That’s the root of the problem - managers should not have as big a say in signings as they do.
People are resigned to the fact that a new manager coming in will have the same structure and lack of expertise in place above them and make the same mistakes as ETH.
Every new manager kicks the can further down the road because their mistakes take 2 or 3 years longer to fix than they take to make.
a new manager papers over the cracks with another year or two of false dawns. We’d likely get a year of better football, a league cup and maybe a Europa league run out of it before it goes to shit again, and if that’s what people want then fair enough.
The root of the problem is that, although the managers have a big say in the transfers, they don't get much of a say in the overarching approach. Not since LvG. The guy who said that United need an "open-heart surgery" was shown the door and, just before ETH's appointment, sources from within the club leaked that United want evolution and not revolution.
Solskjaer talked about a cap in the transfers. He started off with a high pressing - high energy system that, soon after, he quickly abandoned.r. United have been a low work rate side that lives on transitional moments since 2016. If you don't want revolution, you'll have to accept that and start looking for managers who can serve this particular plan. People like Conte, Inzaghi, Simeone etc. Because that's where we are, atm. We have key players, all over the pitch, who aren't very fond of one-touch and link-up football and also believe that defensive work is beneath them.
And if we bring De Zerbi, or whoever, and tell him he'll get three major signings to evolve the side, guess what, he'll choose to plug holes instead of building something new. I think ETH's so-called "pragmatism" last season should ring a bell. And when he will finally try to take a little step forward, the sulking, the wrong "body language" and the leaks in the press will begin again. And De Zerbi will turn from a Messiah to a scapegoat whose job was nothing more than "to get the best out of his squad".
Does it mean that the manager shouldn't shoulder the blame? Absolutely, not. As Solskajer said, you may have grievances in the end, but you know what you are signing up for. But it goes beyond that. Both Klopp and Pep teach very demanding systems. It's not just the transfer budget that makes them successful. It's the feeling in the dressing room that, if you don't comply with the instructions, you'll be the one in trouble and not them.
United's modus operandi makes that nearly impossible. The manager at United can't survive Arteta's first years at Arsenal. We want CL qualifications at all costs, Arsenal said enough is enough: The task ahead is to build, not to fix. We can keep ETH, hire De Zerbi or whoever, but, before we do, we need to understand this. If it's not what we want, i mentioned it in another thread: Conte is available and can come here tomorrow.
or even licha or an Amrabat loan. fecking hell.