simples.

Not good enough.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s (SAF) United was a team that knew how to win – even during squad transition or upheaval.

Players would come in hungry to show up, and take the place of, the ones they had replaced. That was truly one of SAF’s greatest managerial accomplishments: being able to refresh,  rebuild, or even reconstruct the squad, without missing a beat. I had written earlier about the lack of identity at the club, but this is the impact it has on the squad.

The Class of ’92 replaced the early stalwarts of Hughes, Ince, Parker and Kanchelskis. Cole and Yorke were replaced with Solskjaer and Van Nistelrooy, with Rooney subsequently replacing them. Ferdinand replaced Stam; Irwin was replaced by Heinze, who was in turn replaced by Evra. In some cases it wasn’t the same type of player, but the result was the same. Ronaldo replacing Beckham, Carrick replacing Keane. In all those cases, United continued to win. The players were phased in – position by position; each one assuming the mantle of responsibility for their role among a group of players that would collectively ensure standards never dropped.

These last three years have seen a complete turnaround.

“How much is it?”

Martial for RVP, Depay for Valencia, Di Maria for Nani – the list goes on. Most significantly in the back four: Darmian, Smalling, Blind and Rojo for Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra. No contest. As a result, this team is now just a collection of individuals – mercenaries. Having not played together consistently, they are finding it hard to be consistent.

The fact that United retained Fellaini and released Darren Fletcher, or bought Rojo and released Evans speaks volumes about the mentality in the club. Perhaps they’re better players – perhaps. But that’s collectively 21 years worth of being at Manchester United that was let go. How much would Woodward pay to replace a player raised, and trained at the club since the age of 11, that would go on and play for the club for over 10 years?

Darren Fletcher left on a free transfer.

We paid £27.5M for Fellaini. Ugh.

Unfortunately for Ed Woodward, buying more players isn’t going to be the answer in the long term. That is the worst part. This is not going to be an easy fix. This is systemic. United have to re-build the squad. Not by buying players, but bringing them through as a group. Keeping the experienced players around – Rooney, Carrick, Smalling – and having them  bring through some of the younger generation.

It will take time. Results will be inconsistent. But United have to resist the temptation to throw more money at the problem. The club needs to develop the next squad, not construct it like a Fifa 16 Ultimate Team. And that is going to be difficult.

In the last two years – under Van Gaal – United have lost 88 collective years of first team players – 11 of them. And that isn’t even the complete list (here).

There is certainly short term excitement, as fans are eager to see players such as Schweinsteiger, Memphis and Di Maria come to the club. But two years into rebuilding the squad, I’m still left wondering whether the current crop of replacements are really good enough?