Summer chaos comes back to bite Eddie Howe

Last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton presented many familiar failings for United in 2024/25 so far, but the seeds for the indifferent start were sowed in the summer when the changes at executive level were made on mass.

With Paul Mitchell unable to execute his vision or not in position long enough to do so, the PSR scramble that resulted in us selling two top prospects in Anderson and Minteh, and the Marc Guehi debacle, the squad has been left woefully short of quality and depth in the key positions of centre back, right winger and striker.

In the face of Brighton, Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Spurs all strengthening their squads, we have stood still and appear to be going backwards in the face of such strength throughout the league. Arsenal’s result against Bournemouth on Saturday is a show of just what the Premier League is all about; you’ll get beaten if you drop well below your best against so many of the capable teams in this division.

Over the summer, the gaffer was completely let down by those above him. This was said several times by Alan Shearer in the days following the transfer deadline and it’s proving true a few months on.

Eddie Howe must find a way to get results on the pitch, but if he doesn’t then (especially with Chelsea (twice), Arsenal and Forest to come before the next international break), I would worry about his position if the unthinkable happens and we get nothing from the next three league games and get knocked out of the League Cup.

Callum Wilson continues to be unavailable through injury and is now set to miss our next THREE games just when we expected him back in the squad on Sunday. United cannot afford to carry a player so injury prone in the squad, yet we took that risk by failing to sign a proven replacement for the 32-year-old, who is yet to play this season and out of contract next summer.

If it felt like this area of the squad was neglected over the summer, it sadly gets even more frustrating when you look at the right wing. We know Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron can be decent squad players, but we’ve been crying out for a top quality right-winger for years now and can’t expect to mount a serious top-four finish if we aren’t addressing the clear weaknesses in our side while our other European rivals invest and improve.

Sven Botman’s injury has been a killer for the team’s defensive solidity but it’s the first of his career. As for Wilson, he is perpetually injured, so we can’t say we didn’t see this or Murphy/Miggy’s struggles coming. Even if Wilson comes back and scores five in five, he’s never far from another spell on the sidelines, meaning an overreliance an Isak; a top striker but one who could do with being pushed or protected following a tough start to the season.

We have January and I think we’ll invest, but it’s a tricky time to do business. It was a rough summer where we saw lots of change and PSR issues emerge once again, I just can’t help feel we missed a trick and are now being punished for failing to back the manager.