 TEDDY’S CORNER

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Dear All

I am typing these words with mental pain, deep frustration, and a helpless feeling (all emanating from football disillusion of course) a few days after United got once again eliminated at an early stage of the Champions League. With nothing to play for by mid-March other than a very remote chance of making the 4th place, like most of you, I keep pondering how on earth is our team ever going to get back to those glorious, happy days. I fully understand that in life there is always a process for everything but when one factors in the 1 billion plus pounds spent on players since Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill left the Club and looks at the current status of our beloved football team, 9 years after this great tandem guided Manchester United to the last Premier League success, years during which Manchester United were supposed to start off the new process and have always been in transition, a few questions crop up – What progress has been done? Which players have developed their talent in the first team? Where did it all go wrong?

From where can I start? In 7 of these last 9 years, the so-called greatest football team in the world did not win a trophy (excluding the Community Shield won in David Moyes’ first game in charge). Regretfully 5 from these 7 have been the last 5 dreadful and frustrating ones. When I ask this question to myself, I get an explosion of thoughts in my mind. No long-term strategy, bad football decisions – managers and players, no leadership on and off the field, marketing and branding prioritised over the football focus, no real and tangible interest from the owners who clearly have no knowledge about the world of football. With Ole, something went wrong at the end and a section of the Man United fans, most of them being young age glory hunters thinking that what they could do on their PlayStation could be applied in the real world, blamed the manager. Today most of them are confused and have a different opinion - they are now blaming the players (decide please!). The hierarchy at Old Trafford brought in an interim manager till the end of the season with a subsequent two-year engagement, quasi-director of football role, as a consultant. Rangnick is very experienced and has nothing to prove to anyone. He brought with him a disciplined mentality which from the outside seemed to be lacking under Ole. However, in my opinion, the interim role does not really help the enforcement of discipline because some lazy prima donnas who are unfortunately wearing the shirt and representing the millions of fans world-wide do not really seem to be bothered knowing this guy is in charge on a temporary basis. How can someone bring a new manager at such a great football club but pre appoint his consultant in advance? Maybe the new manager doesn’t want Ralf as his consultant. Is the management so idiotic or is this a case of hiding what has already been pre agreed? I am pretty sure, at least

hope, the latter is the case. Being honest I have seen considerable improvement in our game configuration since the German took over and if the disinterested ones are replaced with some decent motivated acquisitions, I think the team could drastically improve. Personally, I have no objection if a decision is taken to keep Ralf at the helm. I believe he has the credentials to give this team its football identity back. But I do not think that this is an option. These owners cannot be that daft. The name of the new manager must be already known in the corridors of the penthouse but will only be announced when appropriate. For some reason I believe his nationality will be Dutch.

Liverpool 0-5. Watford 4-1. In both games under Ole we have seen the players throw in the towel while being dominated and humiliated. Fans blamed Ole. Man City 4-1. This one no big fuss really on the manager but the fans slaughtered the players. 8 draws in the Premier League so far. Knocked out by decent West Ham at home in League Cup (27 shots, 6 on target) – under Ole. Knocked out by modest Middlesbrough at home in the FA Cup (30 shots, 9 on goal) – under Ralf. Lost to dirty Atletico Madrid at home in the Champions League (11 shots, 5 on goal) - under Ralf. Taking away the managers from the equation, there are 2 significant take aways from these stats for me. 1. When the going gets tough on the pitch there is no leader in that dressing room to lift-up the team. I had high hopes about Harry Maguire, especially after his commanding displays with England in the UEFA Euro 2020. But now I honestly believe that removing the captain’s arm band from his sleeve as soon as possible would be a relief not just to the team and the fans but also a huge stress release for Harry himself. It is evident the huge responsibility is killing him mentally. He is becoming a laughingstock. There is no queue for it in my mind but from the current crop I would choose Scott. 2. United create a lot of scoring chances but fail to score hence we are in a desperate need for a prolific striker. If it wasn’t for Ronaldo the team would not even have made its way out of the group stage of the Champions League. So far, he has scored 18 goals in all competitions out of the 62 scored so far, most of them being crucial winners. Ronaldo is 37 years old and still going strong, but Man Utd needs a Van Persie, a Van Nistelrooy from somewhere, even at the cost of breaking the bank (won’t be the first time). But how good a proposition will Man Utd be next season if they are not in the Champions League? Seriously worrying times.

The breath of fresh air comes from the very promising group of youth players reaching the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 2011. United are the most successful club in this competition’s history, winning it on 10 occasions and reaching a further 4 finals. The youth policy has always been an essential building block and part of the heritage of this football club. In the past few years under Ole the youth system has been given a revamp and a lot of quality players have been brought in from all over the world. Now we look forward to seeing how many will emulate Elanga, McTominay and Greenwood (to mention the latest) from the likes of Jurado, Carrera, Mainoo, McNeill, Garnacho, Kambwala and the rest. Not forgetting the ones on loan – Garner, Pellestri, Diallo, etc. The success at this level must be part of the long-term strategy. The Busby Babes and Class of 92 are essential proof.

Rant over! No matter what, it’s always for the love and not for the glory so we will always keep that red flag flying high. Fingers crossed for the upcoming 9 finals.

Yours United Teddy