so it's not on any of the players? this has been coming for a long time now. As Luckhurst points out, coming second had much to do with empty stadiums
I genuinely don't understand that line of reasoning. Can someone please explain how exactly empty stadiums benefitted Manchester United specifically, in a way it did not with other clubs? Because otherwise, Occams razor would suggest this is not so much an argument as a convenient way to prevent the team's relative success last year from interfering with the conclusion that OGS was less than able.
Nevertheless, I think that conclusion is correct - the team collapse this season speaks for itself in that regard. But that doesn't change the fact that for quite long stretches, he got very good performances out of this squad. It's not just last year's second place finish, but also not least the long unbeaten run from February onwards the previous season, where we played some really wonderful football. Also, I think there are some strong indications that Carrick and McKenna provided more than they are being credited for; witness Rangnick's troubles without them.
OGS clearly hit the wall and was not capable of taking this team further, and ultimately became a victim of his own man management and stylistic pragmatism in particular. But the fact he ended up with problems he couldn't solve also points to other weaknesses in the club - contract policy, a lack of joined-up recruitment, too many unaddressed weaknesses in the squad, a general lack of direction. The success he had just depended too much on too few factors to be sustainable. I remain convinced the transfer window in the summer of 2020 was a huge missed opportunity to build on and solidify the huge progress of the preceding half-season. If we oversimplify this to the club having had two incapable managers, I think there's a risk we attach too little importance to the other things that badly need fixing.