THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 60

Author

Howard Hockin
September 16, 2025

Hello, and welcome to another bonus Newsletter, and it is issue 60, you lucky people. After a derby victory, I had to pen some words, would be rude not to. It’s another article therefore on my true obsession, Manchester United.

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This piece is about keeping up with the Joneses, because it underpins everything United have done since Alex Ferguson retired and allowed his shadow to hang over the club from that day onwards. Initially, United thought that employing another Scottish man built in the image of Ferguson would be sufficient. When they realised, quickly, life wasn’t that simple, and a club that has only had three title-winning managers in its history might need to move with the times, they decided on a strategy, if you could call it that, that has only served to destroy them from within, perhaps for many more years to come. They decided to mimic their little, insignificant neighbours.

History tells us this can go either way. Peter Swales did himself no favours with his obsession in outdoing United, leading to poor decisions and irresponsible spending. Sound familiar? It can work, as City have shown, when it comes with a clear strategy and plan. For City, the reasoning was clear – Barcelona had a model to aspire to, so they looked to that, and to their personnel, to plan a philosophy and a style of play for the future years – perhaps decades. There was a clearly thought out plan, and a style of play that would exist through all age groups.

Sunday was a stark reminder that those shifting sands that Jonathan Wilson once predicted are still some way off., and this was a crisis derby, apparently, a chance for United to once more make their mark in the match, as they did last season, the only time in the last 59 times City have scored first that they have gone on to lose. I was pensive about the match, I cannot lie. On the flip side, Paul Merson could not see how City would win the game, so that did give me confidence. As it turned out, City still have some issues, but thankfully came up against pitiful opposition ill-prepared to take advantage, and City themselves, from manager to players, were up for it, focused, and had more of a plan than the away side, on a day full of emotion. United have very good players, they always have, some great ones too, but it counts for little, the equivalent of buying a Porsche when you can’t drive.

Far be it for me to agree with Miguel Delaney, who often does speak sense, but in his latest newsletter he mentions something I have been banging on about for years, to the extent that even as a City fan I get frustrated (ok, not quite) at how United have approached the post-Ferguson era. Because what United had to do, and what their latest manager is the antithesis of, was sit down round a big table with their brightest minds (Ed Woodward, the day is yours to do as you please), decide on what the dominant football philosophies of the following decade and beyond would be, and plan all decisions, from recruitment, training, coaching and more, around that.

But no, they were above that. After all, this is Man U we’re talking about. They felt that they were too powerful, and success was too ingrained in their “DNA”, for them to have to do little more than just buy some big-name players and show everyone their pulling power. A decade plus of failure, and we have Ruben Amorim, who is a stark example of the 2nd principle that has helped hamper them for so many years – Phase 2, which was to mimic Manchester City, but in an amateurish manner. And now it seems too late, as such an approach requires a transition period that they can now not endure after a decade of mismanagement and of being left behind. A new, sensible approach would risk them playing catch-up for a long, long time, but would still be preferable to current policy.

Amorim is the latest in a long line of “United taking a hit for City” appointments, and of a haphazard, directionless recruitment policy, on and off the field. It was a common rumour last year that City were keeping an eye on Amorim. So when the latest Manchester United manager fell on his sword, United moved. They got Amorim, issuing an ultimatum that it was now or never, to make a statement, to get one over City, to stop them getting him. As ever, eternally grateful chaps. Because, by employing this policy, United have taken multiple bullets on City’s behalf in the last ten years, and in doing so suggested that City’s recruitment policy has not been perfect, but has been helped by the fortune of their neighbours making multiple mistakes on their behalf. City were interested in Ronaldo, so United had to sign him. City wanted Alexis Sanchez, so United stepped in to show who was top dog. £50m for Fred. City wanted Harry Maguire, so United slapped down a cool £80m. City had mimicked Barcelona successfully, and taken the team that helped make them so successful, so United started head-hunting executives too. Omar Berrada was snaffled, and Jason Wilcox too, as he had been at City at some point, so was clearly the real deal. There has been no real structure or reasoning to all the names mentioned, away from the need to show who’s boss. The arrival of Offshore Jim Ratcliffe hinted at a move to build a sensible structure at the club, but it has failed like all other initiatives, as shown by the expensive pursuit of Dan Ashworth, only to jettison him five months later at further cost when they discovered his ideals did not match those of others. United are no longer the boss, and need to embrace their mediocrity, and signing a City executive isn’t going to change that. Don’t be surprised if they attempt to woo Txiki sometime soon. The players mentioned earlier are not terrible, so maybe they would not have flopped at City, but it still feels like City did well to lose out on many of the targets that eventually turned up at Old Trafford. The strategy-of-sorts extended to hiring Jose Mourinho, a direct response to City hiring Pep, who United, understandably, were desperate to recruit, to the extent that just a couple of months prior to City announcing Pep’s arrival, United briefed large swathes of the media that Pep preferred to come to United. And why do you think they signed Jadon Sancho, when so many other teams had doubts, for good reason? To try to prove to City what a mistake they made letting him go.

And so we reach the present day. And the dichotomy of Amorim being the manager United most need to sack from all of them post-Ferguson, as his system, one he is welded to, is so unsuited to the players at his disposal, and perhaps the league they attempt to perform in. The situation is further muddied by many United fans’ admittedly admirable stance of standing by managers, and like Gary Neville, rallying against the immediacy of modern football, when the current manager is surely not deserving of such patience, and whose public utterances seem to suggest a desperation to be sacked.

And all this is because no thought was given to whether he was the right man for the job. None. Liverpool were thought to be interested in him post-Klopp, but walked away over playing style concerns. So how many hundreds of millions of pounds will now need to be provided to him, just to get the team to a point where they compete with the big boys? And why was this thought to be a sensible plan? There are tribes in the Amazon rainforest cut off from all civilization that could have told you Amorim would have needed a new team. But the delusion persists that money will solve everything, that United are too big to fail forever, that their return to the top is inevitable and good for football, all built on the success of one manager, not the majority of their history. Problem is, the man who built the success is no longer on the touchline, but sat in the stands, haunting and looking haunted. The bigger problem for United’s new team of executives, as their minority owner undermines any goodwill with his draconian decision-making, is that so many managers have been disposed of now that sacking another one becomes almost unjustifiable, even those he’s the one most deserving of it. On Thursday, City will face a manager, Antonio Conte, who changed a system that wasn’t working at Chelsea, and won the league. Amorim has no alternatives, no flexibility. Quite the pickle they’ve got themselves in. Maybe it’s time to give one of their previous managers a 2nd chance, as so many seem avaialble for work, having had their reputations tarnished at the Theatre of Dreams.

The point is, you cannot be inherently successful. It has to be earned. In the biggest league in the world, it requires strategy, planning, a clear philosophy and a sprinkling of luck.

All the while, their fanbase and online creators remind the world of their size. Because when you have nothing else to fall back on, size is important. Souls are sold for hard bucks that come with terrible opinions and a sudden interest in human rights. United will continue to be a cash cow eternally, both for the Glazers and for those willing to cry on the Overlap.

City have their own struggles right now. I dread to think of the fanbase having to deal with 12 years of what United have been up to though, but at least we may benefit from more reasonable ticket pricing – every cloud and that. To phrase the difference between the two teams in a different manner – City’s goal difference since the start of the 2021/22 season is +228. United’s is +1. United are a case study in how not to run a business. They are, pound-for-pound, the worst run club in world football, perhaps even historically. It’s hard to fail that badly with that much money and power. Without it, they wouldn’t even be in the Premier League, but they grew organically, so can spend what they want. What’s more, their fans have to be bullish, because without hope and expectation, what else is there for a football fan? One day, they will be back at the top – to reiterate, they are too big and too wealthy to truly fail. But until that day, spare us the transfer window wins, the puff pieces about the future, the dreams of the best stadium in the world being built, because until success returns to the club, actual tangible success, the best policy would be one of silence.

 

And Finally……from the Review Podcast intro

A few words on a day tinged with immeasurable sadness. The news broke on Sunday that Ricky Hatton had passed away at the age of 46. He needs no introduction to any of you listening – a true blue, but much more than that, an icon for Manchester, and beyond, an icon for boxing too, and a very decent man, his death at such a tender age has shocked us all, and put into perspective the importance of 22 men kicking a ball around. This win was for him. He injected an excitement into his sport that was rare, and he lived life to the full. A man who had time for everyone, he was a decent man who was respected across the board, and across the divides. So many of you will have met him, and have positive tales to tell, and will be feeling the loss greatly. A gladiator in the ring, a gentleman out of it, and an inspiration to millions. Las Vegas just one of the places that will never forget his presence. From all at the 93:20 family, our thoughts are with him and his friends and family. Rest in peace. And thank you to the United fans for the respect shown in the stadium, and thank you Danny Jackson for a beautiful tribute done under such difficult circumstances.

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