MANCHESTER UNITED - SEASON REVIEW

-By Varun Sangwan

Manchester United finished as the best out of the rest in the Premier League and reached three semifinals in the Carabao Cup where they were beaten by Man City 3 - 2 on aggregate, beaten by Chelsea 3 - 1 in the FA Cup and by eventual Europa League Champions Sevilla 2 - 1 in Cologne. We take a look at what we achieved , what went wrong and where do we aim from here...

1. A SEASON OF GOOD CHEER

In my opinion this is the best Solskjaer could have gotten out of this squad and I'd count this season as a win as we accomplished our main objective - getting back into the Champions League again. It is where we belong and frankly, a club of our stature doesn't deserve to play Thursday night football. Not winning a trophy was a disappointing end to the season especially as we really could have won at least one of the FA Cup or the Europa League if luck had gone our way. Regardless, we Manchester United fans can count this season as one of our better ones considering the dark times we have had to witness since Sir Alex's departure.

The start to the season was exhilarating, a 4 - 0 win against Chelsea at Old Trafford probably raised our expectations a bit too much as what followed was nothing short of disastrous. Continuous defeats and the inability to create something against the teams that sat in a low block and looked to defend had the Red Devils in a dire position as we looked and played like a mid-table club. Most of the fan base had turned and everybody was calling for the head of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ed Woodward because at a point in the season even European football seemed a dream but managing to get Champions League football from there was nothing short of remarkable. Of course much of that came from Bruno Fernandes' contributions as our Portuguese Magnifico single handedly lifted our sinking boat from the abyss and steadied the ship. The Red Devils were now playing in 'The United Way' as Solskjaer described it and they looked a real force to be reckoned with as they would now outrun and outscore their opponents in a nonchalant manner. Post lock-down, when football resumed we continued from where we had left and with Leicester and Chelsea dropping points in some game weeks, we finished as the third best team in England as on the final day we beat Leicester City 2 - 0 in a do-or-die fixture, one which would make or break our future. 

However there were some weaknesses that were highlighted - some we need to improve upon and this time it is up to the board to deliver because Solskjaer held up his end of the bargain. Our squad was a victim of fatigue as there were very few players on the bench that Solskjaer could look towards to change a game - something he once specialized in, and had to rely on his first team squad to grind it out and get us a result.

2. WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO , NEXT SEASON...

Our next season's aims should be fairly simple and we should not get too excited and say that we are going to win the title next season. We need to be thereabouts and should be looking for a solid 3rd place finish as Manchester City and Liverpool, I am sorry to say are miles ahead of us. In the Champions league we should be looking to make it to the quarter-finals, possibly even the semifinals and we need to win at-least one trophy and should target The Carabao Cup or the FA Cup or both as we  have a realistic chance.

In the transfer market, the board needs to deliver some reinforcements for Ole as he needs bench strength in the long run as we will face injuries and fatigue like towards the end of the season and we need to have capable deputies for each position. The main positions that we need to target are a backup Left Back, a replacement for Nemanja Matic, a right winger and probably a pacy centre back.

With Dean Henderson apparently not going out on loan to any other club, we might actually see a shift in between the sticks at Old Trafford. Luke Shaw will probably be available to start the season and we need to try keeping him injury free, considering how much we missed him while he was gone. Also in my opinion - Diogo Dalot should be used more often. He is versatile and gives a capable option at left back, right back and also the right wing where he used to play when Solskjaer was interim manager.

3. PLAYER OF THE SEASON

ANTHONY MARTIAL : The impact of Anthony Martial is always felt in a game. When he plays well,  the team as a whole reflects that. Martial enjoyed his best ever season in a United shirt as he regained his preferred number 9 spot and shirt number as he ended up being our top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions. There were many people who had written him off and some still do but he rose to the challenge as United lascked a natural number 9 after the sale of Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan and made the position his own...

50 million down the drain they said.. How wrong they were...

4. YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON

MASON GREENWOOD : This goes without saying - Mason Greenwood is one of the best U-21 players in the world right now and the future looks bright for the 18 year old. Greenwood enjoyed a record breaking debut season where he bagged 17 goals in all competitions putting him in the company of George Best and Wayne Rooney as the top teenage goal-scorers in United's history (all three tied on 17). A nightmare for defenders to deal with, Greenwood has shown that he has the ability to create something out of nothing as 7 of his goals had an xG(Expected Goals) of less than 0.1 i.e. it goes in less than 1 out of 10 tries and also can make an impact off the bench whenever necessary. Greenwood's two footedness is almost impossible to deal with - that coupled with dead eyed finishing giving the impression that Van Persie is back among us..

He scores with his left and he scores with his right....

5. SIGNING OF THE SEASON

BRUNO FERNANDES : The impact of Bruno Fernandes probably saved Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's job as The Red Devils were down and out before he came in and he changed the outlook of the team and the dressing room. Suddenly we looked like a dangerous attacking side who will chew you up if you give us half a chance. Fernandes has only seen 2 defeats since January and both were semi-final defeats. A relentless stat padder with ice cold blood in his veins, he is now United's chief set-piece taker and knows how to deliver. His stats are a joke for a player plying his trade in the Premier League (not the Portuguese Premier League by the way) and he contributes to a goal every game and has created the most chances for a United player even after only joining in January. He has had the Eric Cantona impact and he can only climb further from here..

6. MOST IMPROVED PLAYER

SANTOS FRED : Last year, everybody was touting Fred as a flop, saying that England was a huge step up from Ukraine for the Brazilian midfielder and the fee of £50 million was way too much. He still hasn't justified that price tag mainly because it is Ed Woodward's fault but has come a long way this season and has become one of the most consistent performers this season in his new destroyer type role where everything that moves in a 5m radius around him gets tackled. He was never meant to be a box to  box type midfielder but rather focusing on the defensive side of things and has finally come good this season.

7. GOAL OF THE SEASON

MARCUS RASHFORD : There was only going to be one winner here. Don't get me wrong there were plenty of great goals scored this season - from outside the box curlers to fluid and deadly counterattacks and even a keppie-uppie goal from Ighalo, but Rashford's free kick from 35 yards out against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup will probably go down as one of the best United goals in history.

8. MOMENT OF THE SEASON

SCOTT MCTOMINAY : I'm sure all United fans will agree with me, the moment Scott McTominay smashed that ball into an empty net against our local rivals Manchester City deep into stoppage time was the one where we all got off our seats and cheered on. After immense pressure from City to get a goal, that one moment was where we all heaved a sigh of relief in what was the most nail-biting of all encounters this season..

Red Lettered Day!!! Ederson's day to hide, Solskjaer's day to look up to the heavens and say I've doe the double over the neighbours..

9. MATCH OF THE SEASON

MANCHESTER DERBY AT OLD TRAFFORD : As mentioned above, it was probably the most nail biting encounter of the season even if there were plenty of matches to pick from...

Leave your thoughts in the comments on who you thought deserved to win Player of the year or other awards...

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