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The beautiful city of Manchester has always been passionate about football. The eternal rivalry between the two clubs in the city has stood superior to the ones at Merseyside and London. But come now the magic has disappeared and we don’t know where.
When we look into the pages of history of English Football, Manchester United is the name that strikes out in gold.
The first English club to win the European Cup in 1968 under the legendary Sir Matt Busby, the team with the most trophies in the whole of England, the team that has shadowed its counterpart from the other side of the city for years. Such was the legend of Manchester United.
When Sir Alex Ferguson took up the management of this team, he had a vision. He wanted to lead Manchester United to an undisputed supremacy in England.
Sir Alex succeeded in his mission, winning 38 trophies, in the process unearthing an infinite number of talents. Wayne Rooney, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, everyone has donned the reds of Manchester with pride. The Red Devils have always been superior to the Cityzens, then what is happening now?
There was a time when teams dreaded to visit The Old Trafford. For Manchester United, it might have been the Theatre of Dreams, for visitors it was the Devil’s asylum. The teams who visited would have been more than just happy to leave with a point. Where is that dread gone?
On a perfect Saturday, the fans made a bee-line for the Trafford, hoping that their team is back to its normal self, following a victory in Europe.
Their visitors, just a small team when sizing up to them. Wolverhampton had been on a 6 game losing streak at Old Trafford since 2003 and they come to United and put an end to it. And they put an end to it with ease. Is this what United has been reduced to?
On the same day their arch rivals across the city are coming off a loss in Europe, against similar sort of opponents, who has just been promoted. The Pep Guardiola led Manchester City bludgeoned the Cardiff team.
For a team like Manchester United who used to celebrate good football, their unravelling superiority in England and their dominance over their rivals, all they celebrate now is the loss of their rivals. The charm of their game is completely lost.
Manchester have always been red. People would put it as the undisputed superior club in Manchester. They had established themselves as the best in Manchester.
What are they now? They are the inferior club in Manchester, no doubt. Their rivals are playing much the better style of football, they have a much better coach and their players are having a lot of confidence.
Back then people would have bet on Manchester United to crush City any day and now the bookmakers would have no issues in offering City the clear advantage over United. The sky is blue and so is Manchester now.
United is currently number 6 on the points table and they certainly don’t seem affected by it. Jose Mourinho comes out in the press conference demanding respect in the post-match press conference after the loss against Tottenham. Is he earning it? His days of impregnable defences are long gone.
There are teams that are not having the silverware but are in much better condition. Tottenham Hotspurs are not a team with a glittering trophy cabinet. But Mauricio Pochettino has turned them into a stable unit, which is much more efficient than winning trophies that hide your weakness. A team like United should always have been in the top 2. There are no excuses for them.
They are continuing the legacy built by Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Matt Busby, and Sir Alex Ferguson. Sir Alex left them with 20 league titles. It has been half a decade since he left and United are still stuck with 20 league titles. United had been part of historic Champions League matches.
Sir Alex and his face-offs with Marcello Lippi and United’s growing rivalry with Barcelona in Europe was a treat for the eyes. United did lose, even then, they were hammered by Barcelona 3-1 at Wembley but that is still the best of Champions League Finals. United’s role in that match never will be undermined because it was a legendary team with a great coach. Losing is not the problem but United are not even failing with pride.
This team developed raw talents into great ones. Cristiano Ronaldo is the prime model for it. Sir Alex developed saw his talent when no one else did. He developed him into the beast that he is today. Paul Scholes, a midfielder with a unique skill set, so unique that the La Masia in Barcelona used him as a paradigm for tutelage.
"At La Masia his name was mentioned a lot"- Lionel Messi on Paul Scholes
The likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Cesc Fabregas heard his name at Masia. Would anyone name a United player now and say learn from him? Is there even one shining gem at Old Trafford?
There was an aura at the Old Trafford, when United left things as late as 80 or 90 minutes to win it, believing till the final whistle, never wanting to hear the sound of it. United won the UEFA Champions League in 1999, with a stoppage-time winner. What have things come to now? United are defending their one-goal lead till their opponent gets one back, they are craving for the referee to blow the whistle. A lost identity. The masters of late goals reduced to the masters of park the bus.
What is even more hurting, is the success of teams that haven’t been close to challenging United in their prime days. Chelsea had an underwhelming season with Antonio Conte, winning nothing in his two seasons. Roman Abramovich had no second thoughts in removing him. He appointed Maurizio Sarri as coach, a Mozart at coaching and he increased the squad depth with Jorginho, Kovacic joining the team. Thibaut Courtois left Chelsea and they were quick to rope in Kepa Arrizabalaga. Jurgen Klopp has completely rejuvenated the fire in Liverpool, with much better football and apt signings.
United look completely lost for solutions when they could do so much. They are the team valued at over 3.1 billion in 2018, according to Forbes magazine. Their net revenue is higher than FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. They are not paupers. They surely have enough funding to sign good players. Are they even trying for it? United are clearly lacking transfer plans. They have no depth at center back, they don’t sign a center back.
They failed in their pursuit of Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire, Diego Godin, and Yerry Mina. Goal.com, Bleacher Report, and several news sources reported this. Apparently, Everton could negotiate successfully for Mina and Manchester United cannot. Is this acceptable? Ed Woodward and his negotiation methods are clearly not working out. Even after not signing new players, they are not bringing the potential that their current players have.
How good was Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal? What is he reduced to now? Sanchez has gone over 800 minutes without scoring in the Premier League. Isn’t he talented to do so? Manchester’s tactics, foundation, youth team, all have been underwhelming. The same academy that promoted players like Beckham and Scholes, is looking lost for talents now.
Are the players or Jose Mourinho having a sense of hurt? Are they feeling the voice of the fans? Do the players seem to be trying hard? Is Jose getting his tactics right? Who should we blame for United’s downfall? Each and every person seems underwhelming.
Mourinho is still living in history, going as far as mentioning his previous title victories in his press conferences. A captain should be holding together the troops and encouraging the team on the pitch. The United defense is hardly showing resistance with their captain Antonio Valencia being a part of it. Players like Sergio Ramos and Carles Puyol are some extremely vocal players, keeping youngsters on their heels.
Paul Pogba is supposedly the best player in the squad. Are his performances up to the mark? When Pogba plays for France, it seems like a different man. It makes us wonder if the players are stepping up for the club or not. Pogba might shine then and now, Mourinho might get his wins then and now, but it is good enough at Bournemouth, not United which is a top-tier club.
Paul Pogba looks more concerned about his hair and Instagram posts than his performances. Pogba recently mentioned about his current contract but didn't rule out a move away as reported by news sources (90min, Goal.com)
Mourinho, more or less, a modern-day Ozymandias, is thinking about the sum of money United have to offer him, if and when he is sacked.
"They say I'm in danger, but I don't think it. If they send me away, do you have any idea how much money they would have to give me?" - Jose Mourinho after the win vs Burnley
Commitment is unseen in many United players. They are lazy on the pitch, having no work ethic. If David De Gea was not present, the situation will be far worse for United. He is keeping the team from falling apart and the others don’t even bother to learn from him. How long can De Gea keep United afloat? He has done it for the past two seasons.
Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku, Juan Mata, Ashley Young, are these guys even playing football? An extremely out of touch Luis Suarez tries more than Lukaku to power the defenders off.
What does Lukaku expect from the others? Feed him a ball with no defenders around? Anthony Martial is not even making good passes, what is he doing on the wings then? For the 60 minutes that Martial was on the pitch vs Brighton, he didn't pick out Lukaku once.
United ran a total of about 106 km per game last season, that makes them the team with the lowest distance covered among all 20 in the top flight. Really. The players have to look in the mirror and ask themselves, “Are we doing enough?”
Manchester United has spent over 600 million euros in transfers from 2013 to last year. Who apart from Zlatan Ibrahimovic proved themselves? United have made some bizarre decisions. They sold Di Maria after one season in which he had 10 assists and 3 goals. They sold Memphis Depay with no solid reason. They have benched Darmian without giving him many opportunities. Yet, they are extremely lenient on Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial. Why, because they the costed a fortune? Is United any better than PSG?
Manchester United are not a football team right now. Sometimes I wonder if this is even a team. Is this the same team that Sir Alex managed? When we look at Paul Scholes and Phil Neville in the post-match analysis, the pain in their face is clearly visible. They shouldn’t be seeing this day, the day when their beloved club is being destroyed by a poor Chief Executive, a modern-day Ozymandias and some players who don’t know what commitment is.
We have witnessed the downfall of AC Milan. A team that were powerhouses in Italy and now are reduced to a mid-table team. Same is happening with United. The wins are just hiding the destruction in the club.
It will be better for United to go trophy-less this season and come back next year with a new coach than win the Europa League and boast about it. We can only hope that someone rescues Manchester United from their misery. How patient can the fans be? How patient can David De Gea be? Any top club will take him, every club has a capacity of paying 100 million nowadays. De Gea has been loyal to United till now, but for how long? If the current situation keeps up, Manchester will never be red again.
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