Tuesday, 26th of August, 2014 will be remembered as a day of infamy for Utd fans. T’was that day, MK Dons or was it MK Drones that strafed and rocketed their hapless side sending them fleeing for cover. The disbelief at the full time scoreline is the equivalent of Major Pluskat first sighting the Normandy invasion. There, there, too many war metaphors already which might not be entirely misplaced in hindsight given the unsettled feeling in the hearts and minds of many Utd fans.
Louis Van Gaal’s introduction was supposed to have quelled the disquiet left by David Moyes and steadied Utd’s ship in the post Ferguson era. After all, his stellar resume includes league victories at Bayern, Barcelona, and Ajax despite earning a reputation as a slow starter. In fact, 19 titles spread through four clubs in three countries. The feel good afterglow provided by the silverware though spreads deeper into a football philosophy embraced by proteges Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho. The high pressing game was Van Gaal’s idea, developed and executed by the Blaugrana to perfection under Guardiola.
There is a recognition systems such as the 3-5-2 favoured by Van Gaal take time to implement and the Dutchman has prepared for the long haul and given sufficient warning to expect seismic events in this learning curve. However, Utd’s challenge is not just adoption of an unfamiliar formation or the more workable 4-3-3, there are a whole host of variables that muddy the water and will take considerable time to untangle and solve.
Current squad disjointed in quality and temperament
Angel Di Maria’s £60 million record arrival is not a magic bullet and just adds to the disjointed nature of Utd’s present squad. He was arguably Real Madrid’s most valuable player but he shared the spotlight surrounded by luminaries like Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Sami Khedira, and Isco. Utd’s midfield is carried by a talented but one paced Juan Mata, a decidedly underwhelming Tom Cleverley, and in more forward areas a bulkier, slower Rooney and injury prone, veteran RVP. A starvation zone occasionally relieved by dropped air supplies and twinkle toed Adnan Januzaj. Paul Scholes, legend, has never been so concerned. The club’s favourite whipping boys Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, and Nani all wide and wide eyed along with Anderson, remain on the books posing formidable offloading challenges.
United’s owners debt refinancing marginalizes player investment
In the eyes of many, the Glazers were never more than fly by night operators after their 2005 highly leveraged buyout. Such distrust fueled the failed Green and Gold insurrection to wrest control over to more traditional owners. Over the years, £700m has gone towards interest fees, bank charges and debt repayment. Most recently, the Glazers sold 5% of their class A shares, enriching their Red Football LLC investment fund and not publicly traded Utd. With Sir Alex Ferguson monotonously delivering trophies, the need for spending on players was glossed over. So was the fact that Anderson, Nani, and Cleverley were not going to be the next Scholes or Giggs. Utd also have no ready Southampton like conduit to homegrown talent dotting their squad. Di Maria’s price tag, notwithstanding, such financial distractions are lining the club owners pockets. For the fan, the decline of the Tampa Bay Bucs, the owners original NFL franchise is the more compelling byline.
A diminished glow with players reluctant to sign
Ed Woodward’s reign as club operations honcho has taken quite a beating with his difficulties landing transfers. The botched Anders Herrera deal, the failed pursuit of Cesc Fabregas and Tony Kroos, and now Arturo Vidal failing to be lured to Old Trafford have raised perception of a club struggling to attract players purely on their vaunted history as gauche City and Chelsea have moved ahead. Which raises the prospect the club could end up paying inflated transfer fees and wages to attract players. Di Maria is viewed by many along with Mata as desperation buys and sidetracks club’s more immediate needs for a spine of central midfielders not named Darren Fletcher or Michael Carrick and replacements for Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
Alex Ferguson’s legacy has its poisonous hangover
Van Gaal’s philosophy of long term gains with an uneven beginning clashes with the instant gratification fans are used to when tasting success. The 25 barren years before Sir Alex Fergsuon and Utd won their first league title is now viewed as an anomaly. The Scotsman had designated David Moyes as his successor and like the oracle his choice was thought infallible. Moyes was ousted nine months into his 6 year contracted tenure as fans turned against him after a string of home losses against sides Utd used to wipe their derrieres with and the club was forced to sack him. The more clear eyed although discontented with the club’s feeble mindedness were quick to overlook Moyes as a symptom and point to Sir Alex’s neglect in preparing the next generation of torch bearers. How much time Van Gaal has rebuilding depends on fans who are increasingly cognizant of this causation.
The club is danger of a bubble indexed to the stockmarket
Utd’s recent sponsorship deal with Adidas is worth an eye popping £750m which gives them enough every year to buy Di Maria’s with change to spare for the next 10 years. The club is financially on a roll, tripling profits and bringing down debt as reported in the last quarter. Utd trades on Wall Street and its share price is a series of points jagged by discrete events such as Moyes sacking or Van Gaal’s hiring or a string of losses. The lineage is impeccable and carries forward but the question is if Utd go through a prolonged dry spell how long will past success be awarded prospectively. If the club is not winning on the pitch, can its stable of sponsors and stakeholders hitch their wagons to a losing brand. Van Gaal’s desires maybe waylaid by irrational exuberance.
In comparison, City and Chelsea’s problems are fairly inconsequential. Liverpool’s is a captain liable to slip up (entirely uncalled for but oddly liberating), Arsenal’s bugbear is an alchemist in charge of everything; Spurs, eleven players, eleven agendas and a hard driving CEO riven with destructive impatience.