Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær could return to football management as Club Brugge are reportedly considering him as their new head coach.
The club legend and ex-United boss has been out of first-team coaching ever since his time at Old Trafford came to an end on 21 November 2021 following a torrid run of results, culminating in an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Watford.
Ole spent a total of three years as manager after getting the job full-time following an incredible start as interim coach and has been heading up the youth squad for his hometown team, Kristiansund BK, since September last year.
Taking charge of his youngest son Elijah’s under-14s side, it’s been a while since Solskjær has been involved at the senior level. However, according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, the Norwegian has been named “on the shortlist” at Brugge.
The Belgian Pro League side have been without a permanent manager since they got rid of former Premier League manager Scott Parker, who lasted just 12 games at the club.
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While fellow countryman and current Standard Liege manager Ronny Deila is said to be the first-choice target for Club Brugge, Tavolieri claims that Ole is also in the top three alongside former Bayern Munich assistant coach, Dino Toppmoller, who left along with manager Julian Nagelsmann last month.
If the 50-year-old can rediscover the kind of form he found during his high points — winning 14 out of his first 19 games, not to mention going on the longest unbeaten run (29 matches) of side in English top-flight history — it could be a masterstroke for a club of Brugge’s calibre.
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Ole also finished third and then second in his first two seasons at United and took them to the latter stages of multiple cup competitions. Meanwhile, the Belgian team won their 18th title last season but are currently sitting fifth in the table, 20 points off the top and in need of some rhythm.
Whether Ole would even consider an offer at this time remains to be seen and no formal approach is yet to be made, especially with others above him on the list.
Nevertheless, his time at Old Trafford was very much a story of ‘almost but not quite’, with some Reds still believing he deserved more time and better backing in the transfer window.
Could it be time for him to make a comeback in first-team football?
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
7th April 2023 
