He resolved the Cristiano Ronaldo problem with admirable clear-sightedness and, while United were far from spectacular, it didn’t seem unreasonable to think that his second season, with more of his own players, would bring further progress. It did not – and the players he brought in were ultimately what did for him. By the end the steely-eyed figure of that first season had become a risible character, who claimed that conceding 25 chances per game wasn’t a concern and gibbered about the fluidity of Matthijs de Ligt’s blood.
In his fall lies a deeper fear. What if this is just what United do to managers? What if that is why only three coaches have ever won the title with United despite them being the most successful side in English league history, as though the club is a vast and truculent dragon who will submit to being ridden by only a tiny chosen few? What if there is simply something about the United job that is just too big, too difficult, too chaotic? Stare into it long enough, and the United job stares back into you.
