As a football fan and a Manchester United supporter, it is disheartening to see what is happening with Odion Ighalo.
He has been reduced to the sidelines and is brought on on rare occasions, usually when the match’s fate has already been decided, and there isn’t much time left to do anything.
Before we proceed, let me tell you why I care about Odion Ighalo.
Odion Ighalo has been a boyhood fan of the club and an admirer of former Manchester United forwards Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke.
In 2015, when he played for Watford and was in good form, Ighalo had said that even though he was happy at Watford, it would be difficult to turn down Manchester United if they came for him.
Ighalo’s dream came true (arguably) early this year when he came to Manchester United on loan from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. With a goal on his full debut in Europa League and a brace the following week in the FA Cup, there was a good feeling about this signing.
“I want to keep doing what I need to do until the last day that I play for the club.”
Ighalo to BBC Sport
Something changed thereon, and before we get to that, let’s briefly talk about what makes up a Premier League squad.
When Liverpool bought Sadio Mane from Southampton or United bought Harry Maguire, the idea was to make them part of the starting eleven/first team. Then there are players that clubs purchase as a backup for their first team. A healthy competition for places makes the squad better. In case of an injury, there’s always an option to add them to the first team. Case in point – Brandon Williams, who did an excellent job when Luke Shaw was unavailable for the left-back role. You also have some players deemed high-impact substitutes, brought on at a crucial point in the match to change the outcome, something Marouane Fellaini did quite often for erstwhile manager Jose Mourinho. The rest are generally called squad players, meaning players who are not part of the playing eleven and perhaps would only get a chance if the first-team players are suspended, rested or injured.
Which of these roles is Odion Ighalo performing at Manchester United? Interestingly, none.
Let me explain. Of the last 13 matches of the 2019-2020 season when he was part of the matchday squad, Ighalo did not start a single match and wasn’t even brought on in 2 of the games.
If you think that could be because he was brought on as an impact substitute instead, he was on the pitch for an average of 8 minutes in each of the 11 matches, too less to make an impact.
Why do I say 8 minutes are too few to make an impact?
Odion Ighalo is not a super sub like Chicharito or Giroud to be brought on late in the match. He’s more of a striker like a Mitrovic or Charlie Austin. To give you a comparison, let’s look at his best season with Watford. He played 37 matches in the English Premier League 2015/16 season, started 36 matches, and played an average of 85 minutes each game. When given enough minutes on the ball, Ighalo scored 16 times and had 5 assists to his name.
An argument can be made that at the age of 31, he may not last an entire match.
Sadly there is nothing in the team’s gameplay after he is brought on to suggest that he is the target man or is brought in for his ability in the air or solves any of the team’s problems in the end game. The truth is, there is no plan. He’s just out there trying to adapt to the match in the last 8 minutes.
He is not a player you bring in the last few minutes of the match to change the course of the game. Even if the manager tries to make him one, some of his substitutions or omissions are inexplicable.
Just look at the three semi-finals we lost last year. In the FA Cup tie against Chelsea, I hoped to see him in the starting eleven. Instead, he was brought in the 80th minute after trailing 3-0 to Chelsea. It gets more absurd if you look at his introduction in the semi-final loss to Sevilla in the Europa League when he was brought on at 90+3 minutes and was expected to make an impact. 90+3 minutes. Let that sink in. Forget the EPL and Europe; he wasn’t even in the squad for the EFL Cup semi-final loss to City. What a waste!
Again one could argue that since it was his first season at the club, Ole tried something, but it did not work out, and that’s still a fair argument.
We all make mistakes, and we ought to learn from them. Not Ole, though. He had done the same thing again by bringing him for the last few minutes in our first match of this season against Crystal Palace when there was no fight left in the team.
What is the cost of repeatedly bringing him on at the fag end of the game?
Oh, not much for the club.
For his legacy?
History will remember him as a Manchester United flop through no fault of his own. But, more importantly, his dream to score goals for his favorite club will remain unfulfilled.
I cannot think of a worse thing to do to a footballer than bring him within touching distance of what he has dreamt of all his life and deny him the opportunity to have it.
Dismiss me as an adorable sentimentalist if you’d like; where is the lie though?
Mihir Narvilkar 