After finishing third behind Liverpool and Manchester City, Manchester United were in a great position to continue their development by signing a couple of new players to boost the squad. However, three games into the new season Man Utd have lost two and won one game (which actually feels like a loss) in the league. So, who is to blame for the current situation at Manchester United? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? May be replace him with Mauricio Pochettino? Is it that simple?
The
latest loss was a 1-6 at home to Spurs, one might think it wasn’t too bad
considering the red card and champions Liverpool also on the same day losing 7-2
to Aston Villa who last season barely survived relegation. However, Liverpool
is a team that has a proven philosophy and players that are capable of winning
anything. Man Utd on the other hand, have a squad that is far from being
competitive for the top spots in the league. Yes, they have signed five players
in this summer window but only two of them might be starting in the first team
regularly, other two are 18 year olds who will probably first go into reserve
squad and one more is a 33 year old forward who has not played a game since
march. Moreover, when you consider all
the factors that have contributed to the current situation, its all doom and
gloom at Manchester United.
It is natural to criticise the coaching team and the manager for such a big loss and poor performances of players. Maybe it is true that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not the most tactically perfect manager. However, he has shown that in big games he can hold his own and get results. When looking at previous managers at United, Loius Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, both might be considered among some of the best coaches football has ever seen. Both have won almost everything there is to be won in the game. And yet Jose was sacked during his third season and Van Gaal after his second.
One thing that was felt under Van Gaal and Mourinho was that the club was losing its identity on and off the pitch. Whether it be the playing style or the transfers or the attitude of the players, the identity of the club was missing. Van Gaal wanted his team to play like Barcelona, very methodical and disciplined style of play. Jose has been known for parking the bus and having pragmatic approach towards winning. This obviously did not go well with United fans who want to see attacking football.
Ole having played under Sir Alex knows what the club is all about. Ole since coming in as the main man, has taken the steps towards exciting football, wanting to signing right players and having the right attitude in the dressing room. Therefore, in a way club is moving forward in the right direction.
Any Man Utd fan who watches games regularly and follows the news around the club would agree to at least some of that. So, what are we missing? Why does it still feel like the club is going backwards even when the club finished on a high last season?
If you are thinking Man Utd were the third best team in the country last season and it is just a bad start to the season and you are wrong. This is not the first time we are seeing a decline in performances in the new season after finishing well the season before. There is a pattern.
Man Utd last won the league back in 2012-2013 season under Sir Alex Ferguson. David Moyes came in to replace Sir Alex after his retirement in 2013-2014. Being the champions United saw very little squad improvements in that season. After failing to impress Moyes was sacked even before the season was concluded, United finished 7th. Louis Van Gaal came in as replacement, United invested in the squad during his first season and finished 4th. However, the start of the next season saw questionable transfer decisions, United finished 6Th Van Gaal was sacked. This pattern of new manager and questionable transfer decisions has followed ever since Sir Alex retired. United are now with their fourth manager in 7 years and still making questionable transfers. We have seen the likes of Di Maria, Falcao, Depay, Schneiderlin, Mkhitaryan, Sanchez and Lukaku coming to the club and leaving within a year or two without making a significant difference. Moreover, there are still players at the club who do not offer anything to the team.
Moreover, instead of doing the transfer business quickly and discreetly, Man Utd are being dragged into so called transfer sagas every summer and leading overpaying for players. This is because relying on player agents for transfer and sending lawyers instead of football people for negotiations with the player. Players and their agents are also taking the advantage of the situation by demanding exuberant salaries and agent fees. Andy Mitten, a BBC editor, puts it very correctly, Manchester United have lost the dark arts of transfers.
Bad practices in the transfer business has also had a negative effect on the team. Players who are in the team for the money and not for playing for the club, do not have the right attitude. The wage structure of the club has also been disrupted by offering marquee players huge salaries and also because offering new contracts to players who needed to be moved on.
Commercially however, the club has done amazingly since Ed Woodward has taken over. Man Utd have done deals with all kind of companies, from wine manufactures, to tractor manufactures, watch companies and even cup noodles. And the owners, who use the club finances to fill their own pockets, are very much happy about that. Glazers bought the club on a leveraged buy-out in 2005. Man Utd are still in debt because of that. Not only that but the owners instead of putting the money into the club to win trophies, are taking the money out of the club as dividend. On the other hand, rivals in the likes of Manchester city and Chelsea, have been aided by their owners by putting millions towards transfers. Even after spending large amounts in the transfer market finances show negative balance towards investment in the team by owners.
Old Trafford, The Theatre of Dreams, the home of the club since 1910, has not had a major development since 2006. A stadium which seats 75000 people every match day, a dream for every fan to visit but a stadium that also leaks and has outdated facilities. This also shows the commitment of owners towards the club.
So, yes, the recent performances of the team have been a mixed bag, but its not always the manager who needs to take the blame. Manchester United have been in decline for years, the brilliance of Sir Alex kept the club fighting for the best. But now the club is in dire need of change in how it operates if it wants to win major trophies again.
Swiss Ramble - swissramble.blogspot.com, https://twitter.com/SwissRamble
Picture credits - manutd.com
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