This is a great question and should be have separate sub headings;
What is our problem since 2013 season?
This period of now 11 years is easy to summarise, the club off the field has been atrociously managed, with all the wrong people left to run the club whilst the Glazers used us an ATM and very little interest in the day to day running. That exposed so much which was starting to fall apart during Fergies last years, had David Gill stayed and United went and recruited the right coach in 2013/14 season we would have won at least two more titles but we didn’t. Woodward and the Glazers abused the club financially until they could abuse it no more, the stadium was left derelict, the fans initially thought, that it was only a matter of 2 or 3 years and we would start wining again, especially when we recruited LVG and Jose both CL wining managers. The truth one of these would have succeeded had he been appointed in 2013/14 or shown more patience, LVG would have won an EPL playing terrible football, JM would have won it probably 2014/15 had he been recruited in 2013/14 at his peak powers.
We kept telling ourselves, give us a few years and we’ll be back, false dawn after false dawn because ultimately the club was rotten inside to its core, gradually festering each year under the Glazers abhorrent behaviour and Woodward’s ridiculous notion that he knew what he was doing.
What is our problem this year ?
Many United fans, me included got duped, we all thought ETH was the chosen one, the United mesiah, he turned the worst United team from the previous season with 58 points and Neutral GD to potential title challengers, finished 3rd with 75 points, won a domestic cup, got to a final in another and showed us in two games against Barcelona, United actually playing like an elite European team again!
Roll on 12 months, ETH the stubborn one wants to play a 4-1-2-3 formation with no defensive integrity, the Strikers stay high and press with the midfield and our defence drops deep on our own penalty area leaving huge areas of space so the team is put to the sword, he’s embarrassed this great club throughout the season, the warning signs were there last year but we never took notice.
Yes the takeover and injuries have affected his judgement but his inability to understand that you can not play this formation in the PL is beyond reason to 99% of United fans. Every time United start a resurgence, maybe even win 2 or 3 games on the trot, he reverts to type and then loses or draws a game, that a club as big as United should always be wining.
Our problem this year is simple we feel as fans that we’ve suffered long enough with tumescent unattractive football over the last 11 years, we feel, that we suffered long enough with a 15 month sham of a takeover that inevitably kept the Glazers still at our club and now yet again as we finally hear good things from Ineos, nothing is ever easy.
The club wants to correct their management and scouting structure but once again, Dan Ashworth won’t be in place til September, Wilcox current club want unreasonable compensation. This is what is ultimately wrong with Manchester United in 2024?
We act like a mid table mediocre club that’s never won a big trophy in its entire history, we act like a club that doesn’t have more fans worldwide than any other club in the world and more importantly we wait far too long to still make decisions, Moments United, Dithering United, Maybe United, Next Year United!
To Ineos and Sir Jim, I said this when you were taking over, if you truly love the club which I believe you do, make this your prime objective, I’m still concerned with your current strategy of “Too many Cooks spoilt the broth” philosophy has now started to see Nice back to where they’ve been since you took over, probably not making Europe, not scoring goals and general boring to watch, sound familiar?
So rather than delegate, which after all is what the Glazers have done to you on footballing matters, come out this week and say something meaningful like the following;
1. The Club needs huge investment in the playing staff and I’ve decided to pay Newcastle £10m and Southampton £3m so we can kickstart the process now with the appointments of Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, both will start on 1st June with Omar Berrada.
2. The Club will sell some of the squad this summer and every player has a price.
3. The club fully support ETH to the end of the season but results will ultimately determine who the new coach will be next year, we’ve had discussions with Eric so he knows what he has to do.
4. The Directors of the club, having consulted the fans have decided to build a brand new 100,000 all seater stadium at old Trafford where the club owns the surrounding ground. The area around will be made into a United campus, the work will commence in summer 2025 and take 3-4 years to complete.
5. The club will have a huge investment budget this summer but we will not be held to ransom by any other club, if the new transfer committee can not agree a deal with any player they will have alternative targets and who ever is the manager of the club next season will be given very clear targets that he must achieve and one of those targets is that he must achieve CL football as the bare minimum whilst playing the brand of football that the club demands.
Man United have been a rudderless sinking titanic for years, now a strong leader is required, someone who goes to most of the matches and when he’s there the players see him and get scared or feel inspired, both work, Sir David’s not the man for this, everyone knows he just reports back to you, says clever words but ultimately knows Jack S…about football, look at Nice again!
Sir Jim, please just come out and say what you want as a fan and an owner, say the performances against Brentford is simply not acceptable for this club, injuries are not acceptable, tell the squad that this goes two ways, either give everything in the last 9,10 or hopefully 11 games of the season or some of you will be forced out of the club, none of you are invincible any more, maybe a 1/2 year loan in the Swiss league should do the trick, after all they are employees of your club and you are the co owner and therefore in charge of all footballing matters?
