United We Stand’s Andy Mitten looked at the list of reasons why Manchester United have been going downhill since the start of the year on Thursday’s OTB AM.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges were on a high during the festive season, going top of the Premier League table for the new year, with a real conversation to be had about a race for the title.
However, since However, since the victory away to Burnley on January 12th which put United top of the table, their form has gradually dropped, and Solskjaer's side are now clinging on to second place on the log, with Manchester City way out in front.
Mitten believes that the one of the biggest contributing factors to this drop in form has been a lack of team cohesion that was there this time last year.
“This time last year, Manchester United had just come back from a break in Marbella,” Mitten said.
“I know that really worked for them, I saw it with my own eyes. The first game back after that break, I saw Ed Woodward go up to Ole Gunnar in the tunnel and say, ‘Marbella again next season’.
“It had worked, Bruno [Fernandes] had settled in really well; and there is none of that now.”
The trip to Marbella helped United with some much-needed rest and relaxation last year, in the middle of a tough season.
This lack of a break, mixed with the intense schedule brought on by COVID-19, has created question marks surrounding the fitness of the United players.
“Fatigue, yeah,” Mitten said. “I don’t know whether that is responsible for 10% or 40% of that poor performance; I need to ask some questions about that.
“It is frustrating for fans because you go back six weeks, they were top of the league and had just beaten Liverpool.
“You wonder how United are going to get out of this poor form. Maybe the team are missing players who have been absent.
“A fit [Edinson] Cavani, he came back and looked rusty. Paul Pogba was doing very well before he got injured and you just look at their performance against Palace and think, ‘who could have changed that game?’
“Pogba would certainly be one of those players, a fit Pogba, and he wasn’t there and just couldn’t.”
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. Picture date: Wednesday March 3, 2021. Mike Hewitt/PA Wire/PA ImagesManchester United have actually been lucky
While United have had some injuries to some of their best performers, Mitten believes that the injuries are not a big factor in their current poor form.
“I think United have been quite lucky with injuries so far this season and the number of players who have caught COVID, because there have been so few,” Mitten said.
“There have been much worse times in terms of injuries.”
Mitten suggested that the only reason that United have kept their position in the top two on the table is because their poor performances have not been worse than the rest of teams in the league.
“Fortunately for United, the rest are worse than them at the moment,” Mitten said.
“The forwards are not scoring; the top scorer is attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Even Bruno, the best player by far in the last year, has gone off the boil.
“It goes back to that point about fatigue. They are not doing it on purpose.”
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