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Bolton have never had a non-British manager. Not a one. The board is now faced with a number of interesting choices as they look to see name a successor to Owen Coyle. The names on shortlist are hardly surprising with former Wolves man Mick McCarthy the current favorite to take over. However, an outside option has presented itself in former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Solskjaer, currently managing Molde in the Norwegian Tippeligaen, has found plenty of success in his homeland in what is now his second season at Molde. The manager led his Molde side to their first ever league Gold Medal last season and is leading the table in the current one after 25 matches played. His first season saw him get 17 wins from 32 matches and 16 from 25 in his second one, building up to a 62% win record. Prior to his Molde move, the manager found success with Manchester United's reserve squad as well.
The former United legend was a favorite to take over Aston Villa over the summer with owner Randy Lerner travelling to Norway to hold talks. Talks were pretty advanced but Solskjaer would back out, citing family reasons over what could ultimately have been cold feet. Blackburn were also rumored to be looking at him following Steve Kean's departure a couple of weeks ago.
Solksjaer is described as a "smart tactician and a great man" by Brendan Husebø, a man well-versed in Norwegian football. The Molde man has little first team managerial experience though, with the current season at Molde being his second season in charge of any first team. He would certainly be a departure from anything Bolton have had in the past and likes an attacking style, with his Molde side averaging just under two goals per game.
However, he may be reluctant to leave Molde at this current point in time as they have just seven games to go in a season where they sit top of the table by only two points. His side reached the third qualifying round of the current Champions League campaign before going out 2-1 on aggregate to FC Basel
The current Molde manager's odds were relatively high this morning at 7/1 this morning but now have gone as low as 2/1 on the various betting outlets.