I think people have lost a bit of perspective since there has been such a lack of football over the last 3 months.
Our squad overall looks better this season than last - albeit most of it is based on potential of the youngsters. If either one of Greenwood or Gomes has a breakout season like Adnan or Rashford did, we will be in a good position at the end of the season.
That’s the only if I’m my mind. I think our midfield issues are being overplayed because of Matic’s decline. However, he is still good enough to play against teams in the lower half of the league and dominate midfield. Scott McT last season showed that he can step up for big games, and Fred has had his one season of bedding in. (Lucas Moura at Spurs is a great example of how the second season can be a significant upgrade from the first). We have 4 players to play 2 positions, of which 1 player is one of the best around.
There is a long way to go before we have a proper title challenging squad, but this season was never going to be about that. We need to use this season to identify our playing style, make sure we get into top 4, give our youngsters a break in chance, and then reassess our squad next summer.
If some of the questions get answered in the positive, then we may need only a few tweaks to challenge again. The ones that are answered in the negative need to be actively resolved.
At least Ole seems to be putting together a new core team which will be together for 4-5 seasons, and will want to stay at United. I’m super sick of the mercenary nature of our previous signings. For e.g.
1. Rom has quit at first sight of a challenge
2. Matic lost his legs after 16 months
3. Di Maria, Falcao, Bastian, etc. etc.