Manchester United have struggled to compete with the likes of Manchester City since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, but with Jurgen Klopp stepping down at Liverpool at the end of the season and the style of football implemented in the top competitions of football, where does the gap lie between the red and blue side of Manchester? Pep Guardiola has proved to be a fantastic manager raking up various honours but how long will he prove to stick with the blue side of Manchester until he chooses to call it a day and retire? It begs the question will the dominance of the Big 6 in English Football change over the next decade?
With the recent derby defeat at the Etihad Stadium losing 3-1 to their arch rivals, it was clear to see a plan of how to counteract Manchester City's press something which was not so clear in recent clashes according to pundit Roy Keane. The young era of Manchester United however are proving to be impressive with Bruno Fernandes a star experienced player of recent. Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund all with bright futures ahead.
Mainoo has proved to be a tidy fit for the Red Devils scoring in the last minute away at Molineux secure all three points for Manchester United. With impressive performances all round he has been compared amongst the greats such as Wayne Rooney and a call up in England isn't far away for the youngster if he continues with his brilliant performances. The future of United is much on track if you take a look at their youngsters evolving through the Academy and making first team football.
Alejandro Garnacho is another player who has taken his game to another level this season, the memorable overhead kick away at Goodison Park instantly coming to mind. Having joined United in 2020 he has broken his way into first team football and impressed, with consistency maybe his only criticism at this stage, he looks to have something different about his game at such a young age of 19.
Hojlund joined from Atalanta in the summer of 2022 and has been a fantastic find and a breath of fresh air for United's front line which has been an area of concern drying up their goals last season. His record this season shows the potential he certainly has with the the service in behind of Casemiro, Antony, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes. The Danish forward has played 20 games scoring 7 and assisting 2 in the Premier League.
With all sorts of controversy around the ownership of the club from the top, protests around the Glazers and the fund available to potently invest into the squad United cried out for investment and there came Sir Jim Ratcliffe with an investment and the intentions of changing around the fortunes of the football club on and off the pitch. Ratcliffe has acquired a 25% stake in the club in a deal worth around 1.3 billion, He also takes responsibility for football operations, plus a say in the commercial side controlled by the Glazer family.
Ratcliffe, the club’s new minority owner, says his ambition is to knock City “off their perch” in the next three years but United have a lot of catching up to do. “We have to show ambition, we want to be the best. That is what United stands for,” Erik Ten Hag said. “But at the same time, we know where we are now. We’ve also seen that there are moments where we go toe-to-toe, so that’s the belief we have as a team. We have to pick up those moments and we have to prove it in every game and I think we’re able to with this squad we have, that we can go toe-to-toe with them. The short history shows that. I have a lot of respect for them, but not the respect that we think we can’t win against them."
One way United are trying to close the gap is by learning from City’s success. City’s chief football operations officer, Omar Berrada, will join United in the summer as chief executive, while they are keen to hire Jason Wilcox as technical director. The former Blackburn and England winger also worked at City and is now Southampton’s director of football.
“You can always learn from opponents who are successful and you have to do it if you want to go to higher levels,” Ten Hag said. “But at the same time we have to do it in the United way. This is a different club with a different environment, with a different DNA. And you pick up things that can be successful and you integrate it in your own model.”
United legend Keane says Ten Hag will take over a group of players lacking leadership and resilience and the former captain expects more misery at Old Trafford if the club fail to improve their approach to transfers. Keane told Sky Sports, 'Whatever their problems, they have to look at where Man City are, where Liverpool are. Man City, Liverpool and these other teams aren't going to take it easy over the summer. They're going to reinvest, get players in and get stronger."
"Klopp might stay on, Pep might stay on. It comes down to recruitment: getting the right players in and getting players out of the door, because the last few years just haven't been good enough. How many times can you say it? The biggest frustration for me, when they've had these disappointments, is the reaction they've shown. There's been a real lack of leadership, not enough characters in that dressing room.'