Over the past few weeks fans and critics alike have identified several problems that persist at Manchester United Football Club. One of those major issues centres around player mentality. This season we have seen a lot of questions over the mentality of the players and whether they are up to the challenge of playing for Manchester United.
I think this is interesting when compared with last season or even the season before. In that, previously there have been things wrong. We knew that certain players had their on the ball limitations. The likes of Fred, McTominay and Wan-Bissaka certainly still had their limitations. But what we never seemed to question, or certainly not to the extent that we find ourselves doing now, is that commitment. We never really questioned the mentality of the players. Their work rate or effort, for lack of a better word, was never doubted.
Yet this season we do find ourselves questioning these things on a more consistent basis. This season we have seen multiple instances where regardless of the result United have performed terribly. Performances against Wolves, Newcastle and Norwich spring to mind recently. And of course the losses to Leicester, Liverpool and Man City aren’t too distant of a memory. In these matches we found ourselves questioning players commitment. Wondering whether they were mentally up to the task of playing for Manchester United. There is a reason that the ‘standards’ banner has been brought out in recent matches. That is, it seems our standards just aren’t there. What I want to look at here are some reasons as to why we might have seen this vast drop in standards and this shift in player mentality.
New Signings
Over the summer transfer window Manchester United brought in some of the biggest names in world football at the moment. Jadon Sancho was the most productive young footballer in Europe as of last season. Raphael Varane came in as a player and leader who has won almost everything there is to win as a player. And we all know what Cristiano Ronaldo has won and the achievements he has in his career. And when these signings were made there was definitely a raising of expectations from fans. I’m sure there was a raised expectations and standards in the dressing room as well.
Players like Varane and Ronaldo who have won the lot and played at the highest level for years will undoubtedly expect more from a dressing room. Particularly with Ronaldo. In that, this is a player who knows Manchester United and knows what it means to wear that badge. The last time he was in that dressing room was obviously very different to the one he is in now. And he will surely want to try and get those players closer to that top level that he is used to. However, certain players in that dressing room might not have welcomed such a challenge. And might have shirked away from the extra demands and not been up to the task that is required of players at this club.
Summer Hangover
For some players there might be another reason for this shift in mentality that we have seen. There could be an element of a mental hangover from the Euros. For players like Maguire, Shaw or even Rashford and Sancho. By the end of last summer, Maguire, Shaw and Rashford had featured in two finals of European competitions. And lost both of those finals on penalties. Experiencing that kind of loss for the first time for these players will have definitely taken a toll. That kind of effect could have carried over into this season and might be a contributing factor as to why we are seeing this mentality shift. This psychological factor will not be helped by United not having an in-house sports psychologist until recently. Hopefully now that this change has been made we can see some improvement on this front.
Rangnick’s demands
We all know that Ralf Rangnick has very defined ideas of how football should be played. Whether that be his rigidity around formation, the tactics of the counter-press or his entire philosophy of football. Ralf Rangnick is someone who knows exactly how he wants football to be played. In his short time at the club so far he will have tried to get those ideas across to the players. The reason we might be seeing this poor mentality from certain players is that they are not up to his demands.
Could it be that certain players are not willing to work harder than they have been asked to under previous regimes. Or does Ralf even want all of these players? Are there players in the squad that Rangnick has no intentions to utilise. I think certain comments around players might suggest this. The way that he was quick to say that if a player doesn’t want to play for Manchester United then they should leave. I think a lot of fans would share this sentiment as well. But when a manager comes out and says that it sends quite a message.
Can this be fixed?
Ultimately, I’m not saying that these are definitely the reason that we have seen this mentality shift. I’m merely suggesting that these issues might be present within the squad. And if they are I think the solution as it were would be different for different players. Those players who don’t seem up to the challenge with the raised standards of both Rangnick and players like Varane and Ronaldo, I think the answer is quite simple. If they don’t want to be here, they can leave. If they don’t want to play for this club for whatever reason that is fine by me they can leave. Loan them out, sell them whatever. If players aren’t willing to give everything for this club they shouldn’t be anywhere near the pitch.
For those players who might be having difficulty processing recent events I think the answer might be more complex and take more time. Hopefully now that this sports psychologist has been brought in we can see some improvement on that front. However, these things take time and we definitely won’t be seeing immediate results.