FORMER ENGLAND STRIKER Michael Owen has labelled the Red Devils’ squad “the worst Manchester United team for decades”.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has overseen the departures of high-profile names such as Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera, while investing heavily in young, British talent.
However, the Red Devils have struggled at the start of the campaign and find themselves 10th in the Premier League table, 12 points off league leaders Liverpool.
And Owen believes the squad is one of the poorest the club has seen in a long time, owing partly to Solskjaer’s efforts to rebuild the side.
“Yes, I’d say [Manchester United are now a mid-table team]. I don’t think they’ll be top six this season, personally,” Owen said on BT Sport.
“Top half I think is likely, but just the fact we’re having this conversation is the worry, isn’t it?
“This has got to be the worst Manchester United team for decades, hasn’t it? Since before Sir Alex Ferguson took over.
“It’s been happening for a few years. For maybe five, six, seven, eight years you’ve been thinking ‘it can’t get any worse’, and it has.
“The point that I’d like to make is that in many ways, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has knowingly weakened his team.
“Getting rid of people like Lukaku, Herrera, [Matteo] Darmian, Sanchez, [Chris] Smalling. He knows he could improve his team with those players, but I think he’s taken the view that you’ve got to take a couple of steps backwards to then move forwards.
“He’s done that on purpose thinking, ‘right, we’ve just got to rid ourselves of players that, OK they’re probably better than what we’ve got, but are they going to take us to where we want to go?’
“That answer is no, then you’re almost starting from scratch and I think that’s what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done.”
Manchester United drew 0-0 away from home against AZ in the Europa League on Thursday, and travel north to face Newcastle United in domestic action on Sunday.
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Hard to argue with that.
Have to agree with Owen on this one. I can’t see Utd getting top six either and I’m a United fan. The goals aren’t coming. January cannot come quick enough.
5 wins in 22 games is pretty shocking. Will United fans be cheering Liverpool this weekend against Leicester, one of their rivals for a top 6 spot? The longer Ole stays, the lower they will go.
@James Quinn: The only reason he’s still in a job is Woodward and co are trying to save some face after appointing him in the first place. So far out of his depth, a better equipped manager would be getting more out of this (average) group of players.
@Darren Lambe: Or they’re doing it the right way and letting him build his team. You do realise that only 3 players in the whole squad are his buys !!!! And these have probably been more consistent the others so far this season. There are some cracking young players that he is blooding in this games but the deadwood will be dealt with over the next window or two
@Scott Stonebridge: still clutching….
@Scott Stonebridge: You make good points, but he is not up to the job in my opinion. No shock to see Newcastle beat them on Sunday and that says it all really.
@James Quinn: and what you think a new manager will solve with the same group of players? 7 or 8 of that team are not good enough, not his buys, players he bought are going well, give him time, a clueless assessment.
@Scott Stonebridge:
Scott, you’re dreaming if you think Ole is doing a good job. There’s more to managing a club than bringing in a few young faces. Zero tactical knowledge. His record in his last 25 games is appalling. Fred pretty much sums up United now. All teams have to do now is score the first goal and United under Ole have no way back. That’s the reality of it.
@Alan Brazil: Look what Klopp done to Liverpool when he came in! Liverpool were going nowhere under Rodgers similar now to United stuck in mid table. Klopp went in and not long after they went to the Etihad and won 4-1 with the same group of mostly average players.
A big club needs a big manager and Ole aint the man but hopefully he stays there for many years to come.
@James Quinn: could/will never go that far. City though will be given title support once more.
@James Quinn: it also took Klopp 4 years to win a trophy with a completely different team from the one he took charge of, I’m sure you know that already
@Alan Brazil: Liverpool have improved every season under Klopp with a net spend of around £80 million and has turned them into European Champions. I don’t think you will be saying the same about Ole ina few years time. The Championship is his level.
@Scott Stonebridge: He got Cardiff relegated and was managing molde in norway. Cop onto yourself
Ole constantly looks like a fan that won a competition to manage Man United for a day when they show him on the sideline lately. Chap is clearly out of his depth!
Couldn’t agree more absolute disgrace Fred is awful as is Lingard watch us get slapped around by Newcastle on Sunday. Ole being positive about the performance and saying we did well against a good team is completely wrong. We need leaders to nourish in the new lads but right now we don’t have that.
Utd need football players… full stop….pogba rested as he needs a break, absolutely laughable, 300 thousand a week and he needs a rest after a couple of weeks
An 18 year old striker, supported by a 19 year old and 21 year old in attack. A 19 year old and 20 year old as full backs.
Utd are poor now but it’s called patient team building. If Utd can land perhaps John McGinn and Callum Wilson in January, and suddenly Brandon Williams, Daniel James and Mason Greenwood become consistent performers, then Utd will very quickly go from crap to decent.
@Stanley Baggins: if if if …
@Stanley Baggins: Villa fan here. There’s no way in hell McGinn will be sold at all let alone halfway our 1st season back up. Anyway he deserves better then the pox of a hierarchy that are running United.
@Keelan O’neill: if a big club shows interest his head be turned and sold.. villa are 3rd from bottom and be lucky to stay up bud
@John O’Byrne: McGinn has character, work rate and character about his play. je would not fit in with the tossers United currently have. Better off at Villa that with that crown of frauds..
@John O’Byrne: Fair enough if a big club shows interest, but what about United?
He’d know all about shite squads. Spent all his life in them until he got a lucky break with United.
@Eddie Harnett: you must be too young to remember but Owen played in some very good sides at Liverpool, Real Madrid and England long before he went to United.
@The Bloody Nine: what very good Liverpool sides exactly? England were very poor during his time too…I suppose Newcastle were good too?
@Alonso: the Liverpool side that finished second in the league, the side that consistently finished in the top 4, the side that won the FA cup, league cup and UEFA Cup in the same season. They were certainly not the best team around at the time but they were still a very good team. England’s ’98 squad included Sol, Adams, Scholes, Nev, Becks, Shearer, Seaman, McManaman, etc… underachieved for sure but a super squad of players. They had other excellent squads throughout the noughties. And I’m not even going to mention the players he played with at Madrid, but at least 2 of them rank right up there with the greatest of all time.
@Eddie Harnett: What about the Real team that he played in?
@The Bloody Nine: spice boys! 1992-2000 one league cup won. 2007-2018 one league cup won!
THE GLORY YEARS!
@ChipCurry: they also won an FA Cup in ’92. But I’d hardly call those years ‘the glory years’. I’ve even read my comments back and I can’t see where I may have suggested they were. Therefore, your comment is completely irrelevant as a reply to mine.
@ChipCurry: conveniently cut out 200-07 when they won the Champions league, 2 Fa cups, 2 league cups and the UEFA cup ( I wont count the 2 super cups or charity shields either)
Not telling us anything new here anyone who follows utd/football can see this other clubs in the same boat but Utd make headlines could be low to mid table for a long time funny ol game football!!!
Worst pundit for decades. Reminds me of the most boring priest in Fr. Ted. One of the worst players ever at United but went there for a league winners medal methinks.
Man Utd no longer have the biggest wallet shocker.
Now the league is being bought by someone else.
Skytastic.
@Philip Exley: United never bought a league. There money was self made. So much so that the yank owners have bled billion out of it. Liverpool and United fans on this talking tit for tat shite. Success comes in cycles. United and Liverpool fans of certain age know this.