Despite a study suggesting they have the most expensive squad in history, Man United's results this season have been underwhelming thus far. Martin Rickett
looking ahead
It's time for the most expensive squad in history to deliver
Several members of Jose Mourinho’s team are playing for their future following some disappointing results.
Generally speaking, in football, vast riches create winning teams. The start of the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea and Sheikh Mansour’s takeover at Man City both led to the clubs in question enjoying unprecedented levels of success in the Premier League era.
The most recent rundown of the world’s richest clubs was topped by Real Madrid, followed by Barcelona, Man United, Bayern Munich and Man City. It’s no coincidence that, over the last decade, these clubs have also been among the most successful in European football (even if United’s decline has been marked more recently).
There are occasional anomalies to these rules, of course. Atletico Madrid have nowhere near the level of resources of Real or Barca, yet they have managed to genuinely compete with both teams in recent campaigns, even winning La Liga in 2014.
Last season, Leicester triumphed in the Premier League despite having a modest income in comparison with their rivals.
And in international football, at Euro 2016, England had comfortably the most expensive squad going into the tournament according to another Football Observatory study, yet flopped ultimately, as they were beaten by a team with one of the cheapest groups of players in the competition (Iceland).
But at least Roy Hodgson has the excuse that that was a one-off game. Man United have been underperforming for three years now, despite increasingly vast amounts of money at the club being devoted to the Red Devils’ player transfers and wages.
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Mourinho's predecessors Louis van Gaal and David Moyes also struggled to get the best out of the United players. PA Wire / PA Images
PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images
Previous coaches David Moyes and Louis van Gaal both failed to recapture the glory years of the Alex Ferguson era, while the early signs for Jose Mourinho are far from promising, as Sunday’s abysmal display at Chelsea emphasised.
With the money they have, of course, comes great egos and especially sensitive players. Ferguson had a reputation as a masterful psychologist and was skilled at handling his many precocious talents.
But since the legendary Scot’s exit, there has been a recurring theme at Man United — criticism of the manager being continually leaked to the media by anonymous sources.
Last season, amid Louis van Gaal’s departure, a similarly scathing portrayal of the iconic Dutch coach was painted, with vivid details of what was wrong with his regime and the United stars’ increasing disrespect and unwillingness to listen to the man that brought Ajax Champions League glory. The piece in question was published in The Guardian with the headline ‘Louis van Gaal tactics left Manchester United players close to mutiny’.
The details of both articles were so intricate that most people assumed they either came from a player or another figure with extremely close connections to the dressing room at Old Trafford.
In football and other sports, there is a code that one individual at Old Trafford seems intent on breaking — what happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room.
There are two possible conclusions that can be reached from these relentless media leaks: 1. The Man United players have suffered the grave misfortune of being paired with three successive unbearable coaches who are lacking the talent to get the best out of them. 2. There is a culture at the club whereby too many egotistical stars contrive to blame anyone but themselves.
No one, it seems, is quite up to the task of managing these poor, misunderstood players (or so they seem to think anyway).
On a more pressing matter, matches in the League Cup are seldom thought of as ‘must-win’ games, but this evening’s clash against City certainly feels like more than just another cup tie in a second-tier competition.
And while the Etihad outfit’s coach, Pep Guardiola, has promised to “rotate” his players, Mourinho has said tonight’s match is game for “men” rather than boys, indicating he will call upon a number of senior stars once again.
Moreover, it is not a stretch to suggest some could already be playing for their future. The likes of Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan — all of whom have been out of favour in recent times — could be given a chance to impress, as Mourinho will feel obliged to rest at least a couple of the players from Sunday’s game.
A win over neighbours City would go some way towards restoring the morale that was lost in the wake of the Chelsea match. On the other hand, a defeat, while being far from disastrous, would be another failure to win a big game under Mourinho and a blow to confidence irrespective of the lowly manner in which the EFL Cup is generally viewed in footballing circles.
The club’s current predicament would also start to look increasingly gloomy were a defeat to occur this evening. In what has been another Premier League season that seems remarkably open and devoid of a truly outstanding team, Manchester United still sit six points off league leaders and bitter rivals City in seventh place.
If the situation does not improve promptly, the Red Devils will be in serious danger of missing out on the Champions League for a second successive season — a major blow given the level of investment the owners have made in recent times and the revenue that playing in Europe’s biggest club competition generates.
Therefore, the most expensive squad in history can only afford to keep losing for so long. Mourinho has been ruthless with players in the past, and if he is looking for an excuse to offload someone in January, a glaring Stamford Bridge-esque error in another big game tonight may well seal the deal.
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It's time for the most expensive squad in history to deliver
A STUDY UNDERTAKEN by the the CIES Football Observatory recently concluded that Man United possess the most expensive squad in history.
Their data found that the £93.2 million acquisition of Paul Pogba took the Red Devils’ spending to over £600 million overall.
Generally speaking, in football, vast riches create winning teams. The start of the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea and Sheikh Mansour’s takeover at Man City both led to the clubs in question enjoying unprecedented levels of success in the Premier League era.
The most recent rundown of the world’s richest clubs was topped by Real Madrid, followed by Barcelona, Man United, Bayern Munich and Man City. It’s no coincidence that, over the last decade, these clubs have also been among the most successful in European football (even if United’s decline has been marked more recently).
There are occasional anomalies to these rules, of course. Atletico Madrid have nowhere near the level of resources of Real or Barca, yet they have managed to genuinely compete with both teams in recent campaigns, even winning La Liga in 2014.
Last season, Leicester triumphed in the Premier League despite having a modest income in comparison with their rivals.
And in international football, at Euro 2016, England had comfortably the most expensive squad going into the tournament according to another Football Observatory study, yet flopped ultimately, as they were beaten by a team with one of the cheapest groups of players in the competition (Iceland).
But at least Roy Hodgson has the excuse that that was a one-off game. Man United have been underperforming for three years now, despite increasingly vast amounts of money at the club being devoted to the Red Devils’ player transfers and wages.
Previous coaches David Moyes and Louis van Gaal both failed to recapture the glory years of the Alex Ferguson era, while the early signs for Jose Mourinho are far from promising, as Sunday’s abysmal display at Chelsea emphasised.
With the money they have, of course, comes great egos and especially sensitive players. Ferguson had a reputation as a masterful psychologist and was skilled at handling his many precocious talents.
But since the legendary Scot’s exit, there has been a recurring theme at Man United — criticism of the manager being continually leaked to the media by anonymous sources.
Back in 2014, details were leaked to The Guardian about the deteriorating relationship between David Moyes’ staff and the players.
Last season, amid Louis van Gaal’s departure, a similarly scathing portrayal of the iconic Dutch coach was painted, with vivid details of what was wrong with his regime and the United stars’ increasing disrespect and unwillingness to listen to the man that brought Ajax Champions League glory. The piece in question was published in The Guardian with the headline ‘Louis van Gaal tactics left Manchester United players close to mutiny’.
The details of both articles were so intricate that most people assumed they either came from a player or another figure with extremely close connections to the dressing room at Old Trafford.
And this week, a similar story in The Times has emerged expressing serious reservations about Jose Mourinho’s “cold” and “distant” style of management.
In football and other sports, there is a code that one individual at Old Trafford seems intent on breaking — what happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room.
There are two possible conclusions that can be reached from these relentless media leaks: 1. The Man United players have suffered the grave misfortune of being paired with three successive unbearable coaches who are lacking the talent to get the best out of them. 2. There is a culture at the club whereby too many egotistical stars contrive to blame anyone but themselves.
No one, it seems, is quite up to the task of managing these poor, misunderstood players (or so they seem to think anyway).
On a more pressing matter, matches in the League Cup are seldom thought of as ‘must-win’ games, but this evening’s clash against City certainly feels like more than just another cup tie in a second-tier competition.
And while the Etihad outfit’s coach, Pep Guardiola, has promised to “rotate” his players, Mourinho has said tonight’s match is game for “men” rather than boys, indicating he will call upon a number of senior stars once again.
Moreover, it is not a stretch to suggest some could already be playing for their future. The likes of Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan — all of whom have been out of favour in recent times — could be given a chance to impress, as Mourinho will feel obliged to rest at least a couple of the players from Sunday’s game.
A win over neighbours City would go some way towards restoring the morale that was lost in the wake of the Chelsea match. On the other hand, a defeat, while being far from disastrous, would be another failure to win a big game under Mourinho and a blow to confidence irrespective of the lowly manner in which the EFL Cup is generally viewed in footballing circles.
The club’s current predicament would also start to look increasingly gloomy were a defeat to occur this evening. In what has been another Premier League season that seems remarkably open and devoid of a truly outstanding team, Manchester United still sit six points off league leaders and bitter rivals City in seventh place.
If the situation does not improve promptly, the Red Devils will be in serious danger of missing out on the Champions League for a second successive season — a major blow given the level of investment the owners have made in recent times and the revenue that playing in Europe’s biggest club competition generates.
Therefore, the most expensive squad in history can only afford to keep losing for so long. Mourinho has been ruthless with players in the past, and if he is looking for an excuse to offload someone in January, a glaring Stamford Bridge-esque error in another big game tonight may well seal the deal.
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