Five quick-fixes United must make before Liverpool visit
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag (top right) and Cristiano Ronaldo (centre) before the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture August 7, 2022.
TEN months after a 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool heralded the beginning of the end for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United face a “must-not-lose” meeting with their rivals at Old Trafford. Here are five things they need to do before that fixture.
Easier said than done. The Denver Broncos — a big NFL team, but hardly Manchester United — sold this week for $4.65 billion (£3.87b) and Chelsea were valued at $5.2 billion (£4.3b).
The Glazers, were they ever to sell — and there are no indication that is about to happen — would surely be looking for figures that eclipse those numbers, instantly reducing potential buyers to a minuscule list.
Fans groups appear motivated to unite and finally bring about change and the noise from media pundits, led by Gary Neville, is adding momentum.
There are moves to boycott the Liverpool game and leave seats empty but there is no evidence such gestures will make the slightest impact, as long as there are 'non-legacy' supporters prepared to take their places and pay money into the coffers.
Another disastrous window has shown that, whatever the arguments about the money the Glazers have taken out of the club, their senior executive appointments have been wholly unfit for purpose.
New executive vice chairman Richard Arnold has taken over from where the despised Ed Woodward left off and a restructured recruitment and scouting department has been woeful this summer.
All the signings to date have direct links to Erik ten Hag himself - making a mockery of United’s boast that they had learned from mistakes of the past and are ready to identify global, high-value talent.
Even Adrien Rabiot, a low-level target last week, is now dragging his heels over salary and the Frenkie de Jong saga has been an embarrassment.
This was the root of the problems at Brentford and was alarming considering ten Hag was appointed four months ago and had a complete pre-season with his squad.
Whatever gems of tactical genius he is trying to impart, he is failing, badly, and that cannot be blamed on the Glazers or Arnold.
Ten Hag needs to simplify his orders, and United’s approach, and be pragmatic for the next few weeks. Right now, a drab goalless draw with Jurgen Klopp’s side would be greeted like a title victory.
As many predicted, the will-he-won’t-he soap opera surrounding the Portuguese icon has added to the air of pending doom. The 37-year-old, naturally, holds all the cards and nobody at United has shown any real stomach to stand up to him in the near-12 months since his return to the club.
But the time has come for somebody — ten Hag — to order Ronaldo to pledge himself to United for the season or leave.
United’s position last month, that they would not allow him to exit, has not worked. They would have been better spending the last few weeks signing a replacement since Ronaldo has apparently outstayed his welcome with the loyal fan base and, possibly his own teammates.
One of ten Hag’s first acts was to declare the England centre-half would remain club skipper, despite a mounting body of evidence that he was not up to the task.
Nothing that has happened in the opening two league defeats suggests this was remotely a good idea.
On a seemingly inexhaustible list of United transfer disasters, the £80 million paid for Maguire will, surely, go down as the worst of all, pound-for-pound.
Ten Hag’s early decision to publicly back Maguire may have been rooted in good intentions but it showed a lack of awareness of a situation which is spiralling out of control.
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