A culture shift at Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson retired as the Manchester United manager in 2013 after winning 38 trophies in a gilded 26 year period at the helm. There were eulogies aplenty extolling the achievements of the great Scot.
However, amidst the celebrations of Sir Alex’s career, arguably a more significant change also happened at the club. The Manchester United CEO David Gill departed aswell, and Ed Woodward replaced him.
As Manutd stuttered on the pitch under David Moyes and Van gaal before seemingly finding stability under Jose Mourinho, Mr Woodward and his team went about bringing a change to Manutd's footballing culture.
The last old-school bastion of English football became the last Premier League club to start a Twitter account. The club’s transfer policy has also changed. In the David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson years, United preferred investing in younger players such as Ronaldo, Rooney, De Gea, Jones etc, or taking a punt on talents such as Chicharito.
Now they are looking to splash the cash on established superstars. Woodward’s first transfer window was admittedly a chastening experience with United failing in pursuit of Gareth Bale, while ending up doing all the splashing on a certain Marouane Fellaini for a little more than £27 million.
But that has not deterred the club, who continue to be linked with the most preposterous deals in transfer fees and wages. United blundering through deals became so famous (or infamous) at one time that the Telegraph produced a skit on Ed Woodward doing transfer deals.
The change in culture is also perceptible in what the club has started celebrating. In recent times, they have celebrated the number of mentions on social media for the Alexis Sanchez transfer being much more than that of Neymar's move to PSG.
The club also seems to have celebrated United’s YouTube channel being the fastest growing sports channel more than the 2018 FA Cup final. Maybe that is just an evidence of the times we live in, but surely the football needs to take precedence above anything else at a football club.
The most recent culture shift is apparent in the headlines United seem to hogging because of the designer suits they will wear before the FA Cup final. United fans who have long memories will understand the irony of the culture shift if they look back to the 1996 FA Cup final in which Manchester United beat Liverpool.
The final became infamous for the Liverpool players parading their cream Armani suits. Sir Alex Ferguson mentioned to the BBC, a few years later, that he knew United would win as soon as he saw their suits.
United’s 'designer suits' chatter seem to typify the role reversal of Liverpool and United which seems to be taking place. Liverpool seem to be becoming the Manchester United of the 90s under Klopp, while Manchester United at least off the pitch seem to be on a quest to embrace the 'spice boy' culture that was prevalent at Liverpool football club in the 90s.
Jose Mourinho may be doing his utmost to recreate the winning mentality at Manchester United, but it is the loss of United’s culture and mindset that may prove most damaging in the long run.