Manchester United
Flickr photo by Manchester City Council shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND 2.0) license.

Problems continue to pile for tottering Manchester United

Mustafa Ismail·
Manchester United
·1 Comment·

There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for Manchester United as they find themselves fumbling in 12th place…

Shock, anger, frustration; these are just some of the emotions Manchester United fans have been channelling over the last few years. After their loss to Newcastle United, The Red Devils have hit rock bottom as they find themselves in 12th place. The fans, the owners, the board, and all those associated with the club are unfamiliar with these mid-table blues – leaving them aching for a return to normalcy.

First David Moyes; then Louis van Gaal; then José Mourinho; and now Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Things have only gone downhill since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and his managerial successors aren’t the only ones to blame. There’s been a clear lack of direction in the transfer market – and while Ed Woodward may be a marketing guru, his understanding of the footballing world has proven inadequate. The club has failed to identify positional weaknesses, overspent on those that have arrived, and struggled to replace outgoing players – all of which can be attributed to Woodward.

In the years following Fergie‘s departure, United have splashed money on high-quality players like Ángel Di María, Paul Pogba, Radamel Falcao, Alexis Sánchez, Romelu Lukaku, Harry Maguire, Eric Bailey, and Fred (just to name a few) – but that mammoth outlay has led to just one FA Cup and one Europa League title. Manchester United are one of the most popular sports teams in the world and their current misadventures are severely undermining their reputation. If they continue to falter, it could have long-term consequences on their financial and footballing health.

As things stand, United have an incredibly profitable brand to work with – but they need to regain their footing in both domestic and continental competitions if they’re to attract world-class talent. Resting on the club’s laurels has yielded no results and change is long overdue, especially when it comes to ownership and the board. The fans are crying out for fresh faces and revolutionary ideas, with the last six years providing significantly more sorrow than joy.

For starters, a director of football must be appointed; A person whose sole purpose is taking sporting decisions for the club and working with managers to maneuvre through the transfer market. This could be an ex-player, an ex-director, or practically anyone with a deep-rooted understanding of the game. For example, Mourinho asked for a couple of defenders last year but was given Fred instead. This year, the club loaned out Sanchez and sold Lukaku (both to Inter Milan) without any replacements in the pipeline. Even when they bought Maguire, their lack of bargaining power was exploited for a more lucrative fee.

A more shrewd operator at the helm could minimize the aforementioned mistakes and allow the club to function in an efficient and growth-centric manner. The Glazers can inject all the money they want into the transfer market – but without any real strategy or game-plan, things will inevitably go astray. Ed Woodward can remain in charge of the club’s business dealings as he’s done an admirable job in that respect – but his reach shouldn’t extend beyond that under any circumstances.

To add to the the club’s problems, many of its big names are underperforming. Under Ferguson’s tutelage, even average footballers would turn up with match-winning performances. However, it’s been quite a few years since a player has taken Old Trafford by storm. Zlatan Ibrahimović came and went; Paul Pogba, despite his World Cup heroics, has struggled; and even David de Gea, who’s widely considered the best goalkeeper in the world, is starting to lose his sheen. Who should be answerable for the players’ lacklustre showings is a question for another day – but the problem evidently needs attending to.

Under Ole, United have even tried to go the traditional way and promote academy players. There have been some glimpses of brilliance, but it’s clear the youngsters aren’t ready for the biggest stage just yet. All in all, different managers have been tried and tested, different tactics have been utilised, and different players have been fielded to no avail. The results haven’t been remotely close to acceptable and it’s time for a structural overhaul at the club, starting with those in charge of footballing operations.