The problem with Man United is they want to be glamorous
From the board to the playing staff, they're too bought into their own glamour
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The problem with United is glamour.
They try too hard to be glamorous - and this is true all the way through the club.
It is true at the top, of board-level, and it is true among the playing staff; the clearest example of a fish rotting from the head. When Jurgen Klopp was approached by Manchester United after leaving Dortmund Ed Woodward pitched Manchester United to him as Disneyland for adults.
That shows the way the United board and exec viewed the club.
They viewed it through the lens of impressions on social media, through the lens of views, through the lens of being the story of the day.
We see this also in many of Manchester United's transfer policies at the time; it was big names.
Pogba, Di Maria, Ibra - only some of the ones who were brought in, even Bastian Schweinsteiger, Romelu Lukaku, and Alexis Sanchez.
And then we see it more recently, Ole Gunner Solskjaer had improved that team year on year and they had done surprisingly well. I think looking back, he was underrated at the time, but his entire footballing philosophy was ripped apart by the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo who had to be main man on the team and the team had to change the way it played to suit him.
Which meant a higher line which ruined their defensive structure, which was previously very good. And it decimated the ability for players like Maguire to contribute well, because he can't play with a high line - not effectively.
And Ronaldo and the circus around him was one of the main failings from that transfer window but they also went after Varane, who may be a good signing. We see them then a season later go after Casemiro - trying to sign yet more of these Real Madrid stars who were no longer wanted.
There has been a constant push for glamour.
When was the last time Manchester City prioritized an aging superstar? Or Liverpool?
The only recent example is Thiago and he came into a settled team with a purpose and a clear function.
This search for glamour is key to Manchester United's struggles at the top in the exec. It also can be shown in the manager choices: Van Gaal, Mourinho.
The fact they ended up forced into Ole and had to keep him because of his good form doesn't change that.
And we see it on the pitch too.
If you look at Liverpool or Manchester City, you see teams that are defined by their off ball movement.
Liverpool works when Liverpool presses well. City work when they are positioned well. The managers know this and if you are good on the ball, but you are not good enough off the ball, then you don't get picked to start games regularly.
You have to be able to be part of the press in a Liverpool team. You have to be able to do the running for Klopp.
For Pep, you need to be in the right positions because his positional philosophy doesn't work if people aren't in the right positions - being in the right positions makes the team stronger even if it's at the expense of the individual.
With United, it appears they consistently sign players who are good on the ball but lacking off the ball and failing in that basic professionalism.
The reason this will persist is precisely because their players are good on the ball.
Who are their players who are not good enough off the ball? Well, Rashford - who I do like as an individual and is a very good player when he's on form - but he has been brought up as a professional in an environment where he does not need to put the effort in off the ball; he doesn't press well, he doesn't hold structure well. He moves around the pitch like a superstar; like Messi or Ronaldo jogging and moving and the occasional sprint to show willing.
But it's not just Rashford. Bruno Fernandes is their creative linchpin. He is arguably the best player they have. Bruno Fernandes - United fans will tell you - runs off the ball and he does; he covers distance, he puts in effort, he runs here and there sometimes with great intent.
However, what he lacks - which was evident yesterday - is professionalism.
He kicks out at players, he does silly things on the pitch. He loses his head easily and he mopes.
My mother's prediction for the game yesterday was at some point we would see Bruno Fernandes do his mopey walk around the pitch, and she was very correct.
He doesn't hold his positioning properly. He doesn't track his runners properly. He lashes out and he lacks professionalism and he is the club captain.
How many other players do United have who struggle off the ball to put in the necessary effort to achieve an effective shape and structure?
Antony is one of them but his off ball work is the least of his problems.
The stars don't do the necessary off ball work and that seeps into the rest of the team.
Ten Hag did some good work in getting rid of players who didn't do all the necessary work off ball in Pogba and Lingard, but there's more work to be done. The Glamour of Manchester United, visible in their board & visible in the way the club is run, suggests they would not be willing to get rid of their stars when the stars are the ones who don't run, when the stars are the ones who don't hold structure and shape and position.
The glamour at the top and the glamour at the bottom are connected and they feed into each other and off each other. They are synergistic.
Manchester United needs to look in the mirror and rethink - what is at its core?
This exercise was undertaken superficially under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the club as a whole needs to look at what it is, what it has become.
And what it needs to return to being.
Glamour does not win trophies.