Manchester United: Are the Glazers the agents of chaos

Manchester United’s slow and none existence activity in the transfer market brings how the club is run into questioning again.

In one of the most famous action movies, The Dark Knight Rises, the antagonist quotes:

"Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos!"

The aforementioned dialogue just about sums up all that is happening at Old Trafford since the club’s acquisition of the Glazers.

Glazers, the owners of Premier League giants Manchester United, are accused of just milking all of the profits rather than investing it back into the club. The club is deteriorating day by day without any proper investments and fans are outraged by their inactivity in the current market.

The Glazers bought the club on loans and kept the club assets as a mortgage for the first time since 1931. Back in 1931, James Gibson saved the club from debt and the Red Devils were debt-free until the 2005 takeover. The fans were unhappy with the takeover and protested when the new owners came to Old Trafford.

The debt that was used to buy the club in 2005 has become a towering figure of over £1 billion. As Ed Woodward had helped Malcolm Glazer in buying the club as a financial advisor, he was slowly incorporated into the club’s financial-planning role, currently taking the title as the executive vice-chairman of the club.

Despite the lack of investment during the initial days, Sir Alex Ferguson’s charm and David Gill’s presence as CEO of the club saved grace. The fears of insolvency were allayed by these two.

During these times, the club won Premier League titles along with a famous Champions League triumph, and historical treble. The club signed a lucrative kit deal with AIG and the increased TV rights boosted the club profitability. The Glazers family was slowly incorporated into the club as non-executive directors.

The problems started to arise at Old Trafford soon after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

The less proven David Moyes was appointed as manager and was given a long-term contract of six years. The manager didn’t last long and was sacked within 10 months.

For the first time since 1991, the club finished outside of the top four. The club placed seventh, which was unacceptable for fans. Old Trafford was in disarray as they had missed out on Champions League. On top of it, legendary player Ryan Giggs retired in the same season.

CEO Ed Woodward called the dismal season as “challenging and disappointing”. For the first time, Manchester United didn’t even qualify for any of the European competitions. In order to salvage the season, Louis van Gaal was appointed as the manager.

Under van Gaal, Manchester United finished in the top-four once again and the fans believed that 2013/14 was just a blip. They didn’t see the potential danger incoming. Louis was sacked at the end of the 2015/16 season as he failed to finish in the top four.

The same happened with Jose Mourinho

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The Portuguese manager signed Paul Pogba in a record-breaking deal but the club ended up finishing sixth, earning an FA Community Shield and Europa League trophy to help him gain Champions League action the following season.

The club, for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, finished in the top two under Jose but it was a trophyless season in 2017/18. The third season syndrome of Jose Mourinho glared at Old Trafford when he fought with Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw, and Anthony Martial.

Man United tumbled thereafter and Mourinho was sacked in December 2019, following a dismal start to the term. The club then appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a legendary player to salvage their season.

After seeing United through to the end that season, Solskjaer finished in the top-four in his first full campaign thereafter, owing to the signing of Bruno Fernandes in the winter window. With all this in mind and noticing the pattern, we could see the same fate for the Norwegian very soon.

Manchester United and the Glazers have failed to learn a lesson throughout the six years.

Under Sir Alex Ferguson, there were fewer signings who turned the club into potential European challengers. The Glazers and Ed Woodward have signed 27 players till now and most of them have been either sold or loaned out by now.

The problem doesn’t lie there only. The problem lies in the pattern in which the money is being spent. Close to £850 million has been spent to date and they are yet to win the Premier League title. The bank was broken several times to sign the likes of Paul Pogba, Angel di Maria, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan Bissaka, and Romelu Lukaku.

The splashing of cash hasn’t helped, as a few of the record signings faded away once they came to the club. Either unable to inherit the club’s policies or they failed to adapt to the Premier League.

The managers are not being properly supported or helped financially by the owners. The best example would be the recent lash out by Manchester United’s former manager, Louis van Gaal. In a recent interview, LVG stated:

"I wanted Robert Lewandowski, but when this proved difficult I tried to get Gonzalo Higuain instead. Before I had arrived, I also spoke with the board about Neymar. For that reason, I also tried to get Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez. Thomas Muller was on my wish list, too, and in central midfield, I wanted N’Golo Kanté. I even tried to sign James Milner, who was already quite old but very multifunctional and possessed leadership skills."

In the same interview, he said managers weren’t involved in any of the negotiations, leading to the disastrous season. After Jose Mourinho was sacked, the Portuguese manager also opened up regarding signings.

After Manchester United lost to the Hammers in 2019, the Portuguese manager said that he was crying for one central defender. However, the entire blame cannot be put on the board as Mourinho was guilty of a lot of bad signings.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks like he will fall victim to the same pattern.

After signing Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan Bissaka along with Bruno Fernandes in 2019/20, the club is yet to sign a proper player in the ongoing transfer window.

After the defeat against Sevilla in the Europa League, one could see the lack of quality on United’s bench. One injury to a first XI player can have Manchester a relegation battling team. The signings are a must if they are to become title challengers once again.

Rivals like Chelsea and Manchester City are making the most of the transfer window before next season starts. Chelsea have signed Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Malang Sarr, Thiago Silva, and are concretely linked with Kai Havertz.

Manchester United has had one concrete link in Jadon Sancho and it seems to be dead after a hefty asking price from Borussia Dortmund. If Manchester United are looking to go ahead in the Champions League, the club desperately needs signings. Glazers, are you hearing us?

Our history wasn’t theirs to buy and our future isn’t theirs to gamble with!