Acheron
Full Member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2016
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- 3,024
- Supports
- Real Madrid
They didn't give him a new contract, they triggered an extension - presumably on the basis that they didn't want him to only have a year left, and be pressed into having to offer him a longer term deal if he started well, and the press banging on about it all year. Not the best decision, looking back now but not necessarily a poor decision then, if they'd decided to give him a chance.
I'm not a Manchester United fan but I thought it was a really poor decision, in fact I was amazed by the whole situation and how he had been granted an extension after a terrible season, even for a club with a lack of standards.
It was a poor decision back then because of the league performances and embarrassing elimination in an easy group in the UCL. If the board was already searching for a replace it was also a poor decision not to sack him then, let alone granting him on more season, more funds and activate an extension. If you're a player and know the club is searching for a replacement you can't take serious an underachieving manager.
The fact that his permance was already heavily in question since the summer was only going to create a ton of pressure for the club the moment the team went through a bad spell, which didn't take too long for happen.
So all in all I thought it was a terrible decision back then as a neutral.