Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stated that numerous current Manchester United players would struggle to survive in Sir Alex Ferguson’s locker room. Solskjaer, a former Man United player as well as manager said the atmosphere at Old Trafford as “completely different” when he was a player there, and he referred to the current group as “snowflakes.”
The former Manchester United forward stated that there were a “few fights” in the locker room after “bad games,” and that they would “shake each other up.” Solskjaer, who later became manager of United, predicted that the current generation will fall under the same conditions and even run to their parents for help.
Solskjaer brands Manchester United players ‘snowflakes’ as he holds nothing back against former club
Solskjaer, 50, insisted that when he was at Manchester United, there would be “fights” in the locker room. Before becoming a manager at Molde, when he recommended a young Erling Haaland to United, he was a renowned player with the Red Devils.
He spent 11 years at Old Trafford, earning 235 Premier League matches and playing alongside some of the club’s greatest icons. The Norwegian applauded leaders like as Roy Keane and Gary Neville for “shaking up” the team after a poor performance, something he felt was necessary. Solskjaer told The Athletic:
“The lads in that dressing room were fantastic. Keano was the leader, the one everyone looked up to. Gary (Neville) is still the busiest back then as well. David May was the joker, the clown. Gary (Neville) is still the busiest and was the busiest back then as well. Nicky (Butt) and Giggsy (Ryan Giggs) were the entertainers.
“It was just a fantastic dressing room. Winners, who hated losing. They had a few fights, like you should do, after bad games. You had to shake each other up. If you do that to the boys now, they will get their dad, or their mum, or their agents… snowflakes. Not many of today’s lot would have survived in that dressing room.”
Solskjaer had a tremendously successful career at Manchester United between 1996 and 2007, before returning as manager in 2019. However, Solskjaer was fired as Manchester United manager in November 2021 after the club’s 4-1 loss to Watford extended a disastrous run of defeats.
The Norwegian coach had lost seven of his previous thirteen games in charge, causing the club to take action and remove him from his position. Many blamed Manchester United’s locker room uprising for his departure from Old Trafford. Solskjaer is said to have irritated the team by promoting Harry Maguire to captain only six months after joining the club.
The England centre-back was signed in an £80 million transfer from Leicester in August 2019, although he was given the armband permanently in January 2020. Solskjaer’s tactics and favouritism were also criticised, with some squad members apparently asking him why he is so opposed to change a losing team.
Some believed Maguire fell into that kind of favouritism, and stories claimed that Eric Bailly clashed with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho about it. Other team members allegedly questioned Solskjaer’s decision to leave out midfielders Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard, and Nemanja Matic. Solskjaer has yet to return to management, and Manchester United are currently fourth in the Premier League under Erik ten Hag.