Looking at the current predicament that Manchester United find themselves in, it's difficult not to get a sense of déjà vu.
It may be a different manager and quite a few different players, but the mood around the club is a familiar one. Results on the pitch have been poor, with quite a few members of their squad lacking both in terms of form and application.
Erik ten Hag has also struggled to implement any sort of tactical identity within the side, a damning indictment of his tenure when you consider that he has been in charge for 18 months and spent a huge amount of money during that period.
Of course, all of this is incredibly similar to what has happened under all of their previous managers over the last decade.
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Richard Keys had mad solution to Manchester United problems
It is clear that Manchester United are a poorly run club, with the lack of a robust footballing structure at Old Trafford resulting in a lack of direction both on and off the pitch. Their fans will hope that this will change under the minority ownership of Jim Ratcliffe, although the lingering presence of the Glazer family makes that a difficult outcome to anticipate.
It is likely that real overarching changes will be needed to move the club forward, although we're not sure that this suggestion from Richard Keys is the way to go.
Speaking on beIN SPORTS, he put forward his radical solution to turn Manchester United around. It was mental.
Richard Keys is theoretically handed the keys to Man Utd.... and here is his plan 👇
Dwight Yorke and Jason McAteer can't believe what they are hearing... but does it make footballing sense?#beINPL #MUFC #LFC pic.twitter.com/NvEPIOQG9J— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) December 3, 2023
I would thank the current coach for his time. If I couldn't go out and get my target immediately, I would be treading water until I can...
In my view, Manchester United should go now to Leverkusen and say to Xabi Alonso 'we want you to come to Old Trafford, we will give you Saudi league money, and we will guarantee you five years which Fergie had when he came to Old Trafford, whatever happens you will have five years to sort this out for us'.
He for me is the individual, the coach, the person that might just be able to get something going...
Right now, he is the next best young thing on the scene. He is getting mentioned as a successor to Ancelotti, and Klopp, and Guardiola.
Xabi Alonso is no doubt an intriguing coaching prospect, one that will be in the running for big jobs over the next couple of years if he continues along his current trajectory.
However, handing him an unbreakable five year contract would be an absolutely bizarre move, one that no serious football club would agree to. The 'Saudi league money' is another interesting inclusion, especially when you consider that Manchester United have already outspent every other club in world football over the last decade.
In fact, this would be an even more obvious example of the problem Manchester United have had over the last decade: giving too much power to the manager.
Each of the coaches they have hired since Alex Ferguson left the club have been allowed to sign the players of their choosing and decide the tactical direction of the team with no oversight from elsewhere in the club. It has result in a mess of a sporting project that is going nowhere fast.
Giving another manager an unimpeachable five-year term with unlimited power is probably not the silver bullet the Qatar-based presenter seems to think it is. All in all, it just seems like an insane idea.
Perhaps Richard Keys is not the footballing genius that he has made himself out to be? No, that can't be it.
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