The mood in Manchester United’s dressing room has changed, On transfer deadline day
A year ago, there were irritated players in every part of the Manchester United dressing room. That is not the case on this particular deadline day.
When Cristiano Ronaldo hosted Piers Morgan on his therapeutic ego trip in early November, the Manchester United changing room was completely restored.
Ronaldo did not receive a pay-off for his interview, but it has benefited United, who have been undoubtedly a better club this season without one of their finest players both before and after he filed for divorce on Talk TV.
Nobody cares what Ronaldo is doing in an authoritarian country where 81 people were slaughtered in a single day less than a year ago. One of the greatest competitive careers in sports has come to an end.
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Multiple individuals close to United players have expressed how much happier the team is now that the eggshells they were walking on have been removed. Even players who aren’t regulars like Erik ten Hag’s directness and clarity.
The dressing room was packed with unhappy characters exactly a year ago today. Dean Henderson and Jesse Lingard were both rejected loan moves despite strong interest from Watford and Newcastle, with the repercussions lasting well into February.
Lingard recently recounted the incident in a conversation with a holistic podcaster, upset that United had mislead supporters about his ensuing days off, which were grafted onto a trip in Dubai, presumably to alleviate the blow of no loan.
With an interim manager in place, Lingard did not hesitate to challenge Ralf Rangnick’s account of events on social media. Anthony Martial had already done so the month before, according to Rangnick, when he requested not to be included in the team against Aston Villa.
Martial was at least loaned to Sevilla, but United kept Lingard. Erik ten Hag, United’s manager, believes Martial is so important that he claimed last week that United play their “best football” with him up front. That is correct, but the amount of times Martial has been at his best in the last two years can be counted on one hand.
Regardless of how much United fans ate up Rangnick’s candor, it went down like a lead balloon in the locker room, and the atmosphere became increasingly toxic as the season progressed. Henderson expressed his displeasure in a pre-season interview, and several other players have quietly expressed their displeasure.
After the goalkeeping department, the number of players who are unhappy with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s indecisive and soft management stands at four. A senior United player labeled David de Gea’s rotation with Henderson as a “major concern” during the 2020-21 season.
Henderson raged at Solskjaer’s failure to keep his promise to make him No. 1, Tom Heaton returned with the expectation of being No. 2, and Sergio Romero was mysteriously denied a transfer in the short summer window of 2020.
Others were sold a puppy or, in the instance of Lingard, were not sold when he should have been. Donny van de Beek was mislead, and Axel Tuanzebe and Brandon Williams felt underutilized. Eric Bailly accused Solskjaer of favoritism, and Diogo Dalot was neither loaned out nor integrated into the first-team group.
Martial and Marcus Rashford were unhappy with how their ailments were handled, and Ronaldo sanctioned the Machiavellian briefings that led to Solskjaer’s defenestration.
United is finalizing the list of players it plans to sell this summer. Some have a hunch or already know their name is on there. Unlike last year, no one wants to leave Carrington when they may walk up the Wembley steps next month or in May.
Ronaldo should have known better than to overlook Ten Hag, who has gone from a soft touch to a tough taskmaster.
