It’s a shame that Manchester United’s highlight of the season so far came in a post-match interview, yet it may prove to be one of the most significant moments in the club’s recent history.
In an extraordinary attack, Lisandro Martinez called out the higher-ups at the club, blasting the transfer activity over the summer and demanding more from technical director Jason Wilcox.
It’s hard to see how Wilcox survives long-term. Already under pressure due to the club’s on-field struggles, the last thing Wilcox needed was players taking shots at him.
The irony is that had Wilcox and Manchester United been more competent in the transfer market, Martinez might not have been in a position to make such comments.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, Martinez said: "We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well.
"I expect more [investment]. 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox].
"You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? I can't say more."
Wayne Rooney, who asked to leave Manchester United in 2010, citing the club’s lack of ambition over its recent transfer dealings, said Martinez’s comments were disrespectful to his team mates.
In his defence, Martinez didn’t criticise the players signed, merely that more was needed, something no one can argue with. The club went into the summer looking for Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and while Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba are all fine additions, United missed out on primary targets, perhaps denying them the chance to strengthen in other areas.
These comments aren’t exactly new, either, and Martinez is not a lone wolf in the dressing room, speaking out of turn, regardless of Rooney’s comments.
In the summer, Harry Maguire said: "This summer’s going to be big, really, really big. We need more players, we need better quality, we need players to come into the starting eleven."
The 33-year-old Maguire knows all too well that he should be no more than a squad member at Old Trafford now, yet he’s played every minute in the Premier League this season.
Issues in the dugout
There are issues with Michael Carrick as a coach. He was an ideal short-term replacement for Ruben Amorim; someone who can put square pegs back into square holes and free the shackles placed on the squad by Amorim.
Nobody thought Carrick would be the man to guide United back to a Premier League title, but he seemed like a safe enough option for the foreseeable future, owing to a lack of suitable alternatives.
The club are surely looking at alternatives now but there are issues with all of the most obvious candidates.
Can 33-year-old Fabian Hurzeler really take over at Old Trafford? Eddie Howe has repeatedly demonstrated his difficulties at handling a European schedule, not that United have the players for his style of football anyway.
The combustible Antonio Conte would be box office in his press conferences, but United have less than 12 months ago parted with a manager who plays a back three, and the Italian is very much a short-term manager.
Julian Nagelsmann’s personality could be his biggest issue given the nature of his exit from Bayern Munich.
Besides, when a player – who presumably likes working for the manager and doesn’t want to see him go – calls out the club’s higher-ups, it’s particularly difficult for those higher-ups to suddenly part ways.
Off-field problems
Following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment into the club, United seemed to be making smart moves by implementing a proper footballing hierarchy, with Omar Berrarda – distinguished with his work at Manchester City – as CEO, and Wilcox brought in as technical director from Southampton.
But what’s followed has largely been a series of blunders in the transfer market and in the dugout.
The first INEOS summer coincided with nearly £200m of spending on Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui with Partick Dorgu arriving in the January. The club also made the bewildering decision to keep Erik ten Hag on as manager when his fate was sealed long before his FA Cup win over Manchester City, only to sack him two months into the season.
The following summer, Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Senne Lammens arrived for another £200m+, with Ruben Amorim dismissed halfway through the campaign having not been given the players needed for his unique system.
This summer, the glaring holes in midfield were finally addressed via Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, but no new left-back or centre-forward was signed. United went to the Metropolitano on Tuesday night with Ayden Heaven at left-back and Mbeumo up front, with the club's only left-back and centre-forward injured.
Of all the big-money signings, only Lammens, a much needed replacement for Andre Onana, would fetch a profit if sold now.
Of course, there remains the elephant in the room of the Glazer ownership. While Ratcliffe and Co might make decisions on the footballing side of things, there’s only so much money available to the club owing to the £1bn of debt Manchester United finds itself saddled with.
Manchester City may well be relegated at the end of the season due to their financial dealings, but United’s spending ranked 11th in the Premier League this summer, and their net spend was seventh. They've been overtaken by the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Between the Glazers and the club’s hierarchy, there are two massive problems that will stop United challenging for titles in the near future.
But one of them finally looks like being solved.
