Premier League 2018/19 review: Manchester United sent back to dark ages

There is not a lot of good you can say about Manchester United at the moment. They are rancid on and off the pitch and recent history would suggest nothing will change in the immediate future.

United need changes from top to bottom but that will not happen for as long as Ed Woodward remains the club’s chief decision maker. The Red Devils have made the right noises, expressing a desire to appoint a Director of Football to oversee player recruitment, but the process has been a shambles and they are not at all close to concluding their search.

Jose Mourinho was sacked in December after suffering another third-season meltdown and club icon Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was placed in charge. His arrival had a greater impact than anyone could have imagined, winning 10 of his first 11 matches and overturning a 2-0 deficit to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League to win 3-1 in Paris. It proved only short-term, however.

Woodward made a needless decision to hand Solskjaer a three-year deal at the end of March and since then they have won just two of 10 games. They finished the season winless in six matches in all competitions and their severe dip in form cost them a place in the top four. Though securing Champions League football for next season seemed completely out of the question when Solskjaer first arrived, they certainly blew their chance after working hard to get back in the mix.

United now face the prospect of being the only side from the Premier League’s ‘big-six’ without Champions League football next season, though that depends on whether Arsenal can defeat Chelsea in the Europa League final later this month.

Solskjaer has already dismissed the United’s chances of challenging for the title next season and has remarkably warned the club they could be dethroned of sixth place by the likes of Leicester and Wolves.

Top Rated Player – Paul Pogba (7.31)

Paul Pogba finished the 2018/19 season as the only United player with a WhoScored rating in excess of 7.00 and the Frenchman only really turned up for two months of the campaign, during Solskjaer's time as interim manager. By comparison, champions Manchester City had 12 players rated above 7.00 in the league this season.

Statistically speaking, this was Pogba’s best league campaign to date. The 26-year-old, who is reportedly desperate to join Real Madrid, finished it with 13 goals and nine assists, though seven of his goals came from the penalty spot.

Pogba was directly involved in 44% of the league goals United scored under Solskjaer (16/36). He finished the campaign, however, with just two league goals in 15 matches. Overall, his goals and assists impressively earned United an extra 20 points in the Premier League this term.

It seems unlikely that Pogba will be around at Old Trafford next season, though that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Pogba is easily the best player at the club but his influence in the dressing room is huge and is thought to have negatively impacted the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard in the last few months.

Biggest Disappointment – Fred

Jose Mourinho billed Fred as the midfielder to unlock Paul Pogba’s full potential this season. The reviews were good and United had just beaten Manchester City for his signature, after all. However, like Alexis Sanchez six months earlier, it seems they signed another dud.

For United’s sake, you’d hope Fred can follow by Victor Lindelof’s example and really kick on in his second season but you wouldn’t gamble on that. Fred has shown flashes of potential, though they have only been extremely brief. He has, for example, broken opposition lines with aggressive passing on the odd occasion.

However, for the most part you are left wondering how he is a Premier League footballer. After less than six months at the club, Mourinho sensationally revealed Fred would not start for him until he had a strong defence. His fortunes have improved under Solskjaer but he has a long way to go to convince his critics. And there are far more of those than there are admirers.

Fred’s lack of awareness in possession has been particularly alarming. The speed of which the Premier League is generally played at has certainly caught Fred completely off guard. Guardiola identified Fred as a possible long-term replacement for Fernandinho and the City boss will feel he dodged a huge bullet. Fernandinho is a master of breaking down opposition attacks, which is of stark contrast to Fred’s reckless approach to defending.

Surprise Package – David de Gea

This section is usually to speak positively, but not here. United have become so rotten that even David de Gea has turned ordinary. United have been bang average for the last six years but the one pillar of consistency has been De Gea. He has won the United Player of the Year on four occasions in that spell but has endured a horrific 12 months for club and country.

It would be a shame if this does prove De Gea’s final season at the club, as he would be leaving a shadow of the goalkeeper he has developed into during his time in England. De Gea’s finish to the season was particularly alarming, committing error after error during United’s woeful finish.

In fact, De Gea went through a four-game spell in April where he committed an error leading to goal in three of those. In the game he didn’t make a statistically defined error (vs Everton), he conceded three goals from outside the box. The 28-year-old finished the season committing as many errors as his previous six league campaigns combined (4).

Where to Improve – A world-class centre-back

If Liverpool’s season has shown United anything, then it is the benefit of spending big to sign a world-class centre-back. Virgil van Dijk transformed Liverpool into title contenders and he cost more than twice the fee United have ever paid for a centre-back. Van Dijk is not only one of the best defenders in the world but he should also be considered one of the best players in the world.

While Van Dijk has turned Liverpool’s defence into the most resolute in the division (22 goals conceded), United have shipped more goals than in any other of their previous Premier League campaigns (54). United even had the perfect chance to start afresh this summer, but bewilderingly decided to hand Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, two defenders that have proved they cannot be relied upon, new long-term deals.

United have so much they need to work on this summer, most of which won't be taken care of, but signing a world-class centre-back has been to be right at the top of the list of their priorities, even if it means breaking the bank.

League Position: 6th

Grade: F