Worst league start in 40 years after 3-0 Bournemouth defeat: the five problems behind Manchester United's crisis
Manchester United hit a new low with a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. The loss extended the club's worst start to a league season in 40 years. After Sunday's match, the future of not only the manager but also the ownership, the senior management and the whole playing squad has been called into question.
United fans do not usually turn on their managers or players. That changed on Sunday, when they cheered off Michael Carrick and then booed off the players. The message from the supporters is clear: they are no longer prepared to accept this from anyone in the first-team set-up, or from those who recruited the players.
The first cause identified is the lack of a regular goalscorer. Since Cristiano Ronaldo left in November 2022 after his second stint, the side has struggled for one. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a short-term fix before Ronaldo's return, while Romelu Lukaku was unable to turn reputation into returns. Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund, recruited as United's answer to Manchester City's Erling Haaland, was shipped back to Italy after a lack of goals.
Serbian international Benjamin Sesko, 23, arrived for big money in the summer of 2025 and has impressed in patches, but injuries have taken their toll and his absence in this season's poor start has been glaring. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have been tried as strikers but are naturally wide players. Using Bruno Fernandes as a false nine took away his greatest ability — the record-breaking assisting that won him the PFA Player of the Year award. Eight players sit above United's leading scorer Mbeumo, with four goals, in this season's Premier League scoring chart.
The second major cause is failed recruitment and ownership. The Glazer family bought into United in 2005, long before Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, and the analysis says Ferguson and then chief executive David Gill were masking the problems of the family's ownership. United's 75 signings in the last 13 years have been described as disastrous, with Fernandes perhaps the only player who would come close to breaking into one of Ferguson's sides. Ed Woodward, the Glazers' appointed chief executive until 2022, was lambasted for failed signings and sacked managers.
The current recruitment pairing of chief executive Omar Berrada and the technical director is now facing the wrath of the support, and reportedly of the dressing room. Defender Lisandro Martinez, who helped Argentina reach the 2026 World Cup final, took aim at Wilcox in particular after the defeat at Atletico Madrid, criticising the lack of summer investment in the squad. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS Group invested heavily two years ago, but the move led to controversial off-field cuts, and the return on the grand plans for the training ground and rebuilding Old Trafford has so far been minimal.
The third question is Bruno Fernandes's future. He was booed off after the Bournemouth defeat even though he did not set foot on the field, in punishment for calling out Carrick's tactics after Wednesday's defeat in Como. At 32, Fernandes remains United's standout performer since his 2020 arrival; when he ticks, so do United. The Saudi Pro League is prepared to spend heavily to lure him away, Galatasaray were also known suitors this summer, and Fernandes has made no secret of his disappointment at the club's openness to selling him.
The fourth cause is the failure to sign a left-back. Alongside failing to reinforce alongside Sesko in attack, the lack of depth in that position is believed to be what led Martinez to blast the hierarchy. Newcastle United's Lewis Hall was heavily linked throughout the summer, and on the final day of the window it was assumed the deal would be done, but no player was acquired in that role.
The fifth cause is the long-running struggle over playing style. The chant of 'attack, attack, attack' was the club's foundation, from Matt Busby's side in the 1950s and his rebuilt team led by George Best and Bobby Charlton to Ferguson's teams. Fernandes slammed Carrick for not pressing Como in the Champions League. Jose Mourinho previously faced a player revolt, Louis van Gaal's passing 'philosophy' reportedly left players led by Wayne Rooney and Carrick unhappy with the sideways movements, and Ruben Amorim's 3-4-3 left the players baffled. Ralf Rangnick once said the whole club required 'open-heart surgery'. On Sky Sports on Sunday, former defender Gary Neville alleged unprofessionalism from some squad members, saying: 'There are a few of them that are not that professional.'
