Sport

When it rains it pours: Old Trafford’s flooding once again sums up Manchester United’s downfall

If Sir Jim Ratcliffe was shocked by the standards at Carrington, he has work cut out with Old Trafford.

Danny Jones - 13th May 2024

The infamous Old Trafford leaks burst open worse than ever this weekend as Manchester United lost 1-0 to Arsenal, with the pictures of flooding from inside the stadium only further symbolising the club’s downfall under the Glazer ownership.

Although the home defeat meant that the Gunners could still potentially go on to beat Man City to the title, it was hard for fans not to turn their attention to the deluge of rainwater that began dumping on various parts of the stadium, which continues to look more and more out of date every year.

It is by no means the first time we’ve seen Man United’s home ground leaking – even sparking the ‘Old Trafford is falling down’ chant from opposing supporters throughout the EFL – but the footage captured this Sunday might be some of the most damning.

This is not the kind of conditions fitting of somewhere long referred to as the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

In truth, Erik ten Hag‘s defence has been leaky all season, having conceded a record 82 goals since the start of the campaign and famously blowing multiple two-goal leads in various games, but these kinds of scenes do feel rather symbolic of the underlying problems at United.

New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly sent around a mass email condemning the “disgraceful” state of the Carrington Training Complex earlier this month and it seems he now has his most telling example of how the club has been neglected, right down to its infrastructure and the most basic things.

Seeing their food hygiene rating drop from five stars to just one after serving undercooked meat is yet another example of how not only have the facilities been left to rot but the standards have slipped over the past 10-11 years.

It’s not just that the brand of football being seen isn’t up to the level of Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s that literal debris has been spotted falling in the concourse, transfers have been botched and the outrage from fans has become so great that they broke into the stadium whilst protesting just a few short years ago.

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The list goes on and what’s even more indicative of this gradual downfall than anything is that fans now find themselves in the unpleasant position of having to potentially swallow losses against rivals like Arsenal in the hopes that they might stop City from winning a record-fourth division title in a row.

Over the past decade or so, the ‘noisy neighbours’ have gone on to become treble winners, Liverpool returned to their former glory with a Premier League and another European title, Arsenal could be set to do the same and the Red Devils simply aren’t the threat they once were.

It seems almost hard to believe that Manchester United could still go on to win back-to-back trophies in ten Hag’s first two seasons if they manage to get past Pep Guardiola’s men at Wembley on Saturday, 25 May but, for many, it will still remain merely a plaster slapped over a hole just waiting burst open again.

The Old Trafford flooding isn’t just proof of the shocking state of disrepair it finds itself in but is emblematic of what the Glazers have allowed the club to slip into and just how much work needs to be done by Ratcliffe, INEOS and the new figures working behind the scenes at the club.

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Featured Images — @CameronFozzi/Sky Sports (via X)