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This was a turbulent year for Manchester United and it seems that these turbulences will not end soon. The Red Devils got new part-owners in the club, with INEOS led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe joining to start their overhaul, as their stake acquisition was confirmed in February. United won one trophy when it was least expected, they had their worst ever finish in the Premier League era and in the new season, they had to already make a managerial change that is yet to bear fruit.

So what are the things we actually learned about Man United this year?

Trophies Need Context

While Erik Ten Hag will probably keep on banging the mantra of winning two trophies at Manchester United for years to come, as he added an FA Cu from 2024 to the 2023’s League Cup. But as great as it was that the Devils took away a trophy from their city rivals at Wembley, the club had to learn the hard way that trophies are not being won in a vacuum but that they demand context. Every single metric and every single eye-test was showing Man United that Erik Ten Hag is not the right man to bring the club forward, yet that FA Cup win was enough for INEOS to keep faith in the Dutchman and give him another summer transfer window to tailor his team. But it proved costly – United had to spend in the summer before sacking Ten Hag just months later, losing financially on both ends, but also losing in terms of the time and opportunities that another poor summer is going to set the club even further back.

Amorim Will Need Time

We do not know how much time Man United will need to get back closer to the top Premier League teams, but we do know that Ruben Amorim will have to get enough time and patience from everyone around the club if he is to be the man to do it. The Portuguese came in in early November to replace Ten Hag and after some initial good results, things have gone south in the last 10 days, so United are still in the bottom half of the Premier League standings.

But these changes are not entirely up to the manager. The whole club needs to change in order to create a better environment and get back to much higher standards. The squad is the worst it has been probably since the early days of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, back in the late 80s, so one or two transfer windows are hardly going to be the solution.

And the club, led by Ratcliffe, should spend less time worrying about cutting steward bonuses or cancelling the Christmas party, but actually focus all their energy on setting the standards in the club to the highest possible levels. Amorim will need backing and it is a question how much of it he will get financially due to fair-play constraints. But if we know something ahead of 2025 – it is that the road will remain bumpy for some time before things start to feel smoother.

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