For Manchester United, a disastrous start goes beyond just a manager

Manchester United is in 18th place as the Premier League heads into a two-week international break.The start — Manchester United’s worst since 1986 — is unthinkable for one of the world’s richest and most popular clubs.

Just last season, it finished third behind Arsenal and Manchester City and showed signs of competing for a title in the near future.Now it’s in disarray.

Much of the blame has been placed on manager Michael Carrick, who is expected to be relieved of his duties as soon as this week.The most glaring issues are defensive, as United has conceded 19 goals in the Premier League.

That’s the same number as newly promoted side Coventry City, whose squad costs about one-third as much as United’s.Injuries and lack of roster depth have forced the team to shuffle different combinations of players from game to game.

Fans have bemoaned the club’s decision not to sign any new defenders over the summer.Critics have also pointed to one of the simplest parts of the game — running.Per Gradient Sports data, Manchester United is 19th out of 20 in the league in both distance covered and average maximum speed.

Statistics like those never tell the full story, but covering ground is essential to winning back the ball effectively.Manchester United fans are irate after the club has mustered only 8 points through 10 matches.Catherine Ivill / AMA/Getty The situation has gotten so bad that even star midfielder Bruno Fernandes called out his team after a 4-1 loss at Como in Italy last month in the UEFA Champions League.“It’s not the first time we started on the wrong foot and they scored very early,” said Fernandes, who was benched the next game for his comments.

“Not much pressure on the ball, not really many good movements without the ball, not many things going our way.” For SubscribersFOR SUBSCRIBERSHow a concerned mother says she helped rescue a missing Utah teen held captive in Oregon FOR SUBSCRIBERSPentagon threatens to ‘physically’ remo...