When he arrived at Old Trafford last November, manager Ruben Amorim thought he was managing one of the biggest clubs in the world. But now, having seen the backstage at Old Trafford, Amorim may think differently.
Only Amorim knows the real motives behind describing his side as the worst in United's history after a 3-1 home defeat to Brighton. It was the Red Devils' sixth defeat in 12 games, and fourth home defeat in five. You have to go back to 1893-94 to find a United side with a worse home record (7 losses in 12).
Things are bad, this is the club's worst period since the Premier League era began in 1992. It's true that Man United is no longer Man United. The club that dominated the Premier League, winning 13 of the first 20 titles, has been in steady decline since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager in 2013.
If Amorim wants to get to the root of the current problems, he needs to go back to 2018. Then, former Manchester United commercial director Ed Woodward spoke publicly about the importance of a winning team at Old Trafford.
"Competition performance doesn't really have a meaningful impact on what we can do commercially," Woodward said during a conference call with United investors.
During the same conference, Woodward boasted that Man United's YouTube channel had more subscribers than the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and MLB's New York Yankees.
When a team's motto is not to win, a slide into mediocrity is inevitable. That is why the "Red Devils" have reached what Amorim believes is their worst version since relegation 51 years ago.
Strangely, United have continued to spend big since Woodward said they don’t need to win to make money, with only Chelsea spending more than United’s £1.02bn since 2018. However, a lack of strategy, expertise and ability at senior levels has led to a series of transfer mistakes at Old Trafford.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS took over a club struggling to comply with the Premier League's profit and sustainability (PSR) rules, and in doing so they needed to break up an unbalanced squad.
United’s own mistakes – renewing Erik ten Hag’s contract and sacking him four months later – have compounded the problems, while for Amorim, things have remained largely the same.
Amorim has identified the problem and United need a major overhaul, but he needs INEOS to keep morale up and back him by putting football first at Old Trafford.
