Man Utd's worst start to the Premier League in 40 years assessed & Mainoo and Shaw injury updates
Assessing Man Utd's worst Premier League start in 40 years, plus Mainoo and Shaw injury updates
Sky Sports News looks at Manchester United's worst Premier League start in 40 years, covering their injury crisis around Mainoo and Luke Shaw, the defensive reshuffle and the growing pressure on Michael Carrick before a tough away game at Atletico Madrid. The conclusion is that United need a result and a performance to stop the slide and avoid another managerial cycle, with the panel arguing their main problem is desire and work rate rather than fitness.
- Carrick will be seriously worried by the growing injury list, especially Luke Shaw's absence from training, and may have to reshuffle the back four, possibly starting Yoro and moving Dalot to left-back. — The injury list keeps growing, Shaw has been managing niggles and a previous training absence was followed by several missed games, so the defence needs patching up.
- United desperately need a result and a performance, and the pressure on Carrick is rising. — They were booed off on Saturday and now face one of the toughest away trips in Europe, so they need a performance and a result to stop the slide.
- United are stuck in the same cycle: the team shows promise, then drops off, the manager takes the blame and eventually loses his job; they now have to perform or they will be back in the same place. — They recovered last season and reached the Champions League, but after Michael Carrick got the job they fell off a cliff again, and the injury list only makes the situation harder.
- Carrick may get less patience than an expensive outsider and could be easier to sack, but a result away to Atletico Madrid would put him back on a good trajectory. — An outside appointment who cost a lot would likely be given more time, while Carrick was not the first choice but earned the job through the team's performances, which may make it easier for the club to move him on if it wants to.
- Running more does improve your chances of winning; United's problem is that they neither dominate possession to make opponents run nor outrun opponents without the ball, and the root issue is desire rather than fitness. — They have been outrun in all but one Premier League game, and professional players are usually fit enough after pre-season, so the manager has to raise the off-ball work rate and hunger.
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Transcript
Good evening, Bella, and welcome back to Madrid. I think Michael Carrick will be pretty concerned going into this game. The names and the numbers of names that are really piling up in terms of that injury list is becoming quite apparent. We saw training this morning and added to the list, Kobe Mayu, Luke Shaw were not there this morning. Now we know Luke Shaw has been managing different niggles over the last 6 months or so. So it's not indifferent to not see him at times but last time we didn't see him at training session was ahead of Sabah and he missed the next few games after that. Of course there's already not the likes of Patrick Dorgu Masarawi Benjamin Sheshko as well all through injury. So now you look at that team I mean I think Michael Carrick we're looking at that back four how he rejiggles it. Can Harry Magguire play another game? Three in a week partner Leandro Martinez and Lenny Yuro will be speaking alongside Michael Carrick this evening. So you'd imagine he will definitely start maybe a right back with Diego Dalo shifted to left back. Not his favorite position of course but against a team like Atletico Madrid. There's some irony in this, isn't there, Bella? Where Michael Carrick and his side fought so well in the first six months of uh the year getting themselves into the Champions League, but as you mentioned, the start of this season has been also disappointing. And now they have one of the toughest away days in Europe to look forward to, but hopefully on the positives, maybe kickstart their season. >> Yeah. So, look, as I said, United booed off on Saturday. You've mentioned there a tough away European game. It just feels like it's not getting any easier for Carrick, is it? >> No, it's not. But look, I I finished there on a positive. There there are some positives. Kispa really impressed on his debut on Saturday against Spurs. Maybe if you know the likes of Andre Santos or Yuri Tilmans, they can strike up a a bit of a partnership with Bleaba. Look, Bella, they need a result. They need a performance. And I think that's what we'll be asking Michael Carrick this evening when we bring you his news conference out of Atletico Madrid tomorrow night alongside Lenny Euro. We'll bring that to you in the next hour or so. But those questions will be very apparent. How does he get a performance and an improvement of results? He needs it. The pressure is rising up. We'll bring that to you just after 6:15. >> Thank you, Dan. Steven Bella mentioned it there in the intro there that Manchester United's worst start officially in 40 years. It's extraordinary when you when you look at it like that. Can you actually put your finger on on what's going wrong there? >> It's it's ludicrous, isn't it, to think that we're in this situation again where United and you felt like they turned the corner slightly last year, got themselves in the back of the Champions League, Carrick gets the job and all of a sudden it's they're falling off a cliff again and you're just kind like how is this continually happening? How is the same cycle reoccurring all the time in Manchester United and you're going is it what's happening behind listen the list of players they have injured is not going to help that scenario in any stretch of imagination. Um but you just feel like at every point the manager feels like he's about to kick on the players drop off and then it gets labeled off the manager again and he loses his job and the cycle continues and you almost feel like you're at that kind of point now where something has to happen where the car has to kick on the team have to really perform or else they're going to be back into the same sort of level of thing again. six points from six games. And Stephen, it doesn't get any easier for their next six. We can take a look at their next six fixtures. If you look at these, are you concerned for Carrick? >> Yeah, I am. just just be with the nature of the way it's been going and you you just feel like when if they'd given the manager to an outsider who'd come in and they paid a lot of money for him, you feel like they'd almost get a little bit more time than what Carrick's but because they've been down this road before because they've had a solar where he's done so well. Well, they've given them the job and then they've dropped off. McCarrick again, you feel like that this is they were I don't want to say for he forced them to give them the job because of the way the team played because the level they got at. He would I don't think he ever would have been first choice on that list, but he was the one that basically said, "Well, I'm here now. I've done an amazing job. I deserve the job now." but also puts them in a position where I think they find it easier to get rid of him if they want to, which is I just think it's it's a really tough but a win or a result against Atletico puts them back on on a good trajectory and then they can kick on from there. >> Well, a lot has been made of the running stats. Thanks, Dave. Um, United have been outrun in all of their Premier League games, bar one. Is it as simple as though if you run more you give yourself more chance of winning? Is it that simple? >> It is. Some like if you Sometimes in games when you have possession of the ball, the other teams chase around forever and you just keep possession and they're doing all the running. You can keep and make them work and you you you have less stats, but United aren't keeping the ball. They're not they're not dominating teams with possession. So if they're out of possession, are they working hard enough? And that doesn't look like it. If you're outrun by every team, that's such a a good stick as a manager to go, we're not doing this. I want more of this. We need to up that level. And that's something that that can be changed quite easily. But it's if the players aren't doing it, then you're feeling like what what do I need to do to incentivize them to do this? What else needs to happen? Do I need to be stricter? Do they need to be firmer? Are they not fit enough? I don't think they're not fit enough. I don't I I don't I don't really ever go down the road if they're not fit enough because once you do preseason, you're professional footballer, you're usually fit enough. You're usually at that level. There's a desire missing. And that's that's the hard thing for the manager to to try and