Wilkins worries over the state of the club.Check in to Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
Former Manchester United midfielder Ray Wilkins says he fears for his old club this season after watching them get off to a turbulent start to their campaign, BT Sport reports.
New boss David Moyes had to suffer the indignity of missing out on a number of high profile transfer targets this summer before kicking off the season with just one league victory out of three and are already five points behind current league leaders Liverpool.
United lost to Liverpool in the final game before the international break and just 24 hours later managed to bring just one player to Old Trafford on transfer deadline day – Marouane Fellaini, a player Moyes already knew very well.
Even that deal brought negative headlines given it ended up costing £4m more than the £23.5m clause in the Belgian’s contract that Moyes allowed to expire on July 31.
Wilkins does believe that Moyes will be a success at United, but that success will not come quickly as the club first need to restructure their scouting system first.
“David Moyes will do an excellent job, but I fear for Manchester United this season,” Wilkins said.
“Fellaini was a very good buy but I think they needed more players, especially on the European front.
“Every side in the Champions League has reinforced, and United have to a degree, but not as well as I’d have liked to see them do.”
Moyes inherited a squad that romped home to the title by 11 points last term, and Wilkins wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t there again this time around, though they will have to overcome the renewed challenge of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea – another of Wilkins’ former clubs.
“They’ve got every chance,” he said.
“The return of Jose was a masterstroke. He and [Roman] Abramovich seem to have healed their rift and they have a squad who could go and win it.
“They look solid and have an abundance of players who can rip you apart. I fancy them big time.”