Alan Shearer Slams 'Chaos' and 'Lack of Leadership' at Manchester United

Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer has criticised the "chaos" and "lack of leadership" on display at Manchester United this season.

United have had a lacklustre start to the domestic campaign, highlighted by a 3-2 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion in their second match. The defeat has prompted widespread speculation about the relationships between manager Jose Mourinho, his players and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

In his column for The Sun, Shearer wrote:

"In the seasons since Sir Alex [Ferguson] retired they have finished 22, 17, 15, 24 and 19 [points] behind the champions.

"There has been no real title challenge and now, just two games into the season, it seems there is chaos behind the scenes and a total lack of leadership from the top.

"I have to ask, what on Earth is going on?

"At arguably the biggest club in the world, the executive vice-chairman, one of the best managers in the game and a star-studded array of players are simply not pulling in the same direction."

Mourinho spent much of the summer complaining about United's failure to significantly strengthen in the transfer window.

He moved to shut down talk of a rift between himself and Woodward in his press conference on Friday, though he was not particularly convincing in doing so:

Shearer believes the Portuguese has been "unfairly" criticised following United's defeat to Brighton and that Woodward and the players have their share of responsibility for failing to back him in the transfer market and perform on the pitch, respectively. 

While the club have splashed out almost £400 million in the last two years, there were several key areas of the squad that went unaddressed this summer.

As for the players available to him, they failed to impress in their defeat to the Seagulls and weren't entirely convincing in the 2-1 win over Leicester City, either.

They should take some responsibility for their own form, but it's clear there are systemic problems for the Red Devils in attack:

That comes down to Mourinho, who—despite some areas of the squad lacking depth—could still have an excellent team on his hands if he can get them to play to their potential.

Football writer Liam Canning wants to see the coach given more time to do so:

A change this early in the season would likely do the team few favours, particularly as the club's options in terms of replacing him will be relatively limited.

United face Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night in a match that could relieve some pressure or pile it on further depending on the performance and the result.

The club can't bring in reinforcements now until January, but it's imperative Mourinho, Woodward and the players pull together and focus on doing their utmost to get their campaign back on track while it's still early enough to do so.