Red News editor Barney Chilton brilliant summarised what it means for Manchester United to bring in more staff who know the club and what it means to try stick with its true traditions.
On Saturday, it was reported by the Manchester Evening News that interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has added former youth coach Mark Dempsey to his coaching staff.
Solskjaer, appointed as caretaker manager a week ago, was brought in to replace José Mourinho and immediately made former Sir Alex Ferguson assistant coach, Mike Phelan, his right-hand man. He also kept Michael Carrick, Kieran McKenna and De Gea’s mentor Emilio Alvarez as part of his staff.
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Dempsey worked alongside Solskjaer at Cardiff City in 2014 and he assisted the Norwegian coach at Molde last year.
This is an example of Solskjaer’s attempts to restore elements of United’s DNA after it became clear we were losing our way a bit, with bad recruitment and prioritising of commercialisation of the club. He is also bringing in people he knows and can trust to do a job.
While Solskjaer has no say on how the club is ran — that remains Ed Woodward’s job — he is clearly trying to make things work on the pitch again, and his attempts are satisfying by bringing back attacking football and people who know the club.
There is also a good feeling about how he takes such inspiration from the club’s greatest manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who is the best of all-time.
Some fans have been so happy with Solskjaer there are already calls to make him United’s full-time manager, though after just two games those are premature shouts. There will likely be bumps along the way, between now and the end of the season, but a significant lift in mood can make people giddy.
In one tweet, Red News fanzine editor Chilton reflected on the news of Dempsey’s arrival.
Love the fact we are bringing in staff who know United, get the club, know what it means and should mean. Exactly the type of structure that was needed and Woodward was so slow in adopting. Should be at all levels, United people.
— Barney @Red News (@barneyrednews) December 28, 2018
It should give everyone a lift that Solskjaer is making these changes. They’re needed and it may be a reason behind all the smiles returning at Old Trafford.
Welcome back, Dempsey.
