United, they fall: As a football empire hits rock bottom, it has its fans worried world over

“All good things come to an end.”

The phrase coined by poet Geoffrey Chaucer in his poem Troilude and Criseyde is currently haunting the Manchester United FC locker room.

A team that once upon a time suffered a tragic loss when eight of its players lost their lives in the Munich Air Disaster of 1968—only to rise from the ashes under the leadership of Sir Matt Busby, who worked alongside his assistant Jimmy Murphy at the time and built another great team from scratch, which then went on to win the prestigious European Cup a decade later.

A team that won the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League—all under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson in the 1998-99 season—and went on to dominate global football up until his retirement at the end of the 2012-13 season.

A team that produced the likes of Bobby Charlton and George Best, and gave birth to “The Class of 92” comprising a bunch of scrawny teenagers at the time such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, and brothers Gary and Phil Neville—all of whom went on to become household names in English football.

It is hard to believe that the Manchester United locker room today, despite having the presence of several big names, is not even a reflection of its yesteryear self. It has morphed into a den of controversies and confusion, comprising an unmotivated squad that seems to be playing only for their paycheque—and that too, barely.

Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired nine years ago, the club has seen a slew of managers: David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunner Solksjaer, Michael Carrick, and now, Ralf Rangnick. It (the club) has had limited success under each of them; players’ performances have varied, but, according to fans and football pundits alike, have been nowhere up to the mark. Despite dropping wads of cash during transfer windows, and singing big names such as Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, and Angel Di Maria (who has now left the club), all of whom failed to yield the required dividend of them—compounded with the return of the prodigal son Cristiano Ronaldo last summer to the Stretford End—Manchester United are now sixth in the English Premier League with an abysmal 54 points.

That’s 26 points behind current table toppers and derby day nemesis Manchester City FC. United’s recent defeats include those against Arsenal FC (3-1), Liverpool (4-0), and Everton (1-0). The frustration is visible both, on and off the pitch. After the club’s loss to Everton, a video went viral on social media showing the Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo smashing the phone of a 14-year-old Everton Fan while on his way to the dressing room.

Ujjwal Sharma (25), an ardent Manchester United fan since he was a young boy, says: “All the things that could go wrong, have gone wrong. Instead of focusing on how we (United) could have adopted to sustain the level of success, we chose to live in nostalgia. We could’ve given Moyes time to find firmer footing, but the greed for instant success didn’t turn out in his favour. With Van Goal…he could have probably made a better selection of players and treated them better for a more desired impact on the field. Mourinho brought back the winning ways, albeit temporarily. However, the board wasn’t listening to the players he wanted, and the added perception of giving importance to ‘one player is bigger than the club,’ ended up failing him. Solskjaer managed to install the winning match mentality that United had during his playing career, however, he could not maintain consistency.” He added: “Dropping big money on average players and perception of a player being bigger than the club is where it all went wrong.”

“They (current players) are playing as if it’s a job…they know they are making money regardless, so there’s really no spirit to go back to winning ways, as a majority of the current players have never really won titles consistently like their predecessors,” says Sharma. “As fans, we had great expectations—considering the level of players we signed—but I’m not surprised by the repetitive downfall. Not being patient with the managers, undermining their authority, and siding with players instead of thinking about the club, have all ended up costing United in the long run.”

Rahul Laud (31), who has been supporting the Red Devils ever since he was a little boy, says: “Ferguson’s departure marked the onset of the doldrum period. What followed from there on was a lack of man managements, especially when it came to big personalities. He(Ferguson) was selfish to some extent m…he knew this team wasn’t going to do well. Wayne Rooney saw it two years ago when he was threatening to leave for Chelsea. David Gill (former chief executive at the club) left as well so it was a double whammy. Thus there was a drop in standards, leadership … and not enough focus on scouting and recruitment, and placing more weightage on marketing and global reach by the executives. What changed was that the vision of the board was to sustain the commercial club rather than the football club.”

Karan Remedios (29) isn’t a Manchester United fan (his loyalties lie towards the London-based Chelsea FC) but he is an avid watcher of the English Premier League, touted to be the most competitive footballing league in the world. “Sir Alex ran the club for more than 20 years—which is why he had control over most things—the most important being player recruitment. What he wanted is what he got. Once he left, the board tried (and still tries) to dictate player transfers.”

With Erik Ten Hag set to take over as boss of a broken locker room from current German tactician Ragnick at the end of this footballing season, it will be interesting to watch whether the Dutch manager will be able to inject the winning mentality into United’s squad once again. Things are at an all-time low at the club, with the ire of fans bordering on hate. Last week, Manchester United captain Harry Maguire, who lives in Manchester’s Wilmslow area with his fiancé and two young kids, received a bomb threat via email, compelling Cheshire police to conduct a sweep of his home. Even if Erik Hen Tag is able to fix the mentality of his players and draw them out of a pool of self-pity and low morale, will his tactics be able to win over the loyalty of fans, whose patience has been growing thinner with each game day and each passing manager?

“I hope he does well, the club needs someone to get in control and I hope he does well,” said ex-gaffer Sir Alex Ferguson in an interview when asked if Ten Hag could be the man to turn United’s fortunes around.

“Ten Hag has a fixed system like Pep Guardiola and each of the players will be given roles within the system,” says Remedios. “If they are able to do the job in those positions, they stay in the squad, or else left on the bench or sold. Plus, Ragnick will remain on as a consultant, meaning he will have a say in the transfers of the upcoming summer window…he already knows who lacks what and what the team needs. Hence, the outgoings at the club will come first, followed by a rebuild. However, it could take up to three seasons till we see United back at the level of clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool.”

“It’s going to be a mammoth task for him (Ten Hag)—and only a miracle can pull us out of the ditch that we’re in,” says Sharma. “In order to bring back the mentality, the new manager may even need to fire the majority of players who are just stuck with United, thereby decreasing the club’s wage bill. The scouting and medical department needs to change as well.” He added: “The club will need at least 3-5 seasons before we’re back in contention for the title race—only if we’re lucky!”“All good things come to an end.”