I don't disagree with any of that, but if you searched some variation of "hire a qualified manager" you'll see a set of posters who seem convinced that the only issue at the club is that we've hired the wrong manager, five times on the bounce.
Do you really think anybody here, however much blame they put on the manager, think recruitment or ownership/hierarchy, or the players are blameless?
Recruitment is the most obvious one. Not had a good full season from an RB since Valencia in 2016-18, and before that Rafael 11 seasons ago. There's been a gaping hole at RW, in theory since AdM left, in practice since Fergie retired. CM recruitment has been a shambles for over a decade and that area a massive problem in Ferguson's last two seasons. In some cases, like RW, the club and successive managers have simply refused to fill the gap and relied on players out of position, until finally spending a ton of money on a dud. At RB the hiring has been short-sighted and just poor, and at CM there's been insane amounts of money spent to buy square pegs for round holes...again and again and again.
The only positions that were held at a high standard for more than a season by the same player are LW, LB, AM, CB, one of two CM positions, and GK. Season-to-season chaos at the other CM, RB, RW, and ST.
But it is also true that, last season, EtH had a sensible formula which more-or-less catered to the player's strengths and covered their weaknesses. Casemiro and Eriksen are old, so both stay back and cover each other, with Fred coming in for extra energy if needed. Bruno likes spamming through balls so Rashford keeps making runs in behind. Shaw takes the overlap. Antony doesn't have much attacking edge but balances the flank with work rate, allowing Dalot forward. Varane and Martinez complement each other very well, and together cover everything you would want from a CB duo. Marital has occasional glimpses of form between injuries and does a decent job holding the ball and combining with Rashford. With a few obvious upgrades (a younger passer to replace Eriksen, a better RB, striker), that's a good and balanced team.
ETH, of his own volition, has ripped up the script. Casemiro is old and slow? Too bad! Lone DM is what he must be. Eriksen and Mount are injured? The great McTominay will play as one of two number 10s. Varane is relatively fast and allows a high line which makes sense with the way that "midfield" is set up? No, Maguire and a deep block is the way forward, and yes, it's 5 attackers in a 4-1-4-1 and a CB most comfortable in deep back line, that makes sense! A teenager who gets outmuscled by a breeze is at RW? The RB will make suicidal overlapping runs and leave a crater-sized hole at the back.
It's nonsense. There's no clear first XI. There's an insane plan of brainless attacking that must be obeyed. More contempt for possession than Mourinho. There are obvious and massive form issues (Rashford, Casemiro, Varane, Martial) but the pre-season was bad, the start of the season was very rough, everything since has been awful, yet the plan is constant.
The only comparison I can make with the other managers is Jose's last season. A blueprint that worked decently in the previous season ripped apart, feuds with half the squad, inexplicable lineups, square pegs in round holes, and stubbornness.
If the manager is making decisions that look sane but don't get results, I think most fans will be more tolerant. But if there's stubbornness about insanity, at least for me, that's a red flag.
I think Moyes mostly picked the XIs I would have picked. But clearly something had broken.
LvG's insistence on Rooney at 10 was awful, but the rest of the team usually made sense, all the way to the end. He had by far the best exit of any of these.
Jose went out benching the half of the squad that could actually play football, subbing them on, sometimes with good results (Newcastle and Juve), but picking another fight and repeating it for the next game. Bitter dour end.
Ole picked mostly sensible teams with the impossible constraint of having to fit Ronaldo and Bruno in a squad without a good DM or CBs.
Genuinely no memory of Ralf.
