If pictures tell half the story then I couldn't find a better one! David Moyes, always a debatable choice to follow Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, had a very difficult start. Call it luck or otherwise, he had very demanding first 5 matches which almost set the tone for the season at United. Even by its standards of 'slow start till Christmas and a jump start later', United find themselves off the lead by quite a margin.
So, what is wrong with United and Moyes? Is it all over for them this PL season? Let me walk through some of the reasons
Traditional slow starters
United have always been slow starters. They try to keep themselves at or about the top position by Christmas so that they can time their second half run perfectly. They generally are helped by the Christmas burst of Arsenal and the burn out of other teams because of lean squads. This season is different!
The slow start is made to look worse because of the initial tough fixtures. The misery is compounded by the losses at home (to West Brom, Everton and Newcastle, which we may rue at the end of the season)
We may have picked up some momentum over the festive fixture period but all the gains are undone by the demoralising defeat to Spurs on New year day. The tradition slow start of United is looking more and more tighter now.
Improved competition
We almost had a walk-over last season thanks to the adamant non-improvement of squad by Manchester City. Arsenal looked laggard and Chelsea were bereft of ideas. Liverpool were still a work-in-progress.
Circa 2013-14 and United somehow conjured a way to encompass all these difficulties. They have not improved the squad, looked very very lethargic on the pitch, engine (read midfield) looks bereft of creativity. Add to this the strength of City who seems to have put together an amazing squad, return of Mourinho to Chelsea, Wenger re-discovering his hunger for silverware and Brendan Rodgers finding his feet at Liverpool. All these are definitely responsible for United's current position
Failure in landing targets
Of all the reasons, this looks the bitter pill. When Thiago Alcantara snubbed United, no one visualised a series of snubs. Alas! that's what followed...across Europe lot of stars snubbed United and we even bypassed a chance to sign Mesut Ozil. Result? United ended up with Fellaini who's bundled by his huge transfer salary and almost the same squad minus the schemer Paul Scholes. Result???? Lack of creativity, lack of punch and lack of leader on the pitch. Rooney is trying to hold his own but Van Persie's reported sulking and on-off presence isn't helping things
Is the future bleak for United this season?
Not exactly. Even the ardent supporters of United wouldn't mind only a Champion's league spot this season. Any thing below that would be a disaster - both financially and for attracting targets. But, are we on course to be in the top 4?
Arsenal have gone unscathed through the Christmas period which is a surprise given their history of blowing it up during this period. City are going strong and Chelsea are picking up some momentum. Liverpool are helped by their absence in Europe and Carling cup.
United need to punch above Liverpool, Everton and Spurs to occupy the last CL spot. It all depends on who lands up in the January window. These are desperate times for United but I expect them to just scrape through with the last spot.
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