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THE most dispiriting aspect of United’s desperate defeat at Watford on Sunday was how little of a shock it seemed to those neutrals watching on at home.
Not so long ago the Reds losing to the team propping up the Premier League table would have made headlines for days on end. It would have been the talking point from a Premier League weekend.
Now, it’s met with a weary shrug of the shoulders. Most people probably thought United would win at Vicarage Road, but defeat didn’t seem out of the question and when it arrived it was predictable in its manner. Nobody was really shocked.
It’s a damning indictment of the modern Manchester United. When Sir Alex Ferguson was still ruling all he surveyed at Old Trafford a defeat to a struggling side of the Premier League would have been jumped on by rival fans, the mocking beginning immediately. Now there’s even a weariness to that. It’s happening all too often for it to be greeted with the same glee.
United have now played a Premier League fixture against all 10 teams currently residing in the bottom half of the table. They’ve won just two of them, losing four and drawing four. It’s dreadful.
That’s why when United face a struggling team there is a fear that embarrassment is just around the corner. Either side of beating Tottenham and City, they could only draw with Aston Villa and Everton at Old Trafford.
Now they’ve become just the second team this season to lose to Watford.
United’s problems here are nothing new. That’s why you can see afternoons like Sunday coming. When given space to counter attack into, United look a thrilling and dangerous side. Asked to break down a deep and disciplined defence then they look short of ideas, unable to work out another way of playing.
It’s been a problem since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s honeymoon period ended in March, but as the year draws to a close the Norwegian and his coaching staff look no closer to solving it.
This squad certainly lacks a playmaker. The midfield is functional rather than creative and when the space the front three of Daniel James, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial love to exploit is taken away, then United struggle to create chances via other means.
This is an issue that Solskjaer will look to solve in the transfer window, but it might not be achievable in January. United are only interested in signing their top targets and they are unlikely to be achievable in the middle of the season. If the option