For a while, everything looked so good under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as Manchester United manager it all fell together quite perfectly. The struggling club suddenly discovered its joie de vivre again and all looked right with the world at Old Trafford.
Then they went and defeated Paris Saint-Germain in a shock comeback in the Champions League quarter-finals and suddenly the whole thing fell to shit.
Exactly what has happened is a mystery. Some say that the decision to award Solskjaer the job on a permanent basis has led to a reduction in the players’ motivation. Others believe that perhaps the manager himself has been found in a tactical sense, though with a group of players performing so far below their level that is a bit of a reach.
One thing is certain though: Manchester United are pretty shit right now. Not my words, the words of Top Gear magazine. More specifically, the words of actual statistics.
That statistic, posted on Twitter by journalist Andy Mitten after United’s defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, is incredibly damning.
MUFC haven't scored a goal for 4 hours 40 mins and counting. MUFC haven't scored from open play for 8 hours 47 minutes.
— Andy Mitten (@AndyMitten) April 24, 2019
It reveals that United haven’t scored a goal for 4 hours, 40 minutes and counting, which is very, very bad.
What’s worse, is that United haven’t scored a goal from open play in almost 9 hours; 8 hours and 47 minutes to be exact.
That run has seen them lose 4-0 on aggregate to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals, as well as the last week’s defeats to Everton (4-0) and Manchester City (2-0), and it is reflective of just how far this team has fallen since the famous win at the Parc des Princes.
How do they reverse it? Well, if I knew that I would probably be Manchester United manager, or at least leading the Premier League with United in my FIFA 19 Career Mode save. I am doing neither of those things.
What it is indicative of though is the need for a massive clear out from the club this summer, with a whole host of player simply not good enough to don the shirt currently sitting on nice long and incredibly expensive contracts.
Until United can shift the deadwood and change the culture at the club, such stats will not be outliers.
