Every year the team of the season is announced and without fail there is a strong Manchester United presence… until 2014.
The Old Trafford club will be lucky to have any players selected among the Premier League elite.
It is an incredible indictment of the David Moyes tenure that none of his players will be rated among the best players in the Premier League this season.
Moyes has largely the same squad that cantered to the title last season by 11 points but has struggled to coax performances out of the Premier League champions.
Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Robin van Persie and David De Gea were selected in the team of the year but only the 23-year-old goalkeeper is a possibility for this year’s team.
Ferdinand, Carrick and Van Persie have all gone backwards as players under the former Everton manager, while it is hard to think of a player who has shown signs of improvement under his tutelage.
During his time as manager of Everton, Moyes always set up a side that were strong defensively, yet he has failed to recreate that solid platform at Old Trafford.
Having conceded 37 goals this season no defender has looked worthy of being named in the team of the season.
The long-time trusted partnership of Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic has fallen by the wayside with both players beginning to show their age.
Ferdinand’s decline has been so swift that having been named in the team of the year last season, he is no longer first choice at the club. The 35-year-old’s contract is up in summer and is unlikely to be renewed.
His former partner at the heart of the United defence has struggled with injuries over the past two years and will also be leaving the club in the summer – Vidic has already agreed a deal to join Inter Milan next season.
None of the players hoping to replace the experienced pair have coped well with the pressure that comes with playing for such a prestigious club.
Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling have been terrible this season failing to provide adequate protection for De Gea, who has had to bail them out too often.
The lethal combination of creativity and destruction that epitomised United’s midfield during their dominance of English football has totally disappeared from view.
Moyes has tried a number of different combinations to fill the void left by the retirement of Paul Scholes but to little success.
Tom Cleverley has been the victim of criticism from all corners of the country including one radical fan creating a petition against his inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s England squad.
However the young midfielder has been left out to dry by his more experienced partners.
Carrick has been pale imitation of his former self, instrumental in helping United to the title last year by providing a calming presence in the midfield, but this year he is struggling to impose himself in the biggest games this season.
Marouane Fellaini’s performances have become so lacklustre that many United fans believe that they would have fared better in the second-half against the Manchester City had the 26-year-old been sent off.
Arguably the worst signing of the season, Fellaini has yet to find the back of the net in the league for United or even contribute an assist. The only contribution he has made for the club is leaving an imprint of his elbow on the jaw of Pablo Zabaleta.
Even former legend Paul Scholes criticised the Belgian, explaining that the club should have expected more from the former Everton midfielder since his £27.5million move in the summer.
Historically United have had dynamic wingers but under Moyes this has disappeared.
Gone is the fast-paced, counter-attacking style that was synonymous with Sir Alex Ferguson, replaced with a plodding, ponderous style devoid of any invention under his successor.
Antonio Valencia was of more use when he was out with a broken ankle, Juan Mata is wasted out on the wing and Ashley Young does not take his chances when presented with an opportunity to start.
The only glimmer of light in this dark and dismal season has been the prospect of Adnan Januzaj. The talented multi-national teenager has quickly shown he has maturity that belies his age.
In Wayne Rooney and Van Persie United hold a combination of forwards that strike fear into every defence in the league.
Rooney has often dragged United single-handedly to victory this season and it is hard not to admire his performances, but the sheer quality of the players competing to be named in the team of the year in his position is overwhelming.
Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez have been incredible this season with an almost telepathic understanding of where each other will be on the pitch.
It is going to be a crucial summer at Manchester United, and the failure to provide a single representative to the Premier League team of the season just emphasises the dismal job Moyes has done since replacing Sir Alex at the helm of the Old Trafford club.
Main images courtesy of Carl Recine/Action Images, with thanks.
