Man Utd: 5 Reasons Why Red Devils' Title Challenge Is Over

4. Robin Van Persie

If ever you doubted the impact of one player, this is the season to revise that doubt. In stark contrast to the situation at Liverpool and to last season, United's season has been marked by the lack of impact their star striker has had on proceedings. While Luis Suarez is currently taking the league by storm (again), Robin Van Persie has scored 7 goals and played just 11 times this season; injuries having a massive impact on his playing time. On the pitch, he's failed to have the same game-changing impact of previous seasons, possibly due to injury, and he looks a shadow of the player who has been so important for both United and Arsenal in recent seasons. Last season, his 26 league goals were an integral part of United's title win. He's one of the main reasons they won't win this year; more for his absence than his presence, because a hole like that in the scoring charts is not easy to plug at all, especially now that 20 goal a season strikers are becoming a major rarity.