Manchester United’s 2024-25 Premier League season has been nothing short of a catastrophe, cementing their status as a fallen giant. With 15 league losses, the most in their Premier League history, and a guaranteed record-low points total, this campaign is officially their worst ever. Fans are reeling, and the finger of blame points squarely at a toxic cocktail of poor management, abysmal coaching decisions, and a transfer strategy that has been an unmitigated disaster.
Fifteen Losses and Counting
Let’s start with the transfers. The club’s recruitment has been a masterclass in throwing money into a black hole. Take Antony, signed for a staggering £86 million in 2022. The Brazilian winger was meant to be a game-changer, but he’s been a monumental flop, with just 12 goals and five assists in 91 appearances. His performances have been so lackluster that fans joke he’s better at spinning in circles than creating chances. Compare that to Scott McTominay, sold to Napoli for a measly £25.7 million. The academy graduate from Scotland, who was once a scapegoat for United’s midfield woes, has been a revelation in Serie A, scoring seven goals and providing four assists in 28 games. Napoli, now in the thick of a title race, owe much of their success to McTominay’s box-crashing tenacity. United’s decision to let him go while retaining overpaid underperformers like Antony is a damning indictment of their executive management.
The mismanagement doesn’t stop there. Erik ten Hag’s tenure, which ended in October 2024, was a slow-motion car crash. His tactical vision, supposedly inspired by possession-based football, devolved into pragmatic chaos, with no clear identity. Signings like Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte, costing a combined £90 million, have flattered to deceive, failing to address the squad’s glaring lack of goals. United’s 57 Premier League goals last season were dwarfed by the top seven teams, all scoring at least 74. Rúben Amorim’s arrival hasn’t stemmed the tide; the team still looks tactically adrift, with players like Rasmus Højlund (two goals in 18 games) struggling in a system that doesn’t suit them.
At the executive level, INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe promised a revolution but delivered half-measures. Their cost-cutting, including 250 job losses, reeks of financial desperation rather than strategic vision. The £113.2 million net loss in 2023-24, despite record revenues, underscores a club spending wildly without a coherent plan. Selling McTominay while keeping deadwood like Casemiro, on £350,000 a week, is not progress, it is both regression and insanity.
McTominay has breathed fire into title-chasing Napoli’s Midfield
Manchester United’s woes are a self-inflicted wound. Until they prioritize footballing intelligence over brand optics, this once-great club will remain a cautionary tale of how to squander legacy, talent, and millions and be lurched into crippling debt and all under the Glazers watch. It is no wonder fans want their club back.
Related: From Champs to Chumps with the Glazer Family. – Athlon Sports