Worst Manchester United Team in Years Tops English Premier League, But How?

What is going on? How is it even possible? Manchester United is top of the premier league with a two-point cushion over Chelsea and Arsenal.

I have been a fan of the Red Devils for 20 years, and I could safely say that this year’s team is possibly the least aesthetically pleasing United I have ever seen. They were among the worst value for money teams in the Premier League this season behind maybe only West Ham United.

Furthermore, as the team stands now, it must be the worst unbeaten team in Premier League history.

So it was to my great predilection that United put seven past an admittedly awful Blackburn, hence bringing back the good old days. The United I saw on Saturday reminded me of the United of 2008, that of a nice, free flowing, quick passing and variety-packed team.

In United’s recent games, they were hardly passing the ball through the middle of the pitch, and most times the attack was coming from the flanks of mainly Nani and Park. Very monotonic.

Nevertheless, now that Rooney is back on the team, and with all his contract shenanigans in the past, United seem to have upped the ante. Obviously, this is just one game that hardly means anything, but it does seem to stand out quite a bit. His presence seems to lift his teammates, which is a good thing. However, does this mean that United will be over reliant on Rooney again like last season?

It does not seem so. "Chicharito" Hernandez has shown that he can fill the void left by Rooney. He has started the season well and can only get better. However, United’s best attacker is now none other than Dimitar Berbatov himself, another stat that seems impossible, or more to the point, laughable.

How can a striker go 10 games without a goal and still be the league’s top scorer? More bewildering is the fact that he has scored two hat tricks! In two games (Liverpool, Blackburn) he has scored eight goals.

Of course, it is always better to score some goals than no goals at all, but Berbatov is just not consistent enough. Through United’s entire champion-winning campaigns, they have always had a dependable striker, or maybe more accurately a constant goal scorer. Some names that spring to mind are Mark Hughes, Andy Cole, Dwight York, Ole Gunner Solskjaer, Terry Sheringham and most recently Cristiano Ronaldo.

So why are Manchester United top of the league then? The answer is simple. Although United have been playing horrid football with an inconsistent team, they have still managed, more often than not, to eke out results.

Chelsea, who were dazzling at the beginning of the season, have pulled out just four points from a possible 14 in November alone. On the other hand, Arsenal has played seven home games this season, winning just four and losing three.

Their huge failings have basically given United top spot, and if the Red Devils can back up their strong showing they gave against Blackburn, then United will be runaway leaders for the title, even if this is one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s worst teams in his 24-year reign at the club.