When Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in 2016, the club did not simply hand him the existing squad and tell him to figure it out.
City made major changes.
They cleared out players who were not part of the long-term plan and then invested heavily in players who suited Guardiola’s style of football. 💰🔥
📅 2016: THE CLEAR-OUT BEGAN
Joe Hart was sent out on loan, while Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Eliaquim Mangala and Martín Demichelis all left the club.
City were already making it clear that a new manager meant a new direction.
📅 2017: MORE EXPERIENCE OUT, MORE CHANGE IN
The following summer saw even more departures.
Pablo Zabaleta, Gaël Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Jesús Navas, Nolito, Kelechi Iheanacho, Fernando and Willy Caballero all moved on.
Then came another important part of the rebuild. 👀
City backed Guardiola with players such as Ederson, Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy, Danilo and Bernardo Silva.
The squad was gradually reshaped around the manager’s footballing ideas.
💥 THAT IS WHERE THE UNITED COMPARISON STARTS
Manchester United have gone through several managerial changes in recent years, but one issue continues to return.
The manager changes.
The expectations change.
The tactical ideas change.
But a number of familiar players remain.
Luke Shaw has been at United since 2014.
Diogo Dalot arrived in 2018.
Harry Maguire joined in 2019.
And other players from previous eras have also remained through multiple managerial cycles.
So the question becomes:
How many different managers can inherit essentially the same core before the club accepts that the problem may also be the squad itself? 🤔
🔴 NEW MANAGER. SAME PROBLEM.
A new coach arrives with his own footballing philosophy.
He makes changes.
The team improves in some areas.
Then results drop.
The manager comes under pressure.
Eventually, another manager arrives.
And the cycle begins again.
Meanwhile, the squad continues to contain players recruited for very different managers, tactical systems and footballing ideas.
🔥 THE BIG DIFFERENCE
Guardiola’s Manchester City project was supported by significant squad turnover and recruitment specifically designed around his football.
United’s challenge has often been more complicated: managers have been expected to improve results while simultaneously working with players inherited from previous regimes.
That doesn’t mean every United problem can be blamed on recruitment or the board.
Managers still make tactical decisions.
Players still have to perform.
And recruitment alone cannot guarantee success.
But there is an important lesson from City’s transformation:
If a club wants a genuinely new era, changing the manager may not be enough.
Sometimes the squad itself needs a major reset.
💣 You cannot keep changing the person in charge while leaving large parts of the previous project behind and then expect completely different results.
Manchester United have already seen different managers try to solve the club’s problems.
Perhaps the bigger question is not simply “Who should be the next manager?”
It is:
“What kind of squad should the next manager actually inherit?” 🔴👀
#MUFC #ManchesterUnited #ManCity #PepGuardiola #MichaelCarrick #PremierLeague #INEOS #ManUnited #FootballNews
