It has been five years since Manchester United last won a trophy and nearly a decade since they last won the Premier League. Something needed to change to turn the club's fortunes around.
To that end, there has been a major turnover of staff in United's backroom. Head Scout Jim Lawlor and Head of Global Scouting Marcel Bout both left the club earlier this month and now Director of Football Negotiations Matt Judge has also reportedly resigned from his role.
On the pitch, Erik ten Hag has been appointed as the next permanent manager of United and he will be tasked with instilling his philosophy upon the team. Given the team's struggles over the past decade, this will not be a quick process.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, Gary Neville spoke about Ten Hag's appointment and his expectations for the future under the Dutchman. He pleaded for patience but hoped that in the long term, United would be able to get back on track.
Neville said: "Honestly, I wouldn’t be putting too much pressure on Erik ten Hag in the first one or two years to win a trophy. It would be great if he did, and he would be overachieving in my opinion. [Now should be about getting the club] in the top four, re-establishing Manchester United in the Champions League, attract the players into the club that can play in the way he wants them to play.
“It took Jurgen Klopp three, four, five years to win a title, as great as a job he’s done. So I think it could be that type of job, I wouldn’t put pressure on Erik ten Hag to win a Premier League title, they’re a million miles away from that currently.
“I didn’t think they would win the Premier League this year, but I thought they were getting closer. And yet it’s just all collapsed and fallen to pieces, and I don’t know why that’s happened, and Erik ten Hag gets to pick up the pieces. So initial phase, build the foundations of what he wants to achieve and I think year three, four or five is when you start to look at him to win trophies.”
Klopp's new contract may throw a spanner into the works, however. The German was set to leave Liverpool in 2024, after Pep Guardiola's expired in 2023, allowing for a new dynasty to take the place of the duopoly, but now he will be staying until 2026.
Many fans have also talked about the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur finally getting their act together and becoming a force, but no one seems to be addressing the elephant in the room, Newcastle United.
Since their takeover and the appointment of Eddie Howe, they have turned their fortunes around significantly. In 2022 only Liverpool have picked up more points than the North East club, 38 compared to Newcastle's 32 and this form has now found them ninth in the table.
Given the wealth of their owners and their lofty ambitions in the 'three to five years' that Neville referred to, Newcastle could be a serious threat to United and the other clubs in the Premier League. It only took Manchester City five years to win a Premier League title and they made transfer mistakes early on that Newcastle are yet to make.
City spent £36m on Robinho who flopped at the Etihad; by comparison, Newcastle bought Bruno Guimaraes for a similar fee who has been a standout player for them. So has United's indecision to act decisively over the past decade made the climb back to the top even steeper?
Ten Hag will have a serious task on his hands trying to rebuild United from the ground up, but once that stage of the task is done the landscape of the Premier League could have completely changed. And if that is the case, even with patience will United ever be able to find the success they once had under Sir Alex Ferguson again?
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