TWHY LOSE 7 OUT OF 15 MATCHES?
In February 1958, MU became the victim of the most famous disaster in the history of top football. An air disaster in Munich (Germany) claimed the lives of more than half of the main squad, when MU was on the way back from the match against Red Star Belgrade in the quarter-finals of the European Cup. Deputy coach Jimmy Murphy must temporarily lead what’s left of the team, while head coach Matt Busby is still fighting death. Murphy quickly gathered reserve players, young players, recruited amateur players, former players… so that in the end, MU still won the most important battle at that time: the team was not… disbanded. like rumours. MU lost 7 out of 15 matches, in the circumstances just mentioned.
Coach Amorim is forever struggling with MU and has not found a way out
Until now, MU has lost 7 out of 15 matches, since Ruben Amorim took over the head coach position left by Erik Ten Hag. Having said that, we can see how “horrifying” MU’s strange failure this season is. Mr. Amorim said after the 1-3 loss to Brighton at Old Trafford last weekend: “We must clearly understand that we are surpassing all records of badness.”
That was MU’s 6th loss at home in the Premier League this season. When was the last time MU lost 6 of their first 12 home matches in the National Championship? Please tell me: no, because this is the first time. To be more precise, this has happened before. But that was the 1893 – 1894 football season, more than 130 years ago. At that time, the name Manchester United had not yet been born. That’s the Newton Heath team, playing football at Bank Street.
The recent MU – Brighton match was an extremely rare occasion (if not the first time in top football) where all four shots in the right direction of goal from both sides were goals. There are two conclusions. First, Brighton’s 3 goals show how easy it is to score against MU these days. Second, Bruno Fernandes’ only goal for MU was a penalty kick. This is the first time in 9 years that MU did not shoot a single shot in the right direction of goal from an open situation!
VBANGING AGAINST REMOVAL
Amorim said last month, when MU lost 4 consecutive matches (against Tottenham, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton, Newcastle): “We have to focus on fighting against relegation.”
That’s true, although MU is still 5 places higher and 10 points higher than the relegation group. That is of course a safe distance, under normal circumstances. Everyone knows: this is a very unusual MU, so anything can happen. Brighton is not in good form. They only won 1 of their last 9 matches in the Premier League before visiting Old Trafford. Yet when Brighton won 3-1, no one thought it was a surprising result.
MU’s next five opponents in the Premier League are all teams ranked 10th or lower in the rankings. That should have been a detail for MU fans to breathe a sigh of relief, because in principle, meeting a weak opponent will easily result in points. Ironically, that is also the detail that makes observers think that MU will have to fight hard against the risk of relegation. Having said that, this is no longer a normal MU, their strange situation is not normal at all. Every time MU takes the field, it can no longer be predicted with normal professional arguments.
What is the reason to analyze a MU that just eliminated Arsenal in the FA Cup, drew with Liverpool, won against Manchester City and lost to Bournemouth, Wolverhampton, Brighton…? Any outcome is possible. The difference is: if MU loses to the teams below, the risk of falling into the relegation group is higher than when MU only loses to the teams above. This is definitely the craziest MU that has ever existed.
