The 2021/2022 season is proving to be a real nightmare for Man United.
Despite replacing Ole Gunnar Solksjaer with interim boss Ralf Rangnick, the Red Devils will finish yet another season empty-handed, having been bundled out of the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
Photo via Atletico
The best they can expect to finish in the Premier League this season is fourth, but even that looks unlikely now with Arsenal and Tottenham enjoying a resurgence in form.
So where did it go wrong for United this season, and who is to blame for their slump?
We posed this question to Astro Radio News listeners on Twitter, and in their minds at least, the answer is clear.
More than 60% of respondents felt that under-performing players are to blame for the club’s current predicament.
They’re not the only ones to feel that way. Pundits and fans alike have also pointed to how several individual players have let the team down this season.
Top of that list has to be Harry Maguire. With a transfer fee of 85 million pounds he is the most expensive defender in the world, but you wouldn’t have guessed it based on how he’s been playing this season.
A string of abysmal performances has seen his confidence take a hit, while even the most ardent United supporters are starting to question if the England international should be sold off.
Besides Maguire, the likes of Paul Pogba, Aaron Wan Bissaka and even the normally-reliable Marcus Rashford have all been well below par this season.
And then there is Cristiano Ronaldo. Touted as United’s saviour when he signed from Juventus, the Portuguese superstar has been hot and cold over the current campaign.
He has scored a number of important goals (and even a hattrick against Tottenham), but the 37-year-old has not been consistent this season, and depending on who you ask, also appears to have a problem ‘taking one for the team.’
(Rumour has it Ronaldo threw a tantrum and refused to play when informed that he would be starting from the bench for the Manchester derby)
But what about the manager? Surely he bears some of the blame for United’s poor season?
That’s exactly what nearly 16% of respondents in the Astro Radio News Twitter poll felt.
The general consensus is that Ralf Rangnick has not lived up to the hype and is not the right man for the job.
He arrived as the godfather of fast, high-pressing football…but appears to be struggling to get his players to adopt this philosophy.
But be that as it may, United are not exactly spoilt for choice when it comes to finding a replacement.
There are currently only two favourites – Mauricio Pochettino and Erik Ten Hag.
Both have done well with PSG and Ajax respectively in domestic competitions but have come up short in Europe.
Some of United’s other rumoured candidates like Julen Lopetegui and Luis Enrique have so far been non-committal.
Others have downright rejected the Red Devils, like Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann, who reportedly snubbed United because they are not realistic title contenders.
Finally, nearly 24% of the survey respondents felt United are where they are today because of poor forward planning by the owners/club directors.
And they may have a point.
It is the owners and directors after all who are responsible for signing the managers (and to some extent, even players).
Since the great Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013, United have had four permanent managers before Rangnick, none of whom have managed to win the Premier League title.
Also, neither of them has spent more than three full seasons at the helm, which goes against United’s long-held principal of ‘building for the future’.
Surely this lack of a long-term strategy is the fault of the higher-ups at Old Trafford?
Despite the differing opinions, one thing is certain.
Manchester United is in need of a major overhaul, be it in the managerial or player department, and even in how the big bosses run the club.
However, it remains to be seen if these changes will be made anytime soon to return the club to its former glory.
By: Nicholas Darren John
