Pundit and former Premier League boss Harry Redknapp has insisted that there is no way Man Utd will finish in the top four in the Premier League this season.
The Red Devils sit down in 12th place in the table after eight games, picking up just nine points while scoring only nine goals in those eight outings.
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With four of those goals coming in the same game against Chelsea on the opening weekend of the campaign, it goes to show where their biggest problem lies and the pressure is undoubtedly building on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to get results.
It isn’t an impossible task as of yet as they’re only five points adrift of fourth-placed Leicester City, but ultimately unless their form and the quality of their performances improves, few will back them to secure Champions League qualification for next season.
As for Redknapp, he’s already convinced that he’s seen enough to suggest that Man Utd will not make the top four this year, and has pointed to the fact that the current side are a million miles away in terms of quality and class to previous United squads which have dominated English football.
“I can’t see them finishing in the top four, no way,” he told The Mirror. “I’ll be honest with you, I watched their Arsenal game the other week and there wasn’t a player on the pitch who would have got in the Man United team a few years ago.
“(Roy) Keane, (Paul) Scholes, (Ryan) Giggs, (David) Beckham, (Rio) Ferdinand, (Nemanja) Vidic. Andy Cole. Dwight Yorke. Teddy Sheringham. They were different class.
“Everyone keeps saying how great the game is nowadays but there isn’t one player on that pitch who would have got into those teams in my opinion.”
It’s hard to disagree with Redknapp, albeit it’s always going to be hard to find that level of quality to replace key figures over a number of years, perhaps with David De Gea and Paul Pogba coming into contention on their day but ultimately there hasn’t been enough consistency from Man Utd for some time.
With a string of injury woes to boot now too, it remains to be seen if Solskjaer can get something from their showdown with Liverpool this weekend, with the visitors at Old Trafford looking for a ninth consecutive win to start the Premier League season.
