What’s wrong with Manchester United?

Most of the football world was met with the surprising news on Monday, the 5th of January, 2026, that Manchester United had decided to part ways with their Portuguese manager, Ruben Amorim, after 14 months in the Old Trafford hotseat. Most fans were pleased to see the back of the man, seeing him depart with the worst winning percentage ever for permanent head coaches in charge of the club in the modern era. With that being said, there seems to be a bigger problem at the club, and TBS Sports will seek to address what it might be in this article!

What might be the problems with Manchester United?

We will start with the people calling the shots, the ownership structure, and the board! The Glazers have been in charge of the affairs of Man United since the mid-2000’s, and while a lot of money has been put into the club, they have also saddled it with a tremendous amount of crippling debt, primarily due to the Glazer family reportedly borrowing a significant amount of money to purchase the club! According to an article from Inside World Football, the club’s debt surpassed the $1 billion (£749m) threshold in December 2025. This will undeniably affect decision-making and will put lots of unhealthy pressure on the staff.

Another issue contributing to the mess at Manchester United is the unfortunate bias and toxicity that’s constantly being thrown at them by the media, and ironically, a lot of that stems from people who claim to have the club’s own interests at heart! Club legends like Gary Neville have consistently called out and undermined the efforts of the managers who don’t fit their perceived “identity” of the club, and that places a lot of unwanted pressure on the coaching, technical, and playing staff, especially when you consider the amount of influence and sway these icons hold concerning shaping public opinion.

A third issue to consider is the apparent lack of willingness and patience to fully see a plan out. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS came into control of the footballing administration of the club with the aim of making the playing side attractive and competitive. Yet in their short time in control, they have hired and subsequently let go of seemingly key figures in their vision and made a lot of baffling decisions to boot (the case of Dan Ashworth’s time at the club, and the handling of Ten Hag and Amorim’s managerial stints instantly come to mind).

The chopping and changing will do no good in terms of promoting hope in their abilities, and naturally, will fester doubt and uncertainty.

The final issue is in relation to what the identity of the playing squad should be. Manchester City looked at everything that worked well with FC Barcelona at the time, compared with the issues that Paris Saint-Germain had at the time with translating newfound wealth into building a healthy, world-class squad, and the success Chelsea had under the Abramovich era, came up with an identity, and executed it to perfection with the recruiting of key figures like Txiki Begirinstain and Pep Guardiola at the right time to compliment this vision. Manchester United as a club needs to have a long-term goal, hire the right people at all playing and boardroom levels, and give them time to make it work!

Keen to share your thoughts on the matter? Is there more in the background that needs to be addressed concerning Manchester United?

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