HomeFootballManchester United: The Glazers are setting Solskjaer for failure...

Manchester United: The Glazers are setting Solskjaer for failure next season

- Advertisement -

Manchester United were expected to loosen the purse strings once Champions League football was confirmed for next season. A third-place finish was set to provide the platform for the club to bring in top-class signings this summer and close the gap with Liverpool and Manchester City at the top.

However, one can hear the crickets sing amidst the transfer activity the club have shown since the transfer window swung open a month back.

- Advertisement -

While the window was expected to be a slog for all the top clubs due to the financial hit football has taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were told Manchester United were on a better financial footing than most clubs and were expected to spend considerable sums in the market to improve the squad.

They still could as the window closes on 5th October but there is a growing fear this is going to be another frustrating window for the club.

That brings us to the question marks surrounding the Manchester United owners. Are the Glazers in it to win trophies and taking the club back to the top of English and European football or are they more than happy to see the club play in the Champions League once in two years so that they can continue to take money out of the club in terms of interest payments and dividends? There is ample evidence to support the latter and scant little to line up with the former.

Manchester United were expected to back Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s vision and trust the judgement of the recruitment team that they have painstakingly put together over the last 18 months. They still could but morning often shows the day.

Will Solskjaer get the player he wants this summer?

The Manchester United manager showed enough last season to suggest that if he gets the players he wants, his team would play better football more consistently.

Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Bruno Fernandes have been solid signings and fits the vision of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Daniel James could still come good and Odion Ighalo proved to be a shrewd loan signing in January.

Solskjaer wants Jadon Sancho from Dortmund this summer and it is natural Manchester United are reluctant to spend €120m that the German club have demanded.

In a depressed market, it is reasonable that Manchester United would want to negotiate the fee. But who is deciding whether Sancho will prove value for money at that asking price?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6NsiunHcYV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

While Manchester United’s recruitment team believe Sancho will prove to be a solid signing even at that price due to his age and the high ceiling of his talent, it is Joel Glazer who is reluctant to spend that amount of money on the winger.

He is reasonable to expect Dortmund to consider the state of the market and drop their asking price but it is also important to ask, is he the right man to question the deal?

He has set up a recruitment team consisting of football men (the coaching staff, the analysts and the scouts) and the money men (Ed Woodward and Matt Judge). Shouldn’t they be trusted to do their job?

Solskjaer still wants another centre-back, a midfielder and a striker but Manchester United have made scant movement in the market. They are stuck with the Sancho negotiations and while they have spoken to Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes’ representatives, they are yet to table a bid for him.

The Brazilian is likely to join Arsenal. If Manchester United are indeed interested in the centre-back, what is stopping them from matching Lille’s asking price of €30m? If they are not convinced about his quality, why hold talks with the player’s entourage?

There is no news on whether the club will sign the defensive midfielder Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants or the striker he is keen to recruit.

Manchester United have moved excruciatingly slowly in a window where they were expected to do early business and try and close the gap to the top of the Premier League table.

With the season starting in little less than a month, Manchester United are yet to improve their first-team squad.

Is a familiar story repeating itself at Manchester United?

We have been here before with Manchester United. A season ends without a trophy but there was a feeling that some progress has been made. The club needed to spend well to improve their squad and they faltered badly to sign the players the manager wanted. Remember 2018 anyone?

Manchester United finished second in the Premier League and lost in the FA Cup final. They finished 19 points champions Manchester City in second place. Jose Mourinho needed funds to improve his squad to challenge for the title next season.

They signed Fred, who took 18 months to settle at Old Trafford, Diego Dalot, a second choice right back and likely on his way out this summer and Lee Grant, a third-choice goalkeeper.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CB0Zgq9nY5r/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The club have seen many poor transfer windows since 2013 but the 2018 summer transfer window was the nadir. Even Ed Woodward later accepted that the club made mistakes during the period.

Mourinho lost his patience with the club, threw his toys out of the pram and it was no surprise that he lost his job a few months later. The Portuguese was majorly the architect of his downfall and his ethos never matched with the club’s values.

But Manchester United set Mourinho up for failure in the summer of 2018. By not properly backing him, the club built the platform and threw in the gasoline for the Portuguese to self-immolate.

Solskjaer job depends on him convincing his bosses

The Manchester United manager has made it clear that his side are some way away from competing for the Premier League. Ahead of the Europa League final, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted that he needs more depth in his squad, which was a message to the board.

The Norwegian’s increased dependency on around 13 to 14 players towards the end of the season was a sign that he had scant faith in the players sitting on the bench. He is acutely aware that he doesn’t have the squad to compete in all fronts next season. I think Woodward himself is aware of that fact.

But can the Manchester United manager do what Mourinho failed to do in 2018, convince the hierarchy to invest properly into improving his squad?

While the Norwegian is unlikely to go on a path of self-destruction like his predecessor if his wish is not granted, a failure is almost a guarantee.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEHSJChAfns/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Manchester United have a month-and-a-half to sort out their transfer business and properly back their manager in the squad. Apart from Chelsea and Manchester City, most big clubs have been moving cautiously in an unprecedented transfer market.

Manchester United could still sign the players they want and maybe their negotiating tactics will bear fruit later in the window.

But if they don’t and next season turns out to be a disaster for the club and Solskjaer, the Glazer will not have a pantomime villain in Jose Mourinho to hide behind.

Also Read: Manchester United still paying for Louis van Gaal’s sins in the transfer market

- Advertisement -

15 Highly Educated Cricketers Of All Time

Cricket is a game of passion and dedication. A sport in which one involves themselves in camps and practice since early childhood. Due to...

Do we often under-appreciate Andy Flower? What’s his legacy?

There's a hint of sadness in noting that Zimbabwe has never been a dominant power in world cricket. But nothing could be sadder than...

Why are more and more MotoGP riders using the Noson nasal dilator?

Introduction MotoGP riders or athletes are physically fit and healthy individuals and their muscles are continuously functioning and used during the performance. As a fan...

How Come UFC Fighters Have Cauliflower Ears But Boxers Don’t?

The UFC has come a long way since its early days, wherein the fights seemed like modern-day gladiators due to its brutality and inconsistent...

5 spinners who can be India’s potential finger-spinners

The Indian cricket team has always been proud of its ability to produce world-class batsmen and similarly potent spinners. Though in recent times, the...

IPL 2018: The beautiful Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Being seated in the Sawai Mansingh stadium brings a different world, a world of difference away from the palpable excitement of watching truly India’s...

The astonishing decline of Mario Balotelli

There was a time when Mario Balotelli was on top of the world.  The Italian talisman had scored two goals in the Euro 2012 semi-finals,...

Top 5 Left Wingers In The World, Based On 2019-20 Season

Owing to the fact that football has evolved a lot since its inception and the tactics have changed a lot, the role of wingers...

What can be expected from the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Heat in the air and heat inside the car- that's been the story of the Azerbaijan Grand prix. As F1 parks itself at Baku...

How Suresh Raina Batted India Into The Finals of 2011 World Cup

Its been 9 years, since India won the Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka on 2 April, 2011. The images and visuals of...

IPL 2018: The best from the West Indies

When one of nature's treacherous attacks on mankind- earthquakes- strike, their impact is measured on Richter's scale. When West Indians strike in a tournament...

Big change for India Women’s cricket as BCCI looks to finalise bowling coach soon

We are not even at the halfway stage of the 2018 cricketing season. It clearly seems there's no stopping India's women's cricket team. The...

Age Fraud in Indian Cricket: Are players really to be blamed?

There have been times while watching a cricket match when we tend to hear commentators comment on cricketers’ age. We as fans have many...

Ajax XI if they didn’t sell their star players

Based in Amsterdam, AFC Ajax, who incidentally draw their name from the legendary Greek hero of the same name, are the most successful club...

5 famous players to play for both Leeds United and Liverpool

Leeds United are back in the Premier League after 16 years and will play Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday in their very first match...

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -