The endless rebuild: Every Manchester United ‘project’ since 2013, ranked

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, Manchester United, the former gold standard of English football, have lived in a constant loop of reinvention.

Each manager arrived with a plan, a philosophy, or a “project”… and each one left with the same conclusion: rebuilding Manchester United is one of the hardest jobs in world football.

David Moyes only spent one year at Old Trafford, so we are not classifying that as a ‘project’.

6. Ralf Rangnick: the six-month reset that never happened

Rangnick arrived as the “godfather of gegenpressing,” promising structure, pressing, and long-term planning.

Instead, United produced some of their most chaotic performances in years. The training methods didn’t stick, the players didn’t buy in, and the football was shapeless.

His biggest contribution? Probably his brutal honesty, calling for “open-heart surgery” on live TV. The reset never arrived, but his diagnosis remains relevant even now.

5. Erik ten Hag: the structure that cracked

Ten Hag arrived with a defined philosophy, disciplinarian approach, and Champions League pedigree. His first season looked like genuine progress: a cup win, top-four finish, and the beginnings of a style and the promise of an identity.

Then it collapsed.

Injuries, recruitment conflicts, tactical rigidity, and a dressing room full of incompatible personalities derailed everything.

Ten Hag tried to impose Ajax principles on a squad that couldn’t, or wouldn’t, deliver. It was a project that promised control but ended in chaos.

4. Louis van Gaal: principles without product

A rigid, ideology-driven rebuild. Van Gaal gave United tactical identity, academy pathways, and structure but at the cost of entertainment.

His United side controlled games but rarely threatened, often producing 70% possession and zero shots of note. As per The Guardian, there was a lot of misunderstanding among players about what van Gaal wanted his side to do.

Still, he revived the youth system, won an FA Cup, and left behind a framework others could have built on. Sadly, it wasn’t used.

3. Ruben Amorim: the modern reset

The Amorim era has not been great, mixed results, an extremely poor start with perhaps one of the worst ever seasons that Manchester United has ever experienced.

However, recent results have suggested that United are showing promise. For Amorim, the idea was gutting out the issues, which meant getting rid of some big name superstars.

Then, replacing them with quality players, and one would argue that the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko are definitely quality.

Yet, it’s hard to say if Amorim is the truth for Old Trafford because that club has seen many false dawns over the course of the last decade and more.

2. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: the era of good vibes

There is no denying that Solskjaer lacked the tactical insight to challenge the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

Then again, few managers can rival some of the biggest names in world football.

Solskjaer succeeded in connecting United with their roots. He brought back heritage and tradition, improved the mood and some major results, followed, as well. Everyone remembers PSG away, don’t they?

But tactically United stalled. The squad lacked balance, the football became predictable, and the dressing room split.

1. Jose Mourinho: short-term success but major long-term damage

Unarguably, Jose Mourinho’s tenure at Old Trafford was the most successful post-Fergie era.

Mourinho delivered trophies, identity, and ruthlessness. United were pragmatic but effective, winning the Europa League and finishing second behind a record-breaking City.

But it was unsustainable. Like most Mourinho teams.

Tension with key players, constant internal battles, and a toxic atmosphere ended the project prematurely. Mourinho, as always, delivered, but only in the short term, leaving the club in flames.