Tottenham snatched a 1-1 draw with 10 men at Manchester United on Saturday, calling Michael Carrick’s decision-making further into question; the Man Utd boss has failed to offer many answers to his side’s underperformance so far this season; a defining period comes next “We couldn’t find a way to get ourselves into the game. With the ball, without the ball, we were off it.” A fair assessment from Michael Carrick, if not a wholly explanatory one. Stuck in the mire of Manchester United’s worst start to a league season for 40 years, the manager appeared lost for legitimate reasons. His margin for error is shrinking by the week.
Why were his side outplayed at home by the Premier League’s bottom club? Why can’t they hold onto leads? Why do they seem incapable of playing against 10 men? All of these are fair questions to put to the man himself and many were asked of Carrick in the wake of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Spurs.
None were answered with enough detail to satisfy, though, only really serving to hold a mirror up to what was delivered on the pitch: inadequacy. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Clearly the manager can only accept so much of the blame. His players are yet to offer a single complete performance, only bit-part displays of individualism and self-direction. Where is the cohesiveness that shaped the backend of last year?
What happened to the clarity that turned a collapsed season into a third-place finish? Fans who turn up to Old Trafford every week are back to being unsure. They do not know what to expect from one game to the next, only how to voice their dissatisfaction at what transpires. Three separate choruses of boos could be heard from the terraces on Saturday.
“I think the fans will stay with the project,” reflected Gary Neville from Old Trafford. “I don’t think the boos are against Michael Carrick for one minute. But what I would say is, they’re turning quite quickly.” When United needed a calm voice to steer the ship at the beginning of this year, they turned to a man whose entire playing career was built on it. That version of Manchester United feels far removed from the side that have begun this season, though.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player In midfield is where the problems are most evident. And yet, that is the department that received the biggest injection of cash this summer, a complete overhaul in terms of personnel and profiles. The Kobbie Mainoo-Youri Tielemans axis is not working. Andrey Santos is barely getting a look in.
Hopes that Carlos Baleba can hit the ground running after an injury-hit start were audible; his introduction after an hour lifted the whole stadium. Almost every touch was positive and he took care of the ball, completing 16 of 18 passes and creating as many chances as Bruno Fernandes managed all game (2). Still, the space and freedom with which Spurs operated presents issues that cannot be solved by one midfielder. United were carved open time after time, gaps appearing in a myriad of ways.
The visitors were able to win possession in the final third five times in the first half alone. Five of United’s work-shy starters did not go away for international duty over the break. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player And it was not just the aggressiveness of Spurs’ press that was effective. They picked holes in United with the ball, too, using slick one-touch combinations to move through the thirds with pace and purpose.
Savio attempted 10 dribbles. He only completed half but the recurrence was evidence of his belief that United could be got at. He was right. Then there are concerns over the mentality of a side who repeatedly fail to beat 10 men.
Yet again, United were outrun and outpaced – this time by a team who played with a man less for 21 minutes, including stoppage time. “If we’re ahead in the game, we have to see it out,” says Carrick. That much is obvious. What is less clear is how some of these patterns of missteps are going to be addressed.
“Football is character,” concluded opposition boss Roberto De Zerbi. United must find some character from somewhere, or risk being eaten up by the competition. If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that the Premier League is in no mood to be handing out sympathy. Four of Man Utd’s next five games are away from home, including their next three.
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