Manchester United, a shadow of their former selves.

Manchester United, a shadow of their former selves.

By Steven Kelly. 18-01-2022.

It is fair to say that the current Manchester United team are a shadow of their former selves. The glory days of Beckham, Cantona, Ferdinand, Scholes, and Giggs seem like a lifetime ago. So what has gone wrong at Old Trafford? Well for the last number of years the relationship between the Glazer owners and the United faithful has led to a lot of unrest. One example of the frustration amongst the fans was seen as early as October 24th 2021. Liverpool came to town and ran out 5-0 winners. Not only was the result damaging from a confidence viewpoint, but fans were seen leaving the stadium with over 30 minutes still to play. Comparing the situation with this squad to the glory days of the 90s, it is chalk and cheese. If anything, Old Trafford was a place where teams would be intimidated by both fans and United’s style of play. Nowadays the red devils are almost afraid to lose and teams like Crystal Palace, Wolves and Villa aren't afraid to get at this side.

In the following link, it is clear that United's style of play is of serious concern. They somehow ground out a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in their recent FA Cup meeting at the theatre of dreams. Many pundits including Roy Keane have been underwhelmed with many of the player's performances over recent weeks. Keane singled out Harry Maguire in particular. “I wouldn’t listen to much of what Maguire says. His defending isn’t good.” Steven Gerrard’s side had the lion share of possession. Villa created numerous chances, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw underperforming for United. https://youtu.be/i2PYRws4Jhw. A Scott McTominay goal was the difference in the end. Most recently United threw a 2-0 lead away to Villa in the league, adding more questions with regards to the determination of Ralf Rangnick’s charges.

Not only are United struggling to play as a team but players such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial look a shadow of themselves. Rashford hasn’t been as creative as he normally is in the 18-yard box. Anthony Martial has struggled to get in the side and is linked with a move away. In 2015 Martial was hailed as the next Thierry Henry. His dip in form is a huge worry. Many pundits have expressed their opinions on the recruitment at Manchester United. None more so than former player Gary Neville, who was part of a golden generation of success at United. Neville played under Alex Ferguson for many years and won every honour in club football. Neville is now a Sky Sports pundit and feels as though United's structure of recruitment has been wrong for years, describing united as a side who have been “Cocking it up in the transfer market for years” https://youtu.be/9uNu3qS9o60. 

Many Manchester United fans and supporters were excited to get Ronaldo and Pogba back at United. For whatever reason the togetherness and commitment of these players are questionable, to say the least. When Ronaldo was signed by Alex Ferguson in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon he was playing with a smile on his face. In recent games against Wolves, where United was beaten 1-0 at home, Ronaldo walked off the pitch throwing his arms around in frustration. Ronaldo is a proven winner and his body language is not of the player we have come to see. Bruno Fernandes is also moaning and trying to influence refereeing decisions. Supporters are not impressed and would prefer if they put more effort into trying to turn United’s fortunes around.

Alex Ferguson was a winner because he would not accept this level of disrespect. Are United's recent managers the problem? Has much changed between the Mourinho and Rangnick era? 

On the 3rd of November 2018, Jose Mourinho was sacked after the Red Devils were 6th in the table and 11 points off the top four. As of the 18th of January 2022, United are 7th in the league, 5 points off the top four, but a massive 24 points off their City rivals Man City. For a club that has won 20 League Titles, 21 FA Cups and 3 European Cups this position is not good enough, no matter how you spin it. Has much changed in the last 3 years at United? It can be argued no. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer guided United to champions league football and was still sacked in between Mourinho and Rangnick.

The time for blaming the managers is over. If Manchester United don’t want to go 30 years without winning a league title, like their arch-rivals Liverpool, the players, board and owners need to take a hard look at themselves. Signings like Van De Beek and Sancho haven’t worked out so far, so a serious overhaul at United is badly needed. Ferguson was known for the mindset that nobody is bigger than the club. He got rid of Beckham and Stam for example. If Ferguson was in that dressing room he would be tearing lumps out of the current side. No passion and very little effort. If United don’t fix things fast it could be a dark number of seasons to come. No time like the present.