Has United become a big club with a small club mentality?

[SaintMuppet]

Ole has done a good impression of the ruthless part clearing out some of the overpaid and under-performing players......we just forgot to replace them

I blame the money men for not replacing them...

I am in 2 minds about Ole, his actions in dropping/selling players are what we need but when I see him on the bench looking scared and unsure what to do I think the opposite.

Maybe as others have said he should really be upstairs as DOF.

 

[fergiesarmy1]

I blame the money men for not replacing them...

I am in 2 minds about Ole, his actions in dropping/selling players are what we need but when I see him on the bench looking scared and unsure what to do I think the opposite.

Maybe as others have said he should really be upstairs as DOF.

I think he is more qualified to be a manager than a DOF, amazes me when clubs appoint a former player as a director of football with no previous experience except playing football like Cech. Most of these ballers let their agents go everything for them when playing but then want to play like businessmen once they hang up their boots.

Just seems weird to me.

 

[SaintMuppet]

I think he is more qualified to be a manager than a DOF, amazes me when clubs appoint a former player as a director of football with no previous experience except playing football like Cech. Most of these ballers let their agents go everything for them when playing but then want to play like businessmen once they hang up their boots.

Just seems weird to me.

You may be right!

The thing is none of us really have a clue, we like to think we could do things better when really all we are is untested opinions.

 

[fergiesarmy1]

You may be right!

The thing is none of us really have a clue, we like to think we could do things better when really all we are is untested opinions.

Be like letting me run a boozer because I spent 20 years drinking in it, can’t see what can possibly go wrong

 

[SaintMuppet]

Be like letting me run a boozer because I spent 20 years drinking in it, can’t see what can possibly go wrong

As long as I can have a ‘tab’ nothing

 

[croadyman]

I am surprised you say that because Ole has always maintained that our strikers need to be more ruthless, that is being critical of the strikers saying boys, you need to do better.

He has always been giving constructive criticism in public, I can only imagine in private he is getting at them.

I was referring to when he keeps saying in public that we have been unlucky in the last three games whereas if we created more then we wouldn't have to rely on luck to win games

 

[MikeKing]

I was referring to when he keeps saying in public that we have been unlucky in the last three games whereas if we created more then we wouldn't have to rely on luck to win games

Some teams need more luck than others to win, and we're not the type of team that wins games when things are going against you. You do create your own luck, but we've been particularly unlucky. We should have had 3 clear penalties that have not been given. Assume we score them and thats 3 vital goals, potentially and most likely leading to 3 points in the games in question. Anyways, what do you expect him to say? A football manager giving a positive spin on a few dropped points is hardly a shocker is it, and it shouldn't be something to read that much into really.

 

[jem]

But surely, aren't fans the most important part of any club? Where would the revenue generating potential of United be without fans? Where would the prestige of playing at Old Trafford be without fans? Where would the global brand value of United be without fans? I would strongly argue that the reason why Ole is 'at the wheel' is because of our fans (an attempt by the board to appease us). I would add that whilst the views expressed here, definitely do reflect those of fans, more specifically they reflect views expressed by many former United players, contributors to fan channels and supporters on the terraces.

In response to your question, nowhere does my OP say that Ole expects to finish sixth? I have no idea what Ole's end of season expectations might be. The reference to where United might finish is based on views that have been expressed by former players, vloggers, bloggers and supporters themselves. These are a matter of public record. Surely you are not disputing them?

It still doesn't really add up, especially when there is hardly any kind of consensus amongst fans on here (Redcafe is my point of reference as I don't frequent other sites nor attend games.) If anything, it seems very polarized between the optimists who think we need to be patient with this latest team build, and the pessimists who feel we're heading towards mediocrity. However, neither of those viewpoints really point to a small club mentality (the former would seem to align itself with the notion that building a great side needs time, a view which I imagine the likes of Fergie would espouse; while the latter has a slightly entitled sense that finishing in the top 4 is some kind of birthright for United, which, however misguided it might be, seems to be the exact opposite of a small club mentality.)

I tend to align more with those who feel we need to be patient and find players who really want to play for United. Now, those kinds of players may well come from smaller clubs, but as Liverpool have shown, players of real class can be found playing for mid-to-lower table teams (Mane, VVD, Wynaldum and Robertson being the prime examples.)

Finally, of course fans are important to the club but I wouldn't say they are the club - Newcastle is a good example of this.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Gross incompetence at the board level. No footballing brain and random decisions, be it about players or managers. Nothing is planned. It is just reactive.
After the disastrous summer transfer, Woodward has no business being in charge.

 

[Winmove]

1. The ambition is always the same, winning the league. Over the years we're outspending, signing world class players to help us achieve that ambition. We failed, so this season we have to change a bit.

2. We made excuses before, now we are taking actions by getting rid of the deadwood. The foundation has been laid and we the rebuilding process is at its early phase. The games we dropped points this season isn't just pure excuses, it was really something doesn't click yet. We're unlucky and punished for it.

3. We can spend and will spend, but this time we're taking a different recruitment approach. Finding the right payers, not just big names. If we're lacking any signings this season it's because we're giving space and freedom for the current backbone to grow.

4. We talk about them because they are our rivals at top, because we should be at the top. We compare them because they ran the club better at the moment, and wondering why can't we achieve the same.

5. Yes we are in danger of becoming Liverpool before their 6th European title. Currently we are still the biggest club in BPL and should be proud of that. We are in danger, but let's hope we can steadily change that now. Patience.

3.

1. The ambition is now top 4 finish , we werent outspending , infact our net spend is among the lowest in EPL for the last 7 years , our spending / turnover is literally among the lowest, we can actually spend 5x more and still making profit. A big club should act like a big club such as even if their expensive signing failed , they will spend another expensive signing. Take a look at Barcelona, Coutinho failed, they spend on De Jong, Dembele failed, they spend on Griezmann , they don't care about saving money. While we replace our expensive signing with average academy graduate.

2.We aren't getting rid of our deadwood, deadwood is player who went to much lesser team than us such as Januzay to Real Sociedad. Lukaku , Herrera, Sanchez, none of them are deadwood. We still keep our deadwood and also give them pay rise because it's much cheaper than buying a new one.

3. We hire Ole, a manager with relegation in his CV , someone like him will never attract a world class player, the reason why Glazer appoint him is so He can help them save their money and become their mouth piece.

4. And that will continue for decade as long Glazer is still here, they have suck out 1.8B out of the club and invest 0.

5. Even Leicester are better team than us at the moment , history shouldn't only make you proud, it also should be our benchmark, we were better before and we should do everything to reach that again.

 

[The Siege]

No to OP. Most United fans just don't have any idea on how to cope with loss, and the constant flow of trophies across our lifetimes makes it hard for us to realise that big clubs have hard stints that can go far worse than ours. Sure there's been a lot of transfer related incompetency, but let's face it, that existed during our happy years too. We're eventually going to find a manager-squad balance that suits us, but an exploration phase is unavoidable.

 

[PieCrust]

There’s no such thing as a big club with a small club mentality. We are not a big club anymore, we are an historical club like Milan or Arsenal. We can’t attract the top talents and we haven’t challenged for any top title, never mind winning, for several years now.

We’ve became a medium club that no one in their right mind will include as a serious aspirant to any major title.

Of course we may come back to being competitive club but the true big clubs don’t allow themselves to fail so bad for so long, at least not this way when our management seem so comfortable with failure.

By big clubs I mean Madrid, Bayern, Barca, Juve. The real big clubs, can anyone imagine those clubs acting the way we are under our circumstances?

This is the correct state of things.

 

[AgentP]

We've just appointed 4 wrong managers, and recruitment has been handled badly.

And now people think that 4 managers is a lot, when it isn't...

Imagine if you had 4 girlfriends and each one was wrong - you wouldn't give up on women or marry the 4th one because she 'deserves time', or at least you shouldn't!

If you went back and simply appointed a Pochettino, an Allegri or a Klopp and then gave them 250m over a few windows Utd would be fine.

It's the cluelessness of the Glazers and the ridiculously sentimental fanbase that is preventing the simple and easy path to success being taken.

Agreed. Getting the right man to replace Fergie would have made things so much easier. We should have laid the groundwork and got one of Pep or Klopp. Even now if it doesn't work out with Ole (I sincerely hope Ole can make it work), then we should get Poch or some other top upcoming manager like Erik Ten Hag.

 

[Fergie's gum]

Arguing about the proper strategy which should have been taken post Fergie is pointless. Even if we'd got Pep he wouldn't have been backed and would have left by now. We are in this mess because the owners put profits over success. Nothing to do with small club mentality, everything to do with maximising profit.

 

[romufc]

Our problem is that we have mediocrity throughout the club - leech owners, a useless CEO that doesn't know anything about football, a poor squad, an in-experienced manager that wouldn't be close to the job he's in, had he not played for us...everything screams 'poor'.

What we do have over others is the potential to outspend on transfers/wages and the name/history - problem is that the name is fading rapidly and good players won't want to join a team that has no hope in challenging, with a manager that seems out of his depth and could be sacked soon (certainly isn't the draw a Pep/Klopp has). We were told we wouldn't believe who wanted to join us...either that was rubbish or we weren't willing to spend (I suspect both). So take away the financial muscle and decent team and we are not an attractive proposition at all.

As for your steps, if we weren't trying to recruit players that fit the bill before, then I'd be even more worried....I mean, which club doesn't do that?!? We've also been getting rid of players that weren't good enough for a long time too...getting rid of Schneiderlin, Falcao, Schweinsteiger etc didn't make us magically better and neither will Darmian and Smalling leaving. Ultimately the attitude of "We are Manchester United" just doesn't have the weight it did. Frankly without us throwing money, we are left in the position that every other club is in...hoping that youth players step up and the ability to unearth gems that aren't household names. Thing is, that's what Everton/Leicester forums will be saying and every single club in the PL are trying to do. The way our club is run gives me absolutely zero confidence that it's all going to work out - I like the signings we made but I also rate a lot of the signings other clubs have made...we did nowhere near enough IMO and we don't have the ambition to challenge City/Liverpool. As long as the club is generating money, I don't see things changing at the top, so this fabled rebuild will not happen for a long time.

I would say we are probably less desirable to join than the likes of Everton, Leicester in the current market. I know we got Maguire but that is the kind of signing needed, one who believes he can help the team and squad. He has been saying all the right things about making us hard to beat at home etc..

We are probably with Newcastle the worst run club in the premier league and some championship clubs too, which says something. The owners can be leeches but if they spending money on the team then it is somewhat fair.

Do you think we have been signing players that fit the bill?
Prior to this season, we signed CB's but none of them could play LCB.
We signed in Fred that we still don't know what he is? box to box? DM?
We signed Sanchez who played inside left forward for Arsenal when we had Martial and Rashford.
We signed a young RB in Dalot when we needed a starting 11 RB

 

[romufc]

I was referring to when he keeps saying in public that we have been unlucky in the last three games whereas if we created more then we wouldn't have to rely on luck to win games

Every team needs luck. We have created 5th most chances in the league and conceded the least amount of chances.

Watch Liverpool play, they have had the luck where the opponents dominate them for 20 mins create 3/4 chances not take them, liverpool get 1 and goal. Then the game becomes easy for them, when a team scores against the run of play it takes alot of confidence out a team.

Manutd have a mental problem when they get pegged back they do not find an extra gear.

 

[Rafaeldagold]

Yep for sure we have.

Replaced Herrera & Fellini with nobody.

Replaced Lukaku with nobody.

Have a manager who’s done nothing in the game.

We’re still & always will be one of the most famous clubs in England but we sure aren’t acting like it which is a shame. Our club deserves more

 

[Fluctuation0161]

1. The ambition is always the same, winning the league. Over the years we're outspending, signing world class players to help us achieve that ambition. We failed, so this season we have to change a bit.

2. We made excuses before, now we are taking actions by getting rid of the deadwood. The foundation has been laid and we the rebuilding process is at its early phase. The games we dropped points this season isn't just pure excuses, it was really something doesn't click yet. We're unlucky and punished for it.

3. We can spend and will spend, but this time we're taking a different recruitment approach. Finding the right payers, not just big names. If we're lacking any signings this season it's because we're giving space and freedom for the current backbone to grow.

4. We talk about them because they are our rivals at top, because we should be at the top. We compare them because they ran the club better at the moment, and wondering why can't we achieve the same.

5. Yes we are in danger of becoming Liverpool before their 6th European title. Currently we are still the biggest club in BPL and should be proud of that. We are in danger, but let's hope we can steadily change that now. Patience.

3.

If you think our boards ambition is to win the league every season you've not been paying attention.

It definitely should be our ambition, in line with the size of our club and revenue generated. But it's not.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

I think a lot of fans just want to have positivity spoon fed to them, rather than face reality. Look in all the summer transfer threads (and also ones criticising anybody at the club) and you see the tune change from "it's bollocks" that we'll spend £100m or not replace players leaving to "it's part of the master plan".

My favourite story was how the Glazers "have bought into Ole's vision of youth" over costly experienced, proven players...I spat out my metaphorical drink when I read that but again people lap it up and go along with it. Said it earlier but we look like 90's Liverpool fans at the minute saying "next year is our year". Everyone else is laughing at us.

If you aren't worried about the club's direction and think it's all going to plan, then IMO you aren't looking hard enough.

Totally agree.

 

[Nr.7]

First I have to say that I dont consider Liverpool a big club, I consider them an historical important club. They have to continue they good form for some years for me to consider them a top club, right now its just a good patch after winning the UCL.

Now regarding the others;

Juve went 9 years without winning the league but before the fraud scandal they never end lower than 3rd in the league. Their situation is special since they got a really rough patch when they were relegated to Serie B and lost a bunch of players, but they bounce back in only 4 seasons.

Madrid has won the league 1 time in 7 seasons, but they usually get the second place and never had fallen more than the third place, and uhm yeah I dont know if you noticed they've won 4 champions leagues in the last 6 years.

Bayern are you serious? they have won 15 bundesliga titles in the last 20 years...maybe you are talking about their huge crisis from 2010-2012 whey they end up 2nd and 3rd.

Our average position for the last 6 years hasnt even been top 4, and most important than that we are not even competing or bulding ourselves to compete. The difference between those clubs and us is the ambition.

Madrid won 3 straight champions leagues, they failed in the UCL last season and end up 2nd in the league so what do they do? they spent 300 millions this summer.
Juventus has won 7 straight leagues and what did they do? they bought Ronaldo, Ramsey, Pellegrini, De Ligt...
Bayern has won god knows how many straight bundesliga titles and they didnt even spent that much or change their squad and still had a better summer than us buying Lucas Hernandez, Pavard, Coutinho, Perisic, etc.

The reality is those clubs have different standard than us, their deffinition of crisis is very different from us. You wont ever see a manager of Madrid, Bayern or Juventus saying that top 4 is the goal.

This is all true, but also it’s a bit easier for those clubs not to drop bellow 3rd place in Bundesliga, La liga and Seria A than it is in the PL.

 

[croadyman]

Agreed. Getting the right man to replace Fergie would have made things so much easier. We should have laid the groundwork and got one of Pep or Klopp. Even now if it doesn't work out with Ole (I sincerely hope Ole can make it work), then we should get Poch or some other top upcoming manager like Erik Ten Hag.

Unfortunately Pep did not understand what Fergie tried to ask him in 2012,then of course we have Woody selling Utd as an adult Disneyland which totally put Klopp off us for good.

 

[Suv666]

The ambition is always to win the league. Unfortunately we are far away from that and know that it isnt something that can be solved in 1 summer, so you take it 1 step at a time and outline a plan of how you'll get back to the top. Its just being realistic about the situation.

The problem is we keep going backwards. With the sale of Herrera, Fellaini, Lukaku and Sanchez one can argue our midfield and attack is worse than last year.

 

[Denis79]

The problem is we keep going backwards. With the sale of Herrera, Fellaini, Lukaku and Sanchez one can argue our midfield and attack is worse than last year.

Weaker on paper, I agree. In reality we still have to wait and see.

 

[Suv666]

Tbh I dont think we'll win the league as long as the Glazers are here. Its a fecking mess this club. Would take something really special to propel us back to the top.

 

[Suv666]

Weaker on paper, I agree. In reality we still have to wait and see.

Its a step in the right direction, getting rid of the mediocre players. But no top club in Europe would sell so many players without replacing them. Its like the board wants us to fail. Giving Ole an impossible task of securing 4th with kids.

 

[El Zoido]

We’re a big club with a big club mentality, run by people who don’t know how to run a football club.

 

[marktan]

For me it's simple - bring a manager like SAF in for a season or two - and you'd see just how quickly players would be given the boot. Even with Klopp or Pep - a lot of these players would be sold and better ones would've been brought in. The first person SAF would've binned is Ed Woodward.

 

[TRUERED89]

Unbelievable

We've been fighting over top 6 (not even top 4) for 6 years and United have the nerve to promote nonsense xG stats. The only stat that matters is GF & GA.

 

[Nanotron]

We've just appointed 4 wrong managers, and recruitment has been handled badly.

And now people think that 4 managers is a lot, when it isn't...

Imagine if you had 4 girlfriends and each one was wrong - you wouldn't give up on women or marry the 4th one because she 'deserves time', or at least you shouldn't!

If you went back and simply appointed a Pochettino, an Allegri or a Klopp and then gave them 250m over a few windows Utd would be fine.

It's the cluelessness of the Glazers and the ridiculously sentimental fanbase that is preventing the simple and easy path to success being taken.

Hahaha, this is a brilliant analogy.

 

[Judge Red]

We’re a massive club with a clown in charge who started off in the worst possible way (hiring Moyes) but somehow manages to dig the grave deeper every year.

 

[wolvored]

United are the biggest club in in the Premier League and one of the biggest in the world. Which measure do you want to use? History? Quality of players that have represented the club? Trophies won? Fan base? Brand value? Revenue generation? You name it, United are immense. Look at City today, as successful as they have been in recent years and as successful as they might become in future, it will take a lifetime before they get anywhere near United's success.

But here is the problem, United have become a big club with a small club mindset. Here are five examples of 'small club mentality' that United now exhibit:

• small clubs set themselves a floor not a ceiling - a floor is a level below which you do not want to fall, whilst a ceiling is the level to which you want to rise. Increasingly, the ambitions around United are being set lower and lower. We are aiming for fourth, but preparing to finish fifth and expecting to finish sixth. Constantly lowering expectations and settling for less is a classic sign of small club mentality.

• small clubs constantly making excuses for failure - if you are a small club you can blame your failings on lack of resources, lack of quality and not getting a fair crack of refereeing decisions. Now look at United and see how every possible excuse is being offered for failure. Just take a small sample of comments following the Palace and Southampton games, they are laughable.

• small clubs can't spend, don't spend or find reasons for not spending - just look at United's net spend in the summer window. For a club with the revenue generating potential of United and with realistic expectations that this club should have and with the improvements that need to be made in our first 11 (let alone our squad), a c£70m net spend is negligent.

• small clubs see themselves less relevant - in the grand scheme of things and by dint of size, small clubs see themselves as less relevant than clubs that are bigger. Again, just look at how United fans now talk about our club in the context of City and Liverpool. There is defeatism and resignation. We recognise our success in their failure.

• small clubs look to their last big success not their next great achievement - history is a wonderful thing in football. But when a club spends its time talking more about what it did last and less about what it needs to do next, that is not a good sign. I describe that as the 'Liverpool syndrome'. For years that club spent more time raking over past glories than their ability to create new ones. They became the smallest big club in world football and we are in danger of replacing them.

Any thoughts?

I think we are the 'Liverpool Syndrome' now. It has been 6 and coming up to 7 years since we last won a big trophy. Meanwhile Liverpool have grown immensely under Klopp and won the Ch Lge last season got to the final the year before, and was 1 point from winning the league last season as well. We came a distant 2nd once since Fergie.

 

[wolvored]

But surely, aren't fans the most important part of any club? Where would the revenue generating potential of United be without fans? Where would the prestige of playing at Old Trafford be without fans? Where would the global brand value of United be without fans? I would strongly argue that the reason why Ole is 'at the wheel' is because of our fans (an attempt by the board to appease us). I would add that whilst the views expressed here, definitely do reflect those of fans, more specifically they reflect views expressed by many former United players, contributors to fan channels and supporters on the terraces.

In response to your question, nowhere does my OP say that Ole expects to finish sixth? I have no idea what Ole's end of season expectations might be. The reference to where United might finish is based on views that have been expressed by former players, vloggers, bloggers and supporters themselves. These are a matter of public record. Surely you are not disputing them?

no that was because of the run of results. He was only supposed to get us through the season and I suspect a bid for Poch would have been made. Woody said we will have a bit of fun up to the end of the season and was probably expecting the form we are showing now; attacking football with little end product. Whether Ole can remedy this, is another thing entirely.

 

[Raven96__]

United became a big club under SAF.

Now that hes gone the club is struggling obviously, I always believed he created Manchester United, and I knew whenever he leaves the club wont be the same again.

To answer your question, Yes.

Solution: squad overhaul.

 

[Jaqen H'ghar]

United are the biggest club in in the Premier League and one of the biggest in the world. Which measure do you want to use? History? Quality of players that have represented the club? Trophies won? Fan base? Brand value? Revenue generation? You name it, United are immense. Look at City today, as successful as they have been in recent years and as successful as they might become in future, it will take a lifetime before they get anywhere near United's success.

But here is the problem, United have become a big club with a small club mindset. Here are five examples of 'small club mentality' that United now exhibit:

• small clubs set themselves a floor not a ceiling - a floor is a level below which you do not want to fall, whilst a ceiling is the level to which you want to rise. Increasingly, the ambitions around United are being set lower and lower. We are aiming for fourth, but preparing to finish fifth and expecting to finish sixth. Constantly lowering expectations and settling for less is a classic sign of small club mentality.

• small clubs constantly making excuses for failure - if you are a small club you can blame your failings on lack of resources, lack of quality and not getting a fair crack of refereeing decisions. Now look at United and see how every possible excuse is being offered for failure. Just take a small sample of comments following the Palace and Southampton games, they are laughable.

• small clubs can't spend, don't spend or find reasons for not spending - just look at United's net spend in the summer window. For a club with the revenue generating potential of United and with realistic expectations that this club should have and with the improvements that need to be made in our first 11 (let alone our squad), a c£70m net spend is negligent.

• small clubs see themselves less relevant - in the grand scheme of things and by dint of size, small clubs see themselves as less relevant than clubs that are bigger. Again, just look at how United fans now talk about our club in the context of City and Liverpool. There is defeatism and resignation. We recognise our success in their failure.

• small clubs look to their last big success not their next great achievement - history is a wonderful thing in football. But when a club spends its time talking more about what it did last and less about what it needs to do next, that is not a good sign. I describe that as the 'Liverpool syndrome'. For years that club spent more time raking over past glories than their ability to create new ones. They became the smallest big club in world football and we are in danger of replacing them.

Any thoughts?

You've put a lot of thought in this and it shows. I agree with you on all points.

To add my 2 cents I think that, being run by a business oriented board, the football has taken a back seat. Shortcomings on the pitch are only as serious as their effect on profits and brand value.

Priorities for the board and for the fans converge on some points but are very different.

Edit: spelling

 

[TRUERED89]

I think we are the 'Liverpool Syndrome' now. It has been 6 and coming up to 7 years since we last won a big trophy. Meanwhile Liverpool have grown immensely under Klopp and won the Ch Lge last season got to the final the year before, and was 1 point from winning the league last season as well. We came a distant 2nd once since Fergie.

Hahah i’d say it’s a combined “Liverpool & Arsenal Syndrome” totally stuck on past glories and just can’t get our sh!t together.

 

[Denis79]

Its a step in the right direction, getting rid of the mediocre players. But no top club in Europe would sell so many players without replacing them. Its like the board wants us to fail. Giving Ole an impossible task of securing 4th with kids.

Completely agree, I like the transfer strategy but unsure if it was wise to cut so much from the team without replacements. I've said it several times on here but I really hope Woodwards minimum expectation isn't a top 4 finish, it's not reasonable considering the exodus of players.

 

[ColvaleGoa]

I would just add that we have to give Ole a chance. He has got a plan and hopefully we just have to sit some bad results before things fall into their place.
We are showing signs but it's not the finished product yet. We have to be patient, if by that you say making excuses than so be it.

One thing I will add is that our recruitment is still very amateurish. We will be back and soon.

 

[Von Mistelroum]

My worry is that we're very slowly going to become a far smaller club than we are. We can't possibly maintain our sponsors with the way we perform and our likely destination as a mid table side. There's very little to be excited about from a fan's point of view and this will inevitably see fewer new fans coming in over time, with the opposite being true of sides like City, Liverpool etc. We're so far behind and so entrenched in our current ways that I don't see us changing in the ways that we really need to anytime soon and that could be disastrous.

 

[Thoms]

I worry a lot about our future. We are a football club being run like a business. Our squad has little quality and it gets worse year after year. We don’t seem to have the attraction anymore to big name talents/players and we have lost our identity on the pitch. Our board is a joke and we clearly need a DoF. Future looks grey.