Feeling Numb

I wrote a draft and deleted it because I felt there were too many words and I wanted to keep my thoughts concise. The sentiments of Manchester United fans have mirrored the performance of the team on the pitch. Like the team has oscillated from producing the sublime to disaster, the fans have swung like a pendulum from the highest high to the lowest low. In all of this, I have just kept things balanced, not convinced that this team has what it takes yet to ensure we experience the heights that we were used to in the past. I have always felt that the team was unpredictable and my thoughts were vindicated again in the 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion.

Messed Up

On paper, this is what you would describe as a bread and butter match, one any serious title contender would win. But we didn’t and that makes it two matches out of the last five Premier League matches that United have dropped points against teams in the bottom three. I didn’t notice it at that time but West Bromwich has already held Manchester City and Liverpool to draws away from home but their form at home has seen them get hammered by City, Leeds United and Arsenal. That would have indicated another away win for us but no, we messed up.  

Another Poor Result

Now, where do I start with my dissection of this result? It’s a poor result that has contributed to Manchester City exerting their dominance over the rest in the league as the most consistent team of all. We should be getting six points from our matches against Sheffield United at home and West Bromwich Albion away but have only got one which is an abysmal return. Is there progress? I don’t feel there is. A lot of times, I have watched matches this season not feeling particularly good about the performance. There have been spells in matches where we have played well and thanks to that period or some individual quality, we have won it. The number of times we have played well from the first minute and won are only a handful. The unpredictability of the team has left me feeling numb towards any result we get. Not surprised with a bad result and not on top of the world with a good one either.

Questioning Solksjaer’s Capabilities

I had wanted a former Manchester United player to manage us after the Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho era. We got Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and I support the man, he was a great player for us but great players don’t always make great managers. Since the time he has taken over, it has always been either a feast or famine in terms of results. I thought we had turned the corner when we responded to the chastening defeat at home to Burnley last season with a run of wins and some great performances. I thought the lack of pre-season training, match and physical fitness contributed to a shocking start to the season. But at this juncture, I am beginning to question Solksjaer’s capabilities.

Favouritism

It’s clear by now that he favours certain players and there is nothing wrong with that because all managers do. But the successful ones are vindicated by their choices. Solksjaer is not that manager. It’s clear that in his eyes, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire are his first-choice pairing but that choice has not been vindicated as they have not looked steady or good enough to be a pairing for a title-winning team. Both players could be part of the squad as they are not that bad but not first-choice starters. We have looked far more solid as a defence when Eric Bailly has played in central defence but he keeps getting plagued by injury. When he is fit, he finds it hard to get back into the first-team. Even if he plays well, he doesn’t start the subsequent match.

It’s clear as day that Solksjaer doesn’t trust his favoured centre-back pairing which is why they are protected by 2 defensive midfielders, Scott McTominay and Fred. The only time this pairing is broken is when Paul Pogba is fit. Fred has some good qualities but again is not good enough to start as a first-teamer in a title-winning squad. He is good to have in the squad and used in rotation but nothing more than that. In a game against a bottom three-team, we play with 2 defensive midfielders. Why? What does Donny van de Beek have to do to start a game? He has the quality to start games for us, the quality needed for a team with the attacking tradition of Manchester United but still doesn’t get a start. It’s frustrating.

Anthony Martial had another below-par game. It wasn’t too bad though compared to others we have seen from him. He is another that I would have in the squad but not starting in the first-team, not in this form. Bruno Fernandes has been brilliant for us since he has joined but this wasn’t a good performance from him and in recent games, it is not the first of such performances. Even when he wasn’t at his best, he had the quality to score a great goal for us. His passes that have not found the intended target has been associated with his risk-taking tendency but I feel it is not vindicated. He needs to be more accurate with his passes and make more of a difference in games where the team has sat deep. Attributing it to his tendency to take risks doesn’t cut it for me. He needs to improve.

Sad Truth

The sad thing is that I am afraid we are not progressing but instead plateauing in this one step forward, two steps back way. At this rate with this inconsistency, we are never going to progress. Solksjaer has to be more ruthless and make decisions for the good of the team and its performance rather than stubbornly persisting with players he has extra faith in. I read something depressing on social media and that is Solksjaer will not do badly enough to get sacked but neither will he do well enough to win anything and that suits the Glazers because they don’t care about how we do on the pitch. It’s the fans that watch the team that suffer.

I had thought of keeping this concise but it has gone on for longer than the previous draft so I will end this here.