The writing was on the wall for awhile now. Last year United was not the best team. Robin Van Persie saved the day for what was a very average to below average Man United squad. Let’s address the issues quickly. Vidic I have been saying for awhile now is no longer mobile enough. Ferdinand has nothing left in his legs. Evra is just holding on. Cleverley is very average. Phil Jones is not mobile. Carrick is not athletic or mobil. The list can go on and on. Van Persie is over 30 now and his body will break down for sure with injuries. Rooney is 29 and never was a serious fitness guy. What do you think will happen to Rooney in 2 years? My guess is one good injury and he gains 20 lbs and is finished. Juan Matta is a luxury player in terms of defensive work rate. In the EPL is you are going to have luxury players you better possesses the ball like crazy. Notice I didn’t even mention the coach yet. I like David Moyes and respect him but he is way way way out of his league at United. His tactics are all wrong, team selections are debatable, player purchases are suspect and his training methods are questioned. The Dutch National Fitness coach called Moyes methods “prehistoric” and “outdated”. He was shocked at David was doing with the guys in pre-season – that is not a good sign. The endless crosses into the box, Matta playing wide right, a lack of any defining style are just a few issues I have seen watching United. For the life of me I can’t understand why Kagawa doesn’t play, Nani never plays, Danny Welbeck has serious potential and Zaha got put on loan. All those players provide pace/athletic ability and have loads of potential. They could have used some of that this week in the Champions League match don’t you think?
The major issue for me is this. Manchester United is worth a massive amount of money. How much longer can you let one guy steer the ship? Ajax and Barcelona are clubs with a philosophy of play and player development. No matter who the coach is at those clubs the club is safe. They will always buy and produce the right players, they will always put a great soccer product out there on the field. How much longer can huge clubs that depend on Champions League revenue, jersey sales and shirt sponsors and winning to keep them making the big dollars fool around with giving a new coach all the power. If I own the club I am not giving one guy the power to make or break the club. I am instilling a system of play and regardless if the head coach comes or goes the system of the club stays the same. It is the only way to control consistency.
United are in big trouble. They are good enough to salvage something but they need to stop the bleeding ASAP and turn the ship around. They need to seriously re-think how they want to run the club going forward. Sorry David but your out!