Thank god this season is finally over. As Manchester United’s worst ever Premier League campaign comes to a close let’s have a look at five things that we learnt watching the Red Devils this season.
Defence
Where else to start but at the back. This season Manchester United have been awful defensively. We have conceded 57 goals in the league, the worst in United’s Premier League history. Ending the season on a goal difference of 0 for the first time in United’s Premier League history. We used to break records for all the right reasons. Well not anymore, now we’re breaking all kinds of terrible records that indicate how poor the team has been this season. To reinforce just how bad the defence has been, Burnley, who have been relegated, conceded fewer goal than us this season.
So why have we been so poor at the back? Signing Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw coming back from a strong Euros and the seeming resurgence of Diogo Dalot. All of these seemed to be good signs. Signs that this team could maybe push on and cement another top four finish and perhaps challenge for some trophies. How wrong we were. Varane only played 22 games in the league, missing the rest due to various injuries throughout the season. Maguire and Shaw looked nothing like the players that we saw at the end of last season and through the summer for England. And Dalot has looked decent in some games but nowhere near the levels defensively that we need. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has fallen off a cliff and looks lost whenever he plays. And Alex Telles isn’t at the levels that we need from a fullback. Add all of that together and we begin to see why our season has been so poor defensively.
Mentality
Far too often we have seen United drop points against teams worse than us. It was only Norwich from the bottom half of the table that we beat both home and away. That is simply not good enough. Sir Alex used to say that the only way these kinds of teams get something from us is if they want it more. And far too often this season we have seen a lack of desire and focus from the players. We have seen these lacklustre performances in the devastating losses to both City and Liverpool.
As if that isn’t bad enough, worse still is this weak mindset coming through against lesser opposition. We saw it in the final game of the season, even with new manager Erik ten Hag watching on these players couldn’t muster up enough to beat Crystal Palace. A Palace team that had a good season by all accounts yet still finished 12th. How can these players have the audacity to represent our great club? Something needs to change come next season. The fact that they can’t seem to put in the effort, follow instructions. There has to be a huge cultural reset before United can get back to where they need to be.
Ronaldo
The GOAT! Our saviour this season, Cristiano Ronaldo. Without Ronaldo we could most likely be in a much worse situation than we currently find ourselves in. For some people this man was a problem. How can someone who has scored 18 goals, nearly a third of the team’s total goal tally for the season be a problem. Without some of Ronaldo’s crucial match-winning goals, we could have been much further down the league. Perhaps in those dreaded Europa Conference spots or even without European football, a position Manchester United should never expect to be in. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he has been perfect this season. I think there are times when his leadership could’ve been questioned. Times when as the most experienced player in that squad he arguably should have looked to drag the team through and rally around him. But what I don’t think we can fault is his undeniable goal-scoring instincts.
Reliance on other teams
It seems difficult to write about United at the moment and not have a discussion in the context of the other teams in the league. The reason we have ended up with a spot in the Europa League and not the Conference League is because West Ham didn’t beat Brighton. Whilst I am of course happier with this outcome, I don’t think United really deserve to be in that competition if you consider how poor we have been playing, particularly towards the end of the season. And then if you look at the top of the table, the only way we can get some joy as fans from this season is seeing our biggest rivals not winning as many trophies as they think they should’ve done. Taking joy in Liverpool not winning the league, or City being knocked out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion. As funny as these moments are at the time and the reaction on social media, these frankly just serve as reminders of how far off Manchester United is as a club.
Look ahead to the future
This season was a right off. Let’s forget about it and move on. The ten Hag era has officially begun. And after his first press conference people are rightfully excited about what he can bring as the new manager. I think what impressed me most about his press conference was the manner in which he gave his comments. Obviously the things he said were relatively expected there wasn’t anything that was too out of the blue. But his demeanour was rather stern and very serious. I liked this. He kept his answers short and to the point. I think this shows where his focus lies, with the football. And this has to be the case.
There is so much work that needs doing, ten Hag doesn’t need to spend time putting on a show in front of the media. Hopefully this stern stoic nature will translate to getting a tune out of some of these players and will help bed in some of the young talent that we have coming through. I’m sure that the likes of Elanga, Garnacho, Hannibal, Garner and various others will be excited to try and prove themselves for a new manager. A manager at that who likes to give young players a chance. With the gaps in this squad and the inevitable lack of investment from the owners, this could be a chance from these academy products to breakthrough and shine.