What is wrong with Manchester United?

Manchester United have fallen from grace ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. A small patch of domestic and European success glittered but only for a small amount of time. Now they find themselves almost 6 years trophyless. For rival fans, they probably never expected they'd see this capitulation as they were so used to seeing Man Utd win the Premier League almost on a consistent basis. But the rise of Manchester City and the resurrection of Liverpool has been so astronomical that they look a level above all others in the Premier League - not just Man Utd. 

Those two clubs are very successful as they followed the modern trends and demands football possess. It is an ever-changing sport and different methods of approach are always needed in different time periods. However, with Man Utd, it is clear to see that they are a mess from top to bottom. The ownership (Glazer family) all the way down to the players is rotten. Both are a disgrace to this football club and have shamed the famous name of Man Utd for years. 

The main issue does stem from the poor ownership of Manchester United. They are owned by the Glazer family and have always had tension with the United fans. They always say a 'fish rots from the head and it is clear to see that the poor ownership has caused Man Utd to almost spiral out of control and enter a constant phase of disappointment in terms of the football side. The recruitment and backing of managers have been extremely poor. Everyone knows that United are one of the richest in the world but yet every year there manages to be a problem with the funds to purchase new players in the transfer market. Yes, the owners have spent over a billion on transfers, however, none of that money has come from the Glazer family but rather the revenue United generate every year. Yet the glazers also take dividends from the club rather than putting money into the club.

It is not just recruitment but Old Trafford - United's stadium and Carrington - training ground have needed a major revamp for years as they both are 'rotting and decrepit as Gary Neville said. These facilities used to be one of the best in the world 15-20 years ago yet no improvement on them has been made since all other clubs around Man Utd have done so on their own stadia and training facilities. It just shows how these owners have no clue what they are doing and are using Man Utd's great commercial success as a quick cash grab.

Coming back to the recruitment side - they have had 'bankers and businessmen in charge of dealing with transfer negotiations and player scouting. Every other team has a 'director of football' an individual with knowledge about football and players while Man Utd use people that have no idea about the football side at all. It just shows how dysfunctional the recruitment process is due to the poor ownership which has led to a very dysfunctional united team.

I'm sure there are many more issues regarding the owners in terms of the debt that Man Utd are in and etc, but that could take a while to cover as well. But despite the owner's and recruitment teams' incompetency the 'blame' also lies on the current set of players at Manchester United.

In a previous blog, I spoke about how players must hone a winning mentality to enjoy a constant rate of success, however, at United you could only put a finger on one or two players with this mentality. The rest are all who settle for mediocracy and disrespect the ethos Manchester United was built upon. Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane are two players who can be excluded from the squad of 'fakers.' They have honed their winning mentalities in a very elite and well-managed team that was Real Madrid.

Sacking Jose Mourinho was a mistake. He was a serial winner and knew how to win trophies which is all Man Utd's aims should be. But now the aims have lessened to just 'finishing top four' - the drop in standards is staggering. Jose was the last manager to win a trophy for United in 2017. Since then Man Utd lost 2 finals and 4 semi-finals - most of them under Ole. He managed to finish 5th, 3rd and 2nd with this united team which is staggering given how far most of these players have fallen in recent times. However, with him in charge success did seem impossible as well. There was no clear structure to how united played and he began to get exposed in the 21/22 season when the player showed the same incompetency that has got all previous managers sacked.

Ralf Rangnick was right in saying this team needs an 'open heart surgery with almost '10 new players needed to help them get back on track. The current set of players especially the captain are not players that should ever play for Manchester United. They are simply not good enough to carry on the legacy and ethos that has been built by Sir Alex for over 26 years. And now it has been exactly 10 years since a league triumph which was under Sir Alex. But it is clear to see that the player now doesn't respect the values of this club and settles for mediocracy because they simply are not capable footballers that Man Utd demand.

Cristiano said he does not want to be in a team that fights for 6th and 7th place and that Man Utd should not be below 3rd place in the league. Yet his name is always in the news for negative reasons despite saving Man Utd countless times in the 21/22 season. The players around him have let him down massively with their standards and it is no wonder he wants to leave this ambitionless group of players. 

Thus, it is clear to see how the club is rotten from all avenues and corners. Although, one small hope for Man Utd is the appointment of Erik Ten Hag, who should be given time to recruit players HE WANTS - not what the club executives want. He is a manager with a strong mentality, ethos and play style which needs time for the players to adapt to. He is a competent football manager as proven with Ajax in the dutch league as well as the Champions League. However, for me majority of this squad has to be axed (over time) but the owners need immediate axing. Until the owners are gone, it's hard to see Man Utd being successful as a football club again.