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As in life and in economics, ebbs and flows in football are frequent. They are expected. Manchester United had their dizzy highs and now they are plateauing, even plummeting to embarrassing lows. People are naturally drawn to success. A successful team attracts admirers. A lot of their fans today are either unhappy or are switching allegiances.
For Manchester United, this has nothing to with statistics. It is to do with something intangible - the feeling a club side gives to neutrals. United is emanating a vibe of a sluggish, uninspired, and negative brand of football. Football viewers sense it, football lovers lament it.
There are a lot of things to admire at the club. In this inflated player market artificially propelled by limitless oil money, Manchester United still has the pulling power to attract top-notch talent. The club still notches record-breaking operating profit.
However, they now can't claim to be any different from the other top clubs who have the backing of oil oligarchs. The answer to any footballing problem is not to throw money at it. This has been a disappointing turn of events, arm twisted be it may, because of the influx of a deluge of dirhams and roubles into the English Premier League.
Football needs different philosophies to thrive. Right now, it runs the risk of going the way a famed quote goes "A game created by the poor, stolen by the rich." Manchester United are more in the spotlight because more is expected from a club of such pedigree. Here are 4 reasons why it's becoming difficult to enjoy them play right now.
#4 The fear factor has disappeared
Once a team scored against them, they were actually afraid of the famed United backlash. It was seen as an insult, a slight. They would come in waves of attack, one after the another, battering the opponents into submission. It was relentless. In fact, the thrill was in seeing them come from behind to win. It made for a great spectacle.
The 'theatre of dreams' was a fort. It was breached during David Moyes. Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho have shored it up, but Old Trafford is no more a place where visiting sides are apprehensive.
They know there's a way to silence the crowd, there's a way to win. The cocksure confidence of a United side on the lush blades of its hallowed turf is gone. When was the last time United made Fergie Time count?
#3 The Manchester United Way is absent
Manchester United players are supposed to be fearless, buccaneering, swashbuckling entertainers. Speaking to Bobby Charlton upon his arrival at Old Trafford as a 15-year-old in the early 50s, then United manager Sir Matt Busby encapsulated the essence of an attitude that pervades around Old Trafford.
"All those lads you see going to the factory in Trafford Park, they come to watch you on Saturday. They have boring jobs, so you have to give them something they will enjoy." Sir Alex Ferguson said he never played for a draw.
The teams he built, played with flair and pace. But what really is the Manchester United Way? Well, if you want to pigeon-hole it, it is two wingers, overlapping full-backs and attacking midfielders - but, really, there is far more to it than that. It is almost a state of mind.
Last season was full of home draws and while the 2017-18 season is better, it is nowhere near Ferguson levels. It is an existential question. What is then the current philosophy? What is their brand of football? Do they dare to play the Manchester United way?
#2 Paucity of Academy players
There are reports to the contrary, but actually United haven't got the nucleus of their side built from their academy players. If you have a good academy, you don't need deep pockets. In fact, the academy helps you get deep pockets by selling the talent that is surplus to requirements.
It is not a surprise today to see the club being linked to any player with one good season in any of the European leagues. The impression is that of a buying club than nurturing one.
Class of 92 remains one of Ferguson’s greatest achievements, and one of his biggest risks. Dismantling a successful team and replacing them with academy players was a remarkably bold move.
One or two, even four academy players in squads are not enough. That's what mediocre sides have, not the most decorated club in England. United today are neither creative nor attacking.
Strange times at a club where it is better to lose while attacking than winning playing dour football. Why is it that Carrington is not as good as La Masia? Or, to put it another way, how many of the academy players will be able to get into La Masia?
#1 No Ballon d'Or candidates
I have a theory that the quality of a number 7 is directly proportional to the quality of a Manchester United side. To have Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo don that iconic No. 7 back-to-back-to-back helped the club become an ever potent force.
Since Cristiano Ronaldo won it, no player has made the top-3 of the Ballon d'Or shortlist in a decade. Even that is fine, if you have a fantastic core. Paul Scholes was never won, but he was considered one of the best midfielders to ever play the game.
Beckham never won, but his charisma was superlative, Giggs never did either, but his longevity is legendary. Yes, it is a team game, but it needs great individual players too.
This United side, currently under José Mourinho has no one that looks like being a truly world class (except for David De Gea, but keepers seldom win) candidate for the Ballon d'Or. Neither are any of the players even talked up as potential winners in a few years. If that is not a telling state of affairs, then what is?
