With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future at Molde appearing to be cast into doubt due to a series of questions that have ended up in the public domain, the Norwegian may well find himself needing to get the Aston Villa job after choosing to meet with Randy Lerner.
The questions asked by Tarje Nordstrand Jacobsen, a director on the board of MFK (Molde Fotballklubb), mainly focused on Solskjaer’s commitment to the Norwegian Tippeligaen side. In the questions, the board were seeking assurances of both Solskjaer’s commitment to the team, and of potential issues with losing playing staff should the young Norwegian manager be offered the job at Villa.
In short, Solskjaer said that he would be keen to leave his post at Molde as soon as possible if a job offer came from Randy Lerner, also suggesting that he would like to take several members of his backroom staff with him, in particular Mark Dempsey and Richard Hartis. Solskjaer also said that he may be interested in bringing young player Magnus Wolff Eikrem should he be able to secure his transfer.
Eikrem, a former Manchester United player who Solskjaer took to Molde upon becoming manager, is an attacking midfielder. Eikrem started his career at Molde, his hometown club, before being recruited by Manchester United on his 16th birthday, three years after he attended a football school that Solskjaer was running.
A brief video of Eikrem is listed below showing his passing ability whilst he was playing for the Manchester United reserve team.
Getting back to Solskjaer, the next few days will be critical. Whilst Solskjaer’s actions may well have burnt his bridges at Molde, and with Molde investors Aker, Villa must continue their search in order to evaluate all candidates before an appointment.
I completely understand the jittery nature of wanting to appoint the next manager as soon as possible, but the interview process for other candidates should still be continued for diligence purposes.
Despite Solskjaer being a positive fit for the club, it would be backward to ignore other candidates and merely move for Solskjaer because of issues that may have arisen in the interim with Molde’s board. It was, after all, Solskjaer’s decision to attend talks of his own free will and, speaking as a Villa fan, I must focus on what is best for Villa, not what might be best for a man who has yet to even be fully interviewed for the post.
The coming week will, in my opinion, offer much in terms of developments because the board will be going about their recruitment process with the focus of trying to find the next Villa manager, and hopefully assuaging the doubts of fans that have crept in during the short lived Alex McLeish error.
All the matters for Villa is that their new man is selected on the basis of being a good fit for the club. No manager should be picked solely on the basis of circumstances that may have arisen due to the interview process. This may sound harsh but, at the end of the day, Villa’s primary concern should be the development and sustainment of their own club.
So another chapter unfolds in the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saga. Will he end up as manager, or will the early stages fizzle out to nothing. With the heat apparently turning up in the Norwegian’s home town I imagine a conclusion to the saga, for the benefit of Villa or not, will be coming in the near future.
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