As Manchester United struggled to find a way past Sheffield United last week, a team playing two league below the record Premier League champions, in the FA Cup, the Sheffield fans chanted asking whether they should sing for United.
Tongue in cheek no doubt, and United fans replied with chants of ‘we have bigger problems than you’. All part of the beautiful game and taken in good spirit by both sides but the fact that United fans have been in a constant uproar since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement cannot be disputed.
Whether it was during David Moyes’ time at the helm or Louis van Gaal’s, the fans have longed for a return of the glory years when United played with flair, took risks and entertained. Perhaps it is time to think that those days are over and are unlikely to return.
United are unique in the sense that for over 25 years there was one man at the top. A rarity in the current landscape.
Ferguson’s longevity meant that there was continuity and constant growth. There was a three or four year plan and transition happened surely and smoothly.
His style of play was without question entertaining and his era provided newcomers time to grow and bloom while embracing the Man United style of play.
Take Cristiano Ronaldo for example. He came in as a prancing winger more interested in strutting his stuff than crossing, only to be transformed into a goal-scoring machine who used his prodigious talent for trickery only when needed. He learned to pick his moments.
Wayne Rooney came in much the same as a bullish striker who operated solely on his natural instinct. The Scotsman turned him into a complete player who can play across the frontline while being tactically aware.
Same case can be made of Patrice Evra or Nemanja Vidic. But since Ferguson’s retirement, it has been different. Angel di Maria, for all his talents, was shown the door after just one season while Chicharito, always good value to score, is now plundering goals for Bayer Leverkusen.
The scenario has changed at Manchester and the fans crave for excitement.
This is in no way a defence for either of Ferguson’s successors but the fans need to understand that Ferguson era has ended and unless they leave the past behind and look to the future, the managers will find it hard to imbibe their style. But it has been three years since Ferguson walked off into the sunset and it is time for the supporters to stop saying ‘this is not the Manchester United way.’
Going forward, is the Manchester United way.
