Manchester United Problem isn't it's Managers
Man United have sacked another manager, repeating a cycle of bust and boom but maybe the manager shouldn't be the one to blame.
Manchester United has officially hired Mauricio Pochettino as their next manager after firing Michael Carrick yesterday. This comes as United sit in the relegation zone after an abysmal start to the season. This adds to United's seemingly never ending cycle of hiring and firing managers with little stability at the club. So is the problem really the managers?
The fans think not. Many of the fans of the Red Devils speak out on a growing frustration on the ownership of the club. The club’s majority owners, the Glazer family, are being accused by fans of setting up the manager for failure. Over the summer, United needed a new defensive line and dominant striker to solve problems from last season and to be competitive in Champions League competition. But fans were shocked to see three rather unknown midfielders to be signed over the summer.
At a typical futbol club the manager has a say in who he wants signed and his tactics. At United the structure is a bit different. Carrick seemingly didn't have control over either of these things and was felt piecemealing his team together. The transfers and “futbol strategy” at Old Trafford is done by the Sports Director, Jason Wilcox, who has been in this role since 2024. Wilcox decides who the transfers are and has to get approval from the owners. This isn’t giving freedom or choice to a manager or setting them up for successful futbol. The fans have argued for years that the Glazers and their leadership have had way too much control over the inner workings of the club and are a part of the problem.
So what do the bosses at Manchester United need to do so Pochettino can be successful? To start they need to play his style of futbol. Pochettino needs to be one making the call on the transfers and he needs to determine the style of futbol the team will play. The Glazers and Wilcox shouldn’t have a say and need to stick to running the club. Pochettino needs to make big changes if they are going to get anything out of this season, so the leadership should change their approach as well. Pochettino will only make United successful if the leadership at Manchester United stay out of the futobl.