Might seem like a meme post but I actually think there’s a bit of truth to this line of thinking.

The Glazers also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL. They’ve owned the team since 1995. After taking them over, the Glazers had a nice run of success with the team. They made the playoffs in 5 of their first 8 years and took home a Super Bowl in 2002. After that, they had a bit of moderate success but starting in 2008, they went 12 straight years without making the playoffs. They went through 7 coaches in 12 years.

Interest in the team was declining. The stadium started looking old and decrepit. The stands were no longer full and in 2011, there was even a rumor that the Bucs were looking into relocating the team to London. Things weren’t getting better towards the end of the 2010s. From 2017-2019, they won just 17 games and lost 31.

After the 2019 season, Tom Brady’s contract expired with the Patriots and he was widely expected to sign with the Miami Dolphins. In a pretty shocking last minute move, the Glazers actually pulled him away from the Dolphins and he signed with the Bucs. Success immediately followed. A team that was the laughing stock for the previous 12 years, went 11-5 in the regular season and then steam rolled the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. All of the pressure was off in Tampa. They celebrated a title they had no business of winning. The next 2 seasons didn’t have the same level of success but they did make the playoffs each year.

So in the NFL, the Glazers were seen as geniuses and restored prestige and interest in their team by signing a 41 year old legend. Now looking at United, this could explain most of their recent decision making. Instead of doing an Arsenal-style rebuild with a young manager and younger players, they keep signing aging veterans hoping they will plug holes in their sinking team. It started with Ronaldo, an aging legend with a similar mystique to Tom Brady. Instead of fixing the midfield with prime young players, the Glazers have brought in guys like Eriksen and Casemiro. Varane was brought in to fix all the defensive issues.

The Glazers struck lightning in a bottle once before and they are trying to do it again. Building around solid young players didn’t work for them in the NFL so they are hesitant to try it in the Premier League. The next time United Supporters want to blame someone other than the Glazers for their recent struggles, blame Tom Brady because he gave your owners all the confidence they needed to make poor decisions.