Why is Manchester United in a slump?

For more than a decade, MU has struggled to emerge from the shadow of its glory. What is the cause?

Long ago, Sindhunata, a football observer, warned of MU's decline. He called the problem of MU's declining performance a deep crisis.

"The current target for MU seems to be merely that of a mediocre club, struggling desperately to avoid slipping into the relegation zone. With this basic survival target, MU appears to be erasing its historical legacy as a club that has consistently ranked at the top of English football," stated Sindhunata in his column on March 13, 2025.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, a succession of coaches has been brought in. David Moyes, Ryan Giggs (interim), Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Michael Carrick (interim), Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, Ruud van Nistelrooy (interim). All of them have failed to ignite hope.

Finally, hope has been placed on the shoulders of Ruben Amorim. However, he has not shown the ability to lead MU out of darkness. In fact, after being defeated by Brighton & Hove Albion, 1-3, last January, Amorim lamented, "Perhaps we are the worst team in the history of Manchester United."

When darkness descends, every step taken seems to be wrong. Money may be available, but the player transfers have been misguided. As Mark Ogden detailed in his analysis on ESPN, since the beginning of the 2019-2020 season, MU has spent £776.2 million on player transfers. They aimed for Jude Bellingham, but ended up with Donny van de Beek. They sought Declan Rice, but instead acquired Casemiro. They desired Erling Haaland, yet obtained Odion Ighalo.

According to Sindhunata, greatness will quickly collapse if it is not accompanied by its structural supports. That structure is currently absent in MU. It may have existed in the past, but it is fragile because it relied solely on the prowess of Ferguson's autocracy.

Once Ferguson's power was gone, his autocracy was gone, while there was no ideal structure to support him. As a result, MU fell into the darkness of crisis. "Every week there is a new shock for MU," former player and Premier League expert Rene Adler told ZDF.

Financial problems rock MU, what impact will it have on the club?

The minority owner of MU, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has confirmed that he will not implement a loyalty policy to provide free match tickets to club staff for the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur. Ratcliffe, who leads the daily management of MU, has only allocated two tickets to the first-team players for the final match.

Players can give the free tickets to their family or friends. However, MU does not cover the accommodation costs for the relatives of the players traveling from Manchester to Bilbao and during their stay in Spain. This means that the Red Devils players must reach into their own pockets to include their family and friends in Bilbao.

This condition is certainly in contrast to the policy of Spurs CEO Daniel Levy. Despite being criticized by Spurs supporters during this season due to the team's declining performance on the field, Levy, referring to The Mirror, has confirmed that he will prepare 700 free tickets for permanent Spurs employees to watch the final match. The number is taken from the allocation of 15,000 Spurs tickets at San Mames.

Amidst the uncertainty, Ruben Amorim emerged as a savior. He ensured the provision of 30 tickets for the staff assigned to assist the main team. Not only tickets, but Amorim also funded the families of the staff for match tickets and accommodation while in Bilbao.

"Ruben Amorim paid the expenses for 30 members of the MU dressing room staff to bring their families to the final match in Bilbao. This was a response to the club's decision requiring coaches, physiotherapists, and support staff of the first team to pay for their own tickets," said an ESPN source on Tuesday (13/5/2025).

The management of the Red Devils has also decided to prepare for the Europa League championship celebration in a minimalist manner. MU players are assured that they will not be welcomed with a bus parade when returning from Bilbao to Manchester, one day after the final match.

Instead, management simply prepared a barbecue party at the team's training center in Carrington.

Why is MU's current achievement called the worst in half a century?

If we look at the current league standings, MU is currently the worst in the era of the Premier League, the modern football competition in England that was introduced since the 1992-1993 season. MU has currently accumulated only 39 points from 37 matches, placing them in 16th position out of 20 participating teams.

Although it is assured that they will not be relegated, this position is a setback for Amorim and MU. They are almost certain to finish outside of the 12th position as it is no longer possible to surpass Crystal Palace in that position with two weeks of matches remaining. In fact, throughout history, MU has never finished in that position or worse during the previous Premier League era.

"The thing I fear the most is the assumption that (the defeat) is normal, that it is okay. That is the biggest problem right now. We are losing the belief that we are a big club and it is the end of the world if we lose at home," said Amorim, offering self-criticism to his team.

If examined more closely, MU can currently be considered the worst in the last five decades. Their current position in the league is approaching their darkest history, which occurred in the 1973-1974 season. At that time, during the era of the First Division of the English League, MU was relegated to the Second Division after finishing 21st with a total of only 32 points.

MU is still recorded as the most successful English club in the Premier League era with a collection of 13 trophies and 7 runner-ups since 1992. All of these achievements were achieved by MU in the Ferguson era. The collection is starting to be chased by its neighbor, Manchester City, who now has 8 Premier League trophies and 3 runner-ups. As many as six of the trophies were won by "The Citizens" in the era of Manager Pep Guardiola.

The current champion team, Liverpool, has only secured two trophies in the Premier League era, although their total collection of titles in the English League amounts to 20 cups. This number of trophies matches that of MU throughout the entire era of the English League since 1888.

What challenges will MU face next season?

With the absence in the Champions League next season, the transformation of the squad will be difficult to execute smoothly. No star players are willing to join a club that is not participating in the most prestigious club competition.

The legendary name of the Red Devils can no longer serve as an attraction for players to join. On the other hand, the management led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe will also become increasingly stringent in releasing transfer funds due to the loss of potential income amounting to tens to hundreds of millions of pounds as a result of being absent from European competitions.

"We have two plans in the market (transfer). We must understand that there will be complicated situations for clubs like us not playing in the Champions League, but now we must find a way out of that situation," said Ruben Amorim at the press conference following the match against Spurs, as reported by the BBC.

Suffering will also be experienced by MU supporters. They will face an increase in ticket prices, both for season passes and individual tickets. The price hike has been announced in line with the new policy from Ratcliffe.

Regarding Amorim's future, Rio Ferdinand, the former central defender of MU, believes that the new manager still deserves full support from the club's management. According to him, the Portuguese tactician arrived in a very complicated situation at MU.

"The club must provide full support to Ruben (Amorim). Give him the players he needs. In his first season, he came with a playing style that had no connection to his predecessors and did not prepare the team through the preseason," Ferdinand told TNT Sports.

"I have known this club. I understand what it means to be a coach here. And, I know what this team needs. We have seen progress even though we often suffer poor results due to failures in anticipating small details," said Amorim, who is 40 years old.