MANCHESTER UNITED ARE “nowhere near good enough”, says Harry Redknapp, with the club’s worst team of the Premier League era told they face a “long way back”.
Under the guidance of former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils swept to 13 Premier League titles.
They were the dominant force in English football, while also being regular challengers for the biggest prizes on offer in Europe.
Since Ferguson retired in 2013, United have tumbled off a lofty perch and, though there have been more trophy successes, there have not been as many as they would like and serious regression in the league saw them slump to sixth again in 2018-19.
Redknapp, a man who crossed swords with many of Ferguson’s sides down the years, feels for under-fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he endeavours to complete a rescue mission at Old Trafford.
The former Tottenham and West Ham boss believes the Norwegian has been dealt a rough hand, with United’s class of 2019-20 a shadow of what they once were.
“It’s a long way back for Man Utd, the team is nowhere near good enough,” Redknapp told talkSPORT after seeing the Red Devils suffer a 2-0 defeat away at West Ham on Sunday.
“You can talk about Ole and you can criticise the managers, but the players he has are what they are.
“You looked at Man Utd before that game and you thought, ‘what an average looking team’. West Ham looked a better team, that’s where United are, they’re a very average bunch at the moment I’m afraid.
“The fans are going to have to suffer that unless they go and buy another four or five good players over the next year or two. That’s where they are, they are just not good enough.”
Pressed on whether this is the worst United squad of the modern era, Redknapp added: “It’s got to be.
Fergie never had a bad team in all his years in the Premier League. All of his teams were amazing, so yes, this current team probably is.
“Unfortunately it’s what the manager has inherited.
“Man Utd have a great tradition; it’s a special football club, one of the great clubs in world football, so players will come. But they haven’t recruited well.
“The players they’ve got now, they will struggle. I don’t know about making the top four, they could even fall out of the top six if they’re not careful.
“Leicester and West Ham could push themselves into the top six this year and one of the regulars could fall out.”
Things are not about to get any easier for Solskjaer and United as, after facing Rochdale in the Carabao Cup, they will return to Premier League action with a home date against Arsenal.
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