Manchester United find themselves in a terrible position as a result of poor decisions made over the past 12 years.
The Red Devils are 14th in the Premier League table and are at risk of failing to qualify for Europe. Winning the Europa League is Ruben Amorim’s last hope of salvaging the season.
The Portuguese head coach must be mortified at what he has walked into after being appointed in November. A poorly-recruited squad and just as many questions about Ineos’ 250 job cuts as there are about on-pitch performances.
Amorim has backed Ineos’ plan, but the new owners at Old Trafford have taken a huge hit to their reputation as they try to solve the mess left behind by the Glazers.
United are riddled with Glazer debt with reports that the club have paid around £1bn in interest payments during the 20-year spell under the American family.
Peter Kenyon explains what started Man United’s ‘downfall’
United have been obsessed with trying to return to the golden years under Sir Alex Ferguson, but they have not even come remotely close since his retirement in 2013.
Decision-making behind the scenes has been nothing short of atrocious, with United spending £68.3m sacking managers over the last 12 years.
Peter Kenyon was responsible for making big decisions when he was United’s CEO between 2000 and 2003. Looking back, he has explained exactly where United went wrong.
Speaking to Business of Sport, Kenyon said: “The downfall of United was the success of United in that they didn’t have a succession plan.”
When asked if United’s succession plan was not David Moyes, he added: “It didn’t work did it? It wasn’t a succession plan.
“You don’t let the two people that have influenced United for a period of years – the CEO and manager – leave at the same time.
“It’s a joke, you should be shot for that. You talk about a business, what business would let their two key employees walk out the office on the same day?”
Did Sir Alex Ferguson play a role in Man United’s downfall?
Ferguson left Manchester United as Premier League champions when he retired in 2013.
Ferguson wanted David Moyes to replace him, but his fellow Scot struggled to follow in his footsteps at Old Trafford.
Moyes blamed an “ageing” squad for his poor results, but as reported by ESPN, Ferguson labelled those claims as an “insult”.
Moyes is not alone in his claims, with Gary Lineker suggesting (via The Telegraph) that Ferguson is to blame for the start of United’s struggles.
Ultimately, though, the responsibility of building a strong squad for a new manager lies with the owners and club chiefs. As suggested by Kenyon, those above Ferguson had no succession plan for his retirement.
Ineos have now made sweeping changes to the Old Trafford boardroom to try and introduce more footballing brains into the club decision-making. However, fans are yet to see any improvements.
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