The truth behind Man United’s awful running statistics and what’s to blame for their sluggish start

However, it was impossible to shake the feeling that United were not running enough during the match. The players looked slow and passive as Fulham created far too many chances against a creaking defence. The home side looked sharper, more agile around the pitch.

Gary Neville stoked the fire after Fulham’s goal on commentary duty for Sky Sports, fuming: “I’ve watched United since I was five, and that’s the worst 15 minutes I’ve ever seen them play. Absolutely pathetic.”

Neville continued his rant in the studio after the game. And then an alternative view was presented: What if the lack of running was actually by design?

There’s an element of truth to that argument. United’s players are not told to mark man-for-man like many teams in the Premier League, which has seen games regularly decided by who can duel and battle the hardest.

Carrick wants his players to defend zonally, so they were in the positions they were supposed to be against Fulham. But you’re now probably thinking, if that was the case, then why did United look so poor against a team that sat at the bottom of the table going into the clash?

Youri Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes started in midfield again, and a pivot of Tielemans and Mainoo, as talented as both players are, is certainly not the most mobile midfield duo in the Premier League.

Tielemans has played senior football since he was 15. He established himself as one of the league’s best technicians during his time with Aston Villa, but he was not signed by United to provide running power in midfield.

Carrick knows the strengths of the players at his disposal and wanted to transition to a more possession-based team this season, which would theoretically give United more control and help them progress as a team.

United had 56 per cent possession against Fulham, which shows there is still some way to go to match Manchester City and Arsenal, who dominate the ball against bottom-half teams.

Carlos Baleba will help after the international break. He is not only a brilliant passer, a non-negotiable for a midfielder in Carrick’s team, but he can eat up ground and clock up the kilometres than Tielemans cannot.

The analytics team will present the running statistics to Carrick during the international break, and it would be fascinating to know whether he agrees it’s an issue, or believes it’s a result of the way his team has been set up.

The statistics have been used as a stick to bash Carrick after the disappointing Fulham draw, as in the Premier League, United are bottom for out-of-possession distance at high intensity, time spent at high intensity, sprints and time sprinting.

The interesting thing is that City, who are top of the league, are joint-last with United on high-speed runs, but when sprinting distance is also added to a scatter plot, City essentially distance themselves from United.

Take a quick glance at the scatter graph below. You do need to be a data analyst to conclude that United are not where they should be. The Reds should be around where Tottenham sit on the graph because ball recoveries are required for a successful possession-based team.

And what is needed to have a high percentage recovery rate as a team? High-intensity distance and sprints. They are intrinsically linked.

Perhaps Tottenham are not a great example because they have gone into the international break sitting bottom of the league after spending £334 million in the summer, but the graph shows that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Spurs outrun United when they meet at Old Trafford on October 10.

The statistics explain why United are late to recover second balls, why they are late to arrive in the box, and why their phases of play can become stale-looking, which could be put down to conditioning.

United were happy with their pre-season schedule, which saw them stay in Europe for the first time since 2002 (excluding Covid-impacted years). They jetted to European cities, stayed a night at a hotel, played a friendly and returned to Manchester on the same day as the game.

The players who represented their nations at the World Cup reported back to Carrington after each individual had had a three-week break, the exact same time they have been given off after previous major tournaments.

Internally at United, there are no qualms about the team’s preparation over the summer. Some critics have pointed to Tielemans’ interview with Rio Ferdinand in pre-season when he said there hadn’t been “lots of running”, an alleged smoking gun, but he’d just returned from playing at the World Cup, so wouldn’t have lost much fitness.

Carrick did change training when he was appointed in January, putting on shorter sessions but with more intense days, and the tweak was hugely successful, helping him to pick up more points than other top-flight manager during his time in charge last term.

However, it’s plausible that the tweak in training has eventually affected the players’ ability to perform high-intensity actions.

Carrick did not bring his own fitness coach to United when he was appointed. The contracts of his backroom staff were renegotiated when he was hired full-time, but no further additions were made to his coaching team.

Ruben Amorim had his own physical performance coach at United, Paulo Barreira, who had previously worked at Arsenal and Liverpool. Amorim made plenty of mistakes during a disastrous 14-month tenure, but his United team were regarded as being in good condition.

Barreira departed when Amorim was sacked. Sam Erith, performance director at United, has been in his role for over two years, so he has overseen the transition to Carrick, and it would be within his remit to recommend an appointment if he felt it was needed.

There are dedicated physical performance coaches, such as Edward Leng and Charlie Owen (the latter guides the team through running drills at the start of training), but it’s interesting that Amorim brought his own performance coach into the building to complement the existing staff.

Carrick recently bristled at the suggestion that a set-piece coach could be added to his backroom staff, so he would likely take umbrage again at a anyone asking whether a physical performance coach was required, given what that question would imply about his team.

Ultimately, the statistics back up the lethargic visual impression United have given fans. There are clearly mitigating factors, but it’s hard to believe United are outright at the bottom of some key metrics entirely by design.

It’s a talking point people are starting to discuss. That conversation has grown louder due to bad results.