Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.” The problem is, without reliable goalscorers, a team will never win a title. And sadly, the Red Devils are the team that rarely follow Ferguson’s maxim.
There are many reasons for Man United's inconsistent Premier League form over the past decade. But sometimes the simple answer can be found in a series of statistics. They haven't scored enough goals.
Five Premier League games into the 2024-25 campaign and only three teams - Crystal Palace (4), Ipswich Town (3) and Southampton (2) - have scored fewer goals than Man United. They have only managed five so far.
The 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace was the latest example of United's lack of creativity. They created 15 chances and failed to convert any of them. In the 0-3 loss to Liverpool earlier this month, the "Red Devils" had eight chances and failed to convert any of them. Meanwhile, Liverpool scored three goals from 11 chances.
In the 3-0 win over Southampton, M.U created 20 chances. After 5 matches in the Premier League, Erik ten Hag's team has created a total of 68 chances and scored 5 goals.
Overall, they create chances but are wasteful in the final stages. As a result, Man United are struggling in 11th place in the league. Their forwards are simply not good enough.
Ten Hag’s Man United are failing miserably to follow Ferguson’s blueprint. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all made similar mistakes. While each must take some responsibility, both tactically and in terms of squad selection, the biggest problem is the transfer business.
As Ferguson's Manchester United dominated the Premier League, he prioritised the signing of world-class strikers during his two decades of success. From Eric Cantona in the early 1990s to Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie. Manchester United always had the best players up front. That's why the team won so many trophies.
Since then, the Old Trafford club have signed veterans past their prime - Radamel Falcao in 2014, Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016, Edinson Cavani in 2020 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021. Their potential signings, including Anthony Martial and Rasmus Hojlund, have also failed to materialise. In the case of the Danish striker, it may take more time to prove.
Alongside Joshua Zirkzee, United now have an attack that includes two young and unproven strikers transferred from Serie A. Meanwhile, promising wingers like Amad and Alejandro Garnacho are not capable of leading the line.
United may be more solid at the back under Ten Hag. Their midfield may finally be working together following the arrival of Manuel Ugarte from Paris St Germain. But if their forwards can't score, United won't win enough games for their defence to get them close to the title.
