European hangover. Fighting the tide of a new manager bounce. Several injuries. Simply a team still developing that will lose out of the blue every now and then.
There are plenty of justifiable reasons for Manchester United's 3-1 defeat by Aston Villa on Sunday that stop the loss from being a disaster of epic proportions. There's certainly no need to declare panic stations. It's going to be an arduous, bumpy road if Erik ten Hag is going to get the club back to the top and there will be many mishaps along the way.
One only needs to look at Arsenal this season to see that patience and steady progress can work. It may feel like the Gunners have come from nowhere to be Premier League title challengers but Mikel Arteta has been in charge for nearly three years and they have not all been rosy. Many times things looked bleak and his head seemed to be on the chopping block. The club held its nerve and it is paying off.
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It might take just as long for United to get back to where they want to be and that should be okay. Ten Hag has a massive mess to sort out and defeats like the one at Villa Park may one day just appear as minor blips in a remarkable story.
But if one thing can be gleaned from the match it's that United's midfield is not as well-stocked as the manager may have thought. The first-choice trio of Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen is excellent and their developing relationship has been a key driver of United's up-turn in form.
Though he continues to be a bit Jekyll and Hyde with his performances, Fred has also proven to be useful to Ten Hag, bringing the energy and tenacity he likes in the middle of the park. Which makes it stranger that the Brazilian didn't start in Birmingham in Fernandes' absence.
The Portuguese was serving a one-match suspension after accumulating five bookings and in his place came Donny van de Beek to make his first meaningful Premier League start for 701 days. The Dutchman started against Real Sociedad a few days earlier and was ineffective against opposition that afforded him much more space and time. Unsurprisingly, his performance didn't improve when both of those were drastically reduced.
Van de Beek drifted aimlessly through the game, offering no presence and United were duly outfought. With Cristiano Ronaldo remaining a static figure up top, it was as though United were playing with nine men.
It's understandable that Ten Hag wants to give Van de Beek an opportunity to prove himself. He knows first-hand just how good he can be. The manager nurtured his promise in Amsterdam and made him one of the most exciting prospects in Europe during Ajax's famed Champions League run in 2019. Though Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt earned the headlines, it was Van de Beek who provided many of the crucial goals and assists.
If he could rediscover that form then United would have one hell of a player, the one they stole off Real Madrid in 2020 in what at the time looked like a great coup. If anyone can help him do so it has to be Ten Hag. But it's looking increasingly like an impossibility. At Old Trafford at least. It's been over three years since Van de Beek was at his peak and he has now gone so long with hardly playing that he hasn't really been able to adapt to English football.
Van de Beek's performances last week may mean he has another lengthy wait before he starts in another meaningful match for United.
As well as Van de Beek, Scott McTominay has continued to be found wanting. Though the academy graduate has the physical attributes to be useful in certain situations, his lack of technical ability makes him ill-suited to Ten Hag's style and he continues to make silly mistakes. The penalty he gave away against Chelsea being a prime example.
Out of United's six senior midfielders, only half have proved themselves to be consistent performers for Ten Hag, one has had great games and poor ones while the remaining two don't appear to be good enough. That makes for a real lack of quality backup when you play a system that requires three midfielders. When even one is missing, like on Sunday, it proves costly.
As a result, it's clear that United need further additions in midfield as soon as possible, despite signing Eriksen and Casemiro just last summer. De Jong is probably still on Ten Hag's wishlist and while that is definitely a pipedream that's the sort of quality United need to be aiming for if they want to have a competitive, quality squad capable of challenging for the title.
It's highly unlikely that any money will be spent on the midfield in January. John Murtough has already made it clear United won't splash the cash in the new year. If they spend anything, it will almost certainly be on a new striker, which is needed even more.
But Ten Hag's latest transfer concern will need addressing sooner or later.
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