The eight players who can’t afford Man United to ‘waste’ another season

It was part rallying cry, part warning. Darren Fletcher had not been told his time as Manchester United’s interim head coach was over, but he seemed to sense it. And so his parting message to the players who had just exited the FA Cup was laced with an awareness of the worst-case scenario. “Don't waste the season,” he said.

Those words could have been aimed at the directors’ box given that, if United’s campaign ends in failure on all fronts, much of the blame will rest the hierarchy who first appointed Ruben Amorim, then stuck with him last summer. Or, Amorim’s admirers – a band who may not have fully scrutinised his time at Old Trafford – may insist, not retaining him at least until June. Certainly, the feeling is that he was sacked without any kind of succession planning. The powerbrokers who had a manager who won just 31 per cent of his Premier League matches somehow did not seemed to have considered the question of who came next, beyond a crowd favourite who could be a caretaker.

As United weigh up the merits of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick, two of their three managers in the torrid 2021-22 season, there is a case for saying it could be a fourth wasted season in five. Perhaps 2023-24 does not count, as United won the FA Cup – it is thought Fletcher merits much of the credit for that, for persuading Erik ten Hag to jettison more reckless tactics for a pragmatic masterclass in the final – but it was otherwise wretched. There was no redemption to 2021-22 or 2024-25, which both featured a mid-season managerial sacking.

So did 2025-26 and yet it could end with United returning to the European elite. “These players have got the ability to qualify for the Champions League,” insisted Fletcher. They have the opportunity, too: despite the leads they have lost, the points they have dropped against the bottom seven, an inability to keep a clean sheet, winning only three games since the end of October. Had United been even marginally better, they would be in the top five. There was an opportunity to distance themselves from the pack currently congested between fifth and 15th.

Even that top-four or -five finish, Fletcher argued, is not success; not in the context of the past. “It's probably not what fans want to hear about Manchester United because you should be winning cups and challenging for the Premier League,” he said.

But the blunt use of the word “waste” was pertinent. It has been a constant. United have spent around £1.8bn on signings since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and around £100m on hiring and firing managers and their coaching staffs. They invariably finish lower in the actual league table than the wage-bill standings. Ineos, who have sacked 450 people and spent £450m on transfers since Sir Jim Ratcliffe became the co-owner, have been both cost-cutters and wasteful.

But Fletcher’s words were directed more at the players he has managed for two games. “That would be the challenge I would set,” he said. He talked about improving as a collective, taking responsibility, showing their “true character” in adversity.

He drew a contrast with 2021-22, a season that petered out. “There were a lot of players out of contract and there was a lot of different dynamics,” he said. But there are still individual situations. Now Harry Maguire and Casemiro are out of contract in the summer: the Englishman presumably has the incentive of a new deal but the Brazilian, who will not be offered the same wages, looks likely to leave.

Of those with longer contracts, Benjamin Sesko has at least taken a step forward with three goals in two games under Fletcher. Matheus Cunha, an inconsistent figure with four for the season, could do with proving he belongs. Two 2024 recruits, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee, may want to address the perception neither is good enough. A third, Leny Yoro, has not justified the reputation he acquired before his arrival, but a back four may suit him more than Amorim’s back five.

Meanwhile, Kobbie Mainoo has wasted 14 months under Amorim – or had it wasted for him – and could do with first-team football and form. He is one of plenty of players who may want to prove they merit pivotal roles under the new manager. For Bruno Fernandes, the dynamic may be flipped: United could have to prove to him the future is worth hanging around for.

But it all means there is plenty to play for at Old Trafford. Not merely for the footballers, either. There were chants against the Glazers during the FA Cup defeat to Brighton, and their role in creating the malaise cannot be ignored. But, to borrow the old chant about Solskjaer, it is Ratcliffe at the wheel now. Like Amorim, the billionaire was not part of the problem when he arrived. That soon changed. “Jim can’t fix this,” read one of the banners at Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe must want to alter that perception. But the possibility is that every season under his ownership so far is deemed a wasted season.

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