Mediocre Man Utd have drifted so far even Newcastle will fancy their chances

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer branded the plastic pitch here as one of the worst he had ever seen.

Unfortunately for Solskjaer, his Manchester United side is also turning into one of the worst the world has ever seen.

This dismal stalemate extended Solskjaer’s winless away run to 10 games since being made United’s permanent boss, a miserable record that has lasted 212 days and shows no sign of ending.

United’s failure to find the back of the net means Solskjaer’s side have now scored just seven in their last nine games – pitiful when you consider Manchester City plundered eight in one game.

But this is what United are right now. A mediocre outfit who have lost their fear factor at home and abroad, their former aura of invincibility now seeming like a warped trick of the mind.

There was no guile, no goal threat and no shot on target from this United side, one that is currently just drifting, with no identity and seemingly no sign of a way out of the fog under Solskjaer.

Alkmaar, third in the Dutch league, were by far the better team, their enterprise and endeavour deserving of a goal, while United played without clarity of thought or discernible game-plan.

Alkmaar had the ball in United’s net in the 10th minute, through striker Myron Boadu, but his diving header, which flew past De Gea, was ruled out for offside.

De Gea was forced to make a vital save low down to his right, four minutes later, keeping out a goalbound shot from Oussama Idrissi, as the hosts set the tone for the night.

United were forced into a policy of containment with Alkmaar pressing and it took Solskjaer’s side until the half-hour mark to create their first chance, which they could not even get on target.

James slung in a cross from the right, which was met by Mason Greenwood on the edge of six-yard box, the 18-year-old forward’s effort blocked by former Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar.

The first-half ended with United in retreat and Alkmaar asking further questions, forcing a seventh corner of a first-half in which they were utterly dominant.

It amounted to a familiarly dismal first-half for United, one which laid bare their shortcomings, particularly offensively, with Daniel James, Juan Mata, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood lacking any real threat.

Alkmaar continued to cause United problems at the back after the break, Dani De Wit coming close to scoring in the 51st minute, only to see his near post effort fly across the face of goal.

The home side appealed for handball a minute later, when 18-year-old United defender Brandon Williams – given his first start – appeared to handle Idrissi’s delivery, but ref Gediminas Mazeika was not swayed.

In a rare foray towards Alkmaar’s goal, Angel Gomes produced a effort that would have been more at home at the rugby World Cup, high over the bar and into the stands behind.

Solskjaer bemoaned the failure of the ref to award a penalty when Marcus Rashford, who came off the bench, went down in the box, but to focus on that perceived injustice was churlish from the United boss, on a night when his side were lucky to come away with a point.

To compound United’s misery, sub Jesse Lingard limped off with a hamstring injury in the late on, although given he has not scored for 21 games, he is unlikely to be missed.

Newcastle, whacked 5-0 by Leicester last weekend, are up next for United, a contest between two teams who contested the title more than two decades ago, but who have since lost their way.

The most damning indictment of this United side is that Newcastle, second from bottom with one win all season, will fancy their chances. That is how far the Reds have fallen.