At the start of the 2024/25 Premier League season, things are not looking any better for Man Utd. It has been quite a while since the Red Devils were seen as a threat. A team that could defeat everything in front of whom each team trembles at the mere sight of them. Erik ten Hag was appointed as a saviour, but even he was not able to turn things around.
The fans are losing patience with each passing game. The defeat against the Spurs at Old Trafford by 3:0 only intensified talks about manager changes and demanding radical changes. We don’t really know why Man Utd is so bad, but we can try and answer that question with a few thoughts of our own.
Appointing ten Hag as a Coach
Many saw Erik ten Hag as a perfect coach for Manchester United. Thought as the mad genius who would be able to take the team and immediately start creating results. After three years at the helm of the Red Devils, he still was not able to produce the results that the fans wanted.
The Premier League title is now ever further than it ever was. Winning the EFL Cup in 2022/23 and the FA Cup in 2023/24 were not enough for the fans. Most are pointing the finger at ten Hag. At first, we did agree that he needed more time to adapt to the team, and the league, and create his own system. But after seeing Arne Slot adapting to the Liverpool bench like a fish to water, we can’t really give any more excuses to ten Hag for coming to the EPL from a weaker league.
Bad Transfers
One of the answers to the question about what’s wrong with Man Utd, are bad transfers. Their transfer policy is one of their downfalls, that’s for sure. Erik ten Hag tried bringing in a number of his favourite players which he coached during his time at Ajax. But most of them are not at the level of the Premier League.
Players like Donny van de Beek, Antony, Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount, and Sofyan Amrabat turned out as massive flops. The situation with Raphaël Varane was unfortunate as he was never fit enough to play. Casemiro started well, but his sudden dip in form coincided with the team’s bad results.
Even the ageing Cristiano Ronaldo was not able to bring success to the team. There is still hope for the likes of Rasmus Højlund, Leny Yoro, and Manuel Ugarte, who are still very young players who could start making a difference, but they still need more time.
The Glazers’ Ownership
Finally, probably one of the biggest reasons for the downfall of the Red Devils are its owners. The shouts “Glazers out” never seem to stop and are now even more apparent and loud than they ever were. The wealthy owners from the US have never been able to understand the footballing culture surrounding Man Utd.
The longer the owners stay the same, the more likely that changes are not going to come. A lot of people have mentioned the bad atmosphere surrounding, not only the team but the grounds, the training centre, everything. And most people blame the owners for this situation. It simply means that changes need to start from the root if they are to be effective.
