Quick Thoughts on Manchester United: A Collapse of Culture

The decline of Manchester United is not about transfers or tactics. It is a masterclass in how organisational culture, more than resources, dictates success. The Harvard Business School case study on Sir Alex Ferguson makes this plain. Ferguson did not merely win trophies; he built a culture of excellence that has since collapsed.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s genius lay in discipline, vision, and authority. The case details how he built not just a team but a club, embedding youth development and a culture of continuity at the heart of Manchester United. He revolutionised the academy, insisting that young players trained alongside seniors to foster a one-club mentality. He promoted players whom others dismissed as too inexperienced, turning them into a generation of leaders.

Ferguson was equally ruthless about control. As he told Harvard’s Professor Anita Elberse, “You can’t ever lose control not when you are dealing with thirty top professionals who are all millionaires. And if anyone steps out of my control, that’s them dead.” This clarity of authority, combined with his willingness to refresh the squad by cutting even beloved veterans, created an environment where no individual could outweigh the collective.

He also adapted relentlessly. Over his 26-year tenure, he adopted sports science, modern training methods, and innovative tactical approaches, refusing to stagnate despite repeated success. His philosophy balanced the short term with the long term, resting key players when needed and keeping one eye on future seasons. In his own words, the difference between most managers and himself was simple: “The first thought for 99 per cent of newly appointed managers is to make sure they win to survive. But I think it is important to build a structure for a football club not just a football team.”

It was this combination of youth development, absolute discipline, and constant adaptation that built a culture of excellence. United under Ferguson was not only a winning side but a coherent institution with identity and authority at its core.

After Ferguson’s departure, leadership shifted to commercial operators who lacked football knowledge. They failed to create a coherent sporting structure and allowed short-term financial objectives to overshadow long-term planning. José Mourinho highlighted the dysfunction when he noted that the players he wanted removed remained at the club. Ed Woodward exacerbated the problem by offering players inflated contracts, thereby strengthening their power and weakening the managers.

The consequences were predictable. Manchester United became reactive, caught in a cycle of panic buying and a carousel of managers, each inheriting squads assembled for different systems. The identity that once defined the club, built on direct and attacking football, has been replaced by confusion and hesitation.

Current debates over whether Rúben Amorim is a good fit for the club reveal how far the culture has shifted. Ferguson’s appointments reinforced authority and identity. By contrast, INEOS hesitated on Amorim, then pushed ahead, only for his rigid, unadaptable methods to clash with the squad and draw swift criticism. This stands in stark contrast to Ferguson, who evolved relentlessly to changing times and circumstances. Amorim’s appointment reflects not long-term cultural vision but a short-term reaction to external noise.

United has been here before. In 2021 the club rushed to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo after rumours linked him with Manchester City. The move delivered short-term excitement and commercial success but undermined Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s progress and destabilised the team. Once again, optics triumphed over cultural coherence.

United has even agreed to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea. Ferguson did sell young players he deemed surplus, but the prodigious talents were nurtured until they became United legends. Letting go of Garnacho, one of the most gifted academy graduates in years, directly contradicts Ferguson’s philosophy of protecting and integrating top youth into the first team.

What underpins this problem is the role of the English media. For years, supporters and well-informed analysts such as Gary Neville highlighted culture as the missing anchor. However, much of the press preferred sensational stories over sober analysis. Click-driven coverage amplified blame, fuelled speculation, and created a cycle of pressure that the club increasingly allowed to shape its decisions. Instead of standing on its own ethos, United responded to optics. Managers became expendable not because they were culturally misaligned, but because headlines demanded turnover. In surrendering internal discipline to external noise, the club abandoned the cultural foundations on which its greatness rested.

This erosion of trust is no longer theoretical; it now shows itself in the stands. In March 2025, thousands of supporters gathered outside Old Trafford, dressed in black and carrying banners that read “Love United, Hate Glazers,” to protest ownership that many fans said had hollowed out the club. These demonstrations are not new. Supporters have led green and gold campaigns against the Glazers for more than a decade, and even after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS acquired a stake in the club, fan groups quickly voiced disillusionment. The 1958 collective stated that the club had already undermined promises of reform with cost-cutting and tone deaf decisions. From ticket pricing to charitable outreach, fans now view measures that once built goodwill as symbols of detachment from the values that defined Manchester United.

The lesson is unmistakable. Manchester United’s decline does not stem from transfers or tactics. It stems from the loss of culture, the erosion of discipline, and the collapse of trust between leadership and the community that sustains the club. Until leaders rebuild that trust, drift and confusion will continue to define one of football’s greatest institutions.

Dean N Onyambu is the Founder and Chief Editor of Canary Compass.

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