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Rob Dawson, reporter
Manchester United have had a positive first season under coach Erik ten Hag. It was supposed to be the foundation for the Dutchman to take his team to bigger and better things, but four months into this season, the mood around Old Trafford has darkened, and Ten Hag is under pressure.
Finishing third in the Premier League, winning the Carabao Cup and reaching the FA Cup final would have been a good springboard for United to get going under the former Ajax boss, but so far, that has not happened.
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We look at the main reasons and whether they are in a much worse position than they were at the same stage last season.
The attacker’s dilemma
United finished last season in third place, but they scored the least goals in the top six, with 58 goals in 38 matches. They also finished second in ‘big chances missed’ with 71, and there was an expectation among fans that the club would bring in an elite striker to help solve the problem.
The club has made no secret that signing the No.9 was their priority ahead of the new season, but in a transfer window during which Harry Kane was available, United instead signed highly-rated – though unproven – youngster Rasmus Hoglund.
Hoglund (20 years old) scored five goals in the Champions League, but has not yet scored a goal in the English Premier League. Although he may develop into a high-level striker in time, he has not reached that level yet. For their part, United insist that signing Kane was never a realistic option due to the numbers (transfer fee and wages), as well as Tottenham’s reluctance to strike a deal with a Premier League rival. This means for the second season in a row they are struggling to achieve goals.
After 14 league games, United have scored 16 goals, the lowest return of any team in the top 10. It is only one goal ahead of Everton and Burnley, who are in the relegation zones.
What’s happening with Marcus Rashford?
Linked to the issue with Højlund is the form of Marcus Rashford. Rashford scored 30 goals in all competitions last season, but has only scored twice this season – one of which was an Everton penalty kick that was handed over by Bruno Fernandes for the England striker to take.
If Rashford was scoring regularly, it would take the pressure off Hoylund, but he has looked a shadow of the player he was last season and is regularly replaced by Ten Hag during matches when United are desperate for a goal. He was substituted after 61 minutes against Newcastle last weekend even when his team was 1-0 down.
– Ogden: What’s happening with Rashford?
Rashford wants to play on the left of the front three, but has had to compromise this season, either starting at centre-forward when Hoyland was injured in August or settling for a place on the right due to the form of Alejandro Garnacho on the other flank. .
The risk for Ten Hag is that Rashford has sometimes found it difficult to pull himself out of a goal-scoring slump. He has managed just five during the 2021-22 season, and United cannot afford to go through another season with such low productivity.
Injury problems
Ten Hag tried not to make excuses here, but he has been dealing with a long list of injuries since the summer, and in the Newcastle match, seven first-team players were injured (Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, Terrell Malacia and Amad Diallo), in addition to To Jadon Sancho, who has been excluded from the team since September for disciplinary reasons.
In defense alone, injury problems this season have meant that Ten Hag has opted for eight different combinations at centre-back (Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were combined at centre-back for the first time at Newcastle) and five different left-backs. – Full-backs (Shaw, Sergio Reguilon, Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Sofiane Amrabat). Fans are raising legitimate concerns about recruitment given Ten Hag has spent almost £400m on new players since taking over as manager in the summer of 2022, but he is likely to claim that he has not had his first-choice XI available once this season.
There is also a question mark over whether the long list of injuries is simply down to bad luck, or if there is a link between regular muscle injuries and Ten Hag’s preference for intense training sessions over extra rest and recuperation during a hectic fixture schedule.
1:30
Burley: Another embarrassing performance for Manchester United
Craig Burley attacks Manchester United after their 1-0 loss to Newcastle United in the English Premier League.
Are United worse off than last season?
United’s Premier League record after 14 matches is very similar to their record at the same stage last season. So far in the league in the 2023-24 season, they have played 14 matches, won eight and lost six, scored 16 and conceded 17, and have 24 points. After 14 matches last season, they won eight matches, lost four, scored 20 goals, conceded 20 points and obtained 26 points.
Neither is great, but the biggest difference between this season and last is in Europe.
United’s modest level in the league was boosted by a smooth campaign in the Europa League, when it won five of its six matches and scored 10 goals. But this Champions League season couldn’t have been much worse. They have won just one of their five matches and have conceded 14 goals, including 11 in their three away matches.
There was also a lack of written triumphs to improve the mood. By this stage last season, United had beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. This season, they have played five of the top 10 teams (Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, Newcastle and Brighton) and lost all of them.
