It’s been five years now since Manchester United last won a trophy. The 2017 Europa League in Stockholm to be exact. 2-0 against Ajax — Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan with the goals.
José Mourinho had just completed his first season in charge and while things were far from perfect, still some way off competing with current champions Chelsea and Manchester City, they still won a double and added some more silverware to the cabinet. It was the third trophy of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era — fourth if we’re counting the Community Shield that Mourinho had — but few would have predicted it would be their last for half a decade. Visit here
Flash forward and United are undergoing the conveyor belt of frustration Liverpool suffered in the 1990s. Once the country’s biggest club, United see themselves as a sleeping giant when in reality mediocrity has cast its shadow on a side that is going nowhere fast — overpaid and without a definitive strategy. Throwing money at the issue clearly hasn’t worked and their recent Champions League exit to Atlético Madrid — abrupt to some, inevitable to others — was another example of the underlying issues within this United team.
Mourinho knew he was in charge of a sinking ship and while Ole Gunnar Solskjær briefly covered the cracks, their blemishes have been exposed since the Norwegian’s sacking and Ralf Rangnick’s arrival. While an admirable coach for the likes of Schalke and RB Leipzig in their transitional phase, he is much more of a sporting director and is at the club for what seems to be purely administrative purposes.
Rangnick was simply outclassed by Diego Simeone, and even when Anthony Elanga pulled back a surprise equaliser at the Wanda Metropolitano, the football betting odds were always in favour of the current La Liga champions. Despite the circumstances suiting United — Old Trafford on a European night, a boisterous home crowd — the players did very little to reciprocate the supporters’ effort. Lacklustre and ill-disciplined, their body language insincere, the Red Devils went through the motions until Renan Lodi’s goal gave the hosts a rude awakening.
The left-back’s header at the back post showed the ineptitude of the United backline, with their fragility on show once again. Atléti on the other hand are mentality monsters in those situations. Content with surrendering possession, sitting in two banks of four and springing counter attacks with their press-resistant midfield and pacey wide players, Simeone cleared every ball and won every tackle from the dugout as his side resiliently booked their place in the last eight. El Cholo one, United nil — Atlético through, United out.
Even since signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphaël Varane — big names, serial winners on big money, this current squad seems to lack the winning mentality needed to get over the line at times. Contrary to what many believe, Ronaldo is not superhuman and while he pulled off a great comeback against Simeone at Juventus, the quality, and indeed efforts, of his teammates were a stark contrast to the players on show at the Theatre of Dreams every weekend.
The solution surely lies in Erik ten Hag, or at least a manager with similar credentials to the Dutchman. They need a permanent figure in the technical area and the longevity that comes with it. It becomes a vicious circle if United fail to win a trophy soon, with the managerial merry-go-round simply not a sustainable plan. Eventually, the good times will return for United as a by-product of their extravagant spending — after all, silverware is the currency of success in football. But while a trip to Wembley for a League or FA Cup may quench the thirst of a United side starved of success to the point of desperation, you wonder how long it will really take for them to become a true European giant in the Champions League again.
