As of the date of this post, the average goal conceded for the English Premier League (EPL) is 15 goals and Manchester United has already conceded 17 goals. This makes them 8^th from the bottom in terms of goals conceded.

Clean sheet been the benchmark of a good defensive system as it takes the whole team to ensure the oppositions are not able to score. From the analysis performed below, Manchester United are only able to keep two clean sheets out of 11 matches played so far which makes them 7^th from the bottom in terms of clean sheet. They are also below the average clean sheet for the EPL which is at 3.15 for the EPL.

Old Trafford has always been feared by other teams but in recent years, the ground has not been as intimidating due to the lacklustre performance of the team. As of now, United has lost four (4) out of 11 games and three (3) of those losses were home games. This is quite concerning for the club as the team has not even played half the season and they have already matched the total of home game defeats from some of their previous seasons. As can be seen below, from season 2004/2005 to 2011/2012, United only had a maximum of two (2) home defeats and the following seasons were inconsistent due to the constant change of managers.

Lastly, I looked at the average goals scored and conceded by the team. From the scatter plot below, it is quite apparent average goals conceded this season (so far) have been the worst since 2004. The current average goals conceded is 1.55 per game which is 0.39 more than the previous season. This just shows how the team has regressed and is at risk of finishing at lower than last season.

Fans were fairly happy with how the team finished last season. Therefore, United brought in some big names this season to further improve the team’s performance but fans are left feeling disappointed so far as the club regressed from where they finished last season.

Based on the current performance, the club has to take some drastic action to help derail United’s woeful performance. If left continued, the team will be left finishing off in a far worst situation compared to last season and will require more rebuilding and intervention during next summer.