Manchester United are out of the Champions League. They are out of the FA Cup. They aren’t a part of the title race and could miss out on the top four all together.
A bad season can happen anywhere, no matter how well run a club a bad season for a variety of factors can hit any club. However, since Sir Alex Ferguson retired United keep seeming to have these bad seasons. Ashley Young, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones all played in the chastening defeat to Basel 8 years a go. Fast forward to 2019 and they were entrusted with the task to stop the worlds best player.
So what‘s gone wrong at United? Money has been spent, a lot of it too. However, a glaring flaw at Old Trafford is that there seems to be no real plan. Van Gaal, Mourinho, Moyes and now Solsjaker are 4 different managers with 4 different philosophies. United seem to have no idea of the style of football they want to play and in turn seem to have no idea of the time of player they want to sign. Ed Woodward in terms of commercial success has been described as the “Ronaldo“ of commercial deals in the past. And perhaps this is true, however one thing that Ed Woodward has completely failed to do is oversee a successful footballing project. Scatter gun signings, overruling the manager on transfer targets fresh off after giving him a new contract. When it comes to football, it’s safe to say Ed Woodward has been found wanting and in turn so have Manchester United.
United fans could easily point towards the superior resources City have at their disposal as reasons for behind their rivals. But what about Liverpool? How have United’s arch-rivals pulled away from them? In short, Liverpool actually have a plan. There is a purpose to each action taken at Liverpool. Klopp insisted on Van Dijk, he was prepared to wait for the Dutchman such was his desire to sign him. And here lies the difference. Liverpool have shown a desire to sign the RIGHT type of players that suit them and the style of football their manager wants to play. Time, patience, forward planning and investment has saw the Reds become one of Europe’s best teams as they close in on another Champions League semi-final whilst maintaining a genuine title challenge. At United, it seems too often vanity signings have been made. Players with name-value, who sell shirts have been brought in rather than players the team genuinely need. Alexis Sanchez perhaps epitomises this, with his obscene wage causing a great deal of unrest at the club.
Time and time again United fans have longed for a director of football and perhaps this summer they may finally get their wish. Already it seems as if Woodward‘s reluctance to appoint a director of football will leave United guessing again this summer. They simply can not afford another summer of stagnation.