Winning matches with an economy of flair would be acceptable at most clubs, but not, it seems, at Manchester United, where even the defenders are bemoaning the absence of the captivating football that took them to the top-flight title last season.

Their mystifying series of 1-0 wins was extended to six in eight matches after the Champions League encounter with AS Roma at Old Trafford on Tuesday and, while that scoreline might be richly satisfying for some successful teams in recent history, most obviously Arsenal under George Graham, there is a feeling among United’s playing staff that winning alone is not enough.

“We’re winning games, but we’re not entertaining the fans,” Rio Ferdinand, the United defender, said. “The whole heritage of Manchester United is based on attacking football, free-flowing football.”

So what has turned United, last season’s great entertainers, into a team who have managed less than a goal per game in the Barclays Premier League and have scraped two flattering 1-0 wins over Sporting Lisbon and Roma in the Champions League? It is certainly not a change in philosophy or tactics, with the summer signings of Nani, Anderson and Carlos Tévez pointing to an even greater commitment to attack. The problem is that things are not clicking on the pitch.

The most straightforward explanation is that many of United’s principal attacking players are feeling their way into the new season, which has been a stop-start affair because of injury (Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha), suspension (Cristiano Ronaldo) or, in the case of the three new signings, teething problems at Old Trafford. Tévez, with the notable exception of his goal against Chelsea, has yet to get going as a United player. But, slowly, they are coming into form, whether in terms of goals – Ronaldo, Rooney, Tévez and Saha are now off the mark – or performance, with Nani finally showing something of his promise against Roma.

“Sometimes you go through these spells, but it won’t last for ever,” Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, said. “Some day we’re going to score a few goals, no question about that.”

That day might feasibly come on Saturday, when Wigan Athletic are the visiting side at Old Trafford. Under Paul Jewell, they shipped 16 goals in five games against United. Chris Hutchings, Jewell’s successor, can only hope that his team show greater resistance.