News

This is Manchester United we’re talking about here. But for how much longer?


Ruud van Nistelrooy and Erik ten Hag have both had a go at managing Manchester United in the post-Ferguson era

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Erik ten Hag have both had a go at managing Manchester United in the post-Ferguson era (Picture: Getty Images)

Someone on the internet (unpromising start but stay with me) harvests clips of football managers, the odd actor and for some reason always Dion Dublin delivering classic football lines. The mystery man edits them into montages so funny they will make you snort out your tea.

One of my favourites is called This is the Premier League We’re Talking About. As we zip down through (nearly) all the teams in the league, it quickly becomes obvious that it is actually Manchester United We’re Talking About Here.

Then halfway through the video, it dawns on you. Every pundit, player, coach, everybody involved in the game of football says ‘This is Manchester United we’re talking about’ in exactly the same way.

The cadence is identical, there’s no other way of delivering the line. It’s a song without any need for lyrical complexity because the context is ingrained so deeply in the emotion of the delivery. This includes yearning, pain, grandeur, quite a high level of fear, dismay and if – you are connected to the club – a sprinkling of rage.

If you’re my age, you’ve suffered through the playground era of Ferguson’s United winning everything.

It has now been more than a decade since United were a dominant force and they are currently searching for their sixth permanent manager since Sir Alex. Include all the stopgaps and Ralf Rangnick and the next guy will be the tenth to run Manchester United’s football product in 11 years.

Ruben Amorim is poised to take charge of Manchester United (Picture: Getty Images)

Last time you and I spoke it was about the impossible job: boss of the England men’s team. Erik ten Hag’s departure means we’ve got another one to consider – Manchester United manager. Ten Hag got marginally less time than Jose Mourinho and around six months more than Louis van Gaal.

He delivered two trophies. He pissed a lot of people off, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho. He denied that Tottenham defeat really counted because of the red card. His minder pushed Sky reporter Gary Cotterill. He survived an ownership transition at the club and a whole load of rumours. His beard retained its integrity throughout.

Managing United has become so hard perhaps because, despite the decade of dallying and despite the absurd dominance of the other Manchester club in the modern era, per Bryan Gunn’s internet montages, Manchester United is the Premier League.

Erik ten Hag delivered an FA Cup and Carabao Cup for Manchester United (Picture: Getty Images)

Eras get easily lost in football discourse, history is vulnerable from all sides, but the magnitude of what the club achieved in that 20 years when the Premier League made English football a truly global export is untouchable.

And it delivered a fan land-grab, a ‘first-mover advantage’ in business speak, on which everything in the top division of English football has rested.

United supporters have …read more

Source:: Metro

      

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *