Soccer Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Manchester United - London Stadium, London, Britain - December 23, 2023 West Ham United's Mohammed Kudus scores their second goal Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 45 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS.
(Reuters) - Former Manchester United players Paul Scholes and Gary Neville expressed their disappointment at their old club's performance after Erik Ten Hag's side fell to a 2-0 Premier League defeat to West Ham United on Saturday.
West Ham's Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus scored second-half goals at the London Stadium to condemn United to their 13th defeat in all competitions - their most losses at Christmas since 1930, when they were relegated from the top-flight.
United, eighth in the standings and eight points off the top four, have struggled in front of goal, failing to score in four straight games in all competitions for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
They have just 18 league goals in as many matches, with only bottom-club Sheffield United having scored fewer. In their 18 league games, United have failed to score in seven.
"There is no threat to the team. This is a very patched up team you have to say," former midfielder Scholes told TNT Sports.
"You spend a lot of money on players, expecting a lot more from them. Not happening for (Marcus) Rashford either. Easiest thing to coach in football is defending, hardest thing is to teach them to how to score goals.
"That has to come from the players. It is seriously lacking. It's getting embarrassing, creativity is the big problem."
Ex-defender Neville slammed United's inconsistency, telling Sky Sports: "It doesn't surprise me at all. What we're seeing from this team, under any manager in the last seven or eight years, is pretty much the same.
"You can't trust them, they will let you down. They give you a glimmer of hope and then they go and lose a game they shouldn't lose.
"We're watching an inconsistent bunch. Inconsistency is a really bad trait, in all walks of life."
United next host third-placed Aston Villa in a league clash on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)
