1. We squandered the advantage we have built up over 15 years when the Glazers bought the club in 2005 and went through a 5YR period with a positive net spend on transfers as a means to meet the PIK loan interest payments
2. Our success and reliance on one man has led to a complete lack of innovation and failure to implement modern football structures for coaching and recruitment
3. We have approached the post-SAF years with the niaive/insane assumption that this is a quick fix, which a manager and one or two new signings can fix. We still have this assumption now.
4. We fail to realise how deep the problems go. Basically, everything is wrong. We have no discernible style or system. It's January 3rd and we haven't yet scored a goal from a set piece.
5. We have players running down contracts, able to talk to other clubs and leave on a free. We have handed contracts to players for absolutely no reason I can think of (Juan Mata/Phil Jones)
6. We sign players and then have no idea what to do with them (Sancho, DvB).
7. Our wage structure is the most appalling mess I have ever seen. The amount we overpay players is insane. We have two geriatric forwards on £750,000 per week. Our two GKs earn £500K per week. A bit-part player who has had one good season and will be off shortly (Martial) has earnt significantly more than our captain and other senior players for a while now. Our forwards earn significantly more than our defenders and midfielders, which might explain why there seems to be a "divide".
8. We have been run for the last eight years by an accountant, and it shows. I apologise in advance to all accountants, who are generally very intelligent and skilled professionals, but in my experience make terrible strategic decisions because all they care about are the bottom line. Only an accountant would have run United the way we have been run recently.
9. The tail wags the dog at United. We have players in the dressing room with more power than the managers. This is something the fans can help with, even if only in a small way. We have to stop putting individuals above the collective. If the manager believes Ronaldo/Cavani/De Gea/Pogba etc...should be left out or moved on, then so be it, we have to support that. SAF was an expert at it. We have lost that recently.
10. The recruitment is just an absolute utter, stinking shambles. It's actually hard to believe we have managed to do this badly given the money we have spent and the wages we pay. When did we last make an objectively "good" signing? Why are we incapable of unearthing anybody half useful without having to spend £60m? Personally, I don't think the likes of AWB, Maguire, Bruno, Varane etc...are terrible signings...but they were obvious signings, and cost us top dollar as a result. Where are the £20m bargains here and there to fill the squad out? I get we are Man Utd, clubs see us coming and add a zero, but that just means we have to get better at identifying talent earlier, or players who might have a contractual situation (release clause/expiration) that makes them easier to buy on the cheap. This approach of breaking the bank for one or two players every year isn't working. We fix one pothole temporarily and another opens up down the street. We need 4-6 senior signings per Summer window for 2/3 seasons now.
11. On the subject of utter, stinking shambles, our constant failure to cash in on players is a disgrace. Again, it's so bad its untrue. It's hard to believe that paid professionals are responsible when I believe a chimp drawing names out of a bag to sell on could do better. Why did we not sell Lingard in the Summer if we are not going to use him? Same with DvB. Why have we not cashed in on Pogba? Why is Henderson, a potential £50m asset, sat rotting on the bench? Why have we given away so many players over the years who we could have earnt good money for and balanced the books? Our Academy is prolific, so many of our ex-players feature regularly in the top two divisions, but how many have we received a fee for? It's so frustrating because it's so mind-numbingly obvious what needs to be done and it's so easy to fix. We have to get better at moving players on because that in-turn helps us bring in the quality we need. We need to stop with this romantic vision of the Academy producing first XI players. That should be viewed as an absolute bonus but a rarity. The Academy should be viewed as a way of filling out the 23 man squad and as a way of making money to buy first XI players.