£400m signings and damning stats prove Man Utd need reality check from next boss

The numbers engulfing failing Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just don't stack up.

More than £400m spent on superstar signings in almost three years at the helm, but zero trophies to show is damning of the Norwegian.

The inquest into last weekend's humiliating home defeat to Liverpool continues to dominate English football as United consider what to do next.

But just to add more fuel to the fire now burning inside and outside Old Trafford, more statistics have emerged that will set the alarm bells ringing even louder, if that's possible.

The figures relating to the performances of Solskjaer's overpaid flops suggest he is now presiding over a team that is refusing to put in the hard yards for their own manager.

These include the fact that, in terms of distance covered by top flight teams after nine games of the season, just six have covered fewer kilometres than United.

United find themselves languishing in 14th place with a total of 939.03 km, compared to the likes of Brentford and Burnley, who both exceed 980 km. Even Newcastle, second from bottom of the table, have covered more ground than United.

But the most telling statistic is the one relating to how much less United have run than some of their rivals in certain games.

Who should replace Solskjaer as United's manager? Let us know in the comments section

United achieved this shocking feat in all of their last five domestic matches, against West Ham, Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester and Liverpool.

In the clashes with Everton, Leicester and Jurgen Klopp's side, United ran a combined 15.36 km fewer during those matches.

United supporters won't need reminding that in those games, United lost two of them and drew the other, taking just one point from a possible nine as well as losing the other two, including a 1-0 defeat to the Hammers in the EFL Cup.

The most industrious three players for United have been Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani and Scott McTominay, all of whom are not regular starters.

Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, who returned to United in the summer on the largest wages in the Premier League, is second from bottom of the table when it comes to kilometres covered in 90 minutes.

Don't miss a thing with our football updates!

Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?

Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!

From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.

How do you sign up?

It only takes a matter of seconds.

Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.

And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.

You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.

To complete the tale of utter woe, United are bottom of the league when it comes to making tackles and duels won, 18th in terms of clean sheets, interceptions and aerial duels won and have conceded the fourth most goals and bookings.

Combine all of this with the fact rivals like Pep Guardiola, Thomas Tuchel and Klopp remain elite managers with superior tactical acumen – and it leaves United languishing in seventh place in the table, out of the title race and with little chance of winning silverware anytime soon.

It also begs the question, have United run out of steam under Solskjaer, have they gone soft or, worse still, is one of the most enviable squads in world football trying to get him sacked?

Only Ronaldo & Co know the answers, but who will be the next manager to try and fix one of the most expensive problems in the game?

Quite frankly, those players currently betraying the famous badge of United, need a kick up the backside and the sort of reality check a wise and ruthless coach like Antonio Conte or Mauricio Pochettino would provide.

They need to be coached from a set of individual superstars into a cohesive team with a plan, purpose and identity, otherwise United will just remain spinning on the same tragic roundabout they've been stuck on since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Source: Read Full Article