Through eight matches of the 2019-2020 Premier League, one club has managed nine points with two wins and three draws. Their season started with a 4-0 victory at home, but the club has appeared lackluster in recent weeks, having struggled to hold onto leads while appearing disinterested at times in road fixtures. Their latest loss leaves them just two points above the relegation zone.

If one were to ask a fan what club the above paragraph described, few might guess Manchester United. But that is indeed the case.

The 20-time English top-flight champions are no longer the same team that was winning trophies left and right in the 1990s, the 2000s, and even the first part of this decade. Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013, it has been a consistent decline for the club, and worse may still be to come.

Opinions are mixed on whether to blame manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as one reason why the club is struggling, but the facts show that United were almost a polar opposite when he was still “interim manager” following the firing of Jose Mourinho. During that time, the club went on a tear in the Premier League, and staged an incredible comeback at PSG to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. Once Solskjaer was given the job full-time, the club stumbled to the season’s finish line, including a home loss to already-relegated Cardiff on the final day.

United haven’t fared much better in cup competitions, either. They needed penalties to edge past Rochdale in the League Cup third round, and while they haven’t yet lost in the Europa League group, the performances in those two matches was less than inspiring.

What the club could really use is changes in management. Ed Woodward has been chief executive since 2013, and while reports show he has been successful at making the club profit as a business, their progress on the pitch has been sorely lacking. It was not his decision that David Moyes succeeded Ferguson, but it was his call to hire Louis van Gaal, then Jose Mourinho, and now Solskjaer. There have been many instances where he has appeared out of his depth, especially with player signings, and fans (along with former captain Gary Neville) have been vocal about their desire to see him removed from football-related operations.

Manchester United head into the international break with uncertainty, and will be in the unenviable position of hosting unbeaten Liverpool in their first game back. Will this be the last stand for Solskjaer, Woodward, or others associated with the club? For some, that change cannot come soon enough.