Life after Ferguson
Ferguson's departure was an organisational and ideological shock the club never prepared for, and I've argued United remain hostages of their own history, unable to let go of the nostalgia and delusions that also explain why every manager since has failed.
The posts
- Longform Why do United managers fail? From Van Gaal to Amorim, United have appointed managers to atone for the last one rather than to build the next thing.
- Longform Hostages of history Three causes: a club that never replaced Ferguson's structure, a manager whose principles stopped adapting, and a media war neither side could win.
- Longform Life after death Thirty-five years after Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford, United are still structured around a man who wove himself into every pore of the club.