Why Manchester United Need More Than A Squad Overhaul

• Why Manchester United As A Club Need More Than A Squad Overhaul And New Manager

Manchester United qualified for their second FA Cup final in two years after they defeated Coventry via penalty shoot-out on Sunday evening. Despite the win, it was an embarrassing second half display that saw Erk ten Hag’s men lose a 3 goal lead in the last 25 minutes of the game.

Manchester United have had many performances like that this season, and although fans think a squad overhaul will fix this problem, the club might need more than that.

New investors INEOS have already started shaking up the core of Manchester United football club with a series of appointments, and back room changes. This is a good start to fixing problems that the club has had to deal with in recent years.

The next step will be to refresh the squad, and understandably, Manchester United fans are all for it, but the club needs more than just new players.

New Identity From The Start > New Players

Taking a leaf out of Manchester City’s book and avoiding the mistakes of a recent venture like Todd Boehly’s Chelsea is all the advice that the new Manchester United board need.

How?

Before appointing the perfect manager in Pep Guardiola, before the star players they have now, and all the success that has come with it, Manchester City started with building a football culture and identity.

Manchester United should aim to create a new footballing culture from the grassroot of their club up the footballing ladder.

Maybe it’s time to ditch the “United way” of running football, and redefine a clear style that will be seen throughout all age groups at the club. A proper footballing identity that will be visible in any type of player they decide to sign or bring into the first team.

This is the model Manchester City started with, so they could easily attract a manager like Pep Guardiola, who fits their style perfectly, and has since taken them to the next level.

Why?

Football is more robotic and tactical now, maybe it’s not the best thing, but it is what it is. Modern football often exposes teams with no concrete structure and control, like what happened against Coventry on Sunday.

At the core, Manchester United’s footballing identity for the past decade has been chaotic, and reactionary at best. From impulse buying the biggest footballing names, to pairing managers and players with contradictory ideas, values and strengths. The club will continue to fail if they do not seek to redevelop their footballing identity to suit modern football.

People inside and around Manchester United are still looking for a team that will remind them of the peak Sir Alex Ferguson days. It is time to let that go now, and build a progressive footballing culture that will take advantage of the nuances of Modern football.