Luke Edwards: Manchester United become Bland Utd

Record United signing Paul Pogba plays more like he's in a training session than a game. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

COMMENT: It can no longer be avoided, the reality cannot be ignored, this is what Manchester United have become. This is what they are.

Another disappointment, another substandard performance, inevitably led to another provocative Jose Mourinho monologue. There were more complaints about his players, more questions about their heart. A suggestion, not for the first time, that they do not care enough.

There are more excuses, more bewilderment, more disillusionment, and while it all unfolds, the fans lose a little more faith in him as a manager and a little more respect for those he is tasked to lead.

It is a club caught in a trap, thrashing around, occasionally showing some fight, raising the possibility of escape, but it does not last.

The win at Juventus in the Champions League and the powerful comebacks against Newcastle and Bournemouth were encouraging but we always come back to this sort of clueless, one-paced, one-dimensional display that make United so bland.

The worst thing you can say about Sunday's 0-0 home draw against Crystal Palace is that it was not a surprise. Nobody is shocked. This is normality. This is Manchester United.

They played like it under David Moyes, something similar happened under Louis van Gaal and they are heading the same way under Mourinho.

Millions spent on players, an eye-watering wage bill, and for what? A team that stumbles and stutters, an unoiled machine, the parts grinding and clunking together in ugly discord.

United cannot win the Premier League. Not this season, almost certainly not the year after that and probably not the year after that, either. You cannot predict with any degree of confidence that they will be champions any time soon.

They are a team trying to win a cup competition, a team that realistically can only qualify for the Champions League next term if they win it in May, all the time knowing there are others far better equipped to do so.

Whether you are managing, playing for or supporting Manchester United, it feels like hard work. They have gone backwards this season, too predictable and easy to frustrate.

Palace knew it and exploited it, leaving Old Trafford with the strange feeling of disappointment that they were taking only a point home.

Palace have not beaten United in the league since 1991 but they came close here. Cheikhou Kouyate had a header ruled out after he had strayed a few millimetres offside in the first half and Andros Townsend had a wonderful chance in the second after dribbling through the middle of the United defence but shot wide.

United have good players, star names, but they are not performing as they should. It is a problem encapsulated by Paul Pogba, an £89 million signing who always seems to be playing like he is in a training session rather than a match. A midfielder never at full tilt.

Despite some good saves by Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, particularly when keeping out Romelu Lukaku's header in the second half, this was too comfortable for the visitors.

"We knew the period we had all the way until Christmas, there were so many home games that three points had to be a must," said United defender Chris Smalling. "So whether it had been one point or no points, it might as well be a loss."

Mourinho bristled but mainly looked resigned to the fact he will probably be saying the same things again soon.

"Of course this was a bad result," he moaned. "I would say a very bad result. We gave them time to breathe because we were not intense. We were waiting for things to happen and things didn't happen. We gave them periods to feel like they were in control."