Are you optimistic about the new season?

[Lemansky]

I have been a lurker of these forums for years and post here from time to time. The last year I have seen a lot of negativity on here, negativity that I don’t think is rational at all.

We should appreciate the fact that we support a club capable of challenging for the biggest trophy’s, we are competitive in the transfer market, have local players in our squad and also have a truly beautiful history.

I am very optimistic for the coming season and our future in general. We have a very competitive team now for the first time since SAF retired. It has a good mixture of youth and experience. Players like Lingard, Rashford, Lukaku and Pogba etc will most likely continue to improve. With a couple of key signings we should be in a very good position going into the new season. I also think Alexis will have a great season. He will now have a good summer of rest and also get a proper pre-season.

Fellaini signing a new contract ain’t the end of the world, he is a squad player that has limited playing time. If he signs a new contract he is a Manchester United player and should have our support.

What are your expectations for the new season?

 

[P-Nut]

I think the lack of transfers is what's running the negativity at the moment. It's hard to remember that no club has really made many signings and we just focus on our own lack of activity.

If a couple of our weakest areas are addressed we'll see the positivity return hopefully.

 

[Ødegaard]

Carefully optimistic.
I think & hope we'll sign a left-back. I believe based on what I've read that Fred will improve our midfield and that he can cover for Matic if he is to be injured.
Retaining Fellaini despite how he plays means we can spend more in other areas.

If we don't sign a left-back then that alone will make me go from carefully optimistic to somewhat pessimistic.

 

[Roboc7]

Expecting something similar to last season, don’t see where significant improvement will come from.

I expect us to buy Willian and a CB which will improve the team but we will still play same style of football and I don’t think we will have the attacking quality either collectively or individually to get enough points to compete for the title.

 

[el3mel]

No need to be pessimistic about anything. I'm always optimistic till something changes this.

 

[Siorac]

No, I see little reason to be optimistic. A few more transfers might change that but as of now I expect a long, tedious slog like last season.

 

[Minimalist]

Optimistic in the sense that until the season really gets going, we have no idea what's going to happen (to an extent).

PL winners tend to struggle to defend their title in recent years so we've got that going for us.

I'm not particularly enthusiastic about the players/management right now coming off last season but we'll see how it goes.

 

[PeteManic]

No. It'll be same old tumescent shit. Top 4 finish. Mourinho defending his legacy. United to buy Bale summer of 2019 when Neymar arrives at Real Madrid. Bale injured by Hallowe'en.

 

[poleglass red]

Hard to say right now, I still think there's more players to come in and more to leave. Right now due to the world cup, everything is kind of on hold. We still need improvements to challenge for top spot.

 

[breakout67]

Are you really a football fan if you aren't excited about a new season? Isn't that the whole point of football, to go again?

If you can only get excited if we are the best team or are the most entertaining in the land then what of the people that support clubs that have no chance of any of those things?

We have young players that are going to get better (Rashford, Martial, McTominay, Dalot), we have a new highly rated midfielder. If we get a new RW and LB, then I can see us getting 90+ points and competing in the CL.

 

[Raw]

I'm cautiously optimistic. I don't think we'll shit the bed as hard as we did in the CL and that's always exciting. The PL will be tough but I can't see City having a monstrous season like they did, and I can see us improving on some results.

Problem is the boring football. I can see us having a similar start as last season where we blew some teams away but over time became more and more defensive, then a completely tumescent second half of the season. That's just how Mourinho does it. If we're going to be boring we fecking better be effective.

Also depends on the transfers we make. Fred and Dalot are good signings, but they don't make me excited. We need a RW so bad.

 

[Adisa]

Neither optimistic or pessimistic. I am trying not to think about it. But saying that, I'm scared the football will be just as tumescent.
There was an ever-increasing apathy watching us play last season and I'm worried it won't take long to creep in again.

 

[Lemansky]

Are you really a football fan if you aren't excited about a new season? Isn't that the whole point of football, to go again?

If you can only get excited if we are the best team or are the most entertaining in the land then what of the people that support clubs that have no chance of any of those things?

We have young players that are going to get better (Rashford, Martial, McTominay, Dalot), we have a new highly rated midfielder. If we get a new RW and LB, then I can see us getting 90+ points and competing in the CL.

Thoroughly agree with this.

I accept we where not the most entertaining team last season. But it’s the team I support through thick and thin. Think about supporters of clubs like Blackburn and Sunderland... we are on top of the food chain, and should appreciate this more as supporters. We have a genuine chance of winning trophies, not many other clubs have that.

I believe that football is all about cycles. And now we are at a point where it’s only a question of time before we enter one of our successful cycles again.

 

[Rash Decision]

Excited to see if the new coaching team will make a positive difference. The player transfers don't really affect my outlook much.

 

[dannyrhinos89]

I’ll reserve judgement until the window shuts but...

If Fellaini signs an extension (looking likely )
Martial leaves
Young and Valencia are our starting wing backs again.
We don't sign a RW.

We can write off the season before it starts.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Meh, not really, dreading just seeing the same abject performances as last year. If we make a muppet signing then maybe it might raise my hopes more but in all honesty i’d Settle for replacing Young and Valencia and switching to either a diamond or some variation of 352.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Are you really a football fan if you aren't excited about a new season? Isn't that the whole point of football, to go again?

If you can only get excited if we are the best team or are the most entertaining in the land then what of the people that support clubs that have no chance of any of those things?

We have young players that are going to get better (Rashford, Martial, McTominay, Dalot), we have a new highly rated midfielder. If we get a new RW and LB, then I can see us getting 90+ points and competing in the CL.

The fans of those clubs are just like us. Sometimes excited, sometimes apprehensive or ambivalent depending how many reasons for optimism there were over the course of the previous season. The only difference is that their expectations are different. If they're feeling pessimistic they'll worry about relegation, while pessimistic United fans worry about falling out of the top four.

I'm definitely in the ambivalent camp because:

a) I didn't enjoy watching us for most of the latter half of the season
b) Liverpool (fecking Liverpool) looked fantastic at times last season and have done what looks like excellent business already
c) Our manager is a sour prick who could suck the joy out of a bouncy castle and has a worryingly recent record of catastrophic failure.

All of which means I'm absolutely struggling to feel up-beat about 2018/19 right now. Obviously, hope springs eternal, and if we win our first few games then I'll go all in on the inevitable giddiness that we'll see on here. Meanwhile, colour me not excited. Not even close.

I couldn't care less about who we do/don't sign either. You'd have to have been living under a rock to fail to notice the - in the recent history of Manchester United - there's been a glaring disconnect between money spent and performances on the pitch. Remember how hyped we all were when we signed Di Maria, Falcao and Pobga?

 

[Hansa]

I'm definitely in the ambivalent camp because:

a) I didn't enjoy watching us for most of the latter half of the season
b) Liverpool (fecking Liverpool) looked fantastic at times last season and have done what looks like excellent business already
c) Our manager is a sour prick who could suck the joy out of a bouncy castle and has a worryingly recent record of catastrophic failure.

All of which means I'm absolutely struggling to feel up-beat about 2018/19 right now. Obviously, hope springs eternal, and if we win our first few games then I'll go all in on the inevitable giddiness that we'll see on here. Meanwhile, colour me not excited. Not even close.

My view exactly. I don't even care who we sign at this point, being unconvinced that our general approach to games will change next season.

 

[iluvoursolskjær]

I want to be excited and optimistic but can’t shake off the feeling that the football will continue to be uninspiring no matter who we sign. Mourinho already lowered expectations by constantly banging on about how hard it will be to catch City because they’re so far ahead and this will not be down to himself ok because check his resume ok and also our football heritage while you’re at it.

Stay tuned for the Jose Mourinho show.

 

[charlenefan]

I think the lack of transfers is what's running the negativity at the moment. It's hard to remember that no club has really made many signings and we just focus on our own lack of activity.

If a couple of our weakest areas are addressed we'll see the positivity return hopefully.

Indeed, I hoped we'd be further along than we are even though Fred and Delot were done really early and it's the not knowing what areas we're targeting is also an annoyance because we looked all set to be getting a top CB and LB but have both been ditched now to get a Ronaldo or Bale instead?

But yeah City have yet to get Jorginho and Marhrez done, Chelsea still dont even know who their manager is next season, Spurs haven't got anyone and no one really cares about Arsenal anymore

 

[Hawks2008]

Expecting more of the same for next season but we'll see how the transfer window goes.

 

[Hawks2008]

I'll reserve judgement until the window is closed but right now I'm expecting more of the same.

 

[Random Task]

My view exactly. I don't even care who we sign at this point, being unconvinced that our general approach to games will change next season.

The tactical approach won't change one iota next season and anyone who believes otherwise is in for a rude awakening.

 

[TheReligion]

OP it's the Caf.

Most people here are shit scared of their own shadow let alone a new season of football.

 

[MUFC OK]

Not in the slightest, it's a case of hoping we improve despite a lack of quality reinforcements, and the same deadwood players that have let us down time and again still kicking around the club.

Top 4 battle and a cup run..

 

[Alfie092]

I want to be excited and optimistic but can’t shake off the feeling that the football will continue to be uninspiring no matter who we sign. Mourinho already lowered expectations by constantly banging on about how hard it will be to catch City because they’re so far ahead and this will not be down to himself ok because check his resume ok and also our football heritage while you’re at it.

Stay tuned for the Jose Mourinho show.

Feel the same as you, I want to remain excited and I am because I am confident Lukaku would only continue to get better, that the likes of Pogba and Sanchez would show their worth with the help of Fred in midfield. With De Gea also apparently set to sign a new dea, that is a huge positive too.

But as you said, in the back of my mind, I am scared Jose will not change his ways and that would have an impact on our attacking play. If we were not to sign any more players or if we signed bang average players (not United quality players) then I would find it difficult to see us overturning City, unless Mourinho changes his ways and gets more out of the players we currently have.

I do still believe we will sign 2-3 more players and because of the World Cup certain deals are put on hold. Just hoping we are not holding onto any hopes of signing a player like Bale only for the summer transfer window to shut without signing Bale and without addressing other key areas.

 

[Kapardin]

I genuinely have no bloody clue how we will perform, what we will win or where we will finish results wise. 6th to 2nd is a big swing.

However, if we don't sign anyone else, and if Jose doesn't do better in terms of tactics and set-up, the only thing I'll be sure of is more shite football with grinding out the results. Fred alone is not going to make our style of play more fluid.

 

[Hojoon]

Yes. I'm excited about what the changes in coaching staff will bring, to see how new signings are and the progress of the players we've already had.

 

[Camilo]

It's the style of play that keeps my pessimism front and centre. I just don't enjoy watching us play. I don't see that changing...

 

[Pogue Mahone]

OP it's the Caf.

Most people here are shit scared of their own shadow let alone a new season of football.

How did you get the idea people are scared? The general vibe seems more like weary resignation.

 

[Brophs]

Not really, no. I think we're rapidly approaching the end days of Mourinho at the club. I struggle to see him being here in 18 months, due to the fact that I struggle to see us overhauling City this season. It just looks too big a swing. And tbf, some of that may just prove to have been down to timing. City are flying at present and he arrived to a wildly disjointed club and squad, that needed huge work - on that point, I think, probably for reasons of them having massive contracts, we're still heavily overstocked with players who have been proven not to be good enough - and history might show that he did a very unglamorous, but necessary job.

 

[sunama]

I think the lack of transfers is what's running the negativity at the moment. It's hard to remember that no club has really made many signings and we just focus on our own lack of activity.

If a couple of our weakest areas are addressed we'll see the positivity return hopefully.

Agreed.
We have only bought one player to strengthen our midfield (I don't count Dalot, as he is a youth player who probably won't get many minutes, due to age and lack of experience). Other than the one player, our team is basicaly the same as last season, so expect more of the same. Now, if we were to buy another 2 first team players - this could propel us closer to MCFC.

 

[AndyJ1985]

No. We're not going to suddenly transform from a boring team into an exciting team. Pretending otherwise will only set myself up for disappointment when a month into the season reality takes hold.

 

[ash_86]

Very much excited about the new season. Want to know what Fred could do for us in the middle. Ima lso excited to see if McKenna could work his stuff to get us flowing better. Excited about new boy Dalot , who many Porto fans are raving about. So lots of things to look forward to. This is one of the seasons that i know we will do very well.

 

[King7Eric]

Always excited for a new season to start but not really expecting us to win any big trophies this season. We don't have a good enough team and seem unwilling for whatever reason ( Jose's preference or lack of funds or whatever) to really revamp the squad. Our manager also seems a bit tactically stubborn these days so not really expecting us to win anything.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Not really, no. I think we're rapidly approaching the end days of Mourinho at the club. I struggle to see him being here in 18 months, due to the fact that I struggle to see us overhauling City this season. It just looks too big a swing. And tbf, some of that may just prove to have been down to timing. City are flying at present and he arrived to a wildly disjointed club and squad, that needed huge work - on that point, I think, probably for reasons of them having massive contracts, we're still heavily overstocked with players who have been proven not to be good enough - and history might show that he did a very unglamorous, but necessary job.

Agree with all of that post, depressing as it may be.

Even the hint of optimism you close with might be misplaced, seeing as the Mourinho era has, so far, been more associated with giving out massive contracts to players who arguably don't deserve them than getting rid of players whose current contracts should never have been offered to them in the first place.

 

[buckooo1978]

I'm always optimistic

if we don't have any more signings we still on paper have a team capable of playing exciting football and challenging City

it's the reality of Mourinho that is likely to bring me back to earth

 

[Lemansky]

Agree with all of that post, depressing as it may be.

Even the hint of optimism you close with might be misplaced, seeing as the Mourinho era has, so far, been more associated with giving out massive contracts to players who arguably don't deserve them than getting rid of players whose current contracts should never have been offered to them in the first place.

I understand that the play at times has been boring, but I am positive we will see us better next season.

Regardless of that Mourinho has done a very good job with the squad management. His signings are solid, and we don’t have the funds to revamp over night.

Many of our players are also paid very well, so the market to sell in ain’t big and often for cut prices because of wages.

 

[King7Eric]

How did you get the idea people are scared? The general vibe seems more like weary resignation.

Pretty much this actually. I don't know who to blame even, it's just a sort of feeling that it's just not gonna happen. At the moment our biggest competition for the league ( City) have better players, certainly a more in form if not better manager and more money. We need something special to turn the tide, who or what it is I don't know.

 

[Paxi]

I'm a bit of both. Hope that McKenna and your other man will freshen our approach and style of play. As for the signings the club are going to make - well we only have to look at out recent history to know that signings largely mean nowt until they put the jersey on and start playing. Though, I'm excited that we're signing relatively young players.

Also I'm weary of Mourinho. I know it hasn't happened all the time but he's never too far away from an absolute meltdown of nuclear proportions.

So it's a mixed bag for sure. I'm always looking forward to new season but this time I'm a bit apprehensive.