Alexandra Powell

It doesn’t matter who is linked with becoming Manchester United manager, because whatever the name (and most of those in circulation have previously already been ruled out), they are set up to fail. The parasitic Glazer ownership has bled and broken the club, putting a financial noose around it. In 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe talked a big game about a “three-year plan” to rival and outdo Manchester City and Liverpool. But the decision-making under INEOS’ charge of football operations has not just been woeful, but costly too. There is zero accountability for expensive mistake after expensive mistake. There is still no clear direction on club identity, including style of play, which leads to profiling the right signings and manager. That was a major promise made by Ratcliffe, which hasn’t been kept. To borrow his own words: “There have been a whole series of coaches, some of which were very good. And none of them were ­successful, or survived for very long. The only conclusion you can draw is that the ­environment in which they were ­working didn’t work.” It still doesn’t. It never will as long as the people who own and run the club betray Manchester United and what is required to be successful in the modern era. You can harp on about structure, vision, and sell fanciful projects, but you will never have the right operation with the wrong people.