Manchester United, Once a golden club with incomparable success has somehow stuck at the midtable of the Premier League for many seasons, After the departure of United’s godfather “Sir Alex Fugerson” in 2013, the club has been in shambles, many have come and gone but none has achieved what the Scott had achieved at the United. There is a catch though, as this is not the very first time United has been in a crisis, United were in crisis back then too with Liverpool(their arch-rival) becoming a dominant team.
A young Alex Fugerson was appointed and his very first ambition was to “knock Liverpool off their porch” but that is the day gone. Sir Alex not only went to knock Liverpool “off their porch” but guided Manchester United to a “Treble” success which no other English club had achieved till then.
The situation is quite different now, with Sir Alex no longer available to support the team as a manager, the new generation of this classic club needs to adapt to new rivals that have “knocked off” United from their very porch.
Managers like David Moyes, Louis Van Gal, Jose Mourinho, Solakjaer, Ralp Rangnick and now Erik Ten Hag have taken up challenges to rebuild the fortress Old Trafford was before. With no success rate from David Moyes nor Van Gaal, Mourinho did manage to win the Europa League with United and guided them to 2nd Position just below city in 2017 in what seemed like the best United could do in recent years.
But with all the Mourinho chapter behind, there is a chance that the new owner and a “modern tactical manager” in Erik Ten Hag can rebuild this United team up. So what should United do for their upliftment?
Has Injuries been the curse for United’s downfall in recent years?
If we trace the trend of injuries United has been affected by several injuries to their squad recently. Manchester United has been plagued by injuries in the 2024 season, with Bruno Fernandes missing the Crystal Palace match for the first time in his career due to injury. This was the 63rd injury or illness affecting the team this season, frustrating manager Erik ten Hag.
With 25 players injured and over 1,200 days missed collectively, Ten Hag rarely fields his strongest team, managing to do so in only two of his 110 matches. Speculation suggests intense training may be causing injuries, but Ten Hag denies this.
Their centre-back duo of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez who were supposed to be the star of their backline have missed the majority of the 2023/24 season. Instead, Erik Ten Hag had to depend on the Center-Back duo of Varane and Evans.
With injuries to key players, United had not been efficient in maximising the talents they had. But even if we look into the recent seasons young players like Tyrell Malacia have missed the majority of the matches for the United, he was one of the players who was making himself known in the bigger playground featuring in important matches for United, but United has more share of injuries to Christian Erikson, Casemiro and Ambrabat, these were the players that United though were to be the backbone of their rebuild but instead have been injury stricken.
So how could United Solve its injury problem?
Well, United has been working for this recently as we can go back to what was pointed out by Ronaldo in his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, the thing he said about “facilities”. Ronaldo rightly pointed out that there was no innovation in any of the facilities in Carrington, A place that didn’t seem to evolve since he left Man United in 2009, coming back from very top clubs like Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo understands the importance of modern equipment and training facilities.
Under Glazers, we can assume there was no work done for the betterment of Carrington, but with recent news, Carrington is already going through changes after the new owners from IENOS have come into the spotlight.
Changing the whole of United’s medical team should not be necessary, but United should invest in the right people who can efficiently look after their players. Still, some blame goes to the players themselves as many Untied players are believed to be party-goers and like dancing in aftermath parties but that was all taken care of when Ten Hag implemented his strict rules upon the squad. Breaking of certain rules are now fined and even punishments like less game time and training with reserves are being handed to the influential players of the dressing room.
Investing In the Right Players
Manchester United has “invested” and invested a lot in players, they have invested to the extent that they are the top spenders in the Premier League even above the rich-oil owners of Manchester City. Man United have fairly splashed the cash on players who have not bore the expected amount of fruit. The most expensive signing player “Paul Pogba” who was bought from Juventus for then world record fee of $110 Million was not able to achieve things many had dreamed of, Paul Pogba was to be the player that would bring United back on the scene, but instead, he became a reason Mourinho left Man United. Another player Harry Maguire who had been acquired for a world record fee for a defender from Leicester City has become a shadow of the player he was at Leicester. Becoming a victim of the troll because of his disaster-class performance in daily matches, fans quickly realised he was not the player United wanted as a face.
Transfer Favouring Young Players.
A combined $180 Million has been spent on transfers like Paul Pogba and Harry Maguire making it the most expensive full transfer for a club. Not to mention the signing of players like Casemiro, and Erikson who have passed their prime also bore no fruit for United.
Instead, Manchester United turned their focus on younger talents, Alejandro Garnacho is the talented youngster United has been able to produce in recent years. The club has invested heavily in players like Hojlund, Antony, and Kobe Mainoo. These players might be the ones United are looking for. Model best implemented by Real Madrid.
As of 2024/25 season’s transfer window is about to open and United already have been rumoured to be in the pole position to sign players like Majittas De Legit and Leny Yorro. These players both fit the playing style and age profile United needs. Yorro having an excellent season for Lille in the French League.
Leny Yorro even being one of the transfer targets of Real Madrid has been rumoured to opt for Manchester United instead, these changes in tactics can be the result of direct interference of their new owners as new sporting directors Dan Ashworth and Christopher Vivell.
United has also been quick to transfer out rebellious players that seemed to be a distraction for the dressing room, players like Sancho and Greenwood have been shown the exit door quite quickly.
Tactics that will suit Manchester United -
Manchester United has seen many managers in recent years with the likes of Mourinho who is famous for their defensive mentality and counter-attacking football has seen United develop and implement his style that helped them to climb up the ladder to 2nd position in the Premier League table and bag in 1 Europa League trophy.
Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United implemented a counter-attacking style, focusing on quick transitions and exploiting the pace of their forwards. Solskjaer's approach focused on fluid attacking play, leveraging the individual talents of players like Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
Ralf Rangnick, on the other hand, introduced a more structured and high-pressing style. Known for his "gegenpressing" philosophy, Rangnick aimed to regain possession quickly after losing it, pressing opponents high up the pitch. His approach was more disciplined and tactical, focusing on team organisation and collective effort.
Whereas, Erik Ten Hag focuses much more on a disciplined, possession-based approach, with high pressing and tactical flexibility. Ten Hag prefers his teams to dominate the ball, building play methodically from the back while maintaining tight defensive organisation. His style includes:
1. High Pressing: Ten Hag emphasises winning the ball back quickly through coordinated pressing, aiming to disrupt the opposition's buildup play. *A reason he fell out with Ronaldo as he “didn’t press” according to Ten Hag.
2. Positional Play: His teams focus on maintaining proper positioning, ensuring players are available to receive passes and creating multiple passing options.
3. Fluid Attacking: Ten Hag encourages fluid movement and interchange among attacking players, creating unpredictability and exploiting spaces in the opponent's defence.
4. Build-Up Play: He prefers constructing attacks patiently from the back, involving defenders and midfielders in the buildup to create controlled and cohesive plays.
5. Versatility: Ten Hag values tactical flexibility, adapting his strategies based on the opponent and game situation, often making dynamic adjustments during matches.
Those tactics are not proven but with these modern tactics many clubs have been able to turn things around, A very good example of this style was Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen in 2024. Overall, Ten Hag aims to combine solid defensive structure with creative and dynamic attacking play, A style that sounds similar to Pep Guardiola, whose assistant coach was Erik himself at Bayern Munich.
However, the new owners also look to help United get back to where they were before and words from their new owners will surely delight Man United fans worldwide. Even though a rebuild is possible it surely will take time, till then fans need to be patient with the decisions and boost the morale of their club during tough times.
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