By ELLIOT AVE-LALLEMANT

If you’ve been watching the Premier League recently, you will have noticed that Manchester United is looking a little different. It’s no secret that they’ve been a little down on their luck recently, but now they seem to be completely unrecognizable.

But how did we get here? To understand that, we have to look at where United was before all of this. 

For years, Manchester United has been associated with one thing: winning. They were pretty good at it too, having a record number of 13 Premier League titles and 20 Football Association (FA) Cups. Until recently, United were the only Premier League team to win the treble (Premier League title, FA Cup, and the Champions League). United have also had some big names play for them in the past, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Peter Schmichel, and David Beckham. United’s success can be mostly attributed to Sir Alex Ferguson, who took over as the club’s manager in 1986. Ferguson would go on to be the most successful manager in United’s history, winning a total of 38 trophies. 

So how did United go from being one of the most dominant teams in Premier League history to not winning a single Prem. title in almost 12 years? There could be a few reasons. The most obvious one is the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. His retirement left some very big shoes to fill, and the club has gone through eight managers since then, all of which have had very little success. Going through different managers who have different ways of running things is never good for team consistency. These conflicting visions caused certain players to butt heads with the managers, which sometimes ended in disastrous consequences. Some of United’s problems can be associated with their current manager Erik ten Hag, whose style of play seems to clash with some of the players at the club.

Alex Ferguson was also well known for his ability to sign young players with lots of potential and mold them into great players. Since his departure, United has wasted lots of money on signings that never panned out. Players like Antony, Jadon Sancho, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Maguire all weren’t successful at United, had unsuccessful careers, or found success elsewhere. 

The final reason is the club’s ownership. They seem to be spending money in all the wrong places. While other clubs like Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool have started to develop their stadiums, United looks like they are falling behind and have a stadium with a leaky roof. They also seem to be overpaying for players who are definitely not going to bring anything to the club. 

Hopefully Erik ten Hag can end Manchester United’s run of bad form soon, or his name may be next on the list of previous United managers. In terms of the current season, I predict that United will just barely qualify for European competition. I also think that this could finally be the year they end on a trophy-less season. If one thing’s for certain though, it’s that there are some dark days ahead for United fans, who will probably be thinking about the glory days for a long time.

Featured Image: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag via CBS Sports