Success in football is a funny word. Depending on who you speak with, their definition may differ dramatically from yours. Although Manchester United operates in the same division as Brighton, respectfully, a successful season will be poles apart.
Given the current standing of both sides, many neutral supporters will laugh at this ideal, but the global reputation and financial requirements of both are unrecognisable.
While United proudly parade Alejandro Garnacho with his Puskas award in front of the words youth, courage and success, the realisation that this age-old ethos has been neglected stands taller than all.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has become the poster boy for blame, with news of further redundancies to battle the fears of financial ruin met with various disgruntled responses.
But, while many will scoff at the idea that anywhere from 100 to 200 positions can alter the day-to-day running of this once-imperious football club, the Glazer family sit pretty in their ivory towers, ridiculing the peril of the working individuals’ struggle in Manchester.
This is not an aged complaint used to offset poor performances on the playing field; this is a very real scenario that has plagued this once-proud institution for nearly two decades.
Success at Manchester United Football Club | Perception versus reality
Sir Matt Busby inspired a generation with his revolutionary brand of management and squad development despite the most horrific of adversity.
Lifting five first-division titles and two FA Cups, he was the first manager of an English team to win the European Cup. Whether through the youthful exuberance of his Busby Babes or the majesty of the trio of Sir Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Geroge Best, footballing pedigree was the common denominator.
His charisma was unmistakable, and his desire to win surpassed all. Sir Matt was a walking definition of success and laid the framework alongside Jimmy Murphy for a youthful ethos that still exists in Manchester today.
Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford 15 years after Sir Matt had concluded the 1971 campaign and the remarkable Scotsman achieved almost unfathomable success.
It is challenging to fully express the magnitude of his footprint on the club or the standards he cultivated. Truthfully, he captivated the global game with an intense desire for annual domination, transforming his side into a worldwide phenomenon.
From 13 Premier League championships to five FA Cup trophies, an iconic European Cup Winners’ Cup and two Champions League successes, Sir Alex achieved 38 titles as manager and is generally recognised as the greatest the game has ever seen.
When a football supporter thinks about Manchester United, these men represent the benchmark.
However, when incompetence holds authority, and ignorance is permitted to run amuck amongst an institution that has faced heartbreaking adversity and returned to the summit of the game, the damage caused is comparable to cancer.
As supporters, we want a successful football team to challenge for top honours on a perennial basis. However, if Manchester United are to achieve that, an ambition must be exhibited by those at the top.
Instead, the American owners completed a leveraged buyout in June 2005 and have supplied an annual slap in the face to paying customers and a gradual decline of everything from infrastructure to footballing decisions.
“If you went to the Glazers and said [to them]: give me a definition of success, it would not be a football answer,” Phil Brown stated on the Theatre of Red Podcast.
“So, now you have an alignment issue between the priorities of the owners at the top. How do they incentivise employees? They incentivise them to achieve the goals that the Glazers value, not what you and I value.
“Then, of course, the first principle is profit, and everything is a hostage to that – everything comes second to that.
“You cannot win the Premier League against teams that are doing the opposite. City are trying to get the best product on the market; United are trying to get a product on the market that’s just good enough that you’ll buy again.”
Ruben Amorim is great – in fact, he has the capabilities to be brilliant. The success he achieved before turning 40 is genuinely remarkable.
However, subsections of disgruntled supporters are deciding to turn on the Portuguese tactician following a difficult transition, despite the same individuals regularly harbouring unsavoury comments about the squad before his arrival.
Despite months of articles and podcasts highlighting the nature of the task at hand, some still believe that acquiring a player in the ilk of Victor Osimhen will make all of the issues disappear.
I’ve said it before: the man was handed square pegs and a box containing round holes. Furthermore, he is integrating into a football club that is taking baby steps under the watch of this Ineos backroom team.
All the while, the same Glazer family are thousands of miles away – far from the wave of frustrations and puddles in a rainy Old Trafford – while the British billionaire attempts to resolve the harrowing financial issues which handicap any form of success.
As I regularly say, Sir Jim is far from blame. He has made plenty of errors and signed off on several decisions relating to the working class connected to this club.
Inevitably, those with ample wealth view the world differently, and society has altered since the days of Sir Matt, with a horrific culture rooted deep within the foundations of this once-great football club.
With confirmation that the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules are set to remain on for the next campaign, Ratcliffe and his team of financial gurus will need to manufacture a considerable plan to achieve his goal of a competitive football team in two seasons.
Success is far from guaranteed at the home of the 20-time English champions, and it will take a collective effort from supporters, players, coaches and ownership to remedy the damage the Glazers have caused.
How do you feel about Manchester United in 2025?
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