“You’ve got to get the culture at the football club right.”
Rio Ferdinand slammed Manchester United’s recruitment and highlighted the only player since Alex Ferguson who has improved at Old Trafford.
The former Man United defender suggested the culture at the club is not where it needs to be, including the coaching standards for developing players.
The Red Devils have spent over £1bn on players since Ferguson departed the club in 2013, without winning a Premier League or a Champions League trophy.
Rio Ferdinand on Man United.
Ferdinand emphasised the need for Man United, first and foremost, to get their footballing affairs on the pitch in order.
The 43-year-old proposed the need for the culture to be correct at Old Trafford if new signings are to improve the Red Devils.
On ‘Vibe with Five’, he reflected on the signings Man United have made over the last decade and wondered how many players have come to the club and improved.
“I just feel that, when you look at it, Man United – you can talk about training grounds and all that stuff – but please, you’ve got to get the football stuff right,” said Ferdinand.
“You’ve got to get the culture at the football club right, you’ve got to get the players that you recruit right.
“And if you look at the players that have been coming to this football club for the last eight or 10 years, if you were going to do a list of all of them on paper, how many of these players have come to this football club and actually grown in value or got better?”
Ferdinand on recruitment.
Ferdinand agreed with the viewpoint that Bruno Fernandes was a rare example of a player who signed for United and improved in value by his performances.
The six-time Premier League winner pinpointed recruitment when looking at areas of the club that “need to be improved drastically.”
Ferdinand made the argument that it’s likely that the new signings that come to the club in the summer will realistically decline based on the tread set before them.
“I would 100 per cent agree with that. I don’t know any others that have come and you actually go, ‘Oh he’s actually miles better! We’ll get more money for him now!’ There’s none,” Ferdinand added.
“And that goes down to coaching, that goes down to recruitment, and so those areas need to be improved drastically for us to be able to improve.
“Because you could go in and buy three or four players this window, but if we’re going to continue in the same vein as what was before, those players that you bring in are going to be declining rather than getting better and improving your team – so that needs to be changed.”
Related links:
- Gary Neville slams ‘farcical’ Man United players after Everton performance.
- Roy Keane roasts Gary Neville about ‘dropping back’ at end of his career.
- Nemanja Vidić tells Harry Maguire to ask Ralf Rangnick for time out of the team.
