CAN he do it on a wet night at Burnley in February? The chance would be a fine thing.
On Tuesday evening, Manchester United dropped out of the Premier League’s top four once more, as Jay Rodriguez’s first goal in 50 league games earned relegation-threatened Burnley a precious point at Turf Moor.
Cristiano Ronaldo had to make do with a spot on the bench, and critics have pointed to his poor form as the reason for United’s latest slump.
The Portuguese legend isn’t the problem at United though – the owners and the decaying culture they’ve allowed to fester is.
Standards have dropped on and off the pitch and it’s caught up with United.
Ronaldo’s failure to score at Burnley means that he is now on his longest goal drought at club level for over a decade. Yes, it’s a fact, he’s not the player he once was.
But, he’s 37 and there’s much more to it than that. That United need to rely so heavily on the veteran tells you all you need to know about the direction they are currently heading.
Ronaldo’s return home has been far from a disaster, but when he left in 2009, United were World Club champions with a squad packed full of the finest players in Europe, and with a manager and facilities to match.
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Fast forward 13 years and after nearly a decade without a Premier League title, United will be lucky if they qualify for the Champions League next season, never mind getting anywhere near winning a trophy.
United sacrificed style under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in the hope that their ageing superstar signing could drag them to silverware. From a personal point of view, Ronaldo will tell you he’s delivered, and his goal record suggests he has, but at what cost?
Twelve months ago, United looked like they were one or possibly two players away from having a title challenging side – at the moment it looks like they need eight or nine just to make them consistent top four challengers.
The problem isn’t Ronaldo, it’s the club’s owners who jump from one knee-jerk reaction to another. They’ve talked about a plan and a process, but they signed Ronaldo to keep him out of the hands of Manchester City, just like they did with Alexis Sanchez.
Ronaldo will be at Old Trafford until at least the summer. In the meantime, manager Ralf Rangnick has to play a system that suits his striker better, and helps him rediscover his goalscoring touch.
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There’s so much uncertainty around the club at the moment and it’s been another season to forget.
The fantastic feeling that swept over the club and across fan base when Ronaldo returned last year has long gone – and it’ll take another short-term fix WITH Ronaldo to try and repair some damage before the new manager comes in and embarks on yet another rebuild.
For more of Tom’s views, visit his Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/MrTomMcDermott
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
