There is good news for Manchester United. In Erik ten Hag it has a manager with a clear vision, one who has the personality and single-mindedness to impose it. There are always stories from every club, particularly under new management, about how tough preseason training has been, about how the players are fitter than ever, but on this occasion it seems there may be some substance to it. There was a notable 4–0 win over Liverpool in the first friendly, even if results have tailed away somewhat since. Those are reasons for optimism.
But there is also a lot of bad news, most of it to do with the aspects of running the club that have nothing to do with the manager.