ever questioned the personalities, the formation and the way they played. He demands that.

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are the same.

I am still in the boat of not calling for people’s heads, but you have to say United, after three years under Ole, don’t have a pattern of play, a style of play and a fundamental best XI. How is that? They’ve spent the money, so where are they making ground?

Gary Neville has been keen not to call out Ole and call for him to be sacked.  Personally, I don’t think that’s going into dangerous territory for a pundit.

I can’t remember him  calling for anybody’s job. He always calls for time, because that’s probably what he would have wanted at Valencia.

I do feel when you are a pundit, you always have your club’s interest at heart. You have a level of respect.

NO-ONE CARES ABOUT THE PAST

Gary thinks ‘I need to look after him because he looked after me at one point’.

But you always run the risk of going back and  ruining your legacy.

Everyone wants results and that is the industry. What Ole did in the mid-90s to 2000s was great but no-one cares about the past. Football is ‘what have you done for me lately’.

Spurs is a big game. Would I be surprised if they lost and Ole was sacked? I would and I wouldn’t.

Everyone is used to people being sacked, but the club did say they would stick with him and talk about this long-term plan, so they would be admitting they got it wrong on a big scale. That would be surprising.

But if they were to be looking at someone like Antonio Conte or Mauricio Pochettino, I can see that.

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