Manchester United’s start to the season got slightly better with their win vs Brentford at Old Trafford but in the grand scheme of things, it only pushed them up to 12th in the table.
Combine that with two draws in the first two Europa League games and outside of a 7-0 win vs League One Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, there hasn’t been much to write home about.
The expectation was that Manchester United would build on a solid transfer window with Ineos and a new-look executive team.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
The reality has been jittery performances, wastefulness in front of goal leading to dropped points, and scrutiny on Erik ten Hag’s job.
The club recently held a fan forum attended by top leadership at Old Trafford and they opened up on the poor start to the season.
Man Utd leadership on poor start
Last season’s poor performances could be put down to the injury nightmare where players dropped like flies and it seemed like Ten Hag was managing with one hand tied behind his back.
However, those issues haven’t been anywhere near as severe this season so the spotlight has been firmly on the manager.
Ineos have, so far, chosen to back Ten Hag and if he turns it around, their decision will be looked at as a masterstroke when outside pressure was intense.
In the meantime, however, fans are eager to ask questions of the leadership about the state of affairs at the club and they took their chance at the Man Utd fan forum.
United leadership was asked what they think is the reason behind the poor start and their response was eye-opening.
Toby Craig, United’s Chief Communications Officer said: “Clearly we are not happy with the men’s first team’s start to the season and results are not where we want them to be. There is a huge amount of change going on. We believe we came out of the summer transfer window with a stronger squad, but it’s one that is still evolving with a number of younger players who will keep getting better.
“So there have been changes on the pitch, but also off the pitch with Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox joining the club. They are transforming our sporting structure off the pitch. We know there’s still a lot to do.
“The women’s first team has started its season well, with a 100% record so far in the WSL. Whilst the main focus of the Fans’ Forum has always been on fan issues, we will endeavour to keep the forum briefed on football developments and provide access to football leadership from time to time.”
The importance of intangibles
The response is pertinent because it stresses the huge amount of change going on at the club while the declaration that the new executive team is “transforming” the sporting structure is exciting.
This is Ten Hag’s third season as Man Utd manager but in many ways, it has been looked at as the proper first season since the upheaval is massive.
This explains why Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co have been so patient with the manager. Only the people inside the club would know the daily changes taking place and what effect they are having on the results.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 10 |  FulhamFulham | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 11 |  B’mouthBournemouth | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
| 12 |  Man UtdManchester United | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 11 |
| 13 |  BrentfordBrentford | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 10 |
| 14 |  LeicesterLeicester | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 9 |
Of course, this mitigating factor can only work for so long because, at the end of the day, this is still a great team giving results far below its potential.
Eventually, something will have to give if results don’t turn and it is far easier to replace the man in charge than orchestrate another overhaul.
After all, the purpose of putting this executive team in place was to reduce the dependency on the manager when it came to squad building and footballing philosophy.
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