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Manchester United’s 0-1 loss to Bayern Munich and subsequent exit from European football marks a decade of failure in the Champions League.
This lack of success has certainly impacted the Red Devil’s reputation across the continent with Bayern legend, Mario Basler, claiming pre-match that United were no longer considered the biggest name in English football.
The team has seen some success winning the Europa League in 2017 and losing the final in 2021 but truthfully, a club the stature of United should be measuring themselves consistently against Europe’s elite.
The Independent has gone into detail about why the side finds itself in the position it is and what prospective new part owners, INEOS, will intend to do about it.
The article asserts that the Old Trafford side were insipid in their attempts to beat the German champions and rarely laid a glove on their opposition.
“United were turgid with almost no attacking impetus, ultimately having more injured players than shots on target”.
With the Mancunian side now owning the embarrassing record of losing 50% of their games this season, there is an incredible amount of work for manager, Erik ten Hag and new part owners, INEOS, to try and get through.
Due to a decade of dysfunction, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s “to-do list” will be growing by the match.
While Ten Hag’s position is not totally safe, there is no real suggestion that the Dutchman is on the chopping block as of yet.
It is understood by people at the club that the problems run a lot deeper. The Independent claim, “there is something bigger here. United are now at a point where it feels like anyone but the strongest personalities would suffer here; as if it’s only a young Ferguson who could manage it”.
As soon as they receive the keys to the club, INEOS intend to carry out a full audit from top to bottom to try and discover how to transform the club into a modern entity. The plan is to “bring in a sophisticated football structure that mirrors the most successful sides in the game”.
When compared to bitter rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City, the club’s footballing organisation looks second-rate at best.
Hence, it is an open secret that INEOS plan on hiring some of the most respected names in the sport such as Jean-Claude Blanc and Paul Mitchell, to help put out the many fires currently at the club.
A clear ramification of this lack of structure is frequently seen in the Old Trafford side’s much-maligned transfer policy.
The article points out that it is incredible that Ten Hag has more freedom to choose transfer targets than even Pep Guardiola across the city.
When discussing the Citizens’ recruitment policy, the outlet claims, “The club works so well that the Catalan (Guardiola) need only suggest a profile of player he needs and City’s staff come back with several options. It all fits. It is similar with Liverpool”.
This is in stark contrast to United, where from day one, the former Ajax coach has had significant say in who the club should chase. This was best seen in the embarrassing pursuit of the uninterested Frenkie de Jong in the summer of 2022.
The failure to secure the player’s services, resulted in the team signing a very talented, but completely different profile of midfielder in Casemiro.
“There’s even an argument that the team is still in some way adjusting to the fixation on signing Frenkie de Jong last season” as he was so vital to how Ten Hag views football.
It is hoped young Kobbie Mainoo can fulfil a lot of these talents but at 18, he is far too young to load so much pressure on his shoulders.
This can be seen in the club’s obsession with turning players who have performed well into saviours and “have too much responsibility put on them and get swallowed up by the doom”. A certain Marcus Rashford comes to mind.
The piece finishes by asserting, “there has really been a collective failure” at the club. “There is so much broken. Ratcliffe and his staff can’t come quick enough”.
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