Published: September 23, 2021 7:28 pm
Last Updated: September 23, 2021 11:13 pm
Manchester United lag behind domestic rivals
The post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been – at least on paper – hardly the absolute disaster that it could have been. In the eight full seasons since the legendary Scotsman hung up his hairdryer at Old Trafford, Manchester United have finished in the top-six on seven occasions, competed in Europe for the same amount of years, while winning the Europa league (2016-17) as well as an FA Cup (2015-16), and a Carabao Cup (2016-17).
But while their status as a continued participant in Europe has remained, their domestic gravitas has taken a complete nosedive.
Man United have yet to take bag a Premier League trophy since Ferguson departed the Theatre of Dreams, and have only placed as “best of the rest” on two occasions – in 2017-18 as well as last term.
🕓 Days since PL clubs last lifted a trophy:
🔵 Chelsea – 118
🏆 Manchester City – 124
🦊 Leicester – 132
🔴 Arsenal – 419
🔴 Liverpool – 425
🔴 Manchester United – 1583 pic.twitter.com/ACbBnWJYKa— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 23, 2021
Perhaps even more frustrating, not only have the Red Devils finished a minimum of 12-points adrift of top spot when they managed to nip 2nd place, their overall trophy drought is now over 4-years old.
Premier League rivals Manchester City and Chelsea have moved well clear of Man United when it comes to trophy success in just about the last half-decade, while even Leicester City and Arsenal have bagged FA Cups in that period.
Bitter rivals Liverpool have netted four major honors of their own as well, and the reality that United are falling well and truly behind the standards set by their period of dominance under Sir Alex is impossible to ignore.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær must deliver this season to end trophy drought
Climbing up the table would normally be enough for the vast majority of managers in the professional game, but former Manchester United forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær continues to fall short of the mark as he goes into his third full season at the club after taking over from José Mourinho in December 2018.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 12: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manager of Manchester United looks on prior to the UEFA Europa League group L match between Manchester United and AZ Alkmaar at Old Trafford on December 12, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
A third place finish in 2019-20 and runner-up last term is a sign of domestic progress, while reaching the final of the Europa League last season to rebound from Champions League group stage disaster showed determination in a competition (EL) the club reached the semi-finals of the year before.
But with the amount of money United continue to spend in the transfer window, and in the wake of a summer reinforcement period that saw all of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo arrive at Old Trafford, failure to net any silverware should be – and perhaps will be – grounds for immediate dismissal.
Unlike their rivals, United have not crafted their spending habits into trophy success. And with the rapid improvement Chelsea have undertaken since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, there are no excuses left for the former Norwegian international.
With United joint-top of the table and level on points with both Chelsea and Liverpool in what is shaping up to be yet another nail-biting affair at the Premier League summit, it is time for the Red Devils to deliver and re-establish their flag-bearing credentials.
This article was edited by
Conor Laird.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | -3 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Brentford FC | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Watford FC | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 5 | -3 | 6 |
| 13 | Arsenal FC | 5 | -7 | 6 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 5 | -3 | 5 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 5 | -7 | 2 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 5 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 5 | -12 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 2 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 2 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | 0 | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Struijk, Pascal | Leeds United | 1 | 1 |
| Tanganga, Japhet | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Barnes, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Schar, Fabian | Newcastle United | 0 | 2 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 2 |
| Stephens, Jack | Southampton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 1 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 1 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
