Manchester United appoint Solskjaer as permanent manager

GIF party? Manchester United have a new permanent manager, and it isn’t Mauricio Pochettino. United announced this morning that they have appointed interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as permanent manager, succeeding Jose Mourinho. Solskjaer had been caretaker manager since Mourinho was fired in December.

The “Baby-faced Assassin” was indubitably good with United, leading them from a team floundering in sixth place to one that is expected to contend with Tottenham for a top four position, and the quarter finals of the Champions League.

Solskjaer called this his dream job in a press conference announcing the hiring.

“From the first day I arrived, I felt at home at this special club. It was an honour to be a Manchester United player, and then to start my coaching career here. The last few months have been a fantastic experience and I want to thank all of the coaches, players and staff for the work we’ve done so far.

”This is the job that I always dreamed of doing and I’m beyond excited to have the chance to lead the club long-term and hopefully deliver the continued success that our amazing fans deserve.”

I could make a snarky joke about Solksjaer succeeding in being the “not-Mourinho” candidate and getting one of the most expensive and talented teams in England to play at par, but that would be unfair. He’s been excellent this season, and seems to be just what United needs right now. He also has the advantage of being what appears to be a genuinely good person and nice guy.

The appointment, along with Real Madrid re-hiring Zinedine Zidane, removes almost all doubt that Mauricio Pochettino will be staying at Tottenham Hotspur next season. Pochettino was considered the leading candidate to take over at Old Trafford next season, with former United players saying the club should go “all out” to get him. Now, barring something catastrophic happening in the off-season, it looks like Poch will be leading Spurs in the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019-20.