It has been a difficult season for everyone connected to Manchester United.
A turbulent campaign means Manchester United sit 13th in the Premier League with nine games remaining. The Reds also have the Europa League to play for after reaching the quarter-finals, but that is Ruben Amorim’s only hope of salvaging the season.
The Portuguese coach took charge in November following Ineos decision to sack Erik ten Hag. There was no ‘new manager bounce’ but United fans understand it’s a mammoth job that will take time.
The current team is a far cry from the brilliant United teams of the past and former players are often critical when they see a significant drop in standards. The list of critics is the length of Peter Schmiechel’s arm, with voices such as Gary Neville, Roy Keane, and Paul Scholes being the loudest.
United’s first-team must learn to deal with that and the best to achieve that is by winning football matches.
Photo by Mirrorpix via Getty Images
Photo by Mirrorpix via Getty Images
John Aston disappointed with Manchester United
John Aston has given a pitiful description of Manchester United this season, comparing the club’s current situation to cooking soup.
The 77-year-old joined United as a trainee in 1962 and after signing his professional contract two years later, he made 187 appearances for the Reds, scoring 27 goals. He also spent seven years playing under Sir Matt Busby at the club.
In 1968, Aston featured in Busby’s incredible side that lifted the European Cup following a 4-1 win over an Eusebio-inspired Benfica. United became the first English club to win the European Cup and they did it on the 10th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster.
More United News
Then aged only 20, Aston was named Man of the Match in the 1968 European Cup final.
Speaking about United in the present day, Aston did not hold back and urged to club to find balance. He hopes that Amorim is the right man to restore former glories.
“It’s like cooking soup,” Aston told Yle. “You put ingredients in the soup, but sometimes the ingredients are wrong.
“Sometimes you change the chef [head coach]. All this has a trickle-down effect. Water just drips out. It hurts the team and the whole club.
“The club needs balance above all now. Hopefully, the new manager [Ruben Amorim] will bring that.”
After retiring from football in 1979, Aston turned to something completely different when he set up a market stall selling pet food and other animal supplies in Derbyshire.
Aston also ran a shop called Petz World in Stalybridge.
Speaking to The Sun seven years ago, Aston spoke about life after football and how his family were involved in running pet shops across the United Kingdom.
“When my football career was coming to an end, as it does in your 30s, I thought about what to do next.
“My dad’s brother had around 30 pet shops all over the country, even stretching as far as Scotland.
“It was a family business and I started by helping out in the afternoons.
“I then ended up running a pet shop in Stalybridge so that’s where it came from.”