Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic said his goalkeeper had enjoyed an afternoon as calm as a cup of tea. Amid all the post-match analysis of Manchester United’s toothless start to the season, that may have been the most devastating verdict of all.
Defeated 2-0 by a promoted side many expect to return immediately to the second tier, Michael Carrick’s team were bullied in defence, swamped in midfield and almost entirely harmless in attack. On a football field, it was the equivalent of a cricket team that cannot bat, bowl or field.
It remains far too soon to predict where United will finish, but the display at Hull understandably prompted widespread concern. More troubling still were the signs that Carrick’s progress with the team last season has not been carried into the new campaign.
Once again, the impression is that the manager has been undermined by the crowded hierarchy above him. United had a rare opportunity to build on a position of relative strength during the summer. Instead, the early evidence suggests they have allowed that chance to slip away.
Michael Carrick can only watch as his Manchester United team are taken apart by promoted club Hull City on Saturday
A side that cannot move on from Harry Maguire, who is 33, is a side with issues
If this is not another false dawn, it is certainly a missed opportunity. United needed to make a statement this summer; instead, they appear to have stood still. Youri Tielemans is an excellent footballer, but he is not the midfielder capable of turning a team battling for third into a team capable of winning the title.
Nor is it immediately clear that Tielemans or new signing Carlos Baleba represents an upgrade on Casemiro, who has moved to Major League Soccer. Baleba, expected to arrive from Brighton for about £70million, offers considerable potential, energy and aggression. Yet his development stalled on the south coast last season.
The late move for Baleba points either to muddled planning or to targets being missed elsewhere. So does United’s failure to reinforce a defence beaten twice by set pieces at the MKM Stadium. The back line combines alarming inexperience with an uncomfortable degree of wear and tear. A team still unable to move beyond 33-year-old Harry Maguire clearly has problems.
United also missed out when several prominent players changed clubs this summer. Elliot Anderson joined Manchester City, Morgan Rogers moved to Chelsea, Bruno Guimaraes went to Arsenal, Anthony Gordon signed for Barcelona, Marc Cucurella joined Real Madrid and Sandro Tonali moved to Spurs.
It is difficult to escape the feeling that United have been left behind — or at least that they were still hesitating when the race began. This was the summer in which they could least afford such uncertainty. Last year’s window brought a significant attacking overhaul and several strong additions. So far, however, this recruitment campaign has been distinctly underwhelming. United appear to be surviving on whatever remains available.
The result has placed renewed focus on minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, alongside Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, and on a transfer strategy that increasingly looks questionable. United repaired the roof last summer and are now attempting to refit the kitchen, but the foundations remain unstable — and those are the areas they have chosen to ignore.
Following another turbulent campaign, in which Ruben Amorim was dismissed and Carrick mounted an impressive rescue operation, this should have been the summer when United backed their manager without hesitation. His achievements during four months in charge warranted a clear show of trust.
Instead, the support has felt muted. Baleba’s arrival is a positive step, while United are now strongly linked with Barcelona’s 22-year-old Spanish left-back Alejandro Balde. But the club’s recruitment feels more like shopping at John Lewis than Harrods. The prevailing mood is one of anticlimax.
Youri Tielemans is a fine player but he is not the midfielder who will make the difference between third place and champions
United’s summer signings, including Andrey Santos (right), feel underwhelming, as if the club is feeding off scraps
“Come on, that’s ridiculous,” Carrick told former Middlesbrough and Swindon Town striker Jan Aage Fjortoft, now a respected Viaplay presenter, after Fjortoft suggested United had been outworked by Hull in the opening half and had conceded twice before the break.
It was unusual to see Carrick respond so sharply. His words did not suggest he had lost control; rather, they revealed a glimpse of the passion that drives him. He was right to defend his players, too. Visiting a newly promoted side, backed by fervent supporters desperate to bring down a giant, has humbled many football aristocrats before.
Passion is not United’s main deficiency. Quality is. They did not have enough of it to withstand Hull’s pressure, nor enough to create more than the occasional concern for the hosts’ defence. Konstantinos Tzolakis, the goalkeeper referenced by Jakirovic, enjoyed his tea — and needed no sympathy.
A beautiful tribute to King Kev
It has been, in many ways, an unnerving summer for the fans of Newcastle United. Liverpool supporters, too, are not quite sure what to expect after the arrival of a new manager to try to repair the disappointments of last season.
But all those concerns and even the result itself, a fittingly exciting 2-2 draw, were secondary to the tribute that the supporters of both teams provided for Kevin Keegan at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.
Keegan, who died last month, was one of the great figures of English football, a European Cup winner for Liverpool and a transformative character, both as player and manager, for Newcastle. He was adored in both cities and by both sets of fans.
And the joint farewell that the clubs gave him, both as a spectacle and in song, at their game was a beautiful and moving show of dignity and devotion to a man who brought so much joy to so many. Keegan represented much that was the best of our game and so did the tribute to him.
St James’ Park nailed the tremendous and emotional tribute to Kevin Keegan on Sunday
Time running out for Wirtz
I want Florian Wirtz to succeed at Liverpool because I saw enough of him before his arrival in the Premier League to know that he is a sublime player.
Liverpool supporters did not see enough of that player last season, though, and he made an underwhelming start to the new season at Newcastle on Sunday.
Wirtz deserved the patience that was extended to him last season. He would not be the first player to struggle with the pace and the demands of English football. But time is running out for the £115million man to show what he can do.
