07 March 2024 , 08:00
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Manchester United have been told they must make ‘wholesale changes’ if they are to regain their place at the top tables of English and European football.
Former United keeper Tim Howard believes Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a job on his hands if he is to live up to his promise of knocking rivals Manchester City and Liverpool off their perch.
Howard, who spent four years at Old Trafford followed by another nine at Everton, is already enthused by the changes the British billionaire has made since his arrival, with Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth expected to transform the backroom setup, but it is on the pitch where the biggest concerns still lie.
The American said: “They got played off the park at Luton, they lost to Fulham at home. That’s not what Manchester United fans want. Current squad, they have a job on their hands. There might be some wholesale changes that need to be made.
“Manchester United should have the best players in the world but they haven’t. I don’t think it’s a one-player fix and that’s been the issue right the way through the last half-decade, at least. It’s always been one player, one player, pay a fee for one player and bring him in - it doesn’t answer the question.”
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Antony cost the club in excess of £80million and United also spent big on Cristiano Ronaldo ’s wages in order to bring him back to Old Trafford. However, Howard believes United should look to rivals Liverpool, Arsenal, and even Newcastle in terms of how the club should be rebuilt.
He said: “It’s about a process, about an ethos how you go about things - Newcastle did it under Dan Ashworth, Brighton did it, Mikel Arteta and Edu are doing it at Arsenal. They don’t get things wrong often, there is a system.”
Things have changed since Tim Howard's time at the clubHoward played for United between 2003-07 before sealing a loan move to Everton which later became permanent. The 44-year-old was once surrounded by the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, and Paul Scholes, a stark comparison to today’s squad. Addressing the change since his time, Howard doesn’t believe it’s rocket science.
He added: “Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill, they were very much a dynamic duo. At one point Peter Kenyon was there but then he went to Chelsea and helped build them. That’s changed. And when that changes you’re swimming out in the ocean. And that’s why I think that anchor is the team above the team.
“When you are Sir Alex Ferguson and you can hand pick all the right people, and people come in because of you, play because of you, and they’re fearful of letting you down - that permeates the entire club. And we don’t have that figurehead at the football club.”