Man United pursues illusory values

Day after day, Man United surprises fans with their increasing incompetence. And the interesting thing is that the disappointments often fall on the new players.

After consecutive mistakes, Man United is just a name - Photo: Reuters

There was plenty to criticise in Manchester United's recent defeat to Grimsby Town, a team playing in England's Fourth Division.

Mistakes in the transfer market

But the names that were laughed at the most were coach Amorim, along with the trio of new superstars Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko. As for Sesko, he was "invisible" throughout the match despite being given the opportunity to play the full 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Cunha and Mbeumo missed their penalties in the penalty shootout.

And Amorim's faults? Countless. From a 3-4-3 formation that is increasingly being criticized as silly, to the way they use people, the way they suppress their stars... Man United is bad in all aspects. But currently, the worst person is none other than the team's leadership. Why? Because they are only busy pursuing illusory values, and the above-mentioned sinners are typical examples.

Many fans mock the team's acronym "MU" which stands for "Marketing United". It means that the Old Trafford team is only good at media and advertising, completely lacking the professional elements needed for a team. Although it is just a mockery, it almost exposes all the problems of the "Red Devils".

There is a feeling that the Man United board over the years, whether under the Glazers or Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have chosen their players based on what the fans have to say.

That story happened 10 years ago, but when they spent a record amount in the summer of 2016 (105 million euros) to bring in Paul Pogba - a player that coach Alex Ferguson had rejected in the past.

Since then, whenever Man United fans call on social media to sign a player, the board of directors... follows suit. From Alexis Sanchez, Lukaku, Maguire, Ronaldo, Varane, Casemiro to the next generation like Antony, Onana, Sancho, Mount, Sesko...

Man United's transfer policy seems to be aimed at pleasing the fans - who are easily influenced by the media. The fans cannot be blamed. Most of them only know a little about top-flight football, through the names of players that often appear in newspapers, in transfer news columns that are manipulated by "player agents".

But Man United have a whole board of directors and managers who deal with transfers. It is hard to believe that the "Red Devils" buy superstars by chasing rumors. This summer is a clear example.

Gyokeres wanted to leave Sporting CP, his agent spread the rumor. And Man United immediately made an offer. But Gyokeres chose Arsenal. When Sesko's agent spread the rumor that he wanted to leave Leipzig, Man United immediately jumped in, and so 80 million euros were approved in just one week.

Mistakes on the coaching bench

Not only being led by the nose in the transfer market, Man United is also being led by the nose when choosing a coach.

In the winter of 2021, when the team was in a mess under coach Solskjaer, Man United chose Ralf Rangnick, who had no experience leading big clubs.

The reason? Because German pressing football was on the rise at the time, and Rangnick was hailed as the inspiration for Klopp and Tuchel - the two prominent figures in this school. Man United chose Rangnick because they hoped he could do the same thing Klopp and Tuchel did.

They ended up in a big hole. Rangnick was good at philosophy, but being a coach is a completely different story. In the East, there is a saying "discussing military affairs on paper" which is quite appropriate to talk about Man United's mistake at that time.

After terminating Rangnick's contract, Man United chose Ten Hag because of his tendency to play possession-based football, as well as wanting to reform the transfer method. This was a big mistake, because Ten Hag manipulated too much power of the team, pulling Man United from a "shaky" position to collapse.

In the middle of the 2024-2025 season, Man United's board of directors fired Ten Hag to invite Amorim - who was rumored to be contacted by Liverpool. Once again, the "Red Devils" were led by the nose by the media.

Coach Amorim is a complete rookie in the coaching world, completely unsuitable for the large-scale revival project that INEOS has outlined for Man United. To do that, Man United must invite people like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola.

But it's too late, "Red Devils" are now just a name, after a decade of chasing illusory values.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/man-united-theo-duoi-nhung-gia-tri-hu-ao-20250829102603853.htm