In the aftermath of winning five games in a row across all competitions, Manchester United registered a home defeat as they lost to Fulham in round 26 of the Premier League 2023-24 campaign.
Yet again, they secured a win against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup but lost to their city rivals in the Premier League last weekend.
The above has raised some already-existing questions concerning the manager’s tactics, managerial potential in the long run and the team’s consistency.
A quick scan could indicate that the Red Devils have only picked up 44 points from 27 Premier League fixtures, and they are 11 points behind Aston Villa, who are seated in the fourth spot in the race for the UEFA Champions League spots.
While there are a lot of unanswered questions concerning the manager’s future at the club due to the recent share purchase by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, this article will look to uncover some challenges that the club is currently facing.
Absence of Managerial Tenures
As one of the most pressing issues, the absence of a detailed and consistent tactical approach is one of the most pressing challenges currently at Old Trafford. That begs the question as to whether ten Hag can convince the new United owner that he is the man for the future at Old Trafford.
The above statement is based on the notion that whenever the team plays, the players lack the ability to completely break down their opponents, as they always struggle to win games with a wide goal margin, even when they are playing against weaker teams.
Similarly, when one watches the team during their games, there seems to be an absence of understanding between the players, and this is one of the reasons why they concede cheap goals.
Hence, there is a need for the manager to develop and influence his blueprint in the minds of every player at the club.
Dependence on Certain Players
In the last two seasons, there seems to be certain Manchester United players that are always relied on to do the job, and whenever these players are absent, the rest of the team struggle to produce a decent result.
Even if we could argue that in every club there are players that are already relied on, most of these clubs have certain players that could step up whenever there’s a need to step up.
However, at Manchester United, this is something that the team lacks, as an injury to certain key players could affect the performance of the entire squad. Hence, there is a need for every player to step up if they intend to end the second half of the campaign on a brighter note.
Absence of Dominance Mentality
As a big club with a massive history, the current Red Devils players seem to lack the dominance mentality that were the tenets of most successive Manchester United eras.
Thus, the absence of the above mentality is something that has also affected the players in general, as most average clubs are no longer worried about facing Manchester United.
In the past, it was difficult for teams in the league and beyond to secure a win against Manchester United even when they were not playing at home due to the mentality of the players regarding the history of the club that they were representing.
These days, the current brand of players are unable to embrace this mentality, and this is something that is affecting them on the pitch. Hence, solving the above challenges could help improve the team’s results.