In the three seasons after Sir Alex's departure, the Red Devils have finished 7th, 4th and 5th respectively on the Premier League log. Currently, they are 6th on the log with 18 points after 11 games. That is their worst start under the post Sir Alex era.
So what do the Red Devils lack this season? On paper, they have the strongest squad in the Premier League, maybe in the world. In Jose Mourinho, they have one of the greatest managers of all time. Depth is one of their key strengths.
David de Gea has proved himself to be a worthy successor of Edwin Van der Sar ever since he joined in 2011. They have solid centre-backs like Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and new signing Eric Bailly. In Matteo Darmian and Luke Shaw, they have two reliable full-backs.
Their midfield is their strongest department, with Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick, Morgan Scheinderlin and Bastian Schweinstieger (yes, him) all being worthy candidates for the defensive midfield spot while record signing Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are all great play-makers in their own right. The striking department now boasts of new signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
This season, De Gea has been the only consistent performer. His defence has let him down a couple of times, most notably in their 4-0 loss to rivals Chelsea. Daley Blind looks unnatural in defence, Smalling hasn't picked up last season's form and Antonio Valencia's performances at right-back have been forgettable.
Mourinho's biggest dilemma is his midfield, whereas there is a case of too many options. Fellaini has been disappointing in his role and has started ahead of Scheinderlin and Schweinstieger, who have yet to be given a chance to prove themselves. Pogba has shown glimpses of brilliance at times, but has yer to step up as Man Utd's playmaker. Mhkitaryan and Memphis Depay have fallen out of favour with Mourinho, who prefers Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard on the wings. Club captain Rooney has also been dropped a few times due to a string of dull performances, finding himself on the bench or dropped altogether for big games with Liverpool and Chelsea.
Club legend Paul Scholes has called the club's form in the past three years "depressing". He believes the team lacks pace going forward, due to Mourinho prefering the attacking trio of Rooney, Mata and Ibrahimovic. Mourinho hasn't had a stable starting line-up this season, often rotating the squad especially in midfield. Unlike Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City, who have near constant line-ups, Mourinho has never used the same line-up for two consecutive games and has yet to find that winning starting eleven.
It is still early in the season, but Mourinho's start has been worse than Moyes' and Van Gaal's, and he still has 27 games to go to make Manchester United great again.
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