Manchester United's lack of 'joined-up thinking' stems back to the sacking of David Moyes in 2014, according to Pat Nevin.
Nevin was speaking to Off The Ball after United's 1-0 loss against a relegation-threatened Newcastle United, a situation which leaves the side just two points above the drop-zone with eight games played.
This position is the apotheosis of the demise of a football club that once outstripped all rivals in its attention-to-detail - and Nevin thinks that Ed Woodward is the man who should take the majority of the blame.
Falling behind
"It has not looked like joined-up thinking for a long time," said Nevin.
"The Chelsea method used to be that it was a different player every year, but it didn't matter because they were buying in the best players every year.
"If you are not going to be doing it like that, then you better have a plan."
The lack of organisation contrasts with other rival sides that, although similarly under-performing, show some threads of consistency in their recruitment and general upward trajectory.
"United seemed to have gone down the road of 'so-and-so' is available - let's get him!'
"How long did it take them to get Maguire? A Maguire-type player should have been in that team seven years ago.
"I remember mentioning to [David] Moyes that he should buy this guy Van Dijk from Celtic. He should have got him back then, and half of that problem would then be fixed all those years ago."
Nevin believes the treatment of Moyles exemplified the beginning of the rot and short-termism at Old Trafford.
"For me, it probably stems from the Moyes sacking - it is that far back. They said to him that he had two or three years to rebuild the whole thing. He said he would do that - then they gave him the sack.
"They twisted again with Van Gaal, who is not going to be a long-termist. You go for Jose - he is great at what he does, but he is not interested in what he leaves. He is never interested in that.
"He is a gun for hire. If you have guns for hire all the time, that is why you find yourself where you are - with absolutely no balance in the squad."
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