I Went Back in Time as the Manchester United Manager

I woke up with a start, yesterday's 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace still fresh in my mind. We had been destroyed and utterly outclassed by a mid-table team, although one in great form under a new manager.

Barring a two-month spell in January where Hojlund was scoring for fun, our performances had consistently been dreadful. The 3-0 loss to Bournemouth was one of the worst performances I've seen from a United team.

I supported the appointment of Erik ten Hag back in 2022 and still think he is a great coach, but the way he's gone about building the team and his vision for it has been extremely subpar. If only I could have been the manager. Despite lacking any tactical acumen and know-how, I would still construct a better team than Ten Hag for sure.

With that thought in my mind, I headed to the restroom to wash up and prepare for the day. I finished rinsing my mouth and exited through the door while thinking about how I would have managed the team. The next thing I felt was my vision becoming clouded and a searing pain in my chest.

I woke in an unknown place, only to see the faces of Joel Glazer and John Murtough in front of me. I tried to figure out if it was a dream or not, but it felt way too real to be a dream.

All of a sudden, there was a sound and time stopped.

DING

Football Manager System activated

*You have been chosen to change the destiny and rebuild Manchester United, taking it to eternal glory.*

As a reward for being a loyal fan, you can choose your manager template. This will be your team's tactical identity.

- Thiago Motta

- Simone Inzaghi

- Roberto De Zerbi

I couldn't believe my luck. I had been reincarnated back to 2022 and was being interviewed for the United job.

Looking at the list of managers, all three were commendable choices. Inzaghi had even led his Inter team to the Serie A title in 2023/24. Even so, Thiago Motta seemed to be the best choice for the current squad. De Zerbi was a bit too loose in transition, and Inzaghi used a 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation, which went against the United way of playing with wingers. Additionally, our squad didn't have the right players to fit that formation, and I'd be wasting a lot of talent. Motta used the 4-2-3-1 and occasionally the 4-3-3, which were more suited to our squad. Moreover, Motta resembled a more pragmatic version of Ten Hag with better rest defense and a much better-coached press/block.

I was also personally biased due to his 2-7-2 formation, which made quite a buzz a few years ago. Younger me was enamored by that way of viewing the pitch from left to right.

To provide a clearer picture of his tactics, his main principles revolved around fluidity in player movement to drag opponents out of position, creating overloads by occupying central zones, and a fluid buildup with either center-back inverting into midfield to create a passing lane and being given a free role.

The positional freedom, as well as the interchanging and overloads, would suit our forwards and their profiles.

With my choice made, I selected Motta.

DING

User has chosen the Thiago Motta template.

*Transferring knowledge in 3… 2… 1…*

I felt a severe headache as my mind was bombarded with heaps of information on buildup patterns, pressing, rest defense, and defending in a block. With the assimilation complete, time started again.

Joel: It's great to meet you. Let's start with the interview then.

James: It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm really excited about this prospect and hope we can make things work.

The interview progressed with Joel and Murtough both asking me questions related to the style of play, my vision and plan for the team, transfers and finances, wages, and academy integration.

Joel: It's been a pleasure to have this conversation with you. You've impressed us. We'll get back to you with a final decision in a few days.

A Few Days Later

Joel called me to tell me that I've been offered the job of the manager of Manchester United. I was more than happy to accept.