Make No Mistake, Manchester United’s Form Is Relegation-Worthy

Manchester United’s defeat to Chelsea actually saw an improvement in overall performance. They should have been ahead in the first half, and things only started to go badly awry after Lisandro Martinez took it upon himself to get sent off.

Asinine actions from the Argentine aside, Michael Carrick’s turmoil continued at Stamford Bridge… even with the improvement he saw from his team.

The problem is the stark reality that the club faces heading into a week which sees them face both Roma and Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

These are two matches they go into as second-favourites, and if the results go the way most expect, Manchester United will be facing down the barrel of a very fearsome gun indeed.

Manchester United’s Form Is That of a Newly Promoted Club

There have been extenuating circumstances as to why Manchester United struggled at the beginning of the campaign… but nothing can legislate for how catastrophic things have been allowed to get by the players and coaching staff.

By the time United next play a Premier League match, it will be November 8th. Bonfire Night will have been and gone, and you’ll start to hear the faint whispers of Slade and Mariah Carey on the radio.

If results against Roma and Villa are poor, that will almost certainly put Manchester United in the relegation zone.

So far, they have played nine league matches and have won just one game. The only teams that have won as few a number of games as the Reds are Nottingham Forest and Sunderland… teams that sit in 19th and 20th, respectively.

The only team that Manchester United have beaten domestically is a newly promoted Ipswich, who have almost double the number of points United have at this juncture.

Even if you factor in the club’s Champions League campaign, they’ve only beaten Ipswich and Sabah FK, a club that hasn’t even been in existence for 10 years.

That’s a sorry return, and one you’d expect from a team just finding their feet in the Premier League.

Ironically, all three of this season’s promoted sides are outperforming Manchester United.

Many fans will cling to being ‘too good to go down’, and there is a feeling that this United side will have to improve soon, given the individual qualities they possess.

However, they’ve had an easier start to the season on paper, and there are some really difficult matches to come.

Before you know it, United are facing a very real scenario where they are in the bottom three at Christmas… and we all know what that can mean.

A managerial change can provide a spark, and the table is still close enough for United to shoot up the table. It wasn’t long ago that Spurs were thought to be in relegation danger for a third successive year.

Ruben Amorim’s arrival saw United’s league form drop off a cliff dramatically too. However, the teams below United had gotten off to a much worse start, and they just couldn’t catch up.

This season there isn’t that safety blanket. United haven’t got a lot of points, and it’s much harder to get out of this position when the pressure is on.

Don’t take this to mean that United are in a relegation battle. Things can change quickly, and a managerial change is expected during the international break. However, as things stand right now, Manchester United’s record is that of a team that has no hope of avoiding the drop… and that’s just unacceptable.