The Manchester United players return to pre season training
on Monday in what should be the start of a campaign where they finally show
signs that they are getting back to being the club that is known historically throughout
the world.
The reality unfortunately
is that too many of the same old faces are returning and the only new arrival is
Daniel James. While the young Welshman is a positive signing and a step in the
right direction, he will take a look around his new set up on Monday and wonder
what has he got himself into?
The club is a mess from the very top to the bottom. Reports suggest the clubs hierarchy are
looking to get a technical director or sporting director or whatever you may
call it to help the club recruit the best talent from around the world.
Five days before pre season starts and the “search” is
ongoing. This should have been in place before last season ended when it was clear
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a squad of players incapable of achieving his targets.
Champions League football was there for them but they proved unable to clinch
it.
The list of names touted for the job are less than inspiring
with Darren Fletcher and Rio Ferdinand among those linked with the role. Although they were great servants to the club
they are not who the club should be after. Manchester United should be after
the very best who have excelled previously in the job.
The fascination with recruiting people with a connection with the
club is beyond a joke. Go and get the very best. The club are living in the past and the clubs social media team have spent the summer reliving the Treble success of 20 years
ago! Even the most passionate Manchester United fan is tired of hearing about
it now. We used to laugh at Liverpool
for constantly talking about their previous successes.
The summer has so far been a disaster. First watching a sublime Manchester City side
retain the Premier League title and then Liverpool win their sixth European Cup
in Madrid. The Old Trafford side are
miles away from those two and in reality they have a fight on their hands to
hold onto sixth.
Too many players will return on Monday to the first training
session of the new season that simply should not be there anymore. Phil Jones, Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling,
Marcos Rojo, Ashley Young.... the list goes on.
Manchester United did well to get the Daniel James transfer
over the line but in reality they only had Brighton and Leeds United as
competition. They have faced no
competition in their pursuit of Aaron Wan Bissaka yet that deal has rumbled on
all summer.
The club have made their bed and they have no choice but to
lie in it. Every club knows Manchester United are in a desperate position and
they know they can get as much money as they can should Ed Woodward come
knocking for one of their players. They
know they are dealing with a man out of his depth and with a club on its knees.
Too many players at club are on huge wages and are quite
happy to sit on the bench and collect the cash each week. When is the last time Matteo Darmian got a
run in the team? And when is the last time we heard him give out that he is not
playing?
He is an Italian International that has watched a 33 year
old winger in Ashley Young play in his position all season. Players don’t care anymore, or at least the
majority of the current crew don’t.
Jesse Lingard has got
a lot of stick this summer for his Instagram posts. While he should have more common sense his
posts are way down the list of the bigger problems at Manchester United.
Nobody would care if we saw the same posts this summer had we had a successful
season.
Both Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku have expressed their
desire to move on and while bigger and better players have left the club, when
is the last time a player expressed a wish to try something new and leave
Manchester United? Sir Alex Ferguson used to be the one telling them their time
was up.
The #GlazerOut movement is once again growing momentum and
that’s where the real problem at the club begins. These cancerous owners need to move on and
only then can the club begin to get back to something resembling a successfully
run football club on and off the field.
As Pre season approaches the enthusiasm for a new campaign
has never been so low and I fear a panic deadline day shopping spree at
Manchester United where big names will depart with the club still paying their
wages and new arrivals will come in for astronomical amounts but in reality
they too will not be the answer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a massive job on his hands and he
will do well to hold onto it.
Damien McEvoy
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