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Manchester United is one of the richest clubs in the world in terms of their history and arguably the greatest club in English football. But what was once the most terrifying force in England has now been changed to play second-fiddle to other teams in the Premier League.
All Manchester United fans since childhood have gotten accustomed to the frequent silverware the team would get home. But all of that changed the moment Sir Alex left as manager. Since then, the biggest thing United can boast about has been the FA Cup or the Europa League.
Sir Alex Ferguson Retires
This ought to do with the thinking of the managers. To see things from a clear perspective, let us compare a similar situation United faced back in 2003-04. They had failed to win the Premier League and had gone on to lose it the next two years as well. Normally, the manager of a big team would look to make an instant impact in the form of big signings. But that was not the Sir Alex way to do things. What he went on to do was sign two very young players in 2003, in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting CP and Wayne Rooney from Everton. He then sculpted the two individuals with everything he had, and the result was 3 successive Premier League titles from 2006-07 to 2008-09.
It has always been the Manchester United way to produce stars rather than buying them. Sir Alex was a great believer in this and had an amazing eye to snap up young talents and make them great. Looking back, he gave the world the Class of ’92, and not only that but he also provided the world with one of the greatest players of all time – Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fast forward to his retirement, there have been 3 managers since his retirement, and all those managers have failed to have such an impact on the team. They failed to groom young talent and have spent huge sums (a total of €860.58 million according to https://www.transfermarkt.com/) on players since he left the club. Not even all that money could bring the Premier League to the Theater of Dreams.
But there were a few moments of hope among these signings. The arrival of Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial and the promotion of Marcus Rashford to the first team were signs that Manchester United was once again investing in young talent. Shaw showed some promise in his early matches but was ruled out for long with an injury. And Martial and Rashford were not been given enough chances to prove themselves. This situation was worsened by the bringing of Alexis Sanchez to the first team. Rashford and Martial were already fighting for the left-wing spot, and their progress was halted by the arrival of the Chilean.
Manchester United was always a team that supported their youth academy graduates or invested in young players. But all that changed when the urgency of winning the Premier League hit the managers' heads. Spending was done instead of investing, and all patience was lost forever. If United want to be great again, they will have to go back to investing in youngsters again.
