Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal left their with nine points from their first seven games of the season, which is their worst ever return at this stage in a Premier League campaign.
Despite a 4-0 win over Chelsea on opening weekend, United have won just once since and Monday's bitterly underwhelming draw with Arsenal only compounded just how big the problems are at Old Trafford.
As noted by Opta, that return of nine points is not only their worst in the Premier League era, but it's actually their worst start to a season since the ill-fated 1989/90 campaign, in which United picked up seven points from their opening seven games.
That year, the Red Devils fell to 13th in the First Division, and there were even calls from fans for United to sack their underperforming manager - a certain Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson may have retained the board's support that year - perhaps due to eventually lifting the FA Cup at the end of the season - but whether or not current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will get the same patience is an entirely different matter.
In their 28 Premier League games under Solskjaer, United have picked up 49 points, which is two less than they managed in their final 28 games under Jose Mourinho, when the club were thought to have reached their lowest point in recent memory.
The question is: which route will Solskjaer take? Will he mimic Ferguson and lead the club back to glory, or will he copy Mourinho and find himself heading for the exit door?
Many fans have lost patience with the Norwegian, but United officials are thought to remain completely supportive of Solskjaer, who they feel is the right man to lead them through this transitional period. However, whether they will keep saying the same if results don't improve is far from a certainty.
The Red Devils currently sit tenth in the league, 12 points behind leaders Liverpool. Fans will certainly expect a reaction, both in the Europa League against AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday and in the Premier League against Newcastle United on Sunday.
Source :
90min
