There wasn't much to get excited about Manchester United's 1-1 draw against Newcastle on Monday night, as fans were angered at the appalling display from Ralf Rangnick's team.
In the match, the same mistakes made under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were happening, and it makes you wonder whether there's an issue with the players rather than the manager.
It's pretty evident that the club is a mess now, and it's looking likely that significant changes are needed to get the club back to fighting for trophies.
United have been all over the place - a poor showing for a team that was expected to challenge for the title this season. It's going to be a challenging feat seeing past this, even more so trying to secure a Champions League position. They're probably now considered outsiders, seeing how they've been performing in their last two matches.
What's clear is that there's a massive problem in the team, which needs addressing. Much of United's attack has looked off the pace in the last two matches, and it's felt like there haven't been many clear cut chances in the games against Norwich and Newcastle.
Since Rangnick has come into the club, United have adopted his well-established 4-2-2-2 system, which uses two strikers and two attacking midfielders instead of wingers. However, as we've seen, this doesn't necessarily suit many of United's attacking players.
As per FBRef.com, Bruno Fernandes averaged a 0 expected goals (xG) tally against Newcastle, which ranked below his 0.1 xG ratio against Norwich. Against Crystal Palace, this was 0.2, while against Arsenal, it was 0.5.
Others like Marcus Rashford haven't had many chances in front of goal, and not being able to play in his favoured left-wing position is having a monumental impact on his performance levels.
If it weren't for Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty against Norwich, he would've been criticised for ghosting in matches simply because he hasn't had the service to provide him with any efforts in front of goal. It's having an impact on United's attack.
In Rangnick's four matches that he's been in charge for, United haven't managed to score more than one goal per game, and it's evident that there's been a lack of creativity from the midfield. Fernandes hasn't been as prolific, and he's usually the primary source of inspiration.
United averaged 1.9 xG in their last match before Rangnick took over, the 3-2 win against Arsenal at Old Trafford. Still, since then, they've only been able to match that tally once (1.1 against Crystal Palace, 0.9 against Young Boys, 1.9 against Norwich and 1.7 against Newcastle). When you consider that they're lower opposition, it's pretty concerning.
From the naked eye, most supporters can see that United have been struggling as an attacking threat under Rangnick - you don't necessarily need stats to see it!
The problem is that it all looks a bit disjointed. For example, Fernandes was used to being the sole number 10 under Solskjaer, where he was able to stay near the top of the pitch without any reliance on tracking back out-of-possession. Against Newcastle, he was everywhere and even found himself in a deeper role when Fred was substituted. He's going to be nowhere near as prolific from that area.
Consequently, it's impacted the strikers, as there hasn't been enough support for them. Jadon Sancho seemed to spark life into the performance when he joined the pitch, and that was what the team were desperately missing - someone who wasn't afraid to take on defenders.
United's full-backs also don't offer as much of an attacking threat for the formation to work. Alex Telles and Diogo Dalot seem too scared to be caught out of position, and therefore are afraid to bomb forward and offer offensive support from the wide areas.
It's a massive problem from now on for Rangnick, and I think it can only be solved with a new formation.
I'm hoping he'll prove me wrong!
Is the formation a problem for United's attack? Follow our United On My Mind writer Omar Garrick on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.
