Going into this international break, Manchester United sit second on the table and are a point away from qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
At a glance, United seem to be doing quite well and the entire ruckus around the recent string of performances seem overzealous.
Add that to the continuous criticisms from fans and media and you have a feeling that the Red Devils must be languishing near the mid-table, when actually they are second on the points table, at least for now.
In spite of United's good start, the issues in the squad have become evident and the skeletons reveal themselves.
So what’s actually gone wrong with Manchester United this season? Has Jose Mourinho lost his Midas’ touch? Or did the club spend £300m across two seasons on a bunch of misfits? Or, is it just luck?
While a part of the criticism can be attributed to Jose Mourinho’s media skills, his persona, and his playing style, there are, however, deeper issues with the team.
If these issues are not addressed, United supporters might as well forget any hopes of the Premier League title this season.
#5 Lack of options in the squad
Modern day football clubs compete in three-four competitions simultaneously and clubs like United are expected to win them all. In order to do that, a club is expected to create a squad with enough depth, so as to minimise the risk of burning out or injuring key players.
United currently have a squad full of mix and matches. Excluding the goalkeeper, central midfield and left attacking midfield positions, the Red Devils do not have significant depth to continue challenging for a trophy in every competition.
While Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are the centre-back combo of choice, Chris Smalling is often used to compete in European matches or if the team plays a three-man defence in the Premier League.
Victor Lindelof is yet to settle at Manchester and his last appearance came during the Huddersfield horror show.
Other than Romelu Lukaku, there isn’t any striker in the team (only considering players who are fit to play) who can be expected to score goals every week.
Marcus Rashford has sometimes been supported to play in the middle alongside Lukaku, but not shown his quality lately.
Even in the hole behind the striker, United have players who are established number 10 candidates in Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan but fail to create as many opportunities as the other top teams.
As a result, Mourinho’s team even though it looks full of world-class names on paper, is still nowhere near to being a finished product.
So in crunch matches, when Mourinho glances back to the bench to see who he could use to turn around a match, he is actually faced with very limited options.
#4 The team needs better full-backs
Two of the gaping holes in Manchester United’s squad is the full-back positions. When a team expects to challenge for the title and yet plays 32-year-old players as the left back and right back, you have got to accept that there are serious issues in those positions.
Luke Shaw, who was once the world’s most expensive defender, has failed to recreate his form at Southampton and suffered lots of injuries.
Ashley Young once admitted in an interview, that he would prefer playing as a winger than a fullback since fullbacks at the Old Trafford side are expected to cover the entire length of the field.
Young, who is a winger-turned-fullback just like Valencia, rose to prominence this season after putting in a few fine displays of attacking impetus and defensive gumption.
The problem is, there isn’t enough service to supplement the creative players in the advanced roles. United have traditionally been a team that can create chances through the middle and through the flanks.
Whenever the fullbacks have a quiet game, the pressure on the attacking midfielders and the playmaker increases to provide service to the striker.
And particularly, in situations when there isn’t enough service from the three behind the number 9, full-backs need to step up and provide more service into the box.
Unfortunately, even though Young (1 assist) and Valencia (0 assists) have carried out their defensive duties admirably, their service into the box are nowhere near Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea (5 assists), Kieran Trippier of Tottenham Hotspurs (4 assists) and Kyle Walker of Manchester City (4 assists).
#3 Mkhitaryan misfiring – Lack of a solid playmaker
However, the responsibility for dwindling number of chances does not rest solely on the full-backs. Mkhitaryan arrived from Dortmund in 2016, with much fanfare.
A player that provided 34 assists in a single season at the BVB, he was provided with the responsibility to be the creative brain behind the striker and propel the team to Premier League greatness.
In the early part of the season, he provided 5 assists and scored a goal to prove why Mourinho went out to buy him. In his first seven league outings for the Red Devils, he created a total of 22 chances. In the following four league fixtures, he could only create 2.
The Armenian manages only 39.5 passes per game on average compared to the City duo of David Silva (82.1) and Kevin De Bryune’s (76.4) on average per game.
For a player whose main role is to create chances and provide opportunities, that is an extremely low level of involvement with the team. Incidentally, both Silva (2.6) and De Bruyne (2.9) have more key passes per game than Mkhitaryan (2.1).
This goes on to show why Manchester City has been so dominant in their performances, while United lags behind their city rivals with an 8 point difference.
Mkhitaryan’s recent dip in form has also revealed his frailties in possession as he loses the ball far too often. Even getting possession is a problem for him as he was outplayed by Christian Ericksen (88 touches against Mkhitaryan’s 49) in the match against Tottenham, and by Philippe Coutinho (68 touches against Mkhitaryan’s 44) in the match against Liverpool.
As such, without Paul Pogba, continuously pushing the ball forward, the Armenian has retracted back into his shell leaving the Old Trafford outfit without a solid playmaker.
Stats are courtesy of WhoScored.com, Squawka.com, and PremierLeague.com
#2 Romelu Lukaku’s goal drought
Romelu Lukaku’s seven-game goal drought in all competitions has often been attributed to lack of service from his team-mates. To an extent, it is true that without continuous service, it is difficult for a striker to bang in the goals.
However, Lukaku has problems of his own hindering him from scoring more goals for his new team. In his first eight league appearances for the 20-time league winners, he had 16 shots on target and 8 shots off target.
Against Huddersfield, Tottenham, and Chelsea, he had a total of 2 shots on target and 3 shots off target.
While in some matches, opposition defenders have been successful in isolating him, in others, he has been unable to convert chances.
The major issue has been in collecting the ball and then creating an attack from that.
In later stages of the recent match, the Belgium international sometimes drops deep to collect the ball and play it off to either Martial or Rashford.
As a result, he does not get the opportunities to shoot on goal. But, still, his conversion remains poor which is also responsible for the lack of goals in the recent matches.
His finishing lacks the deft touch of Premier League greats like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Didier Drogba, and Thierry Henry and hence often finds the safety of the goalkeeper’s gloves instead of the opposition net.
#1 Paul Pogba’s injury
Pogba was brought into the team to provide an attacking engine for an aging United team.
In his first season after returning to Old Trafford, defensive duties shackled his attacking ventures and left him dry of goals and assists.
However, this season, his impact has been clear from the beginning this season. Nemanja Matic has shouldered the responsibility to screen the back four and lay off the first forward pass, often to Pogba.
Pogba is a terrific player who can retain possession, dribble, intercept and also mastermind an attack from the back.
His main responsibility remains to intercept opposition attacks and start off United’s counter-attack by playing short passes with the attacking midfielders in front of him.
His hamstring injury in the Champions League match against Basel has seen him sidelined since September 12. Since his absence, the Red Devils manager has used Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera (after Fellaini’s injury) in his place.
However, both lack the forward-thinking ability and the vision to inspire an attack from the back. As a result, service to the front three has dwindled.
Additionally, his absence has also allowed opposition teams to see more of the ball and take control of matches. United does not have another player like Pogba in its ranks and that has become evident in the team’s performances since his absence.
Mourinho might be right that Manchester City is still far from the title, but if these issues are not addressed by the time the January transfer window closes, City might as well take the victory lap and United will be left lamenting another title-less season.