Another day, another disaster from Manchester United.
It feels as though the club are in crisis every couple of weeks, but something felt different about today's mauling at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. There can be abject performances, but this game was an absolute hammering in every sense of the word.
What's worse, United were in the lead inside the first couple of minutes. They were given the ultimate leg up in the game when Davison Sanchez stupidly brought down Anthony Martial in the box, with Bruno Fernandes converting the resulting spot kick.
It didn't take long for things to fall apart. Spurs would equalise in the fourth minute, before taking the lead in the seventh. Neither goal reflected well on their defenders, especially Harry Maguire.
The red card for Anthony Martial just before the half hour mark proved to be the killer blow, but the truth of the matter is that United should have already been three or four goals down at that point. Two more strikes would quickly follow from Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane, meaning Spurs led 4-1 at the interval.
4⃣ Man Utd have conceded 4 goals in the first half of a Premier League match for the first time pic.twitter.com/pnj3921Gsx
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) October 4, 2020
Down to ten men and having already all but lost the game, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted to bring on defensive midfielders Fred and Scott McTominay at halftime in order to shut up shop. They conceded a fifth goal inside the next six minutes.
A late penalty from Harry Kane, which Paul Pogba laughed after conceding, put the icing on the cake for Spurs.
We know the noises that will emanating from Manchester United fans after this game. They will lament the lack of signings, with the club once again struggling in the transfer market. Donny van de Beek is the only arrival of note, while the arrival of Edinson Cavani smacks of desperation.
Porto left back Alex Telles could prove to be a better addition should it go through, but why was that deal brought down to the final day of the window? It's clear there are major structural issues at Old Trafford, ones that are playing out on the pitch.
The comments from the Manchester United old guard were predictable. Both Patrice Evra and Gary Neville criticised the club's lack of transfer business and the questionable commitment from the players.
What was noticeably absent was any form of criticism of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Yes, it is obvious that United are in need of some new recruits. However, it is also becoming increasingly obvious that Solskjaer is completely incapable of getting the best out of the über expensive squad he currently has at his disposal.
This Manchester United squad is amongst the most expensive ever assembled. It features some of the biggest names in the sport, ones that are consistently outplayed by much less talented players.
That is not down to the lack of signings. The responsibility for such issues ultimately falls at the feet of the manager.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is out of his depth at this level. You can talk about giving a manager time, as others such as Jurgen Klopp have been given.
The difference between Klopp and Solskjaer, apart from the German's track record of success, is that his Liverpool team incrementally improved during his entire tenure. Yes, it took them four years to become a truly top team, but there were consistent improvements up to that point.
Manchester United have become a worse team under Solskjaer.
The complete lack of criticism directed at the manager by the club's former players is conspicuous in its absence. If any other Premier League manager had their team perform like that today, Gary Neville would not have held back. Instead, he didn't even hint that the Norwegian may have got things wrong.
They were outplayed by Spurs this week. This comes after they were outplayed by Crystal Palace and Brighton in consecutive weeks.
Manchester United fans can rightly say they need more players, but do they trust Solskjaer to get the best out of any new recruits? There is no evidence that they should.
The board at Old Trafford have made some awful decisions in recent years, but persisting with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be up there with the worst of him. It is becoming increasingly obvious that he isn't anywhere near the level required to turn this sinking ship around.
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