Manchester United haven’t been the same team since their title-winning campaign in the 2012-13 season under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. The Scotsman enjoyed a hugely decorated spell at Old Trafford that lasted for 26 years before deciding to call it a day post the 20th League title win in 2013.
Things have hardly gone well for the Mancunians since then. David Moyes was appointed as Sir Alex’s successor, but the former Everton manager, who had signed a six-year contract, did not even last for a single complete season. The current Sunderland manager was sacked late in the 2013-14 season, with Ryan Giggs taking up the role of caretaker manager till the end of the season as the Red Devils finished 7th in the Premier League.
The subsequent season saw the appointment of Dutchman Louis Van Gaal as the new manager. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager managed to get United back into the Champions League leading his team to a fourth-place finish in his first season in charge. However, the football that Van Gaal’s team played was dour and uninspiring, something that stood completely against the identity and philosophy that United have developed over the years.
And things began to unravel for the Dutchman in his second season. The Red Devils finished sixth in the league in the 2015-16 campaign, but did manage to win the FA Cup, a trophy that had eluded them for quite some time now. But that was not enough to guarantee Van Gaal’s job, as he too was shown doors post that season with Jose Mourinho being appointed the new United manager in the summer.
Jose has had to endure a poor start to the season, but with the year-end approaching, his team has managed to put together a good run of results and are on the ascendancy again.
In what has been a rocky three-year period post Sir Alex’s retirement, we look at five high-profile managerial mistakes made by the legendary manager’s successors:
5. Abysmal Transfer Summer under Moyes
Moyes came into Old Trafford with a need to revamp the squad as he looked to build a team in his own image. However, the Scotsman, along with United’s then-newly appointed Chief Executive Ed Woodward spent most of the transfer window chasing ghosts. The duo went after former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas who was playing for Barcelona and had no interest in moving to United. Moyes also struggled to replace the ageing centre-back duo of Vidic and Ferdinand.
The only player he brought in that summer was Marouane Fellaini that too on the deadline day from his former club. United had an opportunity to sign the Belgian for much cheaper earlier in the season, but ended up overspending. And Fellaini has been far from a success story at United and has struggled to carve out a spot for him in the line-up despite being in his fourth season at Old Trafford.