Who is to blame for Manchester United's fall from grace?

First of all, let’s look at how the past six years have gone. Back in 2013, Manchester United appointed David Moyes as their successor to Sir Alex Ferguson and he was given a six-year deal. However, he only lasted 10 months and was eventually sacked by Old Trafford hierarchy.

After Moyes, Manchester United went in search of a more experienced manager. With a resume that included successful stints at Barcelona, Ajax, and the Dutch National team, Louis van Gaal was chosen to take the reins at United. It didn’t work out too well for van Gaal either as he won the FA Cup and got sacked 48 hours later.

At this point, the pressure was on the Manchester United hierarchy to find the suitable manager. The last two managers had failed, and the demand for success was at an epidemic level. Across the road, Manchester City had just appointed Pep Guardiola, and the only man that rivaled him was José Mourinho. The United board seemingly panicked a little and pounced to bring the world-class Portuguese manager to Old Trafford.

Mourinho’s time at United is quite mixed as he delivered three trophies in the first season, and pushed them to a respective second place finish in the second season. However, it all went wrong for him in the third season, but is he guilty for United's mishap?

First of all, I feel the finger of guilt should be pointed at the board and Ed Woodward. These are the people that are bringing in these managers and players. They have spent an excessive amount of money, but ultimately they bought poorly and United's need for a football director is ever growing.

The board have failed to analyse the key areas that need strengthening in the team, for example, United have needed a world class right back for several years. Due to the board's incompetence, players like Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia fill in the full-back roles for the past several years.

Don’t get me wrong: The past three managers that failed at this football club must also take the blame for the downfall due to their poor tactics and poor game management. At the end of the day, it’s not the board picking these players for the matchday squad. It's the manager.

It's becoming pretty evident that a certain issue many people dismissed over the last several years is the increase of player power at this football club. We're starting to see this problem under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The players have no excuse to keep showing poor performances.

In the last few weeks, every single player has been poor and they deserve to be called out for it. They have no excuse for their poor showcasing. After all, these players wanted Solskjaer, so why are they down-tolling now?

To conclude I feel the blame should be shared between the players, the past three managers, and the board. Especially the board. With the lack of football knowledge showcased at the club, it's become clear that Manchester United is more of a business than a football club to them.

A big summer is needed for Manchester United. Huge clearouts and buys are also needed if they want to hit the levels of Manchester City and Liverpool again.