Cheer up, Manchester United fans – the season isn’t a write off just yet
By Ali Akbar
Manchester United have endured yet another poor start to the Premier League season – but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men can still salvage the campaign.
Manchester United fans were pessimistic heading into the 2019-20 Premier League season.
The club had signed only three players in the summer transfer window – far short of what was necessary to overhaul the mediocre side that finished 6th last season.
Furthermore, United had let the likes of Ander Herrera and Romelu Lukaku go without signing adequate replacements, weakening their midfield and striking options respectively.
Nevertheless, the Red Devils went on to prove fans and critics wrong when they won their opening game of the season in style.
United didn’t just beat Chelsea – they thrashed them, scoring four goals whilst maintaining a clean sheet at home.
Optimism increased after the game. However, this quickly sank back down again when United went on to draw two and lose one of their next three league fixtures against mid-table sides.
The 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford left a particularly sour taste in my mouth, as it showed that United haven’t improved all that much from last season.
However, fans shouldn’t write the season off just yet. Perhaps these early obstacles are a blessing in disguise, as they’ll allow Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to identify his squad’s weaknesses early on.
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These weakness are clearly in the finishing department as well as holding the ball in midfield, both demonstrated to frustrating effect in the 1-1 stalemate against Southampton.
Hopefully, Solskjaer will realise that wasteful players like Jesse Lingard have no place in United’s starting XI, and begin dropping them after consistently poor outings.
Furthermore, I hope the manager will wake up and decide to play a midfield three of Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay and Fred from now on, as it’s clear the Brazilian is needed to sure things up in the centre of the park.
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Should Solskjaer address these problems and make the necessary tactical changes, United can still salvage this season and finish in a respectable spot in the table.