What's going on at Manchester United?

 

Another draw, more points dropped...

There’s something wrong with this Manchester United side of late and it’s not just the lack of quality. The shortfall of urgency, desire, character, and application in games of late is worrying and I can’t quite comprehend what I saw in the Palace game. With Leicester dropping points again and Liverpool having to play Chelsea, you’d think a United side would jump at the chance at getting 3 big points especially with City away looming on the weekend. Throughout January, many of us reluctantly started to have faith that maybe this United side could potentially go all the way. 5 weeks later, we’re all sat here questioning if we’re able to finish in the top 4. So, what’s changed?

This draw against Palace makes it the 3^rd 0-0 draw in a matter of the last 3 games. Is it a bad run or form or is it something more? Dropped points at home to Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion away recently shows clear evidence that we’ve struggled to break down sides who play with a low block but surely, we’re not just a counter attacking team? We’ve scored the second highest number of goals in the Premier League (after City) and have a huge amount of talented technical players to be able to create chances each game.

But since the injury setback to Paul Pogba, the quality in the side had seemed to drop drastically and opposing sides have realised that man marking and doubling up on Bruno Fernandes and Marcos Rashford will keep United at bay. Does this show that the players besides them aren’t good enough to step up to the plate and take ownership or are they just limited in their positions from instructions from the manager? At Shakhtar Donetsk, although Fred wasn’t an out an out goalscorer, he used to score quite a few goals a season and create chances because he had the license to go forwards. Does this lack of belief from Solskjaer limit his ability as a footballer or is he simply not good enough which is why he is so restricted in his position and fails to take those risks? We’ve seen at City that without Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogen has stepped up to the plate and scored 13 goals already this season despite only ever scoring a highest of 6 in previous season. That tactical change and trust from Pep Guardiola has paid off massively and proven that you can make these types of changes that benefit the team. By the way I’m not saying we should play Fred in a number 10 role, I’m solely talking about the managers decision to let his players be more expressive and give them more freedom in attacking scenarios.  

Holding the team back

When you break it down, tactically, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s failure to trust the talent that he has really limits the style of play therefore making it easier for sides to shut up shop against us. But is there more to it than just trust? United’s lack of clean sheets is something he’s definitely been concerned about which is probably a huge factor as to why he plays with two sitting midfielders. Small changes can go a long way in football and the addition of Donny Van de Beek in the summer should have given Ole a huge advantage to be able to play him in the number 8 or even to drop Bruno back and Donny further forwards. Either he doesn’t trust Donny, or he’s fearful of upsetting Bruno Fernandes which then becomes a huge issue on it’s own. I fear that Ole’s persistence to protect his back 4 puts too much pressure on Bruno Fernandes and Marcos Rashford to be the game changers which they won’t always be able to do.

Lack of characters

As much as we would all love United to be playing good football every week, last night’s game against Palace was a huge indication that we had/have a lack of characters at the club. With players looking deflated and relying on other individual brilliance to get us out of trouble (not the first time!) is not the things you want to see from a Manchester United side nevermind a team supposedly competing for a title. Great teams have characters who step up, dig deep, rise to the occasion and uplift those around them. Last night I didn’t see one player look remotely interested in showing some fight. It was almost like they were happy to keep their away record safe. We saw Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford arguing over basic things. Rashford needed to get back onside, accept it and take it on the chin. Shouting back and calling him a “fucking nobhead” shows the lack of respect to Maguire. I know times have changed but do you ever think Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, these types of players would ever allow that to happen and for the standard to drop so heavily? I can’t remember watching many United games with such a lack of urgency to win the game, especially to a side you would expect to see us playing attacking football against. When you play for Manchester United, it has to mean more to you. You have to dig deep to find results. You have to fight for every single ball and leave nothing else out there on the field. As a player, regardless of who your manager is or how you set up, effort always comes down to you, and if you’re not working hard for those 3 points then you don’t deserve to be at the club.

Fatigue

Although Ole rotates players, his reluctance to rest our best performers Bruno Fernandes and Marcos Rashford has been evident in their performances of late. Although we may not have the luxury City have in being able to pretty much change most their line-up every week, the lesser important games (Cup games, games against lesser sides) should allow regular starters to be able to rotate and only come on if necessary. Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka (only right back), Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Marcos Rashford need to be looked after more as they’re the spine of the team. Daniel James in recent weeks has shown he can come in and play. We have Alex Telles who could rotate at left back more. Donny Van de Beek (although not fit right now) has always been a player who has the quality to come in and perform. Due to COVID, this season has been electric in terms of fixtures with games coming thick and fast every few days. So, when you always play your strongest players without rest every game, they’re going to feel the effects eventually and it shows. Liverpool are a prime example of playing your strongest team every game. Eventually you will pick up injuries and players will get burnt out.

Fine margins:

There have been many games this season where we haven’t particularly played great but have had chances to win the game. Although we’ve scored 53 goals in the league (9 against Southampton), lately we seem to be struggling to score simple chances. Is this just form from our forwards or much more than that? Elite players and elite teams show up and make it count when they need it most. It may be slightly over reactionary right now but we miss too many chances to kill off games or just to break the deadlock. Marcos Rashford’s chance yesterday was a prime example and the importance to take the pressure off the team. Those moments are the difference between being a good team to becoming a great team. The longer we seem to go without scoring, the worse we tend to become. When you play against sides who will happily sit back and defend in numbers, these moments in games become vital. With Martial off form, Mason Greenwood being deployed out wide and limited in his chances, most of the pressure has come down to Rashford and at times Cavani. And although it’s unfair to put all the pressure on them, there have been too many times this season that they’ve missed simple chances from inside the box to either kill off the game or break the deadlock (same with Martial and Bruno). We have talented players, but if we want to get to the next level, a ruthless forward is a must.  

Tactics and “style of play”:

What is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s style of play? This question is asked repeatedly and never seems to have an actual answer but when you break it down, what was Alex Fergusons style of play? Does Ole set up a certain way because of his lack of trust in his defence or is he just reliant on the counter attack? Alex Ferguson never really had a certain style of play but had every single player doing the basics right. He was also blessed to have top players who understood what their roles were and how to execute them. It was never tiki-taka football as such but had a high intensity with players being able to express themselves in the final third. Surely, when you have technical footballers you should be able to dictate games better which is the main concern for majority of the supporters right now, but the lack of urgency in our play with slow, dull, boring build up play at times is frustrating to watch on the eye and that all starts from the manager and what the players do with the coaches in training. At times, there seems to be a huge lack of idea from these players. We try and play the ball to Rashford and Bruno as quickly as possible but majority of the time it’s hit and hope. When we have the ball at the back, there never seems to be much movement and very predictable what we’re trying to do. There’s no clear plan when we’re up against lesser sides and our lack of tactics break down these teams is abysmal. Although at the end of the day it’s a results business and Ole has done very well since he become the United boss, is this where his lack of tactical knowledge fails him when we need to open up teams or are the players not quite good enough to play a certain way? Has his better players bailed him out through individual brilliance or are we still 4/5 players short of having trust in a team to change the style? We also have to remember that these players are coached by technical coaches like Keiran McKenna. Michael Carrick who was a world class midfielder and knew how to dictate games in his playing days gives these players advice on what to do daily. The players do have the tools so does it just comes down to quality? We’ve seen that Fred and McTominay aren’t the greatest passers of the ball, so does that ultimately change the dynamics of how you can play? Should we be going all guns blazing for a technical midfielder in the summer?

No Fear:

One huge criticism that Ole has faced is his lack of fear. Now this could also be a myth as even ex players have said what he’s really like behind closed doors with his ruthless attitude. But, it seems when certain players aren’t playing well, he’s reluctant to take them off. Is that down to his belief in the player or is he scared to take them off incase they get upset? There have been times when Bruno hasn’t played well (and I’m one of his biggest fans) and he’s kept him on. There’s been too many times he’s played him in games he should be rested. Is he too reliant on Bruno Fernandes? Or is he too scared to play him from the bench, especially when we have Donny Van de Beek to play in that role. When Harry Maguires had a poor game, he knows he will start the next game. But again, is that down to the fact we have a hospital ward in defence or just the fact we paid so much for him and he’s the captain? It feels from a fan perspective that some players no matter how they play won’t ever be dropped, and at a club as big as United, you should always be playing for your shirt every week. These players need to understand that they play for Manchester United, that badge on their chest should fill them with fight and they should be breaking down walls to get 3 points. They have to dig deep and know how privileged they are to be in this position and this all starts from the top.

City up next:

Is this worrying times or is it the perfect game for us to get back on track? Manchester City look unbelievable right now and rightly so deserve to be at the top of the table. But this has always been a fixture that allows us to set up for the counter attack. A good results here can push us in the right direction and we definitely need a spark to come from somewhere right now.