I can feel it. We won't win the title and we are not in the Champions League, but there's lots to look forward to and hopefully the last 6 years starts to look like a distant memory come May.
This one post is better than anything @VeevaVee has ever postedI'm looking forward to the new season, for a number of reasons.
- Our transfer spending is targeting young players to suit our system - Maguire (26 but a good age for a CB) helps us massively in playing out from the back, James' pace and fitness helps hugely with our press and AWB is a huge upgrade on Ashley Young. No more splurging for the sake of splurging (though I am nervous with how we use Dybala if we do land him).
- We have a lot of exciting young players coming through our academy - Greenwood, Gomes, Chong, Garner and Tuanzebe should be looking to integrate into the squad this season, following Lingard, Rashford and McTominay.
- Martial's looking sharp in pre-season - his effort has always been lax, but he seems to be behind Ole's pressing plan. Get a player like him in form and we look very dangerous.
- Pogba looks to be staying for at least another season - whatever you say about him, his passing is absolutely world class when he's on his game, and he's proved that already a number of times this pre-season. He's like Yaya Toure running with the ball when he's on form (though he obviously has huge consistency issues).
- We finally have a coherent system - the 4-2-3-1 with a press from our young team with upgrades from the summer's business, while surely not challenging for the title, will at least see us challenge for the top 4. Get Champions League football next year, and we could see Sancho in 2020...?
My main worries are the lack of deadwood movement (Sanchez, Rojo, Jones, Bailly, Young and Darmian should all be gone) and how Dybala fits in to our system should we get him, but I'm far, far happier than I was this time last year.
- There's also much more positivity around the club in general - Ole constantly looking at the positives, keeping all trouble behind closed doors and no stories of mutinous players.