In this week’s episode, the panel welcomes Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who reflects on his early coaching influences and the extra practice that shaped players like Erling Haaland. He opens up about his time in Turkey, his experiences managing Manchester United, and shares honest thoughts on Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho. Ole also discusses his preferred playing style, the lessons he’s carried through management, and his children’s own football aspirations.
00:00 – Intro
05:20 – Lewis’ Hidden Talent
12:27 – Goals & Missed Chances For Strikers
22:21 – Managerial Experience
31:40 – Returning to Management
38:38 – Man United Reflections
41:12 – Scott McTominay’s Role and Performance
45:38 – Harry Maguire’s Journey at United
49:22 – Rashford & Sancho, What Went Wrong?
56:00 – How Did Ole Become a Striker?
01:01:51 – Ole’s Mythbusters & Quiz
Full interview is now live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZvbV7HZtVA
CREDIT – “This week’s Stick to Football podcast is available now on YouTube and all leading podcast platforms”
KEY QUOTES:
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on Erling Haaland and the value of extra practice…
“You look at the best one now – he trains and practices all the time. That’s Erling, Erling Haaland. He’s fabulous. We just spoke about him – never misses it. Never.”
“That’s his lifestyle and how he looks after himself because it’s about energy. Coming into the games with energy – that’s what it’s about.”
“He was always, every day, asking for extra headers and extra finishing, absolutely every day. And then he’d finish with a few penalties after that.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on his time in Turkey…
“Rollercoaster – brilliant, absolutely fantastic. People are so passionate, both good and bad. Living in Istanbul, the people there were fantastic. I’m more of a calm, relaxed person, but they are very high when they win, very low when they lose. I was hoping to gradually move them over to my kind of thinking, but it was so passionate – lose a game, dead. Win a game, party. But it was brilliant. It’s a great club, great people. I absolutely loved it. The atmosphere in the stadium is incredible. When the going was good – like we beat Galatasaray and Fenerbahce – it was unbelievable. Then you lose… and that was my doing.”
“I think when you take a job, you put your honour and pride into helping that club. I’m not working for myself. I could easily retire, but if they trust you, you try to help. Most of the time you regret what you’re not doing, and I don’t regret this one bit.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on his next career step…
“I’m looking. I’m open. It’s not like I’m desperate to be back in. But yes, in England, I love living here as well. Is it Norway, is it Sweden, is it wherever, it’s about working with people. I love just trying to make the most of them, or make them be the best version of themselves, and help the club.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on the Norway job…
“We’ve got a good coach still; we’re on the way to the World Cup. But if he [Stale Solbakken] one day doesn’t sign a new deal? Of course, who wouldn’t want to work with Erling Haaland again?”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on his time managing Manchester United…
“Of course it does [hurt], because that Man United one, I’d been there for eighteen and a half years. That was a kick, I thought we had something going but I’ve now moved on. It takes time, of course.”
“I’ve always thought about the club before myself, long term, who needs games, and that’s my approach.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on Scott McTominay…
“I feel that you want a core of local lads who know the club, who get the club and Scott did.’’
‘‘He’s top, and a great character you want in and around the place, sets the standards and he’d survive when we played one hundred percent [referencing his old Manchester United squad].’’
‘‘He was voted Serie A player of the year last year. So I think Scott is one of them that you, you only know when you’ve got him in your squad, how good he is and how important he can be for a squad.’’
‘‘Scotty probably wasn’t allowed to play in his best position enough because of Bruno and maybe the lack of physicality we had in midfield and legs we had in midfield.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on Harry Maguire…
“He’s shown great character, the type of person he is, and I think he’s shown the quality as well. Strength and mental strength to still perform when he’s had his critics. He’s had a few bad games, made mistakes, but then got back in.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on Marcus Rashford…
“I’ve not spoken to Marcus since, since I left. Uh, been texting a little bit. I don’t know what’s happened in Marcus’s life, but you can see he’s enjoying himself now and in Barcelona. It looked like he didn’t enjoy himself here [Manchester United] at the end. ”
“You just want him to do well because he’s an incredible player when he’s in form, when he’s happy, and when he’s got energy.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on Jadon Sancho…
“Jadon, in and around the box, with skill, link-up play, and little passes – he gives us [Manchester United] something different. He was unlucky when he first arrived because he had an ear infection and struggled to train for the first ten days.’’
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on his preferred playing style…
“Play the ball forward. You can control the game by defending really well. Get them wherever you want them and then play through the pitch on the floor – one, two touches, go forward. It’s not just about launching it to a striker.
We [Manchester United] pressed high against Newcastle because Shearer and Duncan Ferguson weren’t the quickest, but if they were in the box, it’s different. I think that’s the way to score goals – to catch the opposition off balance. Nowadays, everyone’s so organised defensively that it’s hard to beat teams with 80 passes sometimes.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on playing formations…
“I’ve used three-four-three, three-box-three, whatever you call it. It’s horrible to play against when it’s done well. The first team I remember doing it in our era was Basel against Liverpool in the Champions League – you saw, wow, how can Liverpool press this? You’ve got to go man-to-man, follow the runs. When it works, it works – but you need teams to press you to make it effective as well. You see at United now, they seem to win games more often with less than 50 percent possession rather than 60-65 percent. When I used that system, it went well because I had three good centre-backs. We also used it in Norway when I played.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on his children potentially becoming footballers…
“I think it’s just the environment they’re in. They’re in and around football all the time, and probably have decent DNA. I try not to put pressure on them, but I’ve ended up coaching their teams when I’ve been between jobs. They all play in Norway. When they were 15 or 16, I coached all three. As long as they enjoy football, I don’t put any pressure on them.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær on his ideal striker…
“I’d pick Erling Haaland to suit my style of football. I’d like him in my team.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær reflects on lessons learned during his time at Cardiff…
“Oh, loads of things. I chopped and changed too many systems and team when I came in. The squad was about 20 odd players, and we were in a Premier League relegation fight. The players were very close in quality. I’d never been in that situation before because we used to rotate a lot. When you won, it was fine, but when you lost.”
Stick to Football is brought to you by Arne Clothing – to watch the full podcast episode with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Jill Scott, and Ian Wright please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZvbV7HZtVA
