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It does seem like there is a disconnect between what Manchester United fans expect and the reality of our club right now. I don’t know if it is a case of people being actually blind to the situation and unrealistic, whether it’s just people being overly emotional to the point that logic is being suspended, or whether they understand but refuse to believe.
We have a ragtag Frankenstein squad of players who have been brought in for different managers and styles of football, with very few, if any of them really being good enough. Either they lack the athleticism required, the work rate, the mentality, the technical quality, or the tactical intelligence.
You could pretty much pick at least one of those problems out for pretty much every single player in our squad. The whole thing needs rebuilding top to bottom. I’d be very surprised if we have more than 7 players in our current squad who will still be here the next time we win the league.
How many of them would make 10 league starts at City, Liverpool or Arsenal? Hell, there probably aren’t many who’d make 10 league starts at Chelsea, Newcastle and Forest. We have a squad that is probably just about a top ten squad in this league.
We have far too many players who are in decline, not good enough, or have a poor attitude. I get that it’s a tough watch right now, being outplayed by bottom half and even relegation threatened sides. I’m watching the same games as you.
However, this is all part of the process. Previous managers or people running the club were unprepared to go through the pain and face the backlash to do what was needed to actually pull us out of the slow death march into mediocrity.
I read on manchesterunitedrumours.co.uk after every game people wondering why the manager doesn’t “adapt his tactics” to suit the players. Most even know that it isn’t a long-term solution, but they just want to get those short term results.
We have had a succession of managers who have come in with their own ideas only to buckle under the pressure and revert to a basic style of play that the majority of the squad can perform just about well enough to scrape a finish somewhere between 7th and 3rd, depending on how strong or weak the rest of the league is that season.
It doesn’t work, putting a plaster over a gapping wound. It holds for a little while, then it bursts and we bleed out. We’ve seen this time and time again. What is the definition of madness? Trying the same thing over and over but expecting different results.
We know that changing the tactics to try and get a few results is sacrificing the next 3 seasons of potential progress to try and get a few more points this season. Maybe if those few extra points would be the difference between UCL football or not being in Europe at all then at least there is something to be gained.
If we stick as we are we probably finish 12th maybe 10th. If we try to adjust the tactics, we might be able to make it up to 8th, 7th at a push. What is the logic in sacrificing the opportunity to improve next season and maybe actually start back on a path that leads to us challenging for major honours again for a 7th place finish this season?
We need to get to the summer and make sure that the majority of this squad at least knows what is expected of them and have some idea of how to play this system. As the reality is that most of them will still be here to play this way next season.
We then need to wheel and deal, move as many players out as possible. Not based on ability, but on mentality. Get rid of all the doubting Thomas’, the poor trainers, the whingers, and the big time Charlie’s.
Fix the attitude and mentality first. Average players can become good players when in the right atmosphere. Great players can become awful players in a toxic dressing room. Then try to bring in the right players for the manager and the club. We need leaders, we need fighters, we need athletes, and we need players of real technical quality.
Then next season, once we have cleared out the bad eggs, brought in some quality, and the manager has had a whole pre-season to prepare them, then we can really see what this guy is all about. Absolutely no point in trying to judge him right now.
What we need to do as fans is back the manager, back the club and not whinge and moan, create a toxic atmosphere and make it utterly impossible for the club to actually do what needs to be done for the benefit of our club’s future.
Written by Shappy February 08 2025 17:19:24