Manchester United have the same three issues David Moyes identified 10 years ago

Manchester United have the same three issues David Moyes identified 10 years ago

Defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday was the nadir in a woeful season for Man United as Erik ten Hag failed to find consistency.

 

Defeat to Bournemouth and the performance that accompanied it was evidence that Manchester United must improve in a number of areas, including passing, creating chances and defending.

Match-goers flocked to Old Trafford with a renewed sense of optimism on Saturday, after what was a wholly positive week on the United beat. Erik ten Hag, Harry Maguire and Alejandro Garnacho had all won awards for their November form and then the team enjoyed one of their best performances of the season in a 2-1 win at Chelsea.

It took all of five minutes for that goodwill to dissipate. Bruno Fernandes’ pass was weak, Scott McTominay was flat-footed and Dominic Solanke swept home the finish of a striker brimming with confidence – how United could do with one of those.

RATINGS: Martial and Fernandes poor in defeat to Bournemouth

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In a season of lows, Saturday was the nadir. Bournemouth have been in good form recently but their first ever win over United was not a smash-and-grab. They out-ran, out-fought and out-thought their hosts from the first whistle until the last.

It was actually David Moyes who insisted his United side could improve when it came to passing, creating chances and defending. His blunt admission came exactly 10 years before Saturday’s defeat, on December 9 2013, and has since been used as a meme for whenever the club have underwhelmed.

Moyes succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford and inadvertently kicked off a decade of decline. Defeat against Bournemouth means United have now lost more Premier League games at Old Trafford since Ferguson’s retirement than they did during his 26-year reign. Rarely has Moyes’ damning assessment been more true of United than on Saturday.

Solanke’s opener was only possible because Fernandes decided to dink a pass into McTominay, back to goal and against one of the league’s most aggressive teams. Billing was able to nod home on the counter-attack after Sergio Reguilon was caught high and Luke Shaw dragged inside. Marcos Senesi was free at the back post to head home a simple corner.

All of Bournemouth’s goals came from poor passing and passive defending. That United failed to score a single goal against a team who had just one away clean sheet all season is enough evidence they failed to create serious chances.

Ten Hag decided to start Anthony Martial again but the fact he was cheered off on 56 minutes says everything about another anonymous performance. He does have a Premier League goal to his name this season, however, which Rasmus Hojlund does not.

Fernandes has been United’s creator-in-chief ever since arriving from Sporting CP in 2020 but the midfielder exerted no influence in the final third. He was booked for repeated petulance and will miss next weekend’s trip to Liverpool.

United have spent £1billion on transfers since Ferguson’s retirement and are onto their eighth manager – caretaker or permanent. That they are still struggling with the same three basic issues identified by the Scot’s first successor is a damning indictment of a club who have consistently got it wrong at every level.

United have a huge week ahead of them, starting with Tuesday’s Champions League group stage game at home to Bayern Munich. They need to win and hope that FC Copenhagen draw with Galatasaray if they want to progress into the last-16.

Next Sunday, they go to Anfield and the scene of last season’s 7-0 humiliation. It will take some turnaround to come away from Merseyside with anything but they can start with the basics: passing, creating chances and defending.