We take a look at the five reasons why Manchester United have been sacking managers almost every other season since the 26-year reign of the legendary Ferguson ended in 2013.
Manchester United are one of the most loved football teams on the planet. However, they have not been able to give their fans much to celebrate for more than a decade now. Alex Ferguson, who lifted the club to heights never seen before, retired in 2013 after a glittering managerial career. Since then, the club has been in a freefall and the position of manager has become a revolving door.
The latest to go out of this door is
Ruben Amorim, who was sacked on Monday after inconsistent results. The club has now ousted 10 successors to Ferguson if we combine both interim and permanent ones. David Moyes, Luis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Solskjær, Erik Ten Hag and Ruben Amorim have all come and left without much to show in the trophy cabinet.
Poor results bring instability which further brings poor results which further adds up to the instability and United have been stuck in this vicious cycle with no way to get out.
Here we take a look at the five reasons why the Red Devils have been sacking managers almost every other season since the 26-year reign of the legendary Ferguson ended in 2013.
Pressure to match greatness
In Ferguson’s 26-year tenure at the Old Trafford, United won 13 Premier League titles. He won several other trophies, including two Champions League titles, and created a winning culture unparalleled in the history of the game.
The managers since then have been expected to continue the same which has proved to be an impossible task. The changing times have not been taken into account and the newcomers have been consistently judged against the benchmarks of a once-in-a-generation figure.
United want to be in title contention not just in England but in Europe. Although, they are nowhere close to any of those and that means the owners and fans are always frustrated with every incoming manager and the pressure to deliver is immense.
Get trophies or get out
A bane of having a big fanbase also is a lot of noise. The crowd hates losing and they do not care about the methods. They want results. As quickly as possible.
The results, though, take time. And this is something the United owners have not been willing to give to any incoming manager. Van Gaal, Mourinho and even Amorim showed promise but United want the biggest prizes without investing big time and that has not worked.
No United way
The result of this constant change is that every manager brings in his own philosophy and completely overrides whatever progress might have been made under the previous leader. Under Ferguson, United slowly built their own identity and that helped the club to get enormous success.
However, now with the pressure of immediate results and the shadow of Ferguson looming large, managers have not been able to narrow down on how the club will play on the ground.
Spending big without spending smart
Reports suggest United have spent close to £2 billion in transfer market since the departure of Ferguson but all that money has not brought any major trophies. The lack of success and the consistent pressure on managers has led them to spend huge amounts, often in desperation, to get the players they want. None of this splurge has brought any results. The players too have not been able to play freely with big money bringing a lot of pressure to perform.
Signings like Paul Pogba, Antony, Angel di Maria, and more recently Marcus Rashford, have not worked as different managers have looked at the team differently and the players have not found clear roles.
Rising competition
As wealthy owners took over clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea, the Premier League completely changed. Much of United’s success had come before this shift. These newly-bought clubs spent big but spent smart and quickly ruled English football. Once Ferguson left, United’s frailties were uncovered. Other clubs rose fast and United stumbled into a cycle of decline which they have been unable to break since then.
United will need to make amends instead of repeating the same mistakes if they want to get closer to their glory days.
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