Manchester United: 3 reasons for the Red Devils' downfall this season
Manchester United has always been not only one of the top clubs in England, but also in the whole of Europe. Some might argue that they have been the best club, English football ever had. And the reason for the same? One man - Sir Alex Ferguson.
Since Ferguson retired from his duties as the United boss, the club has had various capable managers to lead them into the new era. It all started with David Moyes, moved on to Louis van Gaal, then on to Jose Mourinho, and finally leading to the current manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But no manager among the ones named above have come even nearer to Sir Alex's achievements, with Jose Mourinho giving his own career a fresh breath after winning the Europa League in 2017.
This season has also been a similar one to all those in the past 6 years or so, starting with Mourinho at the helm, and now ending with Ole at the wheel. But to be really honest with United's current form, it has been devastating.
The club has been playing average consistently against all types of oppositions, which is actually not as per the club's standards, and yesterday's 4-0 loss at the hands of Everton is a perfect example of where the club really stands right now.
Today we take a look at 3 reasons for the club's downfall this season and to their ongoing below average performances.
#3 Lack of a decent defensive line
Alex Ferguson once quoted, "Attack wins you matches, but defense wins you titles."
I think Manchester United have not been taking lessons from their own stalwart. The United back four right now is one of the worst the club has seen in the past decade or so, maybe in the history of the club.
United have seen Vidic and Ferdinand winning titles for them with their consistent and full of heart performances, so a poor defense might be really pinching the club's fans to the gut.
Though Victor Lindelof has been great compared to the other options this season, he is definitely not a born leader on the pitch like maybe Vidic was. Ashley Young has been shambolic. Smalling and Jones are good defenders but not at the level that they need to be if they are playing for a club of Manchester United's level. And Luke Shaw's career has been ridden with injuries.
It's obvious to see that Liverpool signing van Dijk has converted them from a title challenger to a worthy title winner and maybe one of the best teams in Europe. United probably need two van Dijks right now.
#2 Absence of elite management
United have been playing more using their passion on the pitch, instead of a proper game-plan.
Solskjaer's press conferences have been majorly been about how he is trying to motivate the players and making them realise that they are playing for Manchester United. But pragmatically, that is not a thing which can help you win a lot of matches in a row, or possibly the title.
When a club of United's stature is concerned, the players have been trained under probably the world's best manager for almost two decades, so going from that to the current manager who was a panic buy for the club, is possibly leading to the club's downfall.
It's obvious you cannot compare Solskjaer to Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp or even Maurizio Sarri, because these men have won loads of matches between them not due to the heart they put in the team, but because of tactics and strategies.
It is high time United appoint a proper manager who knows how to win in every position on the pitch.
#1 Over-reliance on midfield due to weak attack
Let's just say, Alexis Sanchez's United career never took off and Romelu Lukaku though has proven himself in the Premier League at Everton, he is far from the perfect striker of United's quality. Maybe that is exactly the reason why he didn't find place at Chelsea.
Rashford has been a revelation this season for United, and there is no doubt the English youngster has a bright future, but he is definitely not ready yet to take the reins in his hands and pull United alone. He is not the very explosive striker like Salah is, or how Diego Costa was, or how Aguero has been.
Lukaku's lacklustre performances and Rashford's best not being enough, the pressure is being redirected to the United midfield who have big names but certainly their job is not to score goals, but to conduct the team's build up play in the right manner.
Pogba can score a few, so can Herrera, but Fred, Matic or McTominay have no proven characteristics of midfielders who are goal-scorers too.
United definitely need a striker next season who can score 10-15 plus goals, so that the midfield can do what they are best at.
Where do you think United would finish this season? Will they bag a Champions League spot or will they have to settle for an Europa League one. Or will the Red Devils leave empty handed with no European qualification? Do drop your comments below.
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Aaditya Narayan