Up to this point, the most encouraging aspect of Manchester United's season has probably been the fact that the other teams around them also seem to have an aversion towards securing a place in the top four.
The last few months have been a miserable time for the club, sacking their manager only to realise that the problems at Old Trafford ran far deeper than Ole Gunner Solskjaer. The interim appointment of Ralf Rangnick has certainly done little to improve their form, with their play only deteriorating as the campaign has gone on.
Considering the resources available at United, it is remarkable how poorly they have performed over the last few seasons. To not even come close to challenging for a league title since 2013 does not reflect well on the decision makers at the club. Alan Shearer is certainly taken aback by how poorly they have been run in recent times.
Alan Shearer gives sobering assessment of Manchester United's current state
Writing in his column for The Athletic, the former Newcastle striker questioned how Manchester United have gotten things so wrong in recent times.
When I look at Manchester United, I see chaos, a team lacking any kind of discernible identity and an institution bereft of strategy, whose last three managers, if you include Michael Carrick, have been temporary appointments.
They have become an interim football club — a club of caretakers, where authority has become diluted and players inhabit a world of excuses — who have spent an absolute fortune to become truly unexceptional.
On the pitch, they are frayed and ragged, edgy and bad-tempered, casting around for someone else to blame, unsure of who and what they are...
It’s astonishing when you think about it. Manchester United, arguably the biggest club in the world, have an interim manager in place, one who has spent only two of the last 11 years in a coaching role.
So they have a technical director as an interim, who is being assisted on the touchline by Darren Fletcher, who is a first-time technical director. Before that, it was Carrick for a couple of games. Before him, it was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who originally took over as caretaker. Interim technical caretakers.
This is no way to run an organisation that has serious designs on success. This is not a criticism of Rangnick, but for him to arrive at the club as a stand-in until the end of the season, when he may or may not recommend he stays on longer, or then take on a consultancy role, is an absolute nonsense. It’s carnage!
There is certainly a lack of a long term vision at Manchester United, something that is required to have any sort of sustained success at the top level.
They will be hoping that will change with the appointment of a new manager this summer, although their recent track record would not fill you with confidence that they will get that move right.
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