United View: Lacklustre Display Leaves Sour Taste In The Mouth

Where do you even begin to describe just how bad United were in their 1-0 defeat to Everton?

There is little to no positives to talk about from the Reds' trip to Goodison Park, with another lazy and unambitious display that now leaves us drifting further away from 4th place.

A statistic courtesy of BT Sport which sums up the performance is that Everton ran 10 kilometres more than United on Saturday, that’s the equivalent of about 26 Empire State buildings for any King Kong enthusiasts. This is a stark contrast to the high press, heavy metal football we all expected to see from the ‘Godfather of Gegenpressing’ Ralf Rangnick when he was appointed in the back end of 2021.

There is only so much a manager can do to get a response from his players and even though I don’t think Rangnick’s philosophy of football aligns with this this current squad, that does not excuse the players displaying a complete lack of effort. United’s tempo was like a team involved in a charity match and truly got what they deserved against a team willing to put in the hard runs to grind out a result.

To make matters worse, Cristiano Ronaldo was filmed breaking the phone of a 14-year-old boy at full time, the Portuguese star has since apologised and invited the young Everton fan to Old Trafford to watch a game. Although, I would advise the young Evertonian to reject this offer as I think United have subjected him to enough trauma. Seriously Cristiano just buy the kid a new phone and some tickets to the next Everton game.

I always believe it’s important to think positively but realistically top four is all but out of reach for United, even with Arsenal and West Ham both losing at the weekend, it appears Spurs’ front three are going to be the difference. And with trips to Anfield and The Emirates fast approaching I’d be lying if I said I felt confident for both fixtures.

I feel like beating a dead horse going on about United this season, out of every competition and unlikely to claim fourth spot, it’s a far cry from where we expected ourselves to be following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane last summer. I wasn’t expecting a league title, but I certainly did not anticipate such an uninspiring end to a lacklustre campaign given the calibre of players at our disposal.

We’re still within a shout of top four somehow, but it would take something truly special to achieve this, along with plenty of luck. But I just think it’s too much to ask for based on the current situation at Manchester United.

However, with rumours of Erik Ten Hag continuing to circulate, there is still some sense of optimism to be found at Old Trafford. Yes, we always big up managers but Ten Hag could be the man to bring a new culture at United.

I can only see Ten Hag joining United if he feels assured that the board is willing to give the Dutchman control over recruitment and the running of the club, similar to how he is currently operating in Holland. Fans will have to wait and see if United are able to convince the 52-year-old that the club can work towards his demands and tempt him away to a team in a severe identity crisis.

With nothing confirmed, United should instead turn focus to their next game against bottom of the league Norwich City, a game that they should win, but similar was also said against Everton. I’m just expecting more effort from players, the work levels last Saturday were simply not good enough. I can take being beaten, but to be out worked is unacceptable at Manchester United.