Man United and Tottenham DISASTER ratings: Two of the Premier League’s most underachieving sides meet, but who has it worse with injuries, the board and the players?

Tottenham host Manchester United in a bottom-half Premier League clash this weekend and, fortunately for one of them, they can’t both lose.

It’s been a season to forget for both sides, who currently sit 15th and 14th respectively in the table. United, 20-times English football champions, are on track for their worst-ever season, somehow worse than the disaster of 2023-24 under Erik ten Hag.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are the same. Their current total of 1.12 points per game is worse than the 1.16 they picked up in the 1997-98 Premier League season when they finished on 44 points – their worst-ever total.

A win for either side on Sunday, however could finally kickstart their season. Not to much – Spurs are out of the running for every trophy apart from the Europa League – United also have the FA Cup – but it’s a starting point.

But how bad do both sides really have it? What’s to blame? And is there any way in the short term at least that their issues can be fixed?

Mail Sport looks at the disaster ratings for each side, rating seven key areas of both clubs out of 10 and delving into where their problems really are.

Spurs are 14th and out of  the League Cup and FA Cup, now fighting in only the Europa League

United, meanwhile, are 13th and continue to struggle since Ruben Amorim’s arrival as boss

Manager

Tottenham: In theory, these two sides have two managers that could be at opposite ends of their tenures.

Ange Postecoglou is over a year-and-a-half into his stay in north London, and has at times been hanging onto his job by a thread. Spurs are failing in every competition apart from the Europa League, have had some embarrassing defeats and every press conference seems to involve the Australian snapping at a reporter.

Still, he maintain the faith of the powers that be. Other things have happened seemingly out of his control – more on that later – and it seems he will be given a fair crack at things once he has a fully fit squad available.

Still, it’s been way below par and it feels as though the trigger could be pulled any moment. 4/10 

Man United: Ruben Amorim seemed to signal a fresh start at Old Trafford, but it’s been anything but so far. United keep falling to defeats, and Amorim hasn’t been shy of expressing his views in the media either.

A clash with Marcus Rashford has been the main plot line of his stay so far, while a refusal to budge from his favoured 3-4-3 is starting to raise eyebrows.

United would be right to stick with him, but the potential for another disaster and managerial change is already there. 6/10 

Ange Postecoglou has seemed to be holding onto his job on more than one occasion this term

Amorim, meanwhile, has only overseen a handful of games but continues to find things tough

Board

Tottenham: ‘We want Levy out.’ They are the chants that are regularly heard around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium these days.

Since Daniel Levy took over as chairman in 2001, it’s been up and down for Spurs – their shiny new ground in north London shows there has been some good to go with the perceived bad.

But no trophy since 2008 and a ‘Spursy’ tag ultimately comes down to one man. That’s not stopped him trying – and Spurs will always be stable off the pitch – but football success is what, for many, matters most. 4/10

Man United: The same song was used in Manchester in reference to the Glazer family until Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake and took control of footballing matters nearly a year ago.

But on-field matters are still a disaster, and regular budget cuts across the club seem to be causing unrest among fans. Dan Ashworth was brought in as Sporting Director and quickly dismissed, and there’s a general feeling of ‘what’s next’?

Ratcliffe has a long way to go yet to win over United fans. 5/10

Tottenham fans have regularly been calling for chairman Daniel Levy to leave the club recently

Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues to make his mark on United with regular cost cutting inside the club

Transfers

Tottenham: Spurs and Levy spent big in the summer, recruiting Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall. While Solanke and Bergvall have settled well, Gray has played out of position all season and Odobert has a long-term injury.

In January, it was a patching-up job, with Kevin Danso and Antonin Kinsky arriving to give support amid injuries. Mathys Tel, though, is their signing of the season, and Spurs will be pleased if they can make that permanent.

Still, they need more. But in the last two transfer windows, it’s been pretty successful, although some Spurs fans may disagree. 8/10

Man United: Like Spurs, United spent big in the summer on the likes of Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte and Matthijs De Ligt, with Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui also arriving. There’s been a mixed return on their investment so far.

In January, their hands were somewhat tied from a PSR perspective, with Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven the only arrivals. Antony and Rashford left on loan, but there need to be many more outs in the summer. 6/10

Mathys Tel has been the highlight of what has been a positive few Tottenham transfer windows

United, however, have had a mixed return on their four big-name summer signings

Injuries

Tottenham: There’s no sugarcoating it. Tottenham have been decimated by injuries this season.

Their current injury list includes Dominic Solanke, Richarlison, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario and Radu Dragusin.

Other stars – Micky Van De Ven and James Maddison to name just two – have also been in and out the side with issues. Is it Postecoglou’s fault? Hard to know for sure. But it’s not helped his cause in terms of having players available for selection.

Seeing the players written down makes it easier to understand why he is still being backed. It doesn’t get much worse. 1/10

Man United: United have had to deal with injuries this season, but not much more than any other side, and certainly not on the same level at Tottenham.

That was until this weekend. 

Lisandro Martinez’s ACL injury was a huge blow, while Luke Shaw continues to struggle for fitness too and had made just one league appearance this season. Mason Mount is also currently sidelines.

But things came crashing down on Saturday when it was revealed that Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte had both suffered injuries, while Mail Sport exclusively broke that Amad Diallo could miss the rest of the season. Problems. 4/10

Spurs have been depleted in terms of personnel with countless players out injured

United haven’t had too many injuries to deal with, but Lisandro Martinez is out for the season

Players

Tottenham: One of the arguments of the ‘Ange in’ Spurs fans is that Postecoglou doesn’t have the players available to him to play the way he wants to, as the song goes.

A high-pressing, all-aggression game is tough when you have so many first choice players absent. Again, is that his problem? Maybe. Or maybe the players just aren’t good enough.

While the likes of Archie Gray and Djed Spence have stepped up in defence, players such as Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma have struggled further forward.

Son Heung-min, meanwhile, looks a shadow of his former self. Spurs fans will be hoping for a busy summer window. 5/10

Man United: All you have to do at United is take a look at their forward line. Just three goals between them for Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee so far this season. Scott McTominay has more on his own since his summer exit to Napoli.

Kobbie Mainoo has been trialled up front, the wingers have struggled to becoming No 10s and the defence is being swapped every week.

Some have said United need a whole need squad to suit what Amorim wants to do. They may be right – he did brand them ‘the worst side in the history of the club’ after all. 3/10 

There have been suggestions the Spurs players are not good enough to play the way Postecoglou wants to

Amorim recently branded his United squad ‘the worst side in the history of the club’

Tactics

Tottenham: There’s not much focus on formation with Postecoglou – more his approach to matches.

Often criticised for failing to adapt, it was pretty much 100mph or nothing, and it was a tactical approach that saw his side come unstuck on a number of occasions.

Recently, we have seen him adapt a little more, allowing teams to have the ball, though it’s not bought much more success. It will be interesting to see if that sticks in upcoming games. 5/10 

Man United: It’s 3-4-3 or nothing for Amorim. You don’t like it? Appoint a different coach, he says.

After Gary Neville voiced concerns that Amorim is struggling to sell his ideas to United’s players, Mail Sport reported that some have discussed among themselves whether a change of plan that is better suited to their style of play may be the best way forward.

If the players themselves are questioning it, there’s not much hope. There’s no better flow or any clearer identity since Amorim took charge either – but the formation won’t change soon – so get used to it. 5/10

Postecoglou has faced criticism this season for his apparent refusal to adapt during games

Amorim refuses to budge on his favoured 3-4-3 system despite concerns from his players

Season overall

Both United and Tottenham have a long way to go to get back to their best. It’s clear there are issues at both clubs both on and off the field, and it will take time.

There are reasons to be cheerful – Amorim is starting a project, players are starting to return to fitness at Spurs, and both sides will strengthen in the summer transfer window. 

But a lack of success this season, questionable tactics and poor players have contributed to this campaign being a bit of a disaster for both Tottenham and United. 

Totals:

Tottenham 27/60

Man United: 29/60