MU players look limp after referee Michael Dean blew the long whistle signaling the end of the match in the eighth week of the English League. Feelings of disappointment, shame, and anxiety for their future were mixed after the defeat. They find it hard to believe they have been defeated to Newcastle, a team struggling from the threat of relegation.
“I think this is the most difficult time since I was at Manchester United. I did not know what was happening. We couldn’t even score (in) the last two matches. Not only in this fight, we have not been good throughout this season. Sorry for the supporters, “said David De Gea, the MU goalkeeper who has joined the team since 2011, after the match.
Following the defeat, Manchester United now only pack nine points from eight matches in the Premier League 2019-2020 season. They are 15 points behind league leaders Liverpool. The most frightening thing, the threat of degradation, suddenly appears in plain sight. MU, the most collecting English Premier League titles, 20 times, is now stuck in 12th place of the league.
They are only two points away from one of the residents of the relegation zone, Everton. If MU loses again in the next Premier League match, while Everton wins, MU has the potential to enter the dark zone. Even worse, the opponent they will face in the ninth week is Liverpool, a team that is stepping on the gas and have not even once lost a point this season.
“It’s regrettable. We lost a number of key players. However, that is not a reason (defeat). Some of these children (MU players) lose a little peace. On the other hand, we cannot create a number of goal opportunities to win this fight. These young people lack confidence and need help from experienced people, “said MU Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explaining the cause of the defeat of his team.
MU indeed lost many key players who were injured such as Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Eric Baily, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Solskjaer was forced to play a number of young players such as defender Axel Tuanzebe and wing striker Daniel James. Two graduated MU academies with minimal experience, namely Mason Greenwood and Tahith Chong, also played in the second round.
“When the key players are fit and able to perform, MU is stronger. However, if the coatings are not good enough, they cannot overcome the absence of five players in a season that is still very long. Don’t forget, they failed to get replacements for Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, “he said xMark Ogden, football analyst at ESPN.
Glass Mountain
Bad situation experienced by MU is actually familiar. History records, exactly three decades ago, the Red Devils have experienced the same thing. At that time, they could only package eight points from eight matches beginning of the 1989-1990 season. His manager at the time, Sir Alex Ferguson, was briefly interrupted by dismissal, especially when crushed by Manchester City 1-5 in September. In fact, Ferguson has been building MU since being appointed manager three years earlier.
As is the case today, MU in that era lost many key players due to injuries such as Bryan Robson and Neil Webb. However, as told by Ferguson in an autobiography titled Managing My Life (1999), MU owners do not panic and guarantee his position in the manager’s chair. They are even willing to invest in new players like Peter Schmeichel, Denis Irwin, and Eric Cantona and support the promotion of academy players like Ryan Giggs.
Patience and long vision was fruitful in the following years. MU won his first English League title with Ferguson at the end of the 1992-1993 season. Since then, MU incarnated the dominant power in England, even Europe. Gary Neville, MU legend, hopes the club’s current board of directors mimics that success.
According to him, MU’s current downturn is inseparable from the current MU directors policy led by Ed Woodward since 2012. MU has no long-term vision in building teams, both recruiting managers and buying players. Since 2012, it has been a hobby of changing coaches. A number of players such as Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Sanchez and Lukaku came and went without giving good achievements because of the patchwork policy and the absence of that great vision.
“The club suffered a setback because of that short-mindedness. I think this team can achieve better if they look long term. They need to add other new players as is done with Wan-Bissaka, James and (Harry) Maguire in the next two or three transfer windows, “quote Neville.
