NICK FEINBERG

HELLO my good football people, thanks again for the messages… I am getting better day by day! Sunday was a difficult one for pain, but made easier by my prediction that Fulham would knock Manchester United out of the FA Cup. 

“Schadenfreude” is what they call it (deriving pleasure from others’ misfortune). 

It’s something most of us committed football fans suffer from. That thought of your dad, best friend or colleague feeling really p****d off if their team loses, while you’re secretly thinking “yeaaaah” haha. It’s childish, but that’s just how it is for us right? 

But to be honest the whole Schadenfreude thing has lost a bit of its intensity when it comes to United. It’s never been the same since the dominant era of Sir Alex Ferguson and it’s been great for all of us being able to compete with them subsequently. 

But now… it’s a proper s**t show! As United fans sang to Crystal Palace in the away end last month: “You’re nothing special, we lose every week”. 

Well, thankfully, the satirical chant isn’t entirely true, but this season really has the alarm bells ringing. It’s a bang average group of players, with a floundering coach and a new co-owner who is taking the Elon Musk approach to cleaning up the club’s finances. 

Looking at the players first… I can’t remember in all my years going to Old Trafford or watching on the telly, hearing players communicating on the pitch? With 70 000-plus fans, how is that even possible? But on Sunday, for large parts of the game, United were so uninspiring that the fans just sat silent, bored, disappointed and upset. 

Only after the equaliser were there a few pockets of chants as the game progressed, in which the Cottagers (for me) were largely in control and comfortable. 

Had the questionable Andre Onana not made two  or three miraculous saves, the game would have been out of reach. 

At 1-0 down, United were jogging around like it was the end of a practice session. No fight, no urgency, zero pressing? I guess you can’t blame the coach for that… but it’s obvious the players have no faith in Ruben Amorim, his style or system, or the way he publicly shames them. 

It honestly feels like this job has run away from him. His recent comments about how “ruthless” he is when players aren’t giving 100 percent and hints towards a close season clear-out hasn’t helped the cause. 

He just looks out of his depth and unfortunately, great coach or not, the problems they have to overcome as a club, as a footballing institution, as a national asset, as one of the biggest sports properties on the planet are so enormous, the issue of getting 11 players to commit everything they have on the pitch appears to be insurmountable right now. 

Onto new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and what a giant knob-end he has turned out to be. Ratcliffe just doesn’t get the importance of “culture”. 

I remember watching Chelsea in the Champions league at the Nou Camp a few years back. I went early in the day to collect tickets and witnessed first-hand what the environment was like in and around the stadium. The staff seemed so happy. 

I learned that the ethos at the club was to treat everyone as equals, no matter whether it was Lionel Messi or a guy sweeping the stand. They were all in it together to make the club successful and they reaped the rewards in the form of working conditions and bonuses, as (at the time) Barca were the best team in the world. 

In absolute contrast, Ratcliffe has gone in guns blazing, cutting costs wherever possible with zero emotion. This included contributions towards struggling ex-United players, community grants and the retrenchment of workers. 

Last year, the club fired 250 staff and last month another 200 were given their marching orders including youth coaches! He has even shut the canteen at Carrington and offered soup and bread to staff for lunch. 

Let’s put some perspective on that… somehow, at age 30 Casemiro penned a four-year deal with a salary of £350K (R8 million) a week. He was on the chubby, slow side then, now, three years into the four, he wouldn’t look out of place at an over-40s fixture. 

His wages alone could keep all 450 staff members employed at £40K per annum (R900K) per staff member. You don’t need to be there to realise it’s a highly toxic environment from the ground up to the board room. 

I was actually saying to someone, it’s a big loss to English football not having a firing United and the massive fixtures that go with it…

Not sure Liverpool fans would agree as they cruise to an easy title. United host Arsenal this Sunday in a battle of the losers.