The dynamic on the journey back from Madrid to Manchester must have been fascinating: the suits on one side of the departure lounge, the players on the other and Michael Carrick floating in between the two.
The chasm between the Manchester United hierarchy and everyone else at the club has been clear to see for some time. But it was brought into plain sight last night at the Metropolitano with defender Lisandro Martinez launching an astonishing attack on the owners and non-playing staff with director of football Jason Wilcox singled out.
Martinez’s gripe was that the club did not invest heavily enough over the summer, squandering the opportunity to build on their return to the Champions League.
United had a net spend of £101million in the last transfer window, eighth highest in the Premier League and lower than all three promoted clubs.
Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans arrived, all three central midfielders. It meant the squad went into the season with one left-back and one number nine, both of whom are currently injured.
United struggle after lacklustre window
It seemed at the time they had not invested wisely and that has been proven with United 13th in the Premier League with one win from six games.
Martinez’s outburst did not come from nowhere. The Argentina international is not a regular in front of the media and he was an odd choice to be put up before the cameras. Whether he volunteered is not clear but it seems doubtful his views were his alone.
More than likely, he was speaking on behalf of a squad frustrated by a lack of progress under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family. Billionaire Ratcliffe’s arrival at Old Trafford in 2024 was supposed to herald a new period of spending.
And yet, if anything, it has gone the other way. Ratcliffe has embarked on a series of severe cost-cutting measures with a raft of redundancies to non-playing staff, alienated fans with some dreadful PR around ticketing, and failed to invest in an under-manned squad.
It is difficult to understand Ratcliffe’s strategy. For all his claims of being a boyhood United fan, he is first and foremost a businessman and will be eager to see a handsome return on his £1.25billion investment. For that to happen, United have to be playing Champions League football on an annual basis, increasing revenues and putting the club on a solid footing before they move into their new stadium.
But United are miles off challenging the elite in England and another top-five finish this season looks pretty unlikely at this, admittedly, early stage.
Martinez bolsters under-pressure United boss Carrick
For that to happen, Carrick has to work another miracle.
It might be that Martinez’s support – he said the former United midfielder should be backed rather than barracked – will help galvanise the dressing room in a show of solidarity. It’s undoubtedly what Carrick needs right now.
And while his tactics are often questionable, and his unassuming demeanour appears at odds with a manager aspiring to move into the elite bracket, Carrick is not the guilty party here. You could even argue Wilcox has been hung out to dry.
The blame as it has been for the past 23 years, ever since they carved their first slice of the United cake, lies with the Glazers. Invisible owners watching from afar as the club burns.
Their leveraged buyout in 2005 thrust United into a debt that still stands at over £1bn. And while that is not necessarily linked to the modest outlay on players, it is an indication of a lack of care, a lack of understanding and a lack of a coherent plan.
Ratcliffe, who owns almost 29% through his petrochemical company INEOS, is not blameless but the Glazers remain the fundamental problem with everything wrong with Manchester United.
The fish rots from the head down.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
