Drama continues at the Theatre of Dreams as Manchester United falter again

The graphics below highlight the central attacking midfield problem and a complete failure to play through the middle areas of the pitch. Whether it is due to a lack of will on the part of the manager or not, it is difficult to say. But whenever United have tried, Rooney has not been able to provide a spark, and it was especially evident against Southampton, where he was continually dispossessed.

Manchester United Heat Map and Passes vs Southampton.

Manchester United Heat Map and Passes vs West Bromwich Albion.

Having said that, the performance of all the players, individually, has been well below par, regardless of whatever tactical mistakes Moyes may or may not have made. They have not yet earned their wages so far this season, and there could be a yard sale outside Old Trafford come next July if this keeps up.

As for Rooney, he is a striker, and he is second in the pecking order for now, behind Robin Van Persie. And even as a play maker/attacking midfielder, he is a distant second in terms of ability to Kagawa. Whether Moyes believes that or whether Rooney accepts that is another question. And unless there is a change in the way the team is set up, only two of the three can be on the pitch.

But the play of Adnan Januzaj has certainly been a bright spot for Moyes. He is a fearless player, who is not scared to shoot or take people on, and has also shown to have wonderful vision and composure for someone so young and who is still developing. Having tied him down to a 5 year deal means that it is one less thing to worry about for the new manager.

Now, if this was any other club, Moyes’ days would seem to be numbered. Thankfully for him, it is not. On current form and with presence of depth at the top of the league this year with strong starts for Liverpool and Tottenham along with the usual suspects, this has the potential to be a big crisis, make no mistake about it.

But it is not completely out of Moyes’ hand yet, and he would do really well to steer the club out of this rut and at the very least, make the top 4. Yes, the top 4. But that is the minimum and with every point that is being dropped, the room for maneuvering is becoming smaller and smaller for ‘The Chosen One’.