Apparently United are rebuilding. If our former players are to be believed, the rebuild will take three years to complete, others suggest maybe five years. Thereafter, United are expected to be competing for top honours again.
In truth, all this is nothing more than nonsense. United's rebuild has not even started and years of decline are likely to come before the rebuild even begins.
Liverpool is often used as the comparison for how long it will take for United's rebuild to take. Commentators and fans alike cite the four years that it has taken Jurgen Klopp to turn Liverpool into European Champions and serious Premier League title contenders again, but such comparisons are completely mad and here's is why:
- The Glazers remain in charge and are not going anywhere - Liverpool's rebuild did not start with Klopp, it started with Fenway Sports Group in 2010. By any objective assessment the words 'rebuild' and 'Glazers' cannot be seriously mentioned in the same sentence. For United to have any hopes of moving forward as a football club, it is universally excepted that the Glazers, whose driving motivation is commercial profit, rather than on-filed success, have to go (just as Gillette and Hicks had to depart Liverpool). Point to make here is that rebuilds start with the right ownership
- It takes time and patience find the right manager to take you forward - people often point to the time it has taken Klopp to rebuild Liverpool. However, FSG sacked three managers Hodgson, Dalglish and Rogers before appointing Klopp. In other words, it took them five years to appoint the right manager and they had to wait a further four years (nearly a decade) for their first major trophy (that's if you discount the EFL Cup won under Dalglish in 2011). The point to make here is that, even with the right ownership, you sometimes need to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.
- Nothing can be built in a climate of uncertainty - Let's cut to the chase, there is a very real prospect that Ole will not be United manager next season. Until there is genuine stability at United there will be nothing to build upon. By contrast Liverpool stuck with Klopp after an initial period of real uncertainty, where it seemed like the fans where starting to turn against him. The point here is that if United are serious about a rebuild they will have to appoint a manager, stick to him and see it through.
- Recruitment is not about money spent it is about money spent wisely - United are one of the richest clubs in the world and yet since Sir Alex Ferguson left, our record in the transfer market has been woeful. It is not that money has not been spent, it is that it has been spent poorly. FSG made similar mistakes in the beginning wasting millions on the likes of Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Mario Balotelli and more. However, on balance and particularly under Klopp, their transfer business has been outstanding. By contrast, on balance United transfer business has been more miss than hit and average at best
In short, it is time to stop comparing United's 'rebuild' with Liverpool's, there is no comparison. It took ten years for Liverpool's rebuild to produce results and that was only after new owners, committed to the club's success, took charge.