This article provides an overview of Manchester United’s English Premier League [EPL] journey from the 2002/2003 to the 2021/2022 seasons, excluding the 2019/2020 season.
The content covers various aspects such as goals scored, goals conceded, the involvement of referees, shots taken, and monthly performance.
Take your time…
Mike Dean emerges as the referee who officiated the most games for Man Utd during this period, totaling 67 games. The club won 36 of these, just above 50%.
This isn’t surprising, considering Dean’s status as the longest-serving referee in the EPL. He likely officiated the most games for other perennial clubs as well.
Howard Webb, often regarded as a “Man Utd referee” by fans, officiated 38 games involving the club, with a 60% win rate for the club. That’s a healthy amount. So, maybe he was truly worthy of that reputation. The significant contrast in Man Utd’s performance during Webb’s active years compared to after his retirement could fuel conspiracy theories.
A special mention to the 1st black referee in the EPL, Uriah Rennie. He officiated six (6) matches. The six games were:
- vs. Sunderland [August 2002]
- vs. Southampton [November 2002]
- vs. Newcastle [August 2003]
- vs. Tottenham [October 2005]
- vs. Portsmouth [February 2006]
- vs. Sunderland [December 2007]
It is curious that out of the 100 EPL games he officiated in the period under review, he handled just 6 games involving Man Utd.
It is common knowledge that Man Utd has a goalscoring problem this season [2023/2024]. As the numbers show, it has been a malaise since Sir Alex Ferguson [SAF] retired.
Out of the nineteen (19) seasons covered in the chart above, 6 of the bottom 9 seasons belong to the post-SAF era, while 8 of the top 9 belongs to the SAF era.
A critical factor in a successful league campaign is a strong home record, as demonstrated by the chart. In 5 of the bottom 6 seasons, the club finished outside the top four. Conversely, excelling at home significantly increases the odds of challenging for the league title, as shown in 8 of the top 9 seasons.
Then again, football never fails to express its humorous side. Man Utd failed to win the league title in the best two scoring seasons at home. Although, the club came very close, only losing the league title to Chelsea and Man City by one point and goal difference respectively.
Those two seasons saw Wayne Rooney (Wazza) enjoy his best goalscoring outputs for the club. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t have the league title to go with the performance.
On goalscorers and further humour:
In 4 of the bottom 6 seasons, Man Utd had at least one of Robin van Persie, Wazza, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, and Cristiano Ronaldo [5 of the best forwards in Europe in the last 10–15 years] leading the line for the club.
In terms of the era categorisation, the away performance is almost identical to the home performance. 7 of the top 9 seasons belongs to the SAF era and 5 of the bottom 9 seasons belongs to the post-SAF era.
In a few of the seasons, the club appeared to fare better away from home. You would imagine that, for those seasons, if the home output matched the away output, the club would have challenged for the title.
How well did Man Utd apply SAF’s famous statement, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.” ?
For each of the home & away performances, the club won the league title in only 2 of the best 6 defensive seasons. The aggregate will probably reveal a similar pattern or outcome.
Regardless of SAF’s dictum, an effective title challenge necessitates a balanced approach between reliable goal-scoring and astute defending, a lesson demonstrated by clubs like Man City and Liverpool in the last five years — scoring goals prolifically while maintaining solid defense.
The shooting performance illustrated in the two charts above reveal a deficiency in accurate shooting during the post-SAF era, contributing to the observed goal-scoring issues.
Goalscoring is fundamentally about numbers and teams or players should first view it as such. The more shots you take, the higher your goalscoring odds. The more shots on target you have, the higher your goalscoring odds. Attacking sequences and habits should be built on these fundamentals.
One benefit that is likely to come from sticking to such fundamentals is that less talented players can be useful and help their teams achieve their objectives. It can mean that the team or the manager don’t have to be reliant on the quality shooting [or finishing] ability of a few players in the squad.
Other things…
For more details on each season, you can visit this folder
It’s a wrap. What are your thoughts on the numbers? Are there any suprises? What other deductions did you make? You can share them with me.
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