7 things Manchester United and its fans should learn from their rivals

‘The Chosen One’ banner at Old Trafford

As of January, Manchester United fans find themselves in an unusual situation. 11 points off the top, 7th in the Premier League table, out of the FA Cup after yet another home defeat, trailing 2-1 to Sunderland after the first leg of the semi-finals for the Capital One Cup.

Fans, who once used to be vocal about their allegiance, used to sing the glory song after every sentence and who used to believe in comebacks in the dying minutes of a game are not the same anymore. Half empty Old Trafford seats in the 90th minute is just an example of what has become of the great club today.

Rival fans are having the best time ever in the past 2 decades or so – which is quite fair really. The amount of jest inflicted by United fans in the past was always going to come back and bite them some day. And it is just the beginning.

“You can always find good in something bad,” they say. Maybe it is, we will know if United fans can practice what they preached over the years.

Meanwhile, here’s what United fans can learn from their rivals:

Real Madrid – Money isn’t everything

Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo

According to Spanish daily Marca, Real Madrid have spent over €1 billion on the combination of transfer fees and wages since 2000. It is not that they cannot afford to, or it is wrong – because modern football runs on money these days. The point is, all that spending for the elusive Champions League trophy.

Both of the world’s costliest players play for the Galacticos but as of today they find themselves in third place behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the La Liga table. Whether they can win the Champions League this year is yet to be seen.

Manchester United can afford to spend money, and David Moyes might just get a marquee signing as well in the coming transfer windows. But fans must learn that money can only buy you players, success is not a guaranteed asset.

Barcelona – Youth academy is still important

A view of the La Masia academy, Barcelona

Barcelona, without a doubt, can boast that they have a player like Lionel Messi. More importantly, they can boast that he is a product of their La Masia football academy. As of today, most of their first team players are from their own academy. Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Pique, Fabregas and Busquets are just a few names who can be regarded as world class.

Manchester United are not far behind, they have had at least one academy player in every game since October 1937. The problem is that United are yet to find players who can replace the Class of ’92. Yes, there are problems with the squad but the young guns of United might just come good again with players like Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, Adnan Januzaj, etc. No matter what, United must carry on the good deed of promoting youngsters and try to keep them as well. We saw what happened with Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison.Chelsea – Sacking managers won’t fix everything

Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge in 2004

Chelsea have changed around 20 managers since Sir Alex Ferguson was appointed as the Manchester United manager. After Roman Abramovich started putting money into the Chelsea squad, they have parted ways with Mourinho, Grant, Scolari, Wilkins, Hiddink, Ancelotti, André Villas-Boas, Di Matteo and Benitez before appointing Jose Mourinho again. This formula might have worked in favour of Chelsea in winning several titles, but is it the right thing to do?

Let’s be honest with ourselves, there was a reason for appointing David Moyes on a 6-year contract by the Manchester United board. They want stability in the club which is supposed to be one of the virtues at Old Trafford. Hence, please understand that David Moyes isn’t going anywhere. He will be given sufficient time to build his own squad and impose his philosophies.

Bayern Munich – Midfield is the key

Bayern Munich team boast of the best midfield today

Probably the best football club today in terms of talent and dominance. They have won 5 trophies in 2013 alone. The key factor here has to be their midfield. Players like Ribery, Robben, Kroos, Schweinsteiger, Gotze, Shaqiri, Martinez can rip apart any defense in the world. We saw what they did to Barcelona last season over two legs.

Before solving any problem, one must accept that there is a problem. Yes, there’s a problem with the United midfield. Compare today’s midfield with Fergie’s Fledgings and you will know the huge gap between the two.

According to various reports, United won’t be signing anyone this January and by the looks of it – it might just be a bad decision by David Moyes.Liverpool – History repeats itself

Liverpool fans

Liverpool were the most dominant English football club for two decades in the ’70s and ’80s. They are yet to win a Premier League trophy since 1990 now. But the fans stood by the club thick and thin since then, following their motto ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

As former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said, “If you can’t support us when we lose or draw, don’t support us when we win “

United might just go on to repeat the same. The point is even if this happens, the fans must be ready for this and should support the club no matter what.

Arsenal – Patience is a virtue

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

8 years. It’s been more than 8 years since Arsenal won any trophy at all. Arsene Wenger hasn’t won anything since Arsenal moved out of Highbury and Henry moved to Spain. The fans are the most ridiculed on the internet over the years. But they have stood by the manager and the club all this while. They were all patient.

Arsenal cleared up the dead wood last summer, invested heavily by signing Mesut Ozil and today they are on top of the Premier League table with 18 more games to go. And realistically, they have a genuine chance to win it, which they have not after the Invincibles campaign in 2003-04.

Manchester United must replace the under-performing players gradually, and must sign someone with a creative influence in the coming transfer windows. One thing which Arsenal have done right since 2000-01 is to qualify for the Champions League which is a huge boost in terms of revenue and player retention. Ironically, for the Red Devils this season, the fourth place might actually be a ‘trophy’ after all.

Borussia Dortmund – The club is known by its fans

Borussia Dortmund fans

Borussia Dortmund might be considered a club of the ‘football hipster’. In other words, the fans who claimed to be ‘hardcore’ fans of Dortmund after a successful 2010-11 campaign. They carried on to win it again in 2011-12 as well before beating the mighty Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals last year.

But this is not about the ‘plastic’ fans but the real ones. The ones who are vociferous, loyal and passionate to the very sense of the word. Let’s be honest, Dortmund are neither one of the richest clubs who can boast superstars, nor have they won half of what Manchester United have.

That doesn’t stop the fans from being loyal to a club. Today, in the darkest of hours, United fans should stand by the virtues of the club with patience, have faith in the manager like Sir Alex asked them to.