The problems that are currently plaguing Manchester United are deep-rooted in the club.
When Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 he left a power vacuum at Old Trafford that has never really been filled. No longer under the guidance of an all encompassing manager who made all the vital decisions, United have lacked vision and direction.
All of that has resulted in their current predicament, where they find themselves increasingly cut adrift from their competitors.
Of course, this seems to matter little to their owners. The Glazer family have long been more concerned with their performance off the pitch as opposed to on it, with that aspect currently thriving.
Speaking on BT Sport this morning, Joe Cole and Peter Crouch summed up the problems at the club, most of which stem from their ownership. To summarise, they feel United is being treated merely as a business and not as a football club.
"Have the Glazers got a passion for Man Utd? Not like the fans have.."
How do you solve a problem like Manchester United?@petercrouch and Joe Cole have a go.#EarlyKickOff pic.twitter.com/54OosiiD3t— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 28, 2019
Crouch: Ed Woodward is quite clearly a financial man, he is not a football man. But the Glazers will be happy. There's the record revenue that they've just generated, £600million.
If you were living in America and looking at the model, you would be pleased. Financially it is making sense for them...
At Manchester United at the moment they seem to be buying top players who become available, I think they were linked with Christian Eriksen today. Yeah he's a top player, but does he fit into the way Manchester United want to play?
I think they are missing a director of football or a link from the financial side to the playing side. At the moment the decisions being made aren't the right ones.
Cole agreed with Crouch's point, and also said the club have trended in the wrong direction when they started to treat their supporters as customers.
When it goes wrong is when they underestimate how important the fans are. They treat them like customers.
The fans are the lifeblood of any football club, whether they are living in the city or on the other side of the world. You to have to listen to them, you have to know what makes them tick.
Manchester United fans have been accustomed to unparalleled success and it's upsetting for them when it's not there.
