In what seems to be a very long season for Manchester United and it’s players, a lot has happened, and for the first time in a good number of years, fans can be happy with the progress they made and be optimistic about the ones to come. Erik ten Hag came from Ajax, after what looked to be the worst second half of the season under Ralf Ragnick’s interim stint, which despite not being productive in terms of wins on the pitch, his brutally honest opinion on staff, players and everyone around the club helped to pinpoint where the problems are at.
Join us as we continue to review the top clubs season’s in the Premier League, make sure to check out our other blogs on how Newcastle’s season unfolded, Arsenal’s title charge, Chelsea downfall and much more.
BIG DECISIONS
Being a Manchester United manager is never easy, especially when things are not going well. Over the course of 2021-22, Manchester United let go of the following members of staff: the manager, assistant managers, the executive vice-chairman, the director of football negotiations, the chief of staff, the chief strategy officer, the director of communications, the chief scout and the global head of scouting. This exodus makes up a great chunk of the club’s hierarchy, and with just one man to iron things out, it’s a tall order.
Manchester United are always in the headlines, but this season the stories around them were positive, suggesting that they are a competent, well-run club. There was good football on the pitch and reasonable decisions off it. The Cristiano Ronaldo saga dragged on, and with such a big name being dragged into the mud, it’s great to see that the manager is given the thumbs up by the devoted Mancunian fans, after all that.
Other big decisions were made in the first few weeks with Manchester United in terms of recruiting. His call to bring in Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro together with young left-back Malacia worked wonders. Many questioned his decisions, especially with the hefty fees paid for ex-Ajax players and also regarding the ability of the Argentine to handle the English game due to him being comparatively short. These qualms were squashed when he played an instrumental campaign with Argentina and lifted the FIFA World Cup, and put in some dominant displays with his club.
SILVERWARE
In terms of trophies and the progress made in the respective competitions, Manchester United took advantage of their luck in the Carabao Cup, sealing the title with a narrow win against Newcastle, reached the final of the FA Cup and lost out to the eventual champions Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-finals. The number of games played by United during this season took a toll on the squad, with the manager’s reluctance to rotate his squad, it was an even more difficult task to go all the way in every competition.
The best moments came at Old Trafford, the first victory of the Premier League coming against Liverpool was key, the victory against Manchester City was also a mood lifter, thanks to some wayward refereeing. The highlight came when Antony curled one in against Barcelona to make the scoreline 2-1 in the Europa League play-off. United scratched and clawed their way to a win against the eventual La Liga champions. That win showed off just what United are capable of doing when everyone is on the same wavelength.
WORST MOMENT
As good as the performance against Barcelona was, there were equal or more disappointing results along the way. Most of these occurrences came away from home, with one coming against Sevilla when United squandered a two-goal advantage, but the worst was at Anfield. United shipped seven goals which as a scoreline is and will be for a long time their worst-ever defeat. Liverpool had their special goalscoring boot on whilst Ten Hag’s tactical plans fell short.
The trip to Anfield came as United started edging into the title conversation. Liverpool made it clear that despite the drastic improvements made, they are way off the mark to compete for the Premier League title.
FUTURE
With the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, last season Marcus Rashford was the primary source of goals, and if he did not find the net, the whole team struggled to find an outlet to win games. If you wish to read more about the goalscoring woes of last season, we dedicated a whole blog on it explaining in more detail. A forward is key for the success of the squad next season, with many reports stating that Harry Kane might become available after yet another disappointing season. Competition for his signature might come from Real Madrid as Karim Benzema left Europe to join Cristiano Ronaldo and many other stars in the Saudi League.
The goalkeeper situation is still undecided at United, with David De Gea yet to decide his next move or if the club wants to move towards a different direction.
The overarching question will be the takeover and who will be the owner of the club going forward. This situation has been dragged on for far too long, players and manager would want stability going into the transfer market. Some players might have played their last game for United with many reports suggesting that Anthony Martial, Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay might all leave the club in the Summer to make way for others.
A pivotal summer is on the horizon for Manchester United, and there might be hope that they might become a treat to the big guns next season, although the competition might be a bit more tough with Newcastle, Chelsea, Liverpool and potentially either Brighton or Aston Villa ready to take advantage of any slip-ups.