Title challenge playing good football.
A trophy.
Knockout stages of the CL.
Finish nó lower than 3rd.
A trophy.
Knockout stages of the CL.
Finish nó lower than 3rd.
What should be the realistic expectations for 2020-21?
- Thread starter Tony247
- Start date
Too early to say anything but expectations should increase now. For starters we shouldn't be in this top 4 rat race again in the final stages of the season. I don't expect us to win the title but we should be much closer to the champions. My expectations from ole would be to manage the squad better. It is clear he doesn't trust the likes of Mata periera. Then get alternatives and don't repeat the same mistake of overplaying players.
That’s a big ask but doable. But it’s dependant on who we bring in surely.
We finished 3rd this season but in order to challenge City and Liverpool we need additions.
I’ll be a bit more modest. 70+ points, a consolidation of top four and a good run in the CL or a domestic cup final/win.
I don’t think we can say we will easily be the third best team - Chelsea have added well and see no sign of stopping and City could go either way as they need to invest heavily after losing some of their most consistent players over the last couple of years.
All I’m really looking for is a more easy top four run, our new players all being good signings and some progression on last season.
If we continue to improve I will expect a title challenge in 21/22
I don’t think we can say we will easily be the third best team - Chelsea have added well and see no sign of stopping and City could go either way as they need to invest heavily after losing some of their most consistent players over the last couple of years.
All I’m really looking for is a more easy top four run, our new players all being good signings and some progression on last season.
If we continue to improve I will expect a title challenge in 21/22
Minimum 3 summer signings... I think Sancho is the main one to get done. I'd like a pacey CB with some maturity / experience at a top level and a deep lying play maker CM. I think with those 3 issues addressed alone, I could see another 12-15 pts added.
I think the league next year will be closer, Liverpool will start to see a drop in points. They've had 2 seasons of hitting 90 plus points, I really don't see that happening for a 3rd season running, has any side achieved 90 plus pts three years in a row? Not to my mind. Whoever wins it, I reckon 80-85pts takes it.
I'd be happy with 2nd or 3rd, depending on how we performed in other competitions and again showing genuine signs of progress, I think QF of the CL is absolutely manageable as there are so many pi$s poor sides in it every year now.
Win either Premier League or Champions League!
No, both
This is difficult to assess until the transfer window shuts and clubs are prepared for the new season.
On first glance, I’d certainly like us to be pushing for the 80 point barrier while playing a positive brand of attacking football. I’d expect us to score more goals than we have done previous years, too. Of course, the likes of Pogba, Bruno and Martial must stay fit. If they don’t, and we don’t bring in adequate replacements throughout the summer, we’ll struggle as we did for parts of this season.
On first glance, I’d certainly like us to be pushing for the 80 point barrier while playing a positive brand of attacking football. I’d expect us to score more goals than we have done previous years, too. Of course, the likes of Pogba, Bruno and Martial must stay fit. If they don’t, and we don’t bring in adequate replacements throughout the summer, we’ll struggle as we did for parts of this season.
To close the gap between United and City/Liverpool further.
One could perhaps add significantly further.
Limping into 3rd, a hundred country miles behind the winner, will NOT do next season (as per realistic expectations, that is).
One could perhaps add significantly further.
Limping into 3rd, a hundred country miles behind the winner, will NOT do next season (as per realistic expectations, that is).
I'd make a more informed post once we know how our Summer preparations have gone in regards to transfers, how much time off we're able to give the players, if we win the Europa League and of course the business other clubs do around us. However, for now I'd say:
I think a lot of fans will be disappointed if this happened (myself included), but as long as we could see some kind of improvement in the stats, I don't think it'd be a write off if we did the absolute minimum next year which is (IMO): Finish 4th, get to the last 16 of the Champion's League, and get to say a Quarter Final in the League Cup & FA Cup. It is entirely possible that we score more goals, concede less goals, play better football, win more points, win more matches, lose less, draw less, improve overall possession, finishing etc etc and still only manage to achieve that bare minimum I just posted. That's just how football is and it is always relative to how the other teams you're competing with do as well. What if we got 75 Points next year but finished just behind a rampant money-spending Chelsea to come 4th, lost in the Domestic Cup Quarter Finals to Man City & Liverpool, and got knocked out of the Champion's League in the Last 16 by Bayern Munich and finished? We could feasibly improve in every department and still come out empty handed / have a worse end result than the season before. That would be interesting to digest, but I think that would show that it's about where you finish and what you win rather than the squad's overall improvement year on year. I do think the latter is more important in the development of this Manchester United side right now, but if we can keep getting those marginal gains and improving, then our chances of having a better end result and silverware obviously massively improve.
The bottom line for me is that it's probably unrealistic to expect that we surpass one of Man City or Liverpool next term, let alone both. It's also highly likely that we can improve drastically and get more than 80 points but still finish third because these sides have proved they can average 90+ over three seasons in a row (our average over the last three seasons is 71 for comparison). So. it's a lot of ground to make up. For me, it doesn't matter so much about the overall points we get next season as long as we still finished in the top four (I don't think it matters that much about which position you are if you're not winning the title). We could get 15 more points next season and while it would look a lot nicer, if we finished third I'm not too bothered, I'd rather have it all, but if it was a case of dropping a few points to win a trophy then I'll take that as long as it isn't at the expense of Champions League football being secured.
But still, after all that waffle.. At the end of it all, if we didn't win a trophy next season and finish at least third, I think the majority would see that as a step backwards. Maybe rightly so? But if we'd have improved on points and everything else then I could probably take it on the chin if I like the football and direction we're going.
Comparison of last two seasons:
We improved our final standing by three places despite only getting the same number of points. We went better in both domestic cups. We will at least get to the same point in Europe even though it's a weaker competition. I am very hopeful that we can win this Europa League trophy this season. I see a lot of people saying we should write it off now we're in the Champion's League next season but I do not agree. If we win it this season it gets that monkey off of our shoulder. Quite a few of these players have won nothing and Ole doesn't have much as a manager either. We could end up being a bit like Liverpool under Klopp early on where they continually missed out on the trophy, but they figured it out in the end so we should be able to as well. But if we keep missing out when there's 8, 4, 2 teams left then it will have a negative effect no matter what the final prize is. Also, if people want more of an improvement, having 3rd & a trophy in the cabinet gives a lot of incentive to perform next term. If you wanna be labelled as more successful in the end, you've got to try and finish 2nd and win another trophy.
We really need those better 3-4 players who improve the squad a lot and we should be able to handle going that extra step in the cups to win one.
- Stay in the Top 4
- Win a Trophy
I think a lot of fans will be disappointed if this happened (myself included), but as long as we could see some kind of improvement in the stats, I don't think it'd be a write off if we did the absolute minimum next year which is (IMO): Finish 4th, get to the last 16 of the Champion's League, and get to say a Quarter Final in the League Cup & FA Cup. It is entirely possible that we score more goals, concede less goals, play better football, win more points, win more matches, lose less, draw less, improve overall possession, finishing etc etc and still only manage to achieve that bare minimum I just posted. That's just how football is and it is always relative to how the other teams you're competing with do as well. What if we got 75 Points next year but finished just behind a rampant money-spending Chelsea to come 4th, lost in the Domestic Cup Quarter Finals to Man City & Liverpool, and got knocked out of the Champion's League in the Last 16 by Bayern Munich and finished? We could feasibly improve in every department and still come out empty handed / have a worse end result than the season before. That would be interesting to digest, but I think that would show that it's about where you finish and what you win rather than the squad's overall improvement year on year. I do think the latter is more important in the development of this Manchester United side right now, but if we can keep getting those marginal gains and improving, then our chances of having a better end result and silverware obviously massively improve.
The bottom line for me is that it's probably unrealistic to expect that we surpass one of Man City or Liverpool next term, let alone both. It's also highly likely that we can improve drastically and get more than 80 points but still finish third because these sides have proved they can average 90+ over three seasons in a row (our average over the last three seasons is 71 for comparison). So. it's a lot of ground to make up. For me, it doesn't matter so much about the overall points we get next season as long as we still finished in the top four (I don't think it matters that much about which position you are if you're not winning the title). We could get 15 more points next season and while it would look a lot nicer, if we finished third I'm not too bothered, I'd rather have it all, but if it was a case of dropping a few points to win a trophy then I'll take that as long as it isn't at the expense of Champions League football being secured.
But still, after all that waffle.. At the end of it all, if we didn't win a trophy next season and finish at least third, I think the majority would see that as a step backwards. Maybe rightly so? But if we'd have improved on points and everything else then I could probably take it on the chin if I like the football and direction we're going.
Comparison of last two seasons:
| Competition | 2018/2019 | 2019/2020 |
| Premier League Position | 6th | 3rd |
| Premier League Points Total | 66 | 66 |
| FA Cup | Quarter Finals | Semi Finals |
| League Cup | Third Round | Semi Finals |
| Europe | Quarter Finals (UCL) | Quarter Finals (UEL)* |
We improved our final standing by three places despite only getting the same number of points. We went better in both domestic cups. We will at least get to the same point in Europe even though it's a weaker competition. I am very hopeful that we can win this Europa League trophy this season. I see a lot of people saying we should write it off now we're in the Champion's League next season but I do not agree. If we win it this season it gets that monkey off of our shoulder. Quite a few of these players have won nothing and Ole doesn't have much as a manager either. We could end up being a bit like Liverpool under Klopp early on where they continually missed out on the trophy, but they figured it out in the end so we should be able to as well. But if we keep missing out when there's 8, 4, 2 teams left then it will have a negative effect no matter what the final prize is. Also, if people want more of an improvement, having 3rd & a trophy in the cabinet gives a lot of incentive to perform next term. If you wanna be labelled as more successful in the end, you've got to try and finish 2nd and win another trophy.
We really need those better 3-4 players who improve the squad a lot and we should be able to handle going that extra step in the cups to win one.
Call me crazy but I have a feeling Ole will win us a champions league trophy boys, the script is written in the stars. He scored the winner as a player and I really really wish he will bring in another as a manager too.
I have this feeling based on his winning rate against top-6 teams. If he is not that tactical inferior to Jose/Pep then I am convinced Ole can do well in Champions league with few good additions.
Last year with that team, It was difficult against Barcelona but I do believe this year we would have got more chance against Barca with Bruno, Pogba and inform Matic/Martial.
So hope he can build on what we got and win it for us.
I have this feeling based on his winning rate against top-6 teams. If he is not that tactical inferior to Jose/Pep then I am convinced Ole can do well in Champions league with few good additions.
Last year with that team, It was difficult against Barcelona but I do believe this year we would have got more chance against Barca with Bruno, Pogba and inform Matic/Martial.
So hope he can build on what we got and win it for us.
80 points + a trophy.
3rd again but push for second and knock out stages of CL quaters maybe a trophy would be nice like the FA cup but that would be a cerry on cake situation
They start with the transfer window where realistically I want three in and one of them to be Sancho.
Then the team needs to collect at least ten points more than last season and top 4 needs repeating which will be harder than this year. Quarter finals of CL at least, FA Cup semis at least. The new signings are all successes.
No key players leave at the end of next season.
That would be a good season to me and further signs of clear progress.
Then the team needs to collect at least ten points more than last season and top 4 needs repeating which will be harder than this year. Quarter finals of CL at least, FA Cup semis at least. The new signings are all successes.
No key players leave at the end of next season.
That would be a good season to me and further signs of clear progress.
Be in the title race until February while playing attractive football.
Scoring more goals, finishing the league with more points, and a deep run (QF+) in the CL.
Let me be the twat who points out that that game finished 5-1.
PL 3rd with ease.
UCL QFs
Fa Cup final
UCL QFs
Fa Cup final
I want to see us win CL. For that I think we need a winger and DM plus backup options.
Then play counter attacking football at times and more attacking football in other games.
The biggest CL threat is probably Liverpool and Bayern. City we know how to beat more although they will be stronger.
Then play counter attacking football at times and more attacking football in other games.
The biggest CL threat is probably Liverpool and Bayern. City we know how to beat more although they will be stronger.
Results wise:
- Top 4 with at least 75 points (finishing 3rd or 4th prob., Chelsea has already strengthened their team a lot with the signings of Ziyech and Werner and will also close the gap to 2nd next season)
- Decent runs in the domestic cups
- At least last 16 in the CL
Other expectations:
Play positive, attacking football, mostly beating the lesser teams, and play smart and grind results against LFC, City, Chelsea, Spurs, Gunners and big European teams in the CL.
If the squad isn't strenghtened we will have long dips in form, so I hope the board backs Ole with some quality signings.
- Top 4 with at least 75 points (finishing 3rd or 4th prob., Chelsea has already strengthened their team a lot with the signings of Ziyech and Werner and will also close the gap to 2nd next season)
- Decent runs in the domestic cups
- At least last 16 in the CL
Other expectations:
Play positive, attacking football, mostly beating the lesser teams, and play smart and grind results against LFC, City, Chelsea, Spurs, Gunners and big European teams in the CL.
If the squad isn't strenghtened we will have long dips in form, so I hope the board backs Ole with some quality signings.
good post and sums up how i feel more or less. you could argue that this thread is a little premature since our season isn't officially ended yet with the EL still left to play for but despite the yoyo-ing of both opinions and the bile levels in them at differing points of the season, we still knew more or less what we expected of this season and where we wanted to finish, what we would have considered a success,etc. this is less obvious the following season and like you said, despite objectively performing well we may actually be more polarised as a fanbase if certain events come to pass ie getting 80 points and finishing 4th while going trophyless and being beaten comfortably by one of the creme de la creme in Europe. If that happens how many of us will still sit patiently and say he deserves another year because our ppg and xg are good, our front 3 have scored 25+ goals while our defence conceded less than 25 in the league, team spirit is good, football seems entertaining, etc rather than throwing our collective toys out of our pram? What metrics we have will decide much imo.
Lets wait and see who we bring in first.
I expect a more stable, complete team. That means more deadwood gone, more quality brought in, and more youngsters into first team players.
Didn't matter if we finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th..
CL last 16,
At least a trophy.
Didn't matter if we finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th..
CL last 16,
At least a trophy.
2nd or close 3rd with 80 points or so.
QF in CL.
Good run in a domestic cup.
QF in CL.
Good run in a domestic cup.
I'm less interested in arbitrary targets than I am in seeing more signs of development
* Continue to score goals as we have done post-Bruno's arrival
* A clear vision for how we want to approach each game
* Signs of Old Trafford becoming a fortress again
* More good recruitment
* More players becoming match winners
* A defence that can shut out games when needed
* Ole shows he's continuing to learn
That might lead us to winning something next year, it might be the year after. Either way it'll get us to the big trophies in the end.
* Continue to score goals as we have done post-Bruno's arrival
* A clear vision for how we want to approach each game
* Signs of Old Trafford becoming a fortress again
* More good recruitment
* More players becoming match winners
* A defence that can shut out games when needed
* Ole shows he's continuing to learn
That might lead us to winning something next year, it might be the year after. Either way it'll get us to the big trophies in the end.
If we bring in Sancho, a pacy CB, and a jack-of-all-trades CM, our minimum expectations should be a title challenge.
And, for the record, I think that's what we will do.
And, for the record, I think that's what we will do.
- Improvement in our overall play. Both high press teams and teams sitting deep give us trouble. Second half was lot better than first but obviously, lots of scope for improvement.
- Score more. 2 goals a game on an average is a must. So increase of 10 goals over season from current state. Not a big ask.
- Improvement in point tally. 75-80 points. Should come through above point provided we don't become worse defensively.
- Winning a cup.
1. Title challenge until February/March time, with a not astronomical drop off after that.
2. Quarter finals in Champion's League.
3. Front 3 see 50+ goals between them.
4. Marked improvement in Ole's in game management.
2. Quarter finals in Champion's League.
3. Front 3 see 50+ goals between them.
4. Marked improvement in Ole's in game management.
- 3rd/4th, but with less of a struggle.
- More development for players and team cohesion and performances.
- Good cup runs, with aiming for winning a trophy being the standard every season.
Enough progression through the year that we see a path towards a title challenge the following year.
Close the gap to top 2 and a strong title challenge all the way to the end of season the year after. Good run in cups maybe winning one.
Play attractive football as we have been and introduce another youngster or 2 to squad.
Play attractive football as we have been and introduce another youngster or 2 to squad.
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With Mourinho and LVG, our expectations were to win the premier league and champions league.
Has Ole dropped our standards so much that these can’t be considered realistic expectations anymore even when all fans can agree that this is our strongest team post Sir Alex?
If that is not our expectations next season, Ole should be sacked right now. We aren’t Spurs or Arsenal.
My expectations is to challenge for the title. With Pochettino, my expectations is come close to wining it or win it especially if he will get £150M plus to spend this summer. Plus a cup win domestic and get into the semifinals of the champions league.
Has Ole dropped our standards so much that these can’t be considered realistic expectations anymore even when all fans can agree that this is our strongest team post Sir Alex?
If that is not our expectations next season, Ole should be sacked right now. We aren’t Spurs or Arsenal.
My expectations is to challenge for the title. With Pochettino, my expectations is come close to wining it or win it especially if he will get £150M plus to spend this summer. Plus a cup win domestic and get into the semifinals of the champions league.
We've finished behind Arsenal and Spurs in 13/14, 15/16, 16/17, 18/19, and Arsenal in 14/15. So one could argue weve been worse than Spurs and Arsenal prior to Ole.
Considering that Liverpool finished on 97 points last season and 98 points this season, it's a big expectation to expect a title challenge. Klopp is just damn good and I would expect him to strengthen the squad now that he is at a much richer club than he was at Dortmund. And then I think City's moral is up after their european ban is lifted. So realistically I''m expecting 3rd, but with at least 15 more points and higher win percentage. CL quarter finals. Hopefully a Fa Cup final.
If we get in world class additions like Sancho and others, I would hope for title challenge, but we rarely have muppet dream transfer windows so i'm not expecting anything on that front.
If we get in world class additions like Sancho and others, I would hope for title challenge, but we rarely have muppet dream transfer windows so i'm not expecting anything on that front.
Too early to say, we need to see what our transfer window is like.
Top 3
Be within single digits of the title winners
Champions league QF
Be within single digits of the title winners
Champions league QF
Win a cup, get to CL knock out stages at least. A decent push for the title as well, plus keep seeing obvious improvements in players like Rashford and Martial.
Hopefully get rid of players we clearly have no use for anymore and bring in lads who can jump into the first team without us noticing any drop in quality unlike what we have now.
Hopefully get rid of players we clearly have no use for anymore and bring in lads who can jump into the first team without us noticing any drop in quality unlike what we have now.
We should be winning the league next year. If we can win the league since Bruno joined us then it should be replicateable over the span of an entire season, especially if we add the likes of Sancho.
Can anyone find the similar thread made for 19/20 season a year ago?
Edit: Found it, wow that was sad!
Edit: Found it, wow that was sad!
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1) Top2 challenge or a comfortable 3rd
2) 80~ points
3) CL Quarter final
4) FA or Carabao Cup final
5) Introduction of new academy talent into the cup teams.
6) Revitalization of the "ole out?" threads when we lose to any team whatsoever
2) 80~ points
3) CL Quarter final
4) FA or Carabao Cup final
5) Introduction of new academy talent into the cup teams.
6) Revitalization of the "ole out?" threads when we lose to any team whatsoever
Closer to the league leaders, cement ourselves in 3rd position and do well in all cup competitions.
I'd say within 10 points of the eventual winner (as long as we have a good transfer window)
I'd say within 10 points of the eventual winner (as long as we have a good transfer window)