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At the end of the 90 minutes at the Vitality Stadium, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a worried look on his face. After picking up three wins on the road, Manchester United was expected to gather all three points against Bournemouth, especially after seeing off a strong Chelsea team in midweek in style. Instead, what unfolded on Saturday was out of context, but perhaps it was expected from this United side.
Since the start of the season, United have struggled in the Premier League and has failed to win two games in a row in the league. A lot was expected from Solskjaer after his blistering start to life as United boss; however, the steady decline since securing the full-time job has refused to desert his side. United ended last season on a whimper and that has pretty much been the case this term so far, causing much unrest among fans worldwide.
The manager is yet to face the brunt of the attack, but his suitability for such a grand role has been questioned, even though only in whispers until now. However, to simply blame Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the current state of affairs at Old Trafford would be missing the bigger picture. Today, we look at three reasons why Manchester United have struggled so far this season.
#3 Lack of consistency
When Solskjaer took charge as the caretaker manager at Old Trafford, Manchester United attained a degree of consistency in their gameplay. All the players clicked at once and the team was in form. However, it all went haywire in the tail end of the season and United never recovered.
United has failed to replicate that orderliness this season and it has been their bane. Players have been guilty of blowing hot and cold and their performance levels have varied every week. After starting the season with a blistering 4-0 win over Chelsea, United failed to gather momentum and have already lost 4 and drawn 4 of their 11 games in the league so far. Some players have been brilliant in one game but gone missing in the next and that has hurt United's chances. As a result, the Red Devils have failed to put together a decent run of games.
The best teams in the world are tailored to be consistent and perform at the same level week in week out. Unfortunately, United has failed to do so this term and are paying the price as a result.
#2 An average summer transfer window
When Solskjaer promised a massive rebuilding exercise at Manchester United, it was clear that he needed time to put all his plans to work. Since the United squad was in a shambles, everyone expected the Red Devils to invest heavily in the transfer market and reinforce in the right areas. Unfortunately, United's performance in the summer left a lot to be desired.
After being linked with a plethora of players, Manchester United managed only three signings. While it must be noted that all three have been great additions to the team, one has to admit that United probably needed a couple more before the start of the season. The Red Devils sold Marouane Fellaini in January and then lost Ander Herrera for free in the summer. A midfielder was a prime requirement, but United failed to buy in the summer. It would be a decision Solskjaer would live to regret. United are desperately short of midfielders at the moment, a fact that has also surfaced over the recent busy run of games.
Another mistake was a failure to add a striker to the team after allowing both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to leave. Even though Solskjaer was right in showing them the door, the failure to sign at least one replacement has cost United dearly. With both Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford blowing hot and cold, Solskjaer has only young Mason Greenwood on the bench and to expect an 18-year-old to step up to the plate as a major goal-scorer for United is just unrealistic.
#1 Injuries
Solskjaer has been ridiculously unlucky with injuries of late. Even before the start of the season, United lost Eric Bailly to a knee injury that required surgery and the Ivorian is not expected to return this year. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is also recovering from a cruciate ligament surgery and his return day is also unknown. Diogo Dalot, who was expected to hit a higher gear this year, missed 5 games due to a hip injury at the start of the season. He made a brief return in September but picked up a groin injury and has been out of action since mid-October. Axel Tuanzebe looked the real deal at the back before he too picked up a back injury before the Liverpool game.
Anthony Martial missed 9 games this season due to a hamstring injury before returning recently and he was perhaps the player United missed the most. Luke Shaw picked up a hamstring injury at the end of August and his return was jeopardized with a muscle injury picked up in mid-October. As of now, the Englishman has already missed 14 games.
But perhaps the biggest miss has been Paul Pogba in the middle of the park. The Frenchman is the creative heart of this United team and Solskjaer's tactics have taken a beating due to his absence. Pogba missed almost the entire month of September due to an ankle injury. He returned to action against Rochdale in the Carabao Cup and also started against Arsenal in the Premier League. However, the Frenchman was subsequently ruled out due to ankle problems and has not featured since. Incidentally, he has missed 10 games so far already.
If Solskjaer had all of his players fit since the start of the season, it might have been an entirely different story.
