Today, Manchester City have announced Pep Guardiola as their manager from the next season onwards. I think this marks a very significant moment in the history of the Premier League, and in the history of the Manchester Clubs, albeit for different reasons. I think today is the day one will look back to and say, that was the decisive moment when the power truly shifted in Manchester, and that was the day when Manchester United truly started down on their downward spiral.
The above article states United's complacency in handling the youth academy - while we stare at 12 consecutive defeats for the Under-18s at Carrington, City's younglings are becoming the best in the country. THey have a shiny new stadium with 6000 seats and superior coaches to handle the kids, and it is no co-incidence that RVP, Darren Fletcher, Phil Neville and Andy Cole have sent their sons to City's academy instead. We let it happen, we were complacent and did not keep up with their pace.
Now, we are paying the price.
The youth academy is one symptom of the larger malaise of complacency and poor decisions. While some on the caf (and even in the punditry boxes) believed that a knee-jerk move for Pep could materialize, City were quietly working behind the scenes since 2012. Today, they've succeeded in securing the best manager in world football. While United have dithered and parried and botched up their managerial choices since SAF in a comedy of errors and inexplicably poor set of decisions, City have quietly surged ahead. We made a mistake in signing Moyes and LVG, and we made a mistake by not securing Klopp, Ancelotti, Pep or the likes when they were available as an upgrade. Perhaps we tried, but it wasn't good enough. For a club with our ambitions, it had to be.
Gary Neville got it right: “The average lifespan of a manager is going down by the year. But with a director of football there is far less upheaval and the identity of the club, continuity of the majority of the staff and link between youth and first team remains intact.” While City were making giant strides in terms of building a long-term organizational structure, we have been trying to shoehorn Scots and Dutchmen into SAF's shoes and expecting it to work. Sacking LVG is not a long term solution. Like a thread dedicated to DoF argues, what will we do when Mourinho comes in, reshuffles the squad again for 250m, and then fails? What then? Another manager? Another set of players? A structure is necessary, we haven't addressed it.
The last line of the above article is shocking: "If Derby turn United over, and outrage flares again, Van Gaal’s future will rest with Woodward, maybe Arnold, and two Glazer brothers. No one else."
Essentially, post-SAF, our decisions are being made by money men, and money men only.
United are 92nd in terms of shots on target in England. We haven't scored a first half goal at Old Trafford in ages. We are struggling to make top four, and with City, Arsenal and Chelsea being assured of the top four for the next few seasons, and Kane-inspired Spurs and Klopp-inspired Pool fighting for fourth, we might struggle to make the equation. Apart from Martial and DDG, (the latter might leave), we have no top players in our squad despite spending millions. Who will take responsibility for this? Ed?
Ed's first responsiblity in a footballing role came in 2012, just four years ago, when he was added to the Board of Directors and made executive vice-chairman of the club. Today, he virtually runs the club. What else can expect but disaster from a man so inexperienced in both transfers and footballing objectives? We have taken a knife to a gunfight, and are being shredded to ribbons ever since. We need better men to run the club.
The issues will take time to repair. We won't get better in a year or two, even if we make all the right moves. It will take a while for a youth academy to be revamped and start flourishing again. It will take time for a new DoF to come to grips with his new task, if we do finally realize the issues and hire one. It will take time for whatever new signings the club makes to bed in, it will take time for a stable starting XI to start working together under whatever footballing goals our club has. It wil take time to replace the Vidics, the Rios, the Scholesys, the Giggsys, the Rooneys, and maybe even the DDGs. It will take time to find the right manager to do so, and it will take time for him to get us playing well again.
All this, if we DO make the right decisions. We aren't, not under Woodward and LVG. In fact, we are following up blunders with more blunders, no matter what the reasons. To get out of the grave, we have to stop digging first. That will take time, too.
As of now, and for the foreseeable future, Manchester is indeed blue. And we are going down the Liverpool way.
The above article states United's complacency in handling the youth academy - while we stare at 12 consecutive defeats for the Under-18s at Carrington, City's younglings are becoming the best in the country. THey have a shiny new stadium with 6000 seats and superior coaches to handle the kids, and it is no co-incidence that RVP, Darren Fletcher, Phil Neville and Andy Cole have sent their sons to City's academy instead. We let it happen, we were complacent and did not keep up with their pace.
Now, we are paying the price.
The youth academy is one symptom of the larger malaise of complacency and poor decisions. While some on the caf (and even in the punditry boxes) believed that a knee-jerk move for Pep could materialize, City were quietly working behind the scenes since 2012. Today, they've succeeded in securing the best manager in world football. While United have dithered and parried and botched up their managerial choices since SAF in a comedy of errors and inexplicably poor set of decisions, City have quietly surged ahead. We made a mistake in signing Moyes and LVG, and we made a mistake by not securing Klopp, Ancelotti, Pep or the likes when they were available as an upgrade. Perhaps we tried, but it wasn't good enough. For a club with our ambitions, it had to be.
Gary Neville got it right: “The average lifespan of a manager is going down by the year. But with a director of football there is far less upheaval and the identity of the club, continuity of the majority of the staff and link between youth and first team remains intact.” While City were making giant strides in terms of building a long-term organizational structure, we have been trying to shoehorn Scots and Dutchmen into SAF's shoes and expecting it to work. Sacking LVG is not a long term solution. Like a thread dedicated to DoF argues, what will we do when Mourinho comes in, reshuffles the squad again for 250m, and then fails? What then? Another manager? Another set of players? A structure is necessary, we haven't addressed it.
The last line of the above article is shocking: "If Derby turn United over, and outrage flares again, Van Gaal’s future will rest with Woodward, maybe Arnold, and two Glazer brothers. No one else."
Essentially, post-SAF, our decisions are being made by money men, and money men only.
United are 92nd in terms of shots on target in England. We haven't scored a first half goal at Old Trafford in ages. We are struggling to make top four, and with City, Arsenal and Chelsea being assured of the top four for the next few seasons, and Kane-inspired Spurs and Klopp-inspired Pool fighting for fourth, we might struggle to make the equation. Apart from Martial and DDG, (the latter might leave), we have no top players in our squad despite spending millions. Who will take responsibility for this? Ed?
Ed's first responsiblity in a footballing role came in 2012, just four years ago, when he was added to the Board of Directors and made executive vice-chairman of the club. Today, he virtually runs the club. What else can expect but disaster from a man so inexperienced in both transfers and footballing objectives? We have taken a knife to a gunfight, and are being shredded to ribbons ever since. We need better men to run the club.
The issues will take time to repair. We won't get better in a year or two, even if we make all the right moves. It will take a while for a youth academy to be revamped and start flourishing again. It will take time for a new DoF to come to grips with his new task, if we do finally realize the issues and hire one. It will take time for whatever new signings the club makes to bed in, it will take time for a stable starting XI to start working together under whatever footballing goals our club has. It wil take time to replace the Vidics, the Rios, the Scholesys, the Giggsys, the Rooneys, and maybe even the DDGs. It will take time to find the right manager to do so, and it will take time for him to get us playing well again.
All this, if we DO make the right decisions. We aren't, not under Woodward and LVG. In fact, we are following up blunders with more blunders, no matter what the reasons. To get out of the grave, we have to stop digging first. That will take time, too.
As of now, and for the foreseeable future, Manchester is indeed blue. And we are going down the Liverpool way.
