Manchester United have been painful to watch this season. The club's new co-owner has a decision to make on Erik ten Hag, who is ultimately responsible for the team's poor performances, and should go all out to appoint Zinedine Zidane.
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Like other United managers over the past decade have, the Dutchman is the man who'll probably take the fall, and rightfully so. The Red Devils find themselves 11 points behind fourth spot on the Premier League table, and have been consistently inconsistent since the campaign got underway. After Ten Hag's promising debut season, the once-great Manchester giants have fallen well short of expectations and it is looking increasingly likely he will be made to pay the price. New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has appeared, perhaps unlike Glazers, to be a man of standards. While he is naturally going to say things that he believes the United faithful will want to hear, he has stressed the importance of playing UEFA Champions League football, as well as the importance of restoring the club's status among the best. United have become a punchline to the joke, and Ten Hag's handling of the media isn't helping the way in which he and his so-called project is being perceived. Ratcliffe, who recently said he "hates" all of the club's rivals and suggested he is more interested in finding the "next Roy Keane" than he is in throwing money around, will surely want a cooler presence in his dugout. Ten Hag has deflected all season long. He has blamed injuries for the team's below-par displays. He said the "bigger picture looks very good" after United lost 2-1 to Fulham at Old Trafford in February, in one of the team's worst performances since his appointment in 2022. I don't agree. The bigger picture only looks good cropped and photoshopped (remove at least six players from United's regular starting XI and I'll call it promising).
It's been a season of new lows for the 20-time English champions too. United shipped 15 goals in the Champions League – the most by any English club in the competition's group stage. They lost four of their opening seven league matches this season, another first. They conceded three goals at Old Trafford against Bournemouth; that had never happened before. And the list goes on. With only nine league games left to be played until the campaign ends, United's goal difference of zero, it can be argued, is the most humiliating statistic of them all. Only 40 goals for and a worrying 40 goals against for a squad worth £629 million (R14.8 billion).
I think I've made my point clear, but how is it possible that 18th-paced Luton Town have scored more times than the iconic Manchester United? This begs the question: Should Ten Hag be moved on by United's new co-owner? I think the team's performances since Ratcliffe has been in the stands won't have left him feeling very inspired, and that it shouldn't come as a surprise if he and those he employs believe this new chapter should begin with a new face and voice leading the team. Gareth Southgate's name has been mentioned, but would it be smart for a team with its current reputation to hire a not-so-popular manager who last worked at club level in 2009? Wouldn't that add to the feeling that this is a club unable of conducting itself seriously? United need someone with a reputation, someone who won't have to earn anyone's respect. Ratcliffe should go all out to appoint Zidane, the winner of three Champions League titles during his first spell at Real Madrid, as it might actually be the shortest route to getting back to where they once were.
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Whether the problem is Ten Hag's message or the fact that his players aren't willing to listen to it, the buck ultimately stops with him. I see a man intentionally deflecting after every defeat, a man who is desperately trying to buy time by pointing fingers everywhere but at himself. Zidane, though, is as cool and as calm as he was at the height of his playing days in midfield. Considered among the game's greatest players of all time, he is self-assured and it rubs off on those receiving his instructions. He didn't have to convince Cristiano Ronaldo or Sergio Ramos of his plans. He didn't have to beg to win anyone over.
United fans need a manager they believe in. And more importantly, so do the players.
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