The worst, for me, was the Moyes season. And i'm not placing the entire blame upon him. He was never good enough for the job, and he was also given a nearly impossible task. The whole season was like watching an empire collapsing like a house of cards and every nagging fear in my head being manifested. The fear that SAF was the only person holding the club together. A first team whose best players were already past their prime and would need a full rebuild, while City had already assembled a title-winning side. No sense of direction except for the great man's desire to be the best, with the men in suits hiding their inadequacies behind his success. The feeling that without strong leadership, the intimacy that the family values bring would turn to nepotism. But surely such experienced players had enough in them to keep going without SAF. Surely a giant like United had the right men in place. And surely the club knows what they're doing by appointing Moyes... No, no, and no. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion.
There's no need to refer to Solskjaer as the "Cardiff relegator". That's plainly childish, and this place should really move on. I never wanted him to get the full job because i believe he never had (and would never develop) the qualities of a top-class manager. Furthermore, i was certain that, out of respect for the club, he would never speak about how bad United are being run. He would just take it on the chin and get on with it. Which is exactly what he did, and one of the reasons the wheels came off so spectacularly when he lost the dressing room. And i have never subscribed to the notion that, if Ten Hag has a use for (let's say) Maguire or (again, let's say) a false #9/wide role for Martial, that any previous manager should be credited for signing them. For that kind of cash, you should be getting immediate results. Not individually, but as a team that's trying to get closer to how the manager wants it to play. Solskjaer didn't achieve that for the amount of cash he was allowed to spend. But the fact that his overall tenure didn't exactly fall that far away from the ones of his predecessors says a lot about his commitment and his desire to do well. A novice against renown winners like a LvG/Jose or Moyes who had tonnes of experience in the PL. Whether you want to lump him with them as a group of managers who spent 1 billion over the course of the last decade with meagre results or give him credit for steering United to consecutive top-four finishes for the first time since 12/13, it's on you. Most of the time, things aren't just black n' white, and he probably belongs in both categories.
Purely as a manager, Rangnick is a no-mark in United's history. I don't understand either the praise or the hate he's getting. It's not like he implemented anything. On the contrary, especially without the ball, we often looked like a team caught in a limbo under him. The season's over and i still can't figure out whether we were supposed to get close to opponents or keep a shape when defending. On the other hand, going by the hate he's receiving, you would think that we gave him Moyes' six-year deal. Now, i do believe that his consultancy role will offer him plenty of opportunities to talk things over with ETH. But he'll not be the only one giving advice to ETH in his first season in England. How much his opinions will be valued, it depends on ETH. Thank God for that, honestly. There's obviously an element of self-preservation in RR's harsh criticism of the squad. But the fact that he wasn't reprimanded by the club (whose officials seem to be more bothered by the dressing room leaks) is an indication that he hadn't been making stuff up. It's also sure as hell, that ETH is on another level as a coach. But the distance between "this squad is better than what Klopp inherited" in RR's first interview and what followed should raise a few eyebrows. Same with Solskjaer's "i don't want to talk about it" when he was asked if he felt let down. There's a lot of info in there that clearly affects what happens on the pitch. Let's hope ETH is a clever man as well as a great tactician.
Anyway, i feel optimistic because i can put everything behind me and start anew. For the first time in ten years, the club looks like it's considering to reshape itself in order to get its act together. Furthermore, i've watched a bit of Ajax under ETH. I do feel he's worth our patience, and our belief, alongside our support. Because there's some really nice football at the end of the road, if it all goes well.
I just hope that the club is ready to surround him with the right people who will make his life easier at OT so that he doesn't look a deer in the headlights and in full self-preservation mode early on in his tenure.
