Stats show United are way off the pace when it comes to hard yards
THE numbers just don’t stack up for failing Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
More than £400m spent on superstar signings in almost three years at the helm but zero trophies to show is damning of the Norwegian.
The inquest into last weekend’s humiliating home defeat to Liverpool continues to dominate English football as United consider what to do next.
But just to add more fuel to the fire now burning inside and outside Old Trafford, more statistics have emerged that will set the alarm bells ringing even louder, if that’s possible.
The figures relating to the performances of Solskjaer’s overpaid flops suggest he is presiding over a team refusing to put in the hard yards for their own manager.
These include the fact that in terms of distance covered by top-flight teams after nine games of the season, just six have covered fewer miles than United.
United find themselves languishing in 14th place with a total of 583.49 miles, compared to Brentford and Burnley, who both exceed 608.
Even Newcastle, second from bottom of the table, have covered more ground than United.
But the most telling statistic is the one relating to how much less United have run than some of their rivals in certain games.
United achieved this shocking feat in all of their last five league matches, against West Ham, Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester and Liverpool.
In the clashes with Villa, Everton, Leicester and Jurgen Klopp’s side, United ran a combined 11.23 fewer miles during those matches and came away with just one point from a possible 12.
The most industrious three players for United have been Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani and Scott Mctominay, all of whom are not regular starters.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, who returned to United in the summer on the largest wages in the Premier League, is second from bottom of the table when it comes to miles covered in 90 minutes, and the only one below him is Harry Maguire!
To complete the tale of woe,
United are bottom of the league when it comes to making tackles and duels won, 18th in terms of clean sheets, interceptions and aerial duels won and have conceded the fourth most goals and bookings.
Combine all of this with the fact rivals like Pep Guardiola, Thomas Tuchel and Klopp remain elite managers with superior tactical acumen – and it leaves United languishing in seventh place in the table, out of the title race and with little chance of winning silverware. It also begs the question, have United run out of steam under Solskjaer, have they gone soft?
Only Ronaldo & Co know the answers, but who will be the next manager to try to fix one of the most expensive problems in the game?
Quite frankly, those players, currently betraying the famous badge of United, need a kick up the backside and the sort of reality check a wise and ruthless coach like Antonio Conte or Mauricio Pochettino would provide. They need to be coached from a set of individual superstars into a cohesive team, otherwise United will just remain spinning on the same tragic roundabout they’ve been stuck on since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.