All of these intangibles like mentality, experience, composure start to come out when a big team performs consistently poorly, but I think the answer is a lot simpler. Transfer business from United, over the last 10 years, has been categorically horrendous. People bringing up mentality seem to imply that it’s the mentality that’s letting them down and that the players are losing because of their weak mentality - no, the team is just crap. It’s not a top 4 team. United have a weird propensity to sign glamorous players with strong resumes that drop off after 1-2 years, giving them high wages which restricts investment elsewhere. And after the 1-2 years is up, it’s rinse and repeat - no semblance of a plan, a project, or a cohesive pathway forward. Their team right now is only Europa League standard, which is why their performances have reflected that.
All of these intangibles like mentality, experience, composure start to come out when a big team performs consistently poorly, but I think the answer is a lot simpler. Transfer business from United, over the last 10 years, has been categorically horrendous. People bringing up mentality seem to imply that it’s the mentality that’s letting them down and that the players are losing because of their weak mentality - no, the team is just crap. It’s not a top 4 team. United have a weird propensity to sign glamorous players with strong resumes that drop off after 1-2 years, giving them high wages which restricts investment elsewhere. And after the 1-2 years is up, it’s rinse and repeat - no semblance of a plan, a project, or a cohesive pathway forward. Their team right now is only Europa League standard, which is why their performances have reflected that.