This is the first season in history that two Welsh sides have competed in the Premier League. Six games in, they lie 11th and 13th respectively. But perhaps the most remarkable story about their relative status in the fledgling table is not the rise of Welsh football, but the team sandwiched in between them – Manchester United.
Manchester United must have been wondering where they were at around 5pm on Saturday. Never have their players had to look up so high to see the Premier League summit. Never have they had to wait for the Premier League’s top half to be shown until they can spot their position in the table. Unfamiliar territory would not do justice to this peculiar state of affairs – these are, in recent times, unchartered waters completely.
Of course, being six games into a season that has already seen Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City taken on in the league means that it would be ludicrous to start drawing sweeping conclusions; Manchester United will certainly be in the upper reaches of the table by the end of the campaign. But what the opening of this season has shown is that the reigning champions have no reason at all to assume that they will even be in the top four by the end, let alone challenging to defend their title.
That may seem a strong statement but a cold hard look at the reality of these opening weeks tells a story. Arsenal and Tottenham are improving week by week, and although it is still too early to draw decisive conclusions, they both appear likely title contenders. And that is despite the fact that Arsenal still have a sizeable injury list and Tottenham’s players are yet to truly click after their summer spending. Liverpool are also fast improving, with Luis Suarez back from suspension and a healthy position in the table; and no European distractions. As the season progresses the Reds can expect to get better. All three look good bets for the top four at present.
Yet hang on a moment, because this is before even discussing any of the three teams that the ‘enlightened’ have claimed had the top three spots in the Premier League wrapped up before a ball was kicked. As it is, Manchester City have already lost twice to teams they would expect to beat in the shape of Cardiff and Aston Villa, but then again, they took apart Manchester United in a one-sided encounter at the Etihad Stadium, winning 4-1. And if that scoreline flattered either side, it was the reigning champions. And then there is Chelsea, a team who are struggling to find cohesion at present, but Jose Mourinho’s competitive instinct is such that it is almost inconceivable that his side could be one to miss out on Champions League football next season.
Manchester United are slipping. And whilst the reaction is somewhat knee jerk, that being the instinct of the British press, who so keenly look for the next crisis, and whom Mourinho aptly mocked for putting the label on his side just before they (briefly) went top earlier in September, there is a genuine conclusion that can be drawn about the champions and why this season will be one of struggle. David Moyes is not a bad manager – and given time, should prove a good appointment. But he has one major problem: He has never won anything. That would not be an issue if he had just taken over at almost any other club, but he is following in the footsteps of one of the most successful managers of all time. And as Sir Alex Ferguson rode off into the sunset, he took something beyond his vast experience, man-management skill and tactical know-how. He took something far more valuable – belief.
It is easy to forget that for footballers, belief is vital. It is impossible for them to be the best if they don’t believe they are. It is impossible for a team like West Brom to win at Old Trafford, unless they convince themselves, almost counter intuitively, that they can be better than Manchester United. Arsenal’s superb form is largely thanks to their win against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena last season. They still lost their Champions League tie on aggregate, but the win convinced them that they were better than their results suggested – and look at them since.
Now imagine the belief that Manchester United players got just from having Ferguson as their manager. Falling 2-0 down, even 3-0 down, is not the big deal it is for many others when a side are managed by Ferguson. Just seeing his presence on the touchline would make a player believe that no matter how bad things are, they can turn it around. Manchester United in the past were always said to be never more dangerous than when they had just lost. That was because of the iron belief that was instilled into them. That has gone. The players will have woken up the morning after the defeat by West Brom and asked themselves whether Moyes really knows how to turn things around. After all, where is the evidence that he does? That may seem harsh on a manager who did an excellent job at Everton, but it is also true. Never in the last 15 years will any Manchester United player have had a question mark over their manager’s ability to get them playing at their best.
It is this which is Manchester United’s biggest challenge this season. Moyes needs time but this year has to be accepted as a probable write off. It was impossible to replace a man like Ferguson, unless it was with Mourinho or Pep Guardiola, possibly the only two managers in world football who could have been appointed and given Manchester United’s players the same level of belief, given their recent successes in world football as the dominant coaches of this generation.
The big challenge will come if Manchester United do look like missing out on the top four, or if that comes to pass at the end of the season. Will the club’s owners, who know relatively little about the game, start to question the man they gave a six-year contract at the start of the season? Ironically, it is probably for the very reason they will struggle this season that Moyes will stay on. After all, he was recommended by Ferguson – and that alone will probably give the fans, and owners, belief that he is the right man irrespective of what transpires this campaign.
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