Former Liverpool defender and football pundit Mark Lawrenson clearly has ruled out any chances of Manchester United retaining the Premier League title again this season.
The Red Devils have made a stuttering start to the season, lying eighth in the table, eight points behind league leaders Arsenal. They have already lost three matches and conceded 10 goals in the league. Most importantly, they are struggling to win games at home which has left the Red Devil fans frustrated.
While football writers and bloggers have largely put the blame on David Moyes (the fans are skeptical too) as the reason behind Man Utd’s sluggish start, Lawrenson thinks that lack of transfer activity in the summer was the central drawback. He writes:
“I’ve said it before, but United’s big mistake was not strengthening their squad during the summer.
“If you win the league and then don’t add another three or four players to put maybe six or seven under pressure, it’s really difficult to keep up the necessary competitive edge.
“United won an average league last year, and a lot of their rivals have strengthened. United’s players are not being kept on their toes.
“There are going to be so many excuses surrounding the arrival of David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure… but the players are still the same players.
“And that’s United’s problem. The players. Not the manager.”
Lawrenson must remember clearly the comment made by his former Liverpool defensive partner Alan Hansen about Manchester United that has become something of a folklore in the iconic Match of the Day show. In August 1995, Hansen in Match of the Day said about Sir Alex Ferguson’s side that featured then academy youngsters like David Beckham, Paul Scholes et al – “You can’t win anything with kids”. While Ferguson went on to create a legacy with those kids, Hansen has had to swallow his words badly, even today.
It is true that Man Utd are struggling horribly at the moment but ruling them out of title race after only eight games is all but ludicrous and pre-mature. The former Reds hero can hope that his predictions to come true.
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