3 Reasons why Manchester United are no longer a feared club

Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United were one of the most feared teams in all of Europe. They were ruthless in attack, a brick wall in defence, and had a winning mentality that made them win countless trophies. With the likes of Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney, Scholes and Ferdinand in the team, they also had one of the most complete squads in the world.

When comparing that squad with the current one, the difference is similar to the ones between night and day. Instead of having defenders such as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic who can marshall a defence, United have defenders such as Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, who are highly prone to making mistakes.

Instead of having midfielders such as Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs who can control the midfield, they have players such as Paul Pogba, who is largely inconsistent. Lastly, instead of having an amazing winger such as Cristiano Ronaldo, they have Alexis Sanchez, who has managed just one goal this entire season.

Here are a few reasons why Manchester United are currently in such a dismal position:

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#1 Lack of stability in the managerial position

Can Solskjaer turn things around at Manchester United?

Manchester United have failed to find a worthy replacement for Alex Ferguson. Both David Moyes and Louis van Gaal failed to make any reasonable impact and departed the club after a few miserable seasons. The United board's decision to hire Jose Mourinho was definitely an interesting one, as 'The Special One' had been very successful at his previous clubs, including fellow English rivals Chelsea.

Even though he spent exuberant amounts of money, he could not get the best out of his team. His public criticism of the United squad, with emphasis on Pogba and Luke Shaw, did not sit well with the board and he was finally given his marching orders in November 2018.

His replacement, interim turned permanent manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, started his term brilliantly but it only turned out to be the honeymoon period. Manchester United ended the season in the 6th position while conceding a record low 54 goals.

Manchester United need to get a world class manager who can not only work with the players he has but can also attract world class players to come and play for him. We only need to look at how much Liverpool, Tottenham and Bournemouth have progressed under their respective managers.

#2 Lack of leadership

Pogba may be a talented player, but is he a leader?

For any team to be successful, they need to have a leader. That person should be someone who is well respected throughout the entire squad, including the manager and the staff, and needs to be devoted to the club. If we look at the squad during Ferguson's era, we can see many leaders such as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

When comparing that to this season's squad, there is no identifiable leader in the team. Even though Ashley Young may be the only available candidate, you need to be consistent throughout the season, which Young is not.

#3 Faulty management of player contracts

Did Phil Jones really deserve a contract extension?

One of United's biggest problems in recent years is the contracts that they have given to the players, or, more importantly, the contracts that they have not given to players. Ferguson was careful when it came to this area. He had in mind the squad that he desired and the dead weight was moved on. Even when the players that he wanted were offered contract extensions, many were not long term. For example, Ryan Giggs signed a 1-year contract extension at United in 2009, when he was 35 years old.

Things have taken a downturn since then, and United have been criticized in the way they are dealing with players' contract extensions. During the last year, Ashley Young, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have all been handed long term contracts, even though they have had very inconsistent seasons and have struggled for large parts of the campaign.

On the other hand, there are players such as David de Gea, Juan Mata, and Ander Herrera, who deserve a contract extension but are instead being allowed to run down their contracts. De Gea, who has arguably been Manchester United's best player for the past few years, has still not been given a new contract. He has been a world-class goalkeeper for United and has kept them in the game on countless occasions. Letting one of the world's best goalkeepers walk on a potential free transfer is one of the biggest mistakes Manchester United can make.

Keeping all the above points in mind, Manchester United need at least a couple of good transfer windows under a world class manager if they truly wish to become a force to be reckoned with. If that does not happen, there is a high possibility that United may eventually drop out of the top 6.