Float On

I honestly can’t say I missed football too much during the extended break last season, but the time spent in exile from Old Trafford is really starting to drag at this point. Like many of you, I’ve not seen mates (and family members) for months now – the match was the social hub that brought everyone together. Going without this for a while didn’t feel like too much of a sacrifice at first, but the incoming second wave of COVID suggests it could well be another year or two before things return to normal. You know the outlook is grim when United don’t even bother taking £700 out of your bank for the season ticket renewal.

As always, the feelings of long-term paying customers don’t mean much to football’s governing bodies. There are contractual obligations to meet so the juggernaut has to continue at all costs. That’s how we faced the ridiculous prospect of starting a new season without the benefit of an adequate break following the last one. Unsurprisingly, United lurched out of the blocks like a Sunday League team suffering the after effects of a particularly lively Benidorm stag do. Should we have expected anything different when most players arrived back for training only 2 weeks prior to the Palace game?

Nevertheless, the season’s opener exposed the threadbare make up of the squad once you scratch beneath the starting XL. The fact Solskjaer was forced to start Pogba, freshly recovered from COVID yet miles off match fitness said it all. I’m a little bemused by the fact Pogba is still held in high regard by many. I know people are entitled to have their favourites and look beyond their foibles, but his cheerleaders seem to exist on another planet… the planet of being a bit clueless about what constitutes a great footballer. Pogba is clearly a fantastic player inside his own head, it’s just a pity his unrivalled levels of self-belief are somewhat at odds with his routinely dire on-pitch contributions.

Talking of routine, United’s transfer dealings this summer followed an all too familiar path. The more optimistic amongst us were hoping the club might have built on the positive-ish conclusion to last season and endeavoured to bridge the yawning gap between ourselves and City/Liverpool. I mean, the Bruno Fernandes signing hinted at the positive impact timely reinforcements can bring, right? There are several gaping holes in the squad and the manager reiterated the need to strengthen further when he spoke to the press back in April.

It’s all very predictable. The club teases imminent signings with a series of press briefings that causes a deluge of social media activity as the eReds lose their collective shit in anticipation. Over the course of several weeks, excitement leads to frustration which by the close of the window turns to outright fury. Blame shifts from Solskjaer to Woodward to Matt Judge to the Glazers and then back to Solskjaer again. Every summer plays out like this now, a moronic pissing contest in which gullible twitter idiots compete to see who can become the most upset and outraged.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not claiming I’m immune to the gossip and content with the status quo. I’d like nothing more than the club to demonstrate some real ambition by flexing the financial muscle it loves to boast about, but I’ve learnt not to expect too much from the hapless leadership of this current regime. It’s 15 years since the Glazers took over and we all know the script by now. They aren’t going to sanction a £500M spend and risk finishing 3rd again next season. That was never going to happen. It was especially unlikely given that revenue has dropped off a cliff in recent months. Their priority is staying profitable enough to keep up with loan payments and financing the twice yearly £11M dividends they pay themselves.

Everyone knows what the team requires. We’ve needed a right winger since Nani left and Valencia converted to a right back. As per usual, there’s a reluctance to invest what’s needed to secure the best available. It’s worth noting that several ex-players approached about the vacant DoF role have each gone on record criticising the club’s recruitment in recent weeks. It’s no wonder that role still isn’t filled if potential candidates aren’t convinced they’ll be given the mandate and resources to return the club to the top. Wayne Rooney clearly mapped out what the club should be doing in last week’s Sunday Times. Sadly, United would never test Spurs’ resolve by going after their best players now – as we did repeatedly during the Ferguson era.

So instead of Harry Kane, it’s 33 year old Edinson Cavani on a free transfer. How’s that for a signal of the club’s ambition? I suppose on the plus side we’re not shopping in China for more ex-Watford players, but on the whole I’m getting strong feelings of deja vu here. I’m sure Ole will express his delight and stress how the player’s experience will be vital in aiding the youngsters’ development, but I’m just not buying it. So much for the ‘cultural reboot’ that was supposedly in progress. Cavani, whatever he does this season, is just another big name, stop gap that’s evidence of the club’s ineptitude in the areas of recruitment and squad development.

The lack of pre-season and another poorly executed transfer window shouldn’t excuse what we’ve seen on the pitch thus far. Doubts persist about Solskjaer’s ability as a coach because his players should be doing better, irrespective of our failings in the transfer market. Whenever the team makes any progress it doesn’t take much for things to completely unravel again. We don’t respond well to any kind of setback and seem tactically clueless in comparison with most other teams in the league. If Brighton could finish United would be bottom of the table now.

The Spurs game was a debacle. No leadership, no accountability and an utterly shambolic defensive performance. I was never convinced by Chris Smalling but anyone can see he’s a more reliable centre half than either Lindelof or Ivorian Chaos. We’ve got that pair of clowns competing for a place alongside Maguire whilst Smalling was kept in quarantine waiting for his flight back to Rome. If we weren’t going to sign a quality centre half, perhaps we should have considered keeping one who’s a significant upgrade on the other options at our disposal?

Last season the team probably overachieved by finishing 3rd. Instead of prompting further investment the club’s hierarchy have made it very clear that CL qualification represents the pinnacle of their ambition. It’s all well and good scouring the globe seeking out highly rated youngsters but that isn’t going to improve the fortunes of the first team this season or next. The short to medium term plan appears non-existent other than trusting that Klopp and Guardiola won’t be around forever.

If press reports are to be believed, Dortmund communicated the asking price for Sancho months ago. So why did United spend the entire window pursuing the deal if they had no intention of meeting their valuation? Instead, we spent deadline day in an unseemly scramble for free transfers, loan deals and weighing up bids for Championship players. Clearly, little has changed since the farcical summer of 2013 that signposted the beginning of Woodward’s tenure. The club remains a dysfunctional mess to this day.

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