Mour problems for Jose as United match worst start

Mour problems for Jose as United match worst start

Defeat to West Ham means Manchester United have just 10 points after seven Premier League games, equalling their lowest ever tally at this point.

Jose Mourinho’s side have won only three of those games while Marcus Rashford’s backheel against the Hammers was just their 10th goal of the campaign.

Here, Press Association Sport looks back at the Red Devils’ previous worst Premier League starts and how those seasons ended up.

2002-03

Kevin Nolan celebrates after earning Bolton victory against United in September 2002
Kevin Nolan celebrates after earning Bolton victory against United in September 2002 (Phil Noble/PA)

Final position: Champions, 83 points

Defeats to Bolton and Leeds and draws with Chelsea and Sunderland made for a difficult start but Sir Alex Ferguson’s men recovered to win the league after finishing unbeaten in their last 18 games, including 15 wins. They did not hit the top spot for the first time until their 33rd game of the season, a 6-2 win at Newcastle.

2004-05

Mourinho, right, shakes hands with Sir Alex Ferguson
Mourinho, right, enjoyed success at Sir Alex Ferguson and United’s expense in 2004 (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Final position: Third, 77 points

It could have been an even worse start after an opening defeat to a Chelsea team led by Mourinho and draws with Everton, Blackburn and Bolton, but wins over Liverpool and Tottenham lifted Ferguson’s side from 11th to fifth. They continued to drop points at inopportune moments throughout the season and never seriously threatened Mourinho’s champions.

2013-14

David Moyes
David Moyes failed to live up to Sir Alex Ferguson’s standards (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Final position: Seventh, 64 points

After Ferguson’s retirement, David Moyes began with a 4-1 win at Swansea but things quickly went sour, with a 4-1 loss to rivals Manchester City in the fifth league game followed by a further setback against West Brom. Moyes, having signed a six-year contract, was gone before the season was out as United wound up with their record low finish and points total in the Premier League era.

2014-15

Louis van Gaal
The problems continued under Louis van Gaal (Adam Davy/PA)

Final position: Fourth, 70 points

Things barely improved after Louis van Gaal took charge and started with just one win in a friendly-looking opening five games against Swansea, Sunderland, Burnley, QPR and Leicester. They beat West Ham and Everton but failed to win in their next three and could only limp into the Champions League places.

– Advertisement –
– Advertisement –