Solskjaer in firing line but Man Utd malaise runs deep

Manchester United played out the final stages of Wednesday's humiliating 2-0 defeat to Burnley in front of banks of empty seats, raising fresh questions over how long beleaguered boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will survive.

The United teams that Solskjaer played in during the glory years of Alex Ferguson were famed for their great escapes but his young, jaded players are struggling to live up to the club's swashbuckling traditions.

Solskjaer has now lost more Premier League games than he has won since being handed the job on a permanent basis in March after an exhilarating three-month stint as caretaker boss.

His appointment increasingly looks a rash and misjudged decision by the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who is blamed by large sections of United's support for the club's malaise.

Those who stayed to the bitter end of Burnley's first win at Old Trafford since 1962 did so to make their thoughts on Woodward and the club's American owners, the Glazer family, clear as the atmosphere at Old Trafford turned toxic.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand, a Premier League and Champions League winner with the club, called on the Glazers to take action to stop the rot.

"Fans are walking out after 84 minutes. It's an embarrassment. People at the top need to look and see this and make changes," Ferdinand told BT Sport.

"The downward spiral in this short space of time, it's only seven years, has been remarkable."
- Transfer errors - ===================
"In terms of what the club needed to do for a number of years now -- put the best in class football operators into that club and they're not doing it. They're not doing it and it's a mess."
"Some of the players have played more than they should have. More mentally rather than physically, they need a mid-season break."