Solskjaer missed the point after making trophy dig at Mourinho
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There is a growing feeling in football that managers can still be considered successful without having to win trophies.
This might be true at certain clubs.
Brendan Rodgers is doing a good job at Leicester but hasn't won silverware. Neither has Scott Parker, Dean Smith or David Moyes at their respective clubs.
They're not likely to either, but this doesn't mean those mentioned above are not great bosses in their own right who have over-achieved.
Then we come to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who insists that Premier League position is the true mark of a team's standing and that he doesn't need silverware to satisfy his own ego.
He said: "Any cup competition can give you a trophy, but sometimes it's more of an ego thing from other managers and clubs to finally win something.
"With the league position, you see if there's any progress. That's always the bread and butter of the season, where you see how capable you are of coping with ups and downs. If we perform well enough, trophies will end up at the club again."
The likeable Norwegian is entitled to this opinion, of course, and it's one he expresses well week in and week out.
But it's impossible to agree with him on this occasion, because Solskjaer is overlooking one crucial detail in his argument – he manages Manchester United.
His comments were a clear dig at Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese has one of the biggest egos in the game and if he was made of chocolate, he would probably lick himself to death.
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But his ego has arisen from a glittering managerial career that has seen him win 25 trophies in four different countries.
Love him or loathe him, this is just a fact. He's a big head for a reason, just like Brian Clough was, the man who once famously said, "I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the business, but I was in the top one."
Perhaps Solskjaer will never have an ego, even if he goes on to become a huge success as a boss, but up to now we just don't know because he hasn't won anything.
Call me old fashioned, but isn't winning trophies the one thing we all want our favourite teams to do? Nothing compares.
It's part of the DNA at Old Trafford, thanks to the legacies Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson left behind.
United haven't won silverware since 2017 and while Solskjaer points to the fact his side are second in the Premier League with more points than last season, so what?
No-one remembers those who finish second. At a place like United winning is all that counts, or at least it should be, because this is what supporters have come to expect.
The last United boss to do this was Mourinho and he is right to still boast about it, because as the years roll on it's starting to look like one of his biggest achievements.
Tuchel must be warned – short-term wins aren't enough
Hands up all those who still think Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was wrong to sack Frank Lampard?
No, didn't think so.
The outpouring of grief when the ruthless Russian bulleted one of his club's favourites sons was akin to him having shot Bambi.
How could he do it to 'Super Frank'?
Those same people are now drooling over the man who replaced him, having seen Thomas Tuchel go unbeaten in 13 games since turning up at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel has led the Blues into the top four and last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 2014. He has restored confidence and belief to a squad that had become fractured under Lampard.
But there's nothing more fickle that football – and we should all take a breath.
Tuchel has made a brilliant start, but that's all it is and he needs to maintain his success for much longer than a couple of months otherwise his own head will be the next one on the block.
That's just how life is under Abramovich and, if nothing else, it's interesting.
- Manchester United FC
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- Premier League
- Champions League
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