Louis van Gaal cannot take all the blame at Manchester United - terrible transfers have given him an ordinary squad
Managers in football get too much praise when it goes right and too much blame when it goes wrong. It has always been the way but that mistake is compounded now by the fact that managers have so much less influence over player recruitment.
I look at Manchester United and, although there are some elements in Louis van Gaal's decision-making that we can all criticise, the bottom line is that he now has an ordinary squad of players.
The biggest problem has not been the two managers since Sir Alex Ferguson left but the recruitment in a transfer market that, for the really world-class talent, has become dominated by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. United might be the biggest club in the world but they have no divine right to win anything.
Fergie had some great teams and players - and he would brilliantly add one or two each summer - but I felt the barrel had just about emptied when he left. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes, Patrice Evra and Ryan Giggs were all going or on their way out.
David Moyes came in and is a good manager but it was a team that was coming apart. Fergie chose a great time to go out. He must have known they were in decline and that many great players were coming to an end. Suddenly they needed about seven players. It was always going to be difficult for whoever took over but it got even more difficult.
It became an ordinary team very quickly. They have spent a fortune since but where do you find players to replace what they had? The best strikers are at Barcelona, Real and Bayern and, for those that are left, you will also be competing with Manchester City or Chelsea.
That is not to say that United could not have done better with the money they spent. They have recruited poorly but, once again, that does not just come down to the manager. It will not have been Moyes or Van Gaal who is spending all that money and some of the players they have bought are not good enough. You have to look at the people who recruit these players. United have scouts all across the world and yet they go to MK Dons last year, get beaten 4-0 in the League Cup, and no one seems to notice the teenage kid in central midfield who is the real deal. You would think someone might have said: "They murdered us, who was he?" It was Dele Alli.
Tottenham then got him for £5 million in the next transfer window while United, who had experienced exactly what he could do, have spent £35 million or £40 million on worse players.
I think they still need four or five players. They do not have a lot of pace and there is no real balance in the team. Yet the problems for United are not so different to what the other top English clubs are experiencing. If the best players in the world are mostly going to Barcelona, Bayern and Real - and the margins beneath them are relatively small - it is not so surprising that our league has been so even this year.
They might have lost four games on the bounce but United are one of five or six who could even still win the Premier League this season. Manchester City have got beaten 4-1 this season by Tottenham and Liverpool and they look half a team without Vincent Kompany.
Chelsea are where they are and, while Arsenal lift you up sometimes, they can then go to Southampton on Saturday, get smashed and it is not really that much of a surprise. Tottenham still have a good chance and, even though it is very unlikely, it is not impossible for Leicester to win the league. I am not sure how much difference it would make if United made a change. Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are the so-called best managers in the world but they are not world-class managers without world-class players.
There has been a lot of attention this weekon Van Gaal's press conference but, no matter who you are, it is not easy hearing people say you are going to get the sack. Let's not kid ourselves, he has got a big ego. He is wealthy. He doesn't do it because he needs the money but because he loves the game. He will have a lot of personal pride, he will be deeply hurt by what is happening but will still think he can win the Premier League before he leaves Manchester United.
The Telegraph
Harry Redknapp
. He's taking Stoke on another level and their playing far better football and have far better prospects than under that dinosaur Pulis. 
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