It will remain ever so, but to gauge how culpable the squad are for Ten Hag's sacking, United sinking to 14th place in the Premier League and 21st in the Europa League, a simple question can suffice: how many of the listing group left behind by the fifth post-Sir Alex Ferguson manager removed by the club would Pep Guardiola take for his supreme Manchester City XI?
Those of a sky blue persuasion may answer zero owing to tribal loyalties and the success-soaked era of Guardiola's tenure - a type of if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it stance.
There is an argument for a few of the unit Rúben Amorim is poised to inherit, but the next man through the Old Trafford door should beware: a few is not enough to take United where Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the football department chief, wants them to be, competing with City, Liverpool and Arsenal for domestic spoils and reaching the latter stages of the Champions League each year.
Starting from the back, Lisandro Martínez seems a shoo-in for City given that Guardiola billed the Argentinian as one of the top "five centre-backs in the world" after City's 2-1 FA Cup final defeat in May.
This story is from the October 30, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the October 30, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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