Manchester United: Who’s next?

Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, Manchester United have struggled to maintain their title of ‘Kings of England’. There have been a total of four managers since 2013, with Jose Mourinho the latest to come under scrutiny. The question is: what went wrong?

‘The chosen one’ David Moyes, was the first to try and continue Manchester United’s winning traditions. Alex Ferguson was hugely influential in picking his successor, as he believed his fellow Scotsman's successful tenure at Everton was deserving of a chance to manage the reigning champions at that time. Maybe what didn’t go in Moyes’s favour was that David Gill, who was the chief executive at the time was also stepping away from his position at Old Trafford, making way for current CEO, Ed Woodward.

Moyes had summer targets, including Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos as well as strong rumours that Real Madrid Forward Gareth Bale was going to join Manchester United in the summer of 2013. In my opinion, I do not think David Moyes had the backing of Ed Woodward in that particular transfer window. His only notable signing was Maraoune Fellaini, who signed from Everton for a fee of 30 million pounds. Fans complained about the lack of ambition from the club, but Fellaini has gone onto to be a vital figure in the team for Manchester United managers that followed.

It didn’t work out for David Moyes and he was sent on his way after 8 months and Ryan Giggs became the manager for the remaining four Premier League games. I was gutted for David, as I felt he deserved more time and did a fantastic job at Everton. The results were bad and Manchester United finished the season in 7th position.

It was a season to forget and the club began their search for a new manager to bring back winning ways to Old Trafford. That man would be Louis Van Gaal -former Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Ajax and Dutch Nationa team head coach. He had a very good CV, winning titles wherever he managed, playing attractive football and on paper, it looked the perfect appointment. In contrast to Moyes, Van Gaal was given all the money in the world to make changes to the playing squad.

Angel Di Maria was signed from Real Madrid, striker Ramadel Falcao was brought in as well as left-back Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo. Some players were sold including, Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez, Shinji Kagawa to name a few. The squad looked completely different and fans were excited of the prospect of all the new signings playing at Old Trafford. It didn’t quite work out that way. Van Gaal’s first season was up and down, there was no European football but United could only manage a 4th place finish.

The second season saw more changes as Di Maria and Falcao were let go as they struggled to do well during their first season. Anthony Martial was brought in from Monaco. It was a surprise as many did not know who he was. He became the bright spark in the 2015/16 season which turned out to be a boring and underachieving campaign for the red devils.

Fans became impatient with the team's style of play as many complained it was ‘slow’ and ‘boring’, cries of “Attack, Attack, Attack” would echo Old Trafford. Thet team wasn’t playing well either going through a horrid December in 2015. They were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League, heading out during the group stages. They also endured losses to Norwich, Stoke and Bournemouth.

Fans predicted Van Gaal to get the sack before the New Year, but he stayed on and things didn’t improve much. The team's style of play made it difficult for fans to watch, it was baffling. Van Gaal’s teams over the years always excited spectators and his team’s were always successful as a result. It seemed as if his philosophy and Manchester United just didn’t go together. Manchester United won the FA Cup in May 2016 by defeating Crystal Palace in the final.

Even with the cup win, it wasn’t a great day for Van Gaal as strong rumours emerged that he was set to lose his job. I felt for Van Gaal as I believed there was a campaign to get him sacked by the media. His football wasn’t what Manchester United fans were used to, but his CV suggested he was certainly a top class manager — it just didn’t work for him.

On to manager number four and that is Jose Mourinho. Manchester United was now in a position where they now looking for an instant fix to bring the title and with Jose’s managerial record at former clubs, he looked the perfect fit (as did other previous managers). He made changes to the squad during his first two seasons.

These included Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku and even his former Chelsea midfielder, Nemanja Matic. Big, strong, powerful players looked to be the way forward for Jose and United. In the 2016/17 season, it was successful for Jose after winning the League cup and Europa League. That looked set to make sure the 2017/18 season was a successful one -it wasn’t.

Manchester United finished 2nd in the league behind a sensational Manchester City side who were deserved champions. It was United’s highest points tally and position in the league since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Manchester United’s style of play came into question again with fans complaining United were too defensive and not taking enough initiative to win matches.

Jose Mourinho’s teams were known to be very solid defensively, but he was also successful. He achieved 100 points with Real Madrid in 2012, but that seems to have faded in most peoples memories. A manager with over 20 major honours in his managerial record was no under scrutiny. His job was to bring back the Premier League to Old Trafford and Manchester United have not looked close to challenging in recent years.

The club would have known about Jose’s fiery character and his style of play before he was appointed, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to football fans. With all the money being spent to bring back winning ways to Old Trafford, they seem to be further behind! With a poor start to the 2017/18 campaign and United’s recent loss to West Ham, it seems Jose is destined for the sack.

I believe Manchester United have been reacting to mistakes they have made in the last 5 years. Moyes was sacked and it became panic mode. They looked for a quick fix with no long-term plan. Van Gaal stated he would not stay longer than 3 seasons. Fans were not happy with the style of play despite the FA Cup win and he was sacked. Jose known for bringing instant success to clubs he’s managed has struggled so far as well as clash with players and senior figures within the club.

United have had two managers with stellar records struggle to make an impact. Is there a long-term plan at Manchester United? Are problems rooted away from the pitch? But with Jose under pressure, the question on most people’s lips is: who’s next?

Written by Richard Afrifa