Manchester United have endured a terrible start to the season.
There really isn’t any other way of saying it.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men lost their opening game of the season to Crystal Palace, going down 3-1 at Old Trafford, while they also squeaked a result against Brighton & Hove Albion, only winning via a penalty that was actually awarded after the full-time whistle.
Before the international break, United welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford and were utterly humiliated, losing 6-1.
They lie 16th in the Premier League before Saturday’s game against Newcastle United and have actually conceded as many goals as Fulham, who are rock-bottom.
And there are, naturally, doubts over Solskjaer’s future at the club.
While he did guide the club to a third-placed finish last season, it remains to be seen for how much longer United’s hierarchy will allow such terrible form.
And former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy does not see any way that the Norwegian will last the season, especially after such a poor transfer window, in which they failed to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
Speaking to the Football Index podcast, as quoted by The Daily Express, he said: "Manchester United have had a very shaky start to the season and I don’t see them qualifying for the Champions League this season.
"I don’t expect Solskjaer to survive the season as Manchester United manager. I like Solskjaer, but the recruitment has let him down and I expect him to pay the price.
"I think the balance of the squad isn’t right defensively and they’re far too easy to play against. Their captain Harry Maguire has looked well short of his best and obviously has distractions off the pitch.
"Even [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka looks like a shadow of the player we saw making tackles for the club last season. [Paul] Pogba and [Bruno] Fernandes are exciting creative talents, but with them both in midfield I think it leaves too much responsibility on others to cover for them.
"They simply won’t be competitive while they concede goals as they do.
"Manchester United had an incredible second half of the season last year and they did very well to secure third position with a place in the Champions League. I wonder if a few of the players started to believe their own hype and that has led to them underperforming this season.
"I think they need to go back to putting in the hard yards and showing the desire to outwork their opponents again."
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
What Murphy said.
He’s spot on with the fact that the recruitment wasn’t good enough, as United roundly failed to address the biggest issues within their squad.
But at the same time, Solskjaer does not seem capable of bringing the best out of what is a talented squad.
They have the likes of Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, David De Gea, and Harry Maguire, but none of them are performing at their peak.
That responsibility ultimately has to lie with the manager; it’s just the way it is.