Are Manchester United really title contenders this season?

David Moyes

Most would view this article as a knee-jerk reaction to the results from the night before. A loss at home to West Bromwich Albion isn’t exactly the things Champions go through, after all. But this is far from conjecture borne out of spontaneous doubt over United’s loss. This is an opinion that has been borne out of the culmination of the performances that United have made thus far.

A holistic appraisal of United’s play a month and a half into the new season reveals their most prominent characteristic: inconsistency; both tactical and performance-wise. In matches such as the season’s first game against Swansea, the Champion’s League debut match against Bayer Leverkusen 04 and the victory against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup United looked like a force to be reckoned with.

They displayed an attacking nous and work-rate that is worthy of the current Champions. But, then again there are the matches against Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Old Trafford; in each of which United lacked any cutting edge whatsoever. Their final delivery into the final third of the opposition was lacking any creativity and the strikers seemed isolated from the rest of the team.

The loss to Manchester City at the Etihad was something different from the above two matches. At the Etihad, the United players didn’t look as hungry as the City players for the win. Tactically, Manuel Pellegrini did not do much to deserve that margin of victory, or even a win for that matter. What separated the two sides was the commitment and drive that was displayed by the City players. They came out of the blocks hard and fast, and they did not let United settle. In the middle of the park, Yaya Touré and a deeper-playing Sergio Agüero had no pressure on them while in possession, while they themselves harried the United players when they were out of possession.

In each of these matches, United have lacked what was made them Champions in more Premier League outings than their rivals combined: consistency.

The most natural target for blame, of course, would be the new manager; and to some extent the new CEO, Ed Woodward, for the lack of activity in the transfer window. But the blame cannot be shifted onto their shoulders entirely. The performance from the United players has been anything but satisfactory. Apart from Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, none of the other players have consistently managed to deliver.

In the City match, Ashley Young was the worst player on the pitch by a mile. He gave away possession, failed to create and meaningful chance, and did not contribute defensively. The United fans must have breathed a sigh of relief when the linesman raised his board to indicate that Young was being subbed off.

Antonio Valencia too has had a stop-and-start sort of season. His performance against Leverkusen was a trip into memory lane, of the marauding winger of two seasons past. A campaign in which he was voted as the Best United player by peers and fans alike. But that performance was sandwiched between poor showings against Crystal Palace and Manchester City, both of which weren’t up to the mark.

A fact that will worry Moyes is that he still has not solved the midfield conundrum that he inherited from Sir Alex Ferguson. In the match against Liverpool in the Cup, Phil Jones played in the center of the park, and did a stellar job of it. Even after shelling out £27.5 million to cover that position, Moyes found himself adopting his predecessor’s methods of playing an accomplished young and budding defender as the holding midfielder. It seems that Phil Jones’ versatility will be called on again this season.

Moyes has to be careful about how he proceeds with the situation from here on. It would be all too easy to cave into pressure and make big-name signings in the Winter transfer window who might not necessarily be what United are looking for. This could leave United with a disharmonious squad; and Moyes with the problem of having to give time to players who he has bought, but who don’t necessarily fit into the United system. Without a doubt changes need to be made, but the United hierarchy needs to put in a lot of thought as to what would best suit the needs of the team.

All things said and done, though, the fact still remains that Moyes will need time to shape the team into what he feels is the right combination. And only he and the fates know how much time that will take. Expecting United to challenge for trophies so soon into the transitive post-Ferguson era is folly, as this team will take time to adapt to Moyes’ methods and tactics.

All that the fans need to remember is the last words spoken by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson on his way out:

“Your job now is to stand by our new manager. That is important.”