Eva Olid Faces Criticism After Tough Start at Manchester United

Eva Olid isn’t ducking the noise. She expected it.

Two games into her first Women’s Super League season in charge of Manchester United, she has two defeats, one goal scored and a 5-0 hammering by Chelsea still ringing in the ears. The criticism came quickly. She says it should.

“Constructive criticism” is “normal”, the 41-year-old Spaniard insists. “The first two performances have not been good. We are the first to say we are not happy.”

United’s new era has started with a jolt rather than a stride. A 2-1 loss away to London City Lionesses on the opening day was bad enough; being torn apart at home by Chelsea a week later exposed just how far this team has to travel to look anything like the side that reached the Champions League quarter-finals under Marc Skinner.

Olid arrived from Hearts in the summer promising a bold, possession-heavy attacking style. The reality so far? Two shots on target across two league matches. Less than 40% of the ball in both. A team caught between what it was and what it is trying to become.

She knows the numbers. She knows what they say. But she refuses to let them define the story.

“People that understand football know that the beginning and how you start does not define how you end the season,” she said. “We know the direction and what we are doing will give us success in the long term.”

The criticism, she says, doesn’t really touch her. What does? The players.

“So yeah, I’m good,” she added. “The only thing that is important for me is the players. I’m worried always that they need to feel good and strong, nothing else.”

A brutal fixture in a brutal moment

If United were hoping for a gentle reset, the fixture list has not obliged. Next up is Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening (17:30 BST). The Gunners are unbeaten in 19 WSL matches. United have not won there since November 2022.

Bottom of the table. No points. One goal scored. This is not the launch anyone at the club had in mind. Olid, though, frames it as part of the journey.

“Football is like life. You have good moments and difficult moments. I think all the teams in the season have a difficult moment. Ours is the start,” she said.

“We are learning as a team to grow because the difficult moments make you grow. Once we’ve passed this difficult moment and start to build momentum, I think we will be so much better.”

Right now, that growth looks uncomfortable. Olid’s message to the squad has been clear: stop playing within yourselves.

“My main message has been about them being themselves. They are not showing in the first two matches who they are and what they can do.”

Between old strengths and new ideas

Under Skinner, United built a reputation for defensive solidity, organisation and resilience. It took them deep into Europe and made them a hard side to break down. Olid does not want that foundation ripped up in the rush to reinvent.

“They cannot forget what they were good at before,” she said. “At the same time, little by little, we need to implement the new style.”

That “little by little” has not looked smooth. Players appear caught in two minds: keep it tight, or open up and play? The manager sees it too.

“The players have been so focused and thinking a lot – overthinking maybe – trying to do everything and in the end, they don’t do anything because they are not expressing themselves like I know they can.”

The tension between evolution and results is obvious. Change too slowly and you risk stagnation. Change too quickly and you risk chaos. Right now, United are walking that tightrope without a safety net.

Respect from the other dugout

On the opposite bench this weekend, Arsenal manager Renee Slegers has some sympathy. She knows exactly how little time Olid has had.

“Eva has had so little time,” Slegers said. “As a coach it’s a decision you make – are you going to change things straight away or are you going to have another approach where, over time, you look to try to change things progressively?

“That’s probably the balance for her. I don’t know what her philosophy is but I imagine it’s a challenge. I understand the disappointment from a fan perspective – but there has been so little time.”

Time, though, is rarely a luxury in elite football. United travel to north London needing more than promises of long-term success. They need a performance that looks like a step, not a stumble.

Olid has nailed her colours to the mast: possession, attacking intent, a team that grows through the pain. The question now is simple. How long will the WSL allow a project to breathe when the table already shows United gasping at the bottom?