Systemic failures at Old Trafford led them to the wrong man last time around – and there is concern that those problems remain
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hen Manchester United embarked upon this season full of fresh hope and optimism, there was an unexpected note of caution from one of the best executives in the game. “It’s clear they don’t have a process,” the executive said of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new regime early in the season.
It was a stark pronouncement at odds with the consensus that Ruben Amorim, with a proper pre-season to bed in his tactical system and exciting signings, would be able to demonstrate his considerable abilities unencumbered by the hospital pass he had been given on his appointment in November 2024.
And yet it was United’s recruitment of Amorim that led this particular experienced hand to doubt the direction of United under Ratcliffe. Despite all the rhetoric of a brave new world after the Glazer handover of executive power, it was clear to some that United were embarking on the same institutional failures of the past in their choice of manager.
