The main things that come out when you watch united play are lethargic play, no one taking risks in passing/runs, poor movement and vertical runs from strikers/cmf/full backs, lack of aggression in tackling and closing down, being 2nd to second balls, poor composure in the final third and in the box.
Now all of these can be easily attributed to coaching but I think it goes beyond that. Primarily issues arise from the following reasons:
1) Fitness: Full backs, wide forwards and sometime central midfielders need to be making sprints up and down to be more dynamic and to open up the field. If you are not fit enough then you will be reluctant to make those forward sprints as you tire for the fear of leaving space behind
2) Mentality/ Attitude: Some of this is natural and some circumstantial. In all walks of life, what separates equally talented people is the mental resilience, drive, attitude. In general, there is a large mentality malaise within the squad that may also be attributed to previous managers/ and lack of leaders. Nobody on the football pitch wants to take responsibility and take risks. Everyone plays it safe so that they are not blamed for any mistakes. Its an attitude for someone who is trying to hide/ get away rather than looking to win. I think it started with LVG (remember the video sessions and emphasis on taking a touch before shooting) and then continued under Jose (calling out individuals in public). Lack of leaders within the group means that nobody challenges the team mates when they take the safe option
3) Lack of Confidence in themselves and in each other: This is primarily because of constant failures and leads to players doubting themselves, taking an extra touch, not taking risks. One of the things that Ole changed when he came last year was to instil confidence and with each victory the group became more confident. This went on till we were winning but as soon as we lost to Arsenal, the self doubts came back and the players crumbled. Also highlights the mental fragility of some of our players.
4) Training: I do feel that movement on the pitch can be trained/coached by practice and repetitions on the training pitch. Our strikers don’t make simple movements like coming in a little deep to lay off the ball and then turning the defender and making the run behind. That should be easily be coached and practiced
5) Talent/ skill: The last and the most contributing factor is the lack of skill. Our midfielders and forwards are not able to execute basic skills such as first touch, passing, dribbling, finishing at the highest level. If you compare our forwards to players such as Aguero, RVP, Salah, there is a clear gap in talent. Those players fashioned chances on their own in the box through tight control, quick feet, movement. Similarly, our midfielders apart from Pogba don’t have the skill to accurately play 50-60 yard passes, to dribble in central areas, play into the strikers feet. And the first touch of most of our players is so horribly inconsistent that it constantly leads to moves breaking down.
So while issue 1,2,3,4 should be to an extent tackled with better coaching, all of them take time to improve and the results might not be immediately visible. The fact that it is a combination of these factors and not just one isolated factor makes it much harder to create and sustain changes. Thats why I feel its to premature to judge Ole and the staff because what we see is the result on the pitch. They might be working on all of the above and yet players have not yet internalised these to make sustainable improvements. And with some players, you can try to coach on all 4 aspects but they may show an incapability to learn. In which case, you need to get new players in, which again takes time.
