The End is Nigh for Manchester United (Again) - The Exaggeration of United's Demise

Tom White
Aug 18, 2022
8 min read

The worst start in 101 years! Bottom of the Premier League since 1992! Man Utd already want to replace Ten Hag!

These are huge headlines; and it makes Manchester United look like the club is about to fall apart at the seams in light of their recent 4-0 loss to Brentford. And in my opinion, these bombastic, click baiting headlines are tiresome, and have been ever since similar headlines came about for every Manchester United manager post Sir Alex Ferguson. At first it was fun, the Manchester United that had dominated the league for so many years were finally no longer the clear ‘top dog’. But by the time Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United team had failed to clinch the Premier League, these tiresome headlines had already worn out. How come for Arsenal, a club who went 3,283 days without a trophy until their 2014-win vs Hull City in the FA cup were never scrutinised to the extend United are, even after years of failing to win trophies. Was it because the manger Wenger was trusted largely by the fan base and mainstream media that he would steer them to victory eventually? Maybe to a degree but there is a clearer answer. It is due to the Manchester fanbase estimating at around 165.8 million, compared to arsenal’s predicted 80.1 million. Even if these number is not in any way measured through reliable means, largely being calculated through social media followings and general estimates, it is not controversial to say Manchester united do remain the most supported English club worldwide. Therefore, debates surround Manchester united, especially ones riddled with extremely bombastic and over the top headlines will gain the most views/ clicks.

Link - ESPN

So why does this frustrate me? With them having the largest fanbase it is an understandable reason to why Manchester United always dominate in mainstream media. However, it is still frustrating constantly having some the largest debates spoken about being centered on Manchester United when usually the debate is how ‘this’ is now when United are on the blink of collapse; even though last year was when they were on the brink, and the year before that and so on. For any other club it is understandable that there are peaks and dips. A club cannot always be winning trophies, that’s boring. Previously mentioned Arsenal was one example used. But look at other previously seen ‘huge’ clubs such as Leeds United or Nottingham Forest. Leeds United went 16 years out of the Premier League and went into administration in 2007 and Forest even longer with 23 years outside the topflight. Even worse look at teams who have been liquidated, most noteworthy being Bury FC going into liquidation after 134 years. Imagine these fans having to hear about how Manchester United the hardest team to support, how the Glazers are the worst owners, how tough it is to not be in the Champions League. It comes across with such an air of entitlement. Simon Jordan made some great points on Talk Sport recently (clip linked bellow), showcasing similar views towards the constant debates around United, my favourite being “this looks like a football club going through a cyclical period like it did through the late 60s, all the way through the 70s to the mid-80s until Ferguson arrived”, not a club at “rock bottom” . This is a reality check, reminding people that United have not always been one the best teams in England, they were even relegated in the 1973-74 season. This also is often forgotten when numerus media outlets claim that in the last few years the club has hit “rock bottom.” A club that since Ferguson has still managed to win 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup and 1 Europa League.

Link - TalkSport

Another factor is that Tan Hag must have the time to implement this system with this squad. Did people believe in two games united would be miraculously fixed? Or did fans read way too much into a 4-0 preseason win against Liverpool. It is a similar squad to last year, playing a style of football that many of the players will take time to adapt to. We can gather from the first couple of games that Ten Hag wants to play position-based football and playing high up the field. But do you think for example McTominay and Fred are the type of footballers that can reacted well to these demands especially after two games. The answer can be seen vs Brentford where the intense pressure Brentford put them under, and with Dalot and Shaw playing high up the pitch, it meant when they ball was being lost in midfield, therefore Maguire and Martinez were left exposed against an easy counterattack. The football Ten Hag wants to play will take time to adapt to with this squad. Ideally fresh players are needed, especially in defence and midfield, but pressuring United to make panic buying and quick fixes such as I often see online will not help them. The football the manager wants to play will take time to adapt to and a few transfer windows to gather enough new signings. The large score line can also be explained, with a lack of defence, especially due to the tactics using a high line for the full backs leaving the defence exposed, alongside poor goalkeeping which is usually not associated with De Gea causing a perfect storm for a particularly mediocre performance. Especially after only 2 games into the season it’s harsh the measure this performance as anything over than a fluke (however doesn’t take away credit for Brentford’s very impressive win). Other big clubs have also lost to perceived smaller teams by large margins before. Look no further than Bournemouth vs Chelsea in 2019 where Chelsea was thumped 4-0. Another parallel there is that in that season, Sarri was implementing pressing football with a high line (like Ten Hag), and when it goes wrong, can end with some tough score lines due to the nature of their high pressing football leaving a team exposed to easy counter attacks. Even then, Chelsea ended the season in third and beating Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final. United should be patient and therefore should not be surprised when it goes wrong. We are two games into a season, and they are playing a new style of football for them. Why jump to such dramatic conclusions two games in. No, it does not look like this will be a great season for United, but the club needs to fix many issues and it will take time to accomplish. Previous manager Ralf Rangnick said the club metaphorically needed “open-heart surgery. And even though he turned out to not be a success, he has experience building clubs up, most notably with RB Libzeig as their sporting director so his opinions should be taken seriously.

Link - Sky Sports

Lastly, I want to focus on the criticism of United owners, the Glazers. And no I am not here to defend them, and act like United fans do not have a right to be angry at the owners. However some of the major issues the fans hold can be stretched to fit the narrative of blaming the Glazers for more of United's issues then what they should be held accountable for in reality. These include being one the leading clubs who attempted to launch a super league, poorly handling investment into the club and placing the club into debt due to the nature of how they brought United through loans. First, to start with the Super League controversy; other clubs in the Premier League had agreed to join the Super League. This is not defending them however they were not alone in the malicious attempt to bring in a Super League. And I'm sure far more clubs would have done the same if the option of Super League was open to them too. Second, the Glazers reputation as previously stated is also attributed to a certain lack of investment, or at least poor investment in hindsight. The owners before the Glazers (JP McManus and John Magnier) were constantly at odds with the fans due to a lack of investment in club signings, but this cannot be said the Glazers, who constantly spend enormous amounts of money on signings (over £1 Billion post Ferguson) which at least shows ambition. Less investment however has gone into their infrastructure, such as the training ground or stadium. This has led to strong criticism however there has been minimum investment in these areas, having spent £118 million on those infrastructure's since 2010. This showcases minimal effort , and is more than Chelsea's £81 million investment over that time and only about £14 million less than Arsenal . At boardroom level the decision making, especially over player signings, has at times been frankly embarrassing. However again this is not therefore a sole issue of the owners. Their must be understanding that they have been poorly advised throughout their ownership. And there are clear signs that they understand this has hindered them, with restructuring happening at the top level over the summer. This can be seen with the appointment of Richard Arnold as their Chief Executive Officer and Director who will hopefully help the transfer recruitment struggles. They have also finally let go of Ed WoodWard, who made poor calls in terms of player signings, however, even he should at least be commemorated for the club’s commercial success even while on the field, the squad was not doing well. Lastly, in summary regarding United's debt- £525 million of the £790 million takeover of United in 2005 came from borrowed money , this led a debt free club into £495.7 million worth as of March 2022, this also led to huge interest levels being paid. Roughly £40 million over the first five year post takeover and would usually spend more servicing their interest than spending on transfers. However these issues no longer impacts the club like it did under Sir Alex Ferguson. The debt has been restructured, the interest payments had been reduced, and the club has been able to spend far more openly with the debt no longer clearly effecting how they can operate in the transfer market.

Let's not get it twisted; Glazers don't have United's best interests at heart and operate it as a business venture however there is a level of defense needed when they are often sighted as a main reason for the clubs apparent doom and gloom state. These owners have set the club backwards however they cannot be accused of neglection. Hopefully this section helped to more fairly showcase a club which financially is not as turbulent as some would think and the owners do show desire to recover the clubs reputation as one the best teams in England, even if they are struggling.

Link - Sports News Now

Overall, I do want to make it known I also indulge in making fun of, and overly exaggerating United’s issues. I am also not suggesting United’s issues are not worrying, they are not in a good place at this moment in time and it can make good discussion to talk of their decline. However, I am tired of how the media especially helps feed into this idea that United are on the brink of a disaster year after year. Other clubs have been through far worse with much less coverage. United themselves have been through far worse, even if they have fallen from the top of the tree over the last decade. A disaster is relegation, bankruptcy, liquidation. It is not mediocre football, the Glazers and finishing below 4th.

TalkSport YouTube Clip