Manchester United’s Ongoing Turmoil: A Draw at Burnley under Caretaker Boss Darren Fletcher

As the Manchester United team bus arrived at Turf Moor, a waiting Burnley official quietly remarked, “the circus is in town.”

This past week has been eventful even by United’s tumultuous standards: the swift deterioration of relations between Ruben Amorim and the club’s management, a heated meeting with director of football Jason Wilcox, two explosive press conferences, and yet another managerial dismissal. At times, the club resembles more of a soap opera than a football team.

The latest chapter featured caretaker manager Darren Fletcher, who faced a series of unexpected developments. United initially fell behind against Burnley, only to take the lead with two well-executed goals from striker Benjamin Sesko. Ultimately, however, they settled for a 2-2 draw.

“We put in a performance that should have won us the match,” said Fletcher. “We created numerous opportunities, including goal-line clearances and a disallowed goal. If you analyze the game, we should have won. It wasn’t perfect; we started slowly but scored two excellent goals. There’s still a lot to improve upon, but I was genuinely pleased with their efforts.”

Darren Fletcher’s appointment as caretaker manager embodies the ongoing confusion and inconsistency that have plagued United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. After ending his playing career in 2019, Fletcher returned to Carrington to assist with the under-15s and under-16s while pursuing his coaching credentials.

In January 2021, he joined the first-team coaching staff under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, quickly rising to the newly established role of technical director despite his own concerns about being adequately qualified. He maintained that position until Wilcox’s arrival by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in April 2024, at which point he continued on as part of Amorim’s staff.

Fletcher has served as head coach of the under-18s since July, receiving the call on Monday to lead the first team following Amorim’s departure. He will be on the touchline again for the FA Cup clash against Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday, but the future remains uncertain.

Fletcher is the sixth caretaker or interim manager since Ferguson’s exit in 2013, following Ryan Giggs, Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Ralf Rangnick, and Ruud van Nistelrooy—all former Ferguson players except for Rangnick. It’s possible that either Solskjaer or Carrick may return, as every compelling series requires familiar characters making surprise comebacks.

Typically, during such transitions, United have had established coaches available to step up. However, Amorim was given full discretion to select his own coaching staff, leading to the complete departure of his team when he was dismissed. This left Fletcher to hastily assemble a makeshift coaching team, including Travis Binnion and Alan Wright from the under-21s, along with former teammate Jonny Evans, who had recently left his role as the club’s head of loans.

Fletcher’s management during this chaotic period deserves recognition, especially as he successfully instilled confidence in Sesko, who doubled his goal tally for the season. “I sat down with him yesterday and reviewed videos of his movement and how opportunities would arise,” Fletcher noted. “I encouraged him to keep believing and making runs. Hopefully, the goals will start flowing from now on. I thought he was fantastic tonight.”

Though the result was not what Fletcher desired, he can at least take pride in making an impact. He reintroduced a back four at the earliest opportunity, and after a lackluster opening 20 minutes, United emerged as the dominant side.

Fletcher is acutely aware of fan expectations. Under his guidance, the team pushed more players forward whenever possible, resulting in 30 shots and 10 on target by the end of the match.

The former Scotland midfielder, who was greeted at one point with chants of “Darren Fletcher, football genius,” also addressed other concerns from supporters. Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, who had been sidelined under Amorim, featured in the final 15 minutes, while academy graduate Shea Lacey came close to scoring a stunning winner, hitting the crossbar late on.

Nevertheless, the same defensive errors that plagued Amorim’s tenure persisted. Fletcher acknowledged, “This season has shown that we concede goals too easily.” Burnley’s first goal was notably poor, with Casemiro inexplicably losing his marker. The draw marks United’s third consecutive stalemate, all against teams in the bottom five of the league, following similar results against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United. They have dropped points against all bottom-seven teams since November.

As the United fans who braved the cold at Burnley debated whether this represented a fresh start or a regression, they applauded Fletcher and his players at the final whistle. All eyes will be on the upcoming match against Brighton on Sunday to see how the story unfolds.