An Unbroken Cycle

With the season approaching its two-month mark, no club finds itself in the same position as Manchester United. A promising transfer window finally gave ten Hag a chance to show his vision for the club.

Instead, the experiment seems on its last legs as United draws up terrible replacements.

Going into the start of the season, United seemed a safe bet to return to the Champions League. Especially with how well the team played towards the end of last season, ten Hag was poised to push them further. 

This past week deepened the crisis surrounding this squad. A terrible loss to Tottenham and a bad draw to Porto pushed ten Hag’s job back on the line. With yet another manager almost out of the door, United needs to figure out what this club’s vision is.

Successors for the Dutchman seem bleaker than before. Massimiliano Allegri is currently a favorite amongst various sources. Other potential successors, like Zidane, feel unrealistic.

For United fans, this season promises to be another disappointing one in a decades-long struggle to get back to the top.

As their rivals seamlessly replace managers, besides Chelsea, United risks becoming a mid-table side. 

Liverpool finding their next successful manager with such ease has got to sting for United fans. Just about every single one of their rivals, at one point or another, found success with their managerial appointments. 

PHOTO: Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United continue to struggle with their vision of the club. No total accounting of all their failures is necessary; rather, comparing them to their rivals is useful. As United exited the Fergie era, Liverpool seemed on the verge of breaking out of their banter era.

Before Klopp’s arrival, Liverpool languished between visions. There existed a framework of a competitive team, but Klopp’s vision powered them through. Using excellent scouting and prioritizing internal development, the Germans built a ferocious side. Almost every player thrived in an exciting and modern system.

To a t, this is what United hoped not only ten Hag but the carousel of managers would have done. The Dutchman arrived in Manchester promising to be United’s Klopp but will leave closer to Louis van Gaal.

ten Hag’s Ajax sides relied heavily on youth prospects with the correct veteran presence. All players flowed through the Dutchman’s system, which focused on stout defense and great attack. No matter which players left to join other clubs, his system stayed intact, and when he left, Ajax entered a downward spiral.

United promised to fit ten Hag like a glove, with ownership willing to spend and some promising talents. However, player recruitment hindered the club, with a multitude of flops littering the team. It also didn’t help that ten Hag’s system never truly translated to the Prem.

On paper, the ten Hag era pledged to revive the club like Klopp did for their rivals. However, this was United’s newest attempt in a long line of failures.

If United sack the Dutchman soon, the alternatives don’t truly seem great.

Perhaps the club sees the summer window as their best chance to make the managerial upgrade.

Currently, Massimiliano Allegri finds himself as the top choice for the United role. This, perhaps, reflects the absolute worst on the club. 

Allegri failed with a decent Juventus side last season, as his managerial style got exposed for being severely outdated. The manager’s record since returning back to Juve in the Ronaldo era disappoints all who look at it. At one point, the Italian deserved to be seen as one of the best managers in Europe, but now he is a shadow of himself.

Not only is the Italian washed, but he is also the manager clubs bring in when it’s time to push a team over the edge. When he first joined Juve, he replaced Antonio Conte so that the club could truly challenge in Europe. It worked, as Juventus finally reached the heights of the 1990s once more. 

However, he carefully avoided the needed rebuilds until the situation called for them. Once the rebuild came along, the manager was completely out of his league. Unable to both develop young players and update his tactics, Allegri became the bane of every Juve fan.

No world exists where the Italian fits in well at United, but outside Graham Potter, there’s no alternative. Zidane seems to be the dream of every United fan, but it’s clear the Frenchman is waiting for the correct opportunity. Perhaps an underdog arises the closer to summer it gets, but as of now, there’s no hope.

United finds itself with a manager who is out of time and has no option to right the ship.

Summer promises to be the real opportunity for change, but will it be too late?

It feels that this week marks the end of the tumultuous ten Hag era. The club’s performances continue to drive fans away as the manager fails to understand what is needed at the moment.

A perfect storm is approaching for a club that’s been hammered by them, but there’s no safe port in the distance.

PHOTO: Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images