In this issue’s Know the Opposition section, the ‘Interesting Stat’ has perhaps been misnamed. The fact that around half the team that were outrun, outfought, and outplayed by Everton in 2019 played last Saturday having suffered seven four-or-more-goal defeats last season is either absurd, alarming or depressing, rather than interesting.

Since the Everton defeat, United have signed three right wingers, two aging strikers, two left backs, two number tens, a couple of big-money centre halves and a Tom Heaton. And yet somehow, Fred, Scott McTominay, David de Gea, Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot remained to play prominent roles at the weekend.

The recruitment team, it seems, have failed to find anybody even capable of offering those five players a competitor to their starting spots.

Perhaps Lisandro Martinez will, after a period of adaptation, take over in defence alongside a fit Raphael Varane, and we can finally stop talking about Maguire. After all, he is not just the defender to have been a part of so many thrashings, he is the captain that failed to muster a response to any of them.

Regardless, it is beyond concerning to note that an injury to Fred or Scott McTominay would leave United with no senior midfielders capable of playing a holding role, even before discussions over whether those two have the ability to start so many games for the Red Devils. Rashford has hit the heights before, but for over 18 months now, form, injuries, and crises of confidence have derailed his early promise. And yet – save for a short period where Anthony Elanga usurped his starting spot – he has still been one of the first names on the team sheet whenever available. As for De Gea and Dalot, their limitations have also been well-known for some time.

If the recruitment staff at United need a starting point from which to identify targets, perhaps they should consider trying to replace the players who just keep letting us down?

And they should not fear doing it quickly.

There is a common misconception that a new regime should be wary of “rocking the boat” with too many changes or new arrivals in a short space of time. Of course, a settled team can be built upon brick by brick – and there is value to that – but the idea that evolution is always better than revolution is misplaced. After all, United are not in a position by which they can expect the current squad to “evolve” into a good team in a natural manner, any more than one could hope for a tumour to evolve into a functioning organ.

Liverpool and Manchester City currently top the pyramid of English football, having emerged from unfancied positions. They did not inch their way to the top – they exploded into challengers. In Liverpool’s case, they kept spending money badly until they got it right, going through huge squad changes window after window until they stumbled upon Jurgen Klopp’s vision. In City’s case everything happened a lot faster, due to them spending more money more quickly and moving players on with haste.

We are now seeing two more takeover revolutions in the Premier League, with Chelsea spending big despite finishing 3^rd and Newcastle (while still seeming more sensible than many thought they would be) spending around £150m this calendar year to consolidate their Premier League position and aim for a top half finish.

Then you have the North London clubs, each having revolutions of their own right now without the mess of a takeover – just two clubs backing their managers to the hilt with wholesale changes to their first teams, backroom staffs, and background operations.

In a league where everyone has the money and conviction to make vital changes quickly, showing neither is a sure-fire way to fall behind and United have plenty of catching up to do as it is.