Let this sink in:
One of the most iconic, if not THE most iconic sporting brand in the world hasn’t been competitively relevant in its league in over a decade.
Manchester United enters 2024 in 8th place in the Premier League after an awful loss to Nottingham Forest. You’d think this would be an usually bad position for the Red Devils to be in, but this has been par for the course recently. Let’s look at the last ten seasons.
- 2022/23 – 3rd place, 14 points behind champs Manchester City
- 2021/22 – 6th place, 11 points behind Arsenal in 5th
- 2020/21 – 2nd place, 12 points behind champs Manchester City
- 2019/20 – 3rd place, 15 points behind Manchester City in 2nd
- 2018/19 – 6th place, 5 points behind Arsenal in 4th
- 2017/18 – 2nd place, 19 points behind champs Manchester City
- 2016/17 – 6th place, 6 points behind Arsenal in 5th
- 2015/2016 – 5th place, behind Arsenal in 4th on goal difference
- 2014/2015 – 4th place, 5 points behind Arsenal in 3rd
- 2013/2014 – 7th place, 5 points behind Spurs in 6th
Manchester United hasn’t been close to a title in a decade. Oh, and what happened in 12/13, you may ask? United won the title, and most notably, Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the season.
When Ferguson retired, stability at the club’s helm went out the door, and things have been chaotic ever since. The managerial history since Ferguson’s retirement has been nothing but inconsistent.
After Ferguson left the club, United appointed David Moyes as his replacement. He lasted less than a full season and only 51 games before interim Ryan Giggs finished out 13/14. Louis van Gaal entered the frame in the summer of 2014 and managed two full seasons before being replaced by Jose Mourinho, who lasted two-and-a-half years before being sacked himself. Caretaker Ole Gunnar Solksjaer went on to earn the job permanently but was removed from the post in November 2021. United then used two (!!) caretakers, Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick, to get through the 21/22 season, before hiring current manager Erik ten Hag going into 22/23. And now, ten Hag is teetering close to the end of his rope and looks likely to be fired by the end of the season.
Counting interims, there have been eight different people in the dugout for United since Ferguson’s retirement. Eight different management styles. Eight different tactical visions. Eight different ways of going about business.
This is no way to build a winning club.
Look at the other “Big Six” clubs who are having success. Manchester City is the symbol of managerial stability with Pep Guardiola. Arsenal, after giving him time to build his vision, is in a fantastic position under Mikel Arteta. Liverpool is in pole position to win another title under Jurgen Klopp.
Manchester United has to find the same sort of stability they had under Ferguson. Now, Sir Alex was at the helm for over 25 years. That sort of consistency simply doesn’t exist in today’s game, but the club’s leadership can’t be so quick to move onto the next shiny manager when things get tough. Arteta at Arsenal is the perfect example.
Managerial problems mean transfer problems
When you have so much managerial turmoil, it’s also impossible to build a consistent, strong transfer system. I spent some time looking into the club’s business since Ferguson’s departure, and it is stunningly bad.
In 10+ seasons, United has spent over £1.4 billion on new player transfers and only brought in £394 million from outgoings. That’s over ONE BILLION pounds lost on transfers, or around a hundred million per year.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the deals:
David Moyes
Moyes wasn’t there long enough to make a ton of moves, but he was still there long enough to spend £64.6 million on Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata. Mata ended up being a quality signing, but Fellaini is a brutal miss. He was later sold by Solksjaer, and the club took a £21 million bath in the process.
Louis Van Gaal
Very hit or miss here. Luke Shaw was bought for £27 million, which looks like a bargain now.
However, van Gaal spent big money on players like Anthony Martial (£36M), Memphis Depay (£25M), Morgan Schneiderlin (£24M), and Matteo Darmian (£12.7M).
Martial hasn’t been very good and looks likely to leave in the summer, and the other three have already moved on in cut-price moves. I don’t know how they managed it, but Mourinho came in and almost broke even on Schneiderlin.
I think my favorite tidbit from the van Gaal era is that he let Wilfried Zaha leave for £4 million. Two years later, he was worth ten times that. Woof.
Jose Mourinho
“The Chosen One” has a distinct style of play and looked to reshape the squad to fit his vision, but he really just signed a squad full of duds.
£89 million on Paul Pogba. Later left for nothing. £30 million on Eric Bailly. Later left for nothing. £40 million on Nemanja Matic. Later left for nothing (although, Matic was an important player when he was there).
Mourinho also spent nearly £50 million on Fred, who just left for Turkey for a fraction of that amount.
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer
Bruno Fernandes for £47 million is an absolute steal, but other than that, his moves have proven to be brutal.
His first incoming transfer signing was Harry Maguire for £80 million. That’s awful enough, but Solksjaer proceeded to make big money moves for other iffy additions like Alex Telles, Amad Diallo (free him!), and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. In fairness, I think the latter is a solid player.
The worst of the worst, however, was United’s £73 million move for Jadon Sancho. He’s either been injured or incompetent his entire time at the club, and he looks to be leaving on loan in the coming days. United will take a massive financial bath when he inevitably leaves permanently. That news is actually what inspires this blog. I couldn’t believe how inept the club’s business actually was.
Oh, and I didn’t even mention the Ronaldo debacle.
Erik ten Hag
Overpaid at first to bring in players he was familiar with from Ajax.
£81 million for Antony might be my least-favorite transfer decision from the last couple years. Lisandro Martinez also came in for nearly £50 million, but he’s quite good and worth at least that much.
The jury’s still out on the £60 million move for Casemiro, and I’m not a fan of any of ten Hag’s big moves from this past summer. Mason Mount has barely played, Andre Onana has made mistake after mistake between the sticks, and in fairness to the guy, Rasmus Hojlund is just super young and very under-developed for a £64 million player. At least he seems to care.
All of this goes even without mentioning ten Hag’s massive fallout with Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as the club’s handling of domestic violence incidents involving Antony and Mason Greenwood.
And, on top of all of it, the Glazers have been desperately looking for a way out for years and finally found a minority partner in INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe’s arrival will only serve to fuel rumors about ten Hag’s future.
54 notable incoming transfers. 45 departures. Eight different managers. Simply put, there is way too much turmoil at the club to expect any sort of positive result. You can’t expect players, coaches, staff, and even fans, to perform well when the entire complexion of the club seems to change every 12-18 months.
What’s the solution?
Ratcliffe’s arrival must usher in a period of long-term stability at the club. The first step on that process is making a decision on the manager and sticking with him long-term, giving them the time to build the team as they see fit, a la Guardiola at City or Arteta at Arsenal.
In honesty, United needs to stick with ten Hag and end the uncertainty. Man U was playing fairly well until rumors about the manager’s future began circulating. Form has taken a downturn since then. He may have some flaws, but I think he’s a really solid manager with the potential to take the club back to the absolute summit given the right amount of time.
There may be some difficult times in the short-term, but in the long-run, I like ten Hag’s chances of putting together a team that fits his vision and is capable of competing with the best of the best.
If United keeps the topsy-turvy approach to the last ten years going, things won’t improve. Players can’t be expected to evolve to different styles that quickly, especially when big money additions are coming in window after window.
Let ten Hag be the guy, and I’m confident he can bring the results a club like Manchester United should be attaining.
Follow Nick Hedges on Twitter @nicktrimshedges or Instagram @nicktrimshedges.