All this highlights to me is how the current trend of over reliance on stats is flawed. As bad as we were at times this season. No amount of statistical evidence can tell me that we were more deserving of 14th place.
As the saying goes: "Statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamp post: for support, not illumination"
No it isn't. Because first, it's not like we saw good performances, then looked at the stats and thought "wow my eyes were deceiving me." We actually did think we were crap, and were lucky a lot of the time. To make sure, we then look at the stats of goal differential and see that we have been crap. Then you look at shots conceded and it's the same. Then you look at xG and we're crap. Then look at xPts and see that it's closer to 15th.
Now, being 15th in that stat doesn't mean we deserve 15th. There is variance. So there is a middle ground between the stats and the results. So being 11th-13th would be a fair reflection. It would still mean overperforming the stats, but it would be a fair reflection of the stats. But 15th that says we could easily be 11th or 12th? That's terrible. If the stats said we were 10th, but ended up in 8th, well that's just standard variance. That would mean we didn't overperform (result wise) and our performances were a deserved 8th place.
But I feel like some of us haven't learned our lesson from 2017-18. The results said United 2nd, and Liverpool 4th. The stats said United were lucky to be 2nd, and Liverpool unlucky to be 4th. The next season, United end up sacking Mourinho because the results started to reflect the performances. And our eyes were right. De Gea was amazing that season, giving us a league position that our outfield players didn't deserve. Now the goalkeeper is part of the team, but if the goalkeeper is having to mask the underlying problem of the outfield players' performances, well eventually if they don't perform at that same level of amazingness, you're going to have a huge slide in results.
The stats say that we could get even worse next season. Now Ten Hag could change something and those stats would become meaningless. There are those kind of jumps. My problem is that the chasm between the defense and midfield that was there from the Wolves match, to May (apart from the last few matches) shows that he really wants that. That recklessness can't possibly get United to the top. Our attack isn't benefiting from said recklessness like Nagelsmann's sides, and even if it did, the amount of chances we give up will never be enough to challenge for the title. So it feels like just delaying the inevitable.
