The birth of a New Year is already behind us, we said goodbye to 2023 that promised so much and Manchester United delivered only a Carabao Cup.
Now United start 2024 with Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the man in charge of the football operations at club after his 25% purchase from the Glazers which is subject to Premier League ratification. The work will soon begin on untangling the mess the American family have left the club in.
For me, personally, I have been thinking of what I would like to see for the calendar year of 2024 and what I would like to see Manchester United do or achieve, and they are the following.
Appoint the right people
Since David Gill left with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, United have had Glazer ‘Yes Men’ in charge of the footballing side. From Ed Woodward to Richard Arnold, they have overseen operations at the club and handled it in the way instructed by the Glazers to the detriment of the football side of the club.
There has been no coherent structure in place behind the scenes and money has been thrown away like 80’s Film Brewster’s Millions, when clubs operate in a way that get things done quickly but United are always the example of how not to run a football club.
Sir Dave Brailsford will be Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s man on the ground and trusted Lieutenant going forward it looks like so; his job will be to put the right people in place to untangle this freak show going forward.
Jean-Claude Blanc will join Brailsford and will join him on the board of Directors. He has experience with PSG and Juventus so will understand what a top club needs to compete at the top, let’s be honest experience and know how will be crucial after the ineptitude of previous employees.
Paul Mitchell seems another name likely to join and speculation around Dan Ashworth currently at Newcastle means United want to get the best talent they can get, for me basic competency will be something every United fan yearns for.
If you appoint the right people then they will do the same and hopefully you get into a good habit of making good decisions, sorry to go all High-Performance Podcast there but it needs to be done.
Clear the Deadwood
If you stay anywhere long enough you do collect a lot of rubbish and if you are Manchester United, then it’s not an old PlayStation 1 or an exercise bike you bought in a January health kick. No, it’s more likely to be an Anthony Martial or a Diogo Dalot, players who are not good enough but are closer to testimonials than they ever should have been.
Also throw in a Jadon Sancho here and *insert your own player you don’t like here* then we have accumulated too much crap, and they need to be moved on.
Once the negative influences in the dressing room go and better players are brought in then maybe the football might get better, it’s a bold strategy considering what has gone on before, but it just might work.
The squad will change a lot in the summer and beyond, but we need to keep people who will be with us in the future, no more rewarding mediocrity. If United can plan well then, we may not only build a good team but give the youngsters good foundations to blossom.
Go back to the fundamentals
This might sound like a drastic and very weird thing to say but United must strip everything back to basics and go from there, if you watch United regularly you will know that basic passes, positional discipline are all terrible.
The set piece delivery is woeful at best, every free kick and corner is just more frustrating than the last and as for defending them they are worse. This is a side that wants to play out from the back, but seem to be completely incapable of it. Hopefully, rebuilding the side can mean we get in players who can and build from there.
Also, this team doesn’t seem to function properly, it just seems a mix-mash from previous managers and differing styles. At this moment in time, you just rock up to see United and wonder what today is going to be, do they show up and play like against Aston Villa in the second half? Or play like they did against Forest?
Something to believe in
This is going to sound extremely basic, but I just want something to believe in.
In last few years United have had ups and downs where we get a glimmer of hope only to end up being flat on our face’s months later.
Some fans might not have patience for a rebuild but I do especially if there is a vision set out and we can see it organically grow on the pitch. The problem with fans, especially online, is no patience to go through any kind of pain to get to the other side, if INEOS can sort out things behind the scenes, then there could be something to be happy with.
Until then I would love to see progress on the field and put things in place behind the scenes, the summer window will give us a hint and the new direction we will take. But for now, I will look forward to seeing how the young players like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho prosper as a United fan this is what this club is built on.
Hopefully by the end of 2024 we can see one or two of these ticked off and also signs of something brewing at Old Trafford, one thing is for certain though following Manchester United will never be boring.
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