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Manchester United has lost its identity, but the failure to form a new one is a far bigger concern
Tom Eskdale
Roar Rookie
30th August, 2018
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Jose Mourinho. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Tom Eskdale
Roar Rookie
30th August, 2018
5

“Manchester United has lost its identity.”

It’s a line that has been trotted out by pundits, journalists, locals and fans all over the world to sum up what has been a lacklustre five seasons for United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in May 2013.

It’s a line that resonates in the hearts of loyal supporters who miss the glory days as they cling glasses in pubs to past legends like Eric Cantona and Roy Keane and long for the exciting wizardry of Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs.

These heroes are long gone.

The success and style which defined the club’s identity for decades has evaporated, leaving a void filled with question marks over where the best route back to winning ways lies.

The club’s recent failings are not due to a loss of identity, rather they are down to a failure to form a new one in the face of change. The challenge of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson after 26 years as manager was always going to be difficult.

But it shouldn’t have been this difficult; after all, a club of United’s size and stature should have the financial stability and infrastructure in place to maintain a high level of success in transitionary periods. Though instead of evolving, the club has regressed in the absence of a clear vision of the team’s playing style and an effective strategy to recruit managers and players who are aligned with this vision.

Allowing Alex Ferguson to appoint Scottish countryman David Moyes as his successor was a move based on sentiment rather than pragmatism, and it proved disastrous. The flowing football fans were accustomed to was the first to go, as Moyes implemented his humble “be hard to beat” approach.

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It wasn’t his fault, he was doing what he had always done at Everton, a perennial mid-table club. His work rate and integrity notwithstanding, Moyes was fundamentally unsuited to a club that expects to beat any team that dares to share a pitch with them.

Next up was Louis Van Gaal, who came with a big reputation though his overly defensive tactics elicited the chants of “Boring Boring Man United.” He managed to deliver the FA Cup in 2016, though by the time of his sacking he had left behind a disjointed squad of expensive players bought to fit his dull style.

‘Identity crisis’ became the mantra at Old Trafford with the unattractive football deemed unworthy of the club’s romantic history and the ‘Manchester United way.’

However, what needs to be realised is the unattractive playing style is a symptom of the managers appointed by the board in the post-Ferguson era, meaning the problems exist much higher above the grass at a strategic level.

What the club currently have in Jose Mourinho as the manager is a serial winner. The style may not be pretty, but he will deliver trophies if he is financially backed by the board to get the players he needs to implement his vision.

That is the way forward. The style and exuberance of Busby’s Babes and Alex Ferguson’s multiple title winners will always be a part of the club’s identity.

The priority of the club must be to forge a new identity, not by abandoning the pursuit of style but by making winning the norm again, at whatever cost. That was and always will be the Manchester United way.

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