A Season in Red: How Ole Gunnar Solskjær Turned the Tide at Old Trafford

How do you define success in football? Not every team is going to win it all at the start of a new era; nor is every team willing to wait years despite positive signs, so where is the line drawn?

Jürgen Klopp, the most loved man on one side of Liverpool, took four years of transfers and trials, wins and ridicule before he got what he rightly deserved. Mauricio Pochettino enjoyed similar success for longer than Klopp, but his success resulted in a sour sacking and nothing to show for.

In those four trophyless years for Klopp on Merseyside and five for Pochettino in North London, what would be considered a success?

Considering the context, for them, success didn’t necessarily need to be silverware – that was likely to come eventually at the end of the process, as it did in great capacity for Klopp, but was a step too far for Pochettino. Both clubs were stuttering at the time and stabilizing them was the first objective. Yes, near-misses were painful but at that point, success meant progress, and that was undeniably there.