MANCHESTER UNITED have had their worst start to a season in 27 years.
It is two wins from their last ten league games and they stand 11 points behind leaders Chelsea and eight off a Champions League spot.
So what is going wrong for boss Jose Mourinho? SunSport’s NEIL CUSTIS takes a look…
OLD TRAFFORD NO LONGER A FORTRESS
They have drawn four straight games in the league.
There is no shame in sharing the points with an Arsenal side who will be battling it out for the title.
But dropping six points to Stoke, Burnley and West Ham is another matter.
Quite simply, nobody fears going to Old Trafford any more.
The air of invincibility the famous stadium had went within a season of Sir Alex Ferguson stepping down.
Teams used to plan to get out of United’s home with a crumb of credibility. Now they go there confident of taking points.
UNPICKING LOUIS VAN GAAL’S PHILOSOPHY
The former United boss spent two years completely changing how the players thought about football.
His much-vaunted philosophy ripped away their natural instincts and it is taking time for Mourinho to rehabilitate a lot of the players.
For example, when he wants his full-backs to go forward and bomb on, their first thought is to turn sideways and pass the ball square, as Van Gaal had instructed them to do.
NO TOP-CLASS STRIKER
United are having a lot of shots but not enough of them are finding the back of the net.
The problem is they do not have a top-class striker at the very peak of his powers.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is doing a job of sorts but is 35. As well as scoring against West Ham on Sunday, he missed two very good chances.
Wayne Rooney has long since stopped being a goal machine and now struggles to get in the starting line-up.
Marcus Rashford is just starting on his journey and looks short of confidence — witness his missed chance when clean through against the Hammers.
They need a Ruud van Nistelrooy-type striker at the very top of his game.
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BACK-FOUR CHANGES
The back four has not been settled all season.
The injury to Eric Bailly has been a major blow, as has that to Chris Smalling.
While Antonio Valencia has been good as an attacking right-back, Mourinho clearly has his doubts about Luke Shaw.
Phil Jones has looked good in his three games back but Marcus Rojo and Daley Blind are not able partners at the centre of defence.
NEW SIGNINGS STRUGGLING
Before a ball was kicked, it looked like Mourinho had the best of the summer transfer window.
While Ibrahimovic and Bailly have looked decent acquisitions, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba have not.
Mkhitaryan has barely played, with the manager clearly of the impression that he is not up to the demands of the Premier League — despite being voted the Bundesliga’s best player last season.
World-record £89million signing Pogba has been a big letdown so far.
While there have been signs of improvement, he still looks like someone playing in his own bubble with not enough awareness of what is going on around him.
The ball through for Ibrahimovic’s goal against West Ham was good but we not seeing enough of a player who won four Serie A titles with Juventus.
CAN THEY STILL WIN THE PREMIER LEAGUE?
Manchester United are not strong enough this season to win it and they will just have to concentrate on getting into the top four.
If you compare how they play to Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool at the moment, there is a huge difference.
Next season will be a different matter, however, when Mourinho has had time to get all his plans into action.
HAVE THEY GOT THE RIGHT MANAGER?
In my opinion, most definitely they have.
There is no need for panic, despite what the table says.
The football is better, the atmosphere at the training ground, too.
Fans are leaving Old Trafford feeling better about draws than they did about wins under Van Gaal.
Mourinho is taking time to assess what he has got and what he needs.
He has been sent off twice at home which does not look good. But kicking a water bottle is hardly the biggest crime.
United are on the right track — even if it is currently a bumpy one.
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