20 times have Manchester United won the English league title. It's a remarkable collection of honours but sadly, it doesn't look like they will make it 21 anytime soon.
The hierarchy may well be more organised since INEOS' takeover of the club but let's face it, they made an error in keeping Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman faced enormous waves of criticism and pressure towards the back end of 2023/24 season but a late FA Cup victory over rivals Manchester City has arguably saved him.
Since then, the Red Devils have shown no signs of improvement despite big investment in the transfer market again. They have started the season sluggishly, losing to Brighton and Liverpool. This was not how Sir Jim Ratcliffe envisaged things going.
It's likely Ten Hag will be given a few months to sort things out but if things carry on as they are, he would be lucky to see in 2025 at Old Trafford. Truth be told, United can do better and must do better if they are to end their league title drought.
They could also do some with some better players and that starts in the middle of the park.
Casemiro has to be dropped
The decision Ten Hag made at the break with his side 2-0 down spoke volumes. Casemiro didn't return for the second period and in his place came young Toby Collyer.
It was a lovely sight to see two United academy graduates in the middle of the park but to give the 20-year-old minutes in such a high-pressure game said it all about Casemiro's display.
To put it simply, it was not good enough. He was at fault for both goals, gifting away possession for Luis Diaz's first and then being dispossessed for the Colombian's second goal of the afternoon.
Horribly, these two errors were not a surprise. For the last year, the great Brazilian has seen his career drop like a stone. The five-time Champions League winner, the holder of 75 national team caps looks way past his best.
We saw that last term but this display was on another level. Handed a 2/10 match rating by GOAL's Richard Martin, the reporter noted that it was 'one of his worst games'. That's saying something given the veteran's displays of late.
With Manuel Ugarte arriving on transfer deadline day, it won't be a huge surprise to see Casemiro's minutes severely impacted after the international break.
That said, he's not the only one now fighting for his career at the club.
Marcus Rashford's performance in numbers
Like Casemiro, the demise of one of Manchester United's modern greats has been incredibly sad to see. It's hard to dislike Marcus Rashford but his performances over the last simply haven't been up to scratch.
In fact, it's quite hard to believe that this is the same player we saw score 30 times during the 2022/23 season. Last term, he only found the net eight times in all competitions and he has begun the new campaign with a whimper too, failing to register a single shot in his first three games. That's a dismal statistic for someone who should be scoring on a frequent basis.
His confidence is low and he looks devoid of ideas. That said, there was a slight element of improvement from the Englishman on Sunday. He carved out two chances of note for Joshua Zirkzee and had the Dutchman put those away, Rashford would be walking away with two assists, rather pleased with his work. It rather summed up the no.10's last year of football that he didn't register a goal involvement.
Minutes played
90
Touches
33
Accurate passes
16/22 (73%)
Key passes
2
Crosses
2/4
Shots
0
Dribble attempts
2/5
Ground duels won
3/6
Aerial duels won
1/2
Possession lost
12x
Despite those chances, he was lacking much intent, something highlighted by the aforementioned Martin. In handing him a 3/10 rating, the reporter stated that the winger's 'runs were ineffective and his passes were either under or over-hit.'
That is substantiated by some dismal numbers. The 26-year-old completed just 76% of his passes and ceded possession on 12 occasions. He even had fewer touches (33) than goalkeeper Andre Onana (55).
Now, it must be stated that Rashford was by no means the main problem with yesterday's defeat to Liverpool but sooner rather than later he is going to have to improve. Ten Hag and more importantly, the whole football club needs more from him.
For the time being, it would be of great benefit for the manager to trial Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho as his wing pairing instead.
Not just Casemiro: Man Utd must drop 4/10 star who lost 100% duels
Manchester United were in dismal form as they were brushed aside by Liverpool.
ByMatt DawsonSep 1, 2024
