It’s been a good season

[fergiethegoat]

Well no, it isnt the truth.
At all.

Losing FA cup final doesnt portray the whole season especially not the way you do it.
We've improved masively compared to last season, OT is a fortress, lost one game whole season, ETH winning percentage is the best since Fergie, new players have in majority been a success and I wouldnt call Antony a dross by any means. Sure there were hickups and problems (away form being one) but general direction is a good and positive one.
We were hammered by Liverpool and City sure but bounced back every time. Not to mention Liverpool will play Thursday night football.
We didnt go out vs Sevilla cause of ETH subs.
Strange you feel dejected but each on their own.

Losing the fa cup final doesn't portray the whole season but neither does winning a third rate trophy after having the easiest fixture list in the history of the cup. We had 10 home games most of which were against terrible opposition and
You say Ot is a fortress but as you acknowledged our away record is terrible. against the top 8,7 losses and 1 draw and 0 wins.
Its the same old story with us one step forward two steps back the only difference is we managed to mask it with a third rate trophy after having the easiest run ever.
And make no mistake about it Liverpool and Chelsea won't be as forgiving next season.

 

[justsomebloke]

I mean it's the truth is it not?
Its a very average season considering in the way we lost the fa cup final with two pathetic goals which highlits the mentality of our team,threw away a genuine chance of winning the europaleague due to ten hags ridiculous subs and getting absolutely hammered by pool and city.
Add that to the fact that the glazers are staying and we still have a lot of dross in our team. Eriksen,De gea,Sancho,Martial,Anthony,Wout etc
I feel completely dejected.

....and what exactly did you expect? Looking at things objectively, you'd be hard pressed when the season started to see United as a lock for top 4. At most, one would have argued they were in a group of 4 teams with a real potential to fight for the last two top 4 spots, and if I had to rank those 4 teams, United wouldn't have been among the top 2. Winning the Carabao cup matters, and reaching the FA Cup final is also above expectation, as it would be for teams that looked stronger than United did prior to this season. The european campaign was disappointing, and so was the series of ugly away losses to top teams, but all in all the results have exceeded reasonable expectation.

 

[Ted Lasso]

We've been decent but won nothing of note. City are about to win the treble and we had a part to play in that.

Hard for this to be a good season, we're not Arsenal over here.

I'm of the mindset that this is not because of this season but a decade of negligence of ourselves and not taking City seriously. They were signing Robinhos, David Silvas, Agueros and Yaya Toures while we were on Obertans, Zahas, and Michael Owen types. Practically gave them Tevez.

 

[Smores]

I wouldn't say it's been a good season as we're still below expectations but it has been an effective transitional season.

All we needed as fans was a bit of hope and going into next seasons with a few signings I think we'll all have that.

 

[padzilla]

I would say it has been a better season than last year but with some absolutely crushing lows. That's probably to be expected with a new manager and a team in transition.

Let's hope this is a team in progress under ETH rather than as good as it gets. He's taken us to the same level that Ole was at in his peak - that's nothing to really shout about but from where we were this time last season to now - you'd have to realistically be okay with that, but not jubilant.

 

[UDontMessWith24]

As is the case with the other end of season thread, there are posters with very shallow outlooks and understanding of football at this level.

First of all, high intensity systems take time to implement, and doing so year 1 with a squad that has quite a few players who don't have the attributes to execute said system is practically impossible. What's more is these players spent 3 seasons playing under a manager that could not assert himself in the dressing room and hold players accountable for not working hard on the pitch, so such a steep climb in fitness and work rate requirements was never going to come without any bumps in the road. If you factor in having to play midweek fixtures for five straight months, (which is absolutely bonkers from a fitness pov alone) there was no opportunity to lay a substantial foundation on the training ground. He also came into a squad that has been built by individuals that had no business at the positions they were inexplicably allowed to hold. You're not turning that around with one transfer window. If you're failing to take any of this into account, learn some football.

In addition to all this, ETH came into a dressing room that was severely fractured as a result of a grossly underqualified manager being on the job for as long as he was. That he was able to pull the team together is a minor miracle, and a testament to his leadership qualities. If you've overlooked this and don't think he deserves a ton of credit for pulling it off, again, go learn some more football.

Under these circumstances, if your expectations are founded in reality, you know we've had a great season that leaves plenty of room for optimism. We conceded just under 40 percent of our league goals in 3 out of the 38 matches. If that doesn't scream outlier to you lord help you. We now have a manager with a clear vision, that was able to instill some accountability and maintain the respect of the players. We have seen glimpses of brilliant football and an identifiable style of play that has proven to be effective, CL football to go along with a very attractive project, and a manager that in his first season has made playing for Manchester United mean something again.

 

[fergiethegoat]

....and what exactly did you expect? Looking at things objectively, you'd be hard pressed when the season started to see United as a lock for top 4. At most, one would have argued they were in a group of 4 teams with a real potential to fight for the last two top 4 spots, and if I had to rank those 4 teams, United wouldn't have been among the top 2. Winning the Carabao cup matters, and reaching the FA Cup final is also above expectation, as it would be for teams that looked stronger than United did prior to this season. The european campaign was disappointing, and so was the series of ugly away losses to top teams, but all in all the results have exceeded reasonable expectation.

Tbh maybe its because I've been supporting united for 24 years and have seen us win everything there is to win, (champions league twice,premier league about 8 times,fa cup 3 times,carabao cup many times) that my expectations/standards are not that low
To me this is an average season at best.
And I'm happy we won the carabao cup because its in the history books but how important is it in the greater scheme of things? because we've won cups with lvg and jose and were still shit for many years after.
We even finished 2nd under both ole and jose and again we never kicked on and made progress.

 

[Real Name]

Losing the fa cup final doesn't portray the whole season but neither does winning a third rate trophy after having the easiest fixture list in the history of the cup. We had 10 home games most of which were against terrible opposition and
You say Ot is a fortress but as you acknowledged our away record is terrible. against the top 8,7 losses and 1 draw and 0 wins.
Its the same old story with us one step forward two steps back the only difference is we managed to mask it with a third rate trophy after having the easiest run ever.
And make no mistake about it Liverpool and Chelsea won't be as forgiving next season.

In a 38 games season 19 games are at home at which we've beaten Liverpool, City and Arsenal.. Your post is clueless.

 

[justsomebloke]

Tbh maybe its because I've been supporting united for 24 years and have seen us win everything there is to win, (champions league twice,premier league about 8 times,fa cup 3 times,carabao cup many times) that my expectations/standards are not that low
To me this is an average season at best.
And I'm happy we won the carabao cup because its in the history books but how important is it in the greater scheme of things? because we've won cups with lvg and jose and were still shit for many years after.
We even finished 2nd under both ole and jose and again we never kicked on and made progress.

Well, maybe it's because I've supported United for 45 years that I've realised that operating with fixed expectations isn't so much "standards" as idiot entitlement. This isn't the 90s, and we've a ways to go before we've earned the right to start talking about titles.

 

[Gycraig]

Tbh maybe its because I've been supporting united for 24 years and have seen us win everything there is to win, (champions league twice,premier league about 8 times,fa cup 3 times,carabao cup many times) that my expectations/standards are not that low
To me this is an average season at best.
And I'm happy we won the carabao cup because its in the history books but how important is it in the greater scheme of things? because we've won cups with lvg and jose and were still shit for many years after.
We even finished 2nd under both ole and jose and again we never kicked on and made progress.

We haven’t been a top team for years though ? Standards / expectations have to match reality or they are pointless,

The team needs judging as it is now not as it was when Fergie was winning trebles.

If you consider what reasonable people expected at the start of the season vs how it ended up it has been a good season. Most pundits barely had us scraping 5th or 6th

 

[MrBest]

Given last season, this crop of players, the ronaldo situation, the owners situation, I think ETH has brought back heart to this club. We lost once in the league at OT, the first game versus Brighton, we finished 3rd with 75 points, the second highest since Fergie left (I think) and we won our first cup in 5 years. The football has not been pretty, we have not scored enough but this happens over time. We are in transition again, we need a good summer of signings, and quickly and therefore a very good pre season. I think this season has been great and I see a good future with the Hag. We have not seen his typical style of player, he learnt to adjust it based on what he had. He also had the same issue we saw during Ole reign, the depth is rubbish and we cannot trust the bench. With a better squad and more rotation, next year could be very exciting.

 

[Partridge]

Overall, I am very happy with the progress ten hag has made with the team. We have had some magnificent games, games where we have played, modern football, and looked good doing it. Still have issues to sort out, dead wood to get rid of, but I'm pretty confident, currently. The only thing that can seriously derail the squad is the whole takeover crap.

 

[Colin Clarke]

Overall for this squad and a new manager this has been a good season. Seriously nobody could have expected to get this much out of the squad left by Ole. I'm not blaming Ole, there has been woeful recruitment and contract extensions since 2013 and the damage has reared its head. But now the club has to do what it has been notoriously abysmal at doing over the years, back the Manager in his second season. Get rid of the dead wood and get him the players to continue improving our squad. Fail to do so and despite all Ten Hag's efforts we will fall back again.

 

[Lentwood]

It's been an excellent 18-months. I always said Woodward leaving would be the biggest catalyst for change and we have seen that already.

I am not saying that Arnold et al are geniuses, but they're not as stupid/ignorant as Ed Woodward and we have already stopped making basic off-the-pitch mistakes (scattergun recruitment, ill-fitting managerial hires, ludicrous salaries, ridiculous contract extensions etc...)

On the pitch, it's also coming together, ETH is clearly a great coach and a great man-manager. He is the first manager we have had since SAF who doesn't look overwhelmed or daunted by the role, which comes across with his manner and his efficiency in dealing with problems

 

[Jeppers7]

As is the case with the other end of season thread, there are posters with very shallow outlooks and understanding of football at this level.

First of all, high intensity systems take time to implement, and doing so year 1 with a squad that has quite a few players who don't have the attributes to execute said system is practically impossible. What's more is these players spent 3 seasons playing under a manager that could not assert himself in the dressing room and hold players accountable for not working hard on the pitch, so such a steep climb in fitness and work rate requirements was never going to come without any bumps in the road. If you factor in having to play midweek fixtures for five straight months, (which is absolutely bonkers from a fitness pov alone) there was no opportunity to lay a substantial foundation on the training ground. He also came into a squad that has been built by individuals that had no business at the positions they were inexplicably allowed to hold. You're not turning that around with one transfer window. If you're failing to take any of this into account, learn some football.

In addition to all this, ETH came into a dressing room that was severely fractured as a result of a grossly underqualified manager being on the job for as long as he was. That he was able to pull the team together is a minor miracle, and a testament to his leadership qualities. If you've overlooked this and don't think he deserves a ton of credit for pulling it off, again, go learn some more football.

Under these circumstances, if your expectations are founded in reality, you know we've had a great season that leaves plenty of room for optimism. We conceded just under 40 percent of our league goals in 3 out of the 38 matches. If that doesn't scream outlier to you lord help you. We now have a manager with a clear vision, that was able to instill some accountability and maintain the respect of the players. We have seen glimpses of brilliant football and an identifiable style of play that has proven to be effective, CL football to go along with a very attractive project, and a manager that in his first season has made playing for Manchester United mean something again.

100% great post.

 

[nickm]

Tbh maybe its because I've been supporting united for 24 years and have seen us win everything there is to win, (champions league twice,premier league about 8 times,fa cup 3 times,carabao cup many times) that my expectations/standards are not that low
To me this is an average season at best.
And I'm happy we won the carabao cup because its in the history books but how important is it in the greater scheme of things? because we've won cups with lvg and jose and were still shit for many years after.
We even finished 2nd under both ole and jose and again we never kicked on and made progress.

The difference is that Ten Hag clearly has a strategy to build for the longer term, and Ole and Jose did not. In your assessment of the season, you have ignored the foundations he has been laying to enable this "kicking on and making progress". Even if he's not been able to make all the progress everyone would have liked this season for reasons of injuries and fixture congestion, there have been good signs, especially before the World Cup, of what that vision might look like.

So yes, knowing we have the right manager, getting CL qualification, re-establishing the importance of winning trophies, knowing what a United type player looks like, showing tactical intelligence: we feel like a club with a sense of direction again. If that's not a good season, in the context of our recent form, then what's the point.

Just knowing we're playing in the CL again, back where we belong - that's a good season!

 

[Colin Clarke]

For this actually squad this has been a very good season. None of us believed United would finish 3rd, win a cup and reach the FA cup final. For the club it has been an improvement but we can't settle for that. We have to push on. United over the years have slipped up time and time again by resting on their laurels and thinking the next season will be like the last. BIG MISTAKE. Next season I expect Pool, Chelsea and maybe Spurs will come back fighting while both Arsenal and City are looking to improve their squads and go again. We need to do the same not just to compete for top four but to have a chance of challenging for top spot. We need serious improvement in all positions in the squad and we need to jettison the dead wood which are keeping the squad from full and proper improvement.

 

[colombianmancunian]

It was a good season. A solid 7-7.5/10. We won a trophy, reached another final (which we lost due to individual mistakes) and finished third with 75 points. All that while having no reliable number 9.

 

[frostbite]

No, it wasn't a good season. I am glad it is over. The past 2 months have been depressing. City won a treble. We were destroyed by Sevilla. We were bad in the FA cup final. And in most of the games we won, we did not really play that well. Earlier this season, we lost 7-0 to Liverpool who did not have a good season either...

No, this wasn't a good season. It wasn't as bad as the Ralf season, but it wasn't good either.

 

[sdb4884]

The last two weeks have made it much more forgettable. Ironically the late Queen Elizabeth said the treble might never be repeated, well not in her lifetime anyway.

 

[Mylock]

I would rate this season a good season with this current squad but only decent when you compare where we need to be.
ETH has a plan and hopefully he'll be allowed to implement it. vital that he can make the changes that he'd life on players in and out.

 

[Remember the geese]

No, it wasn't a good season. I am glad it is over. The past 2 months have been depressing. City won a treble. We were destroyed by Sevilla. We were bad in the FA cup final. And in most of the games we won, we did not really play that well. Earlier this season, we lost 7-0 to Liverpool who did not have a good season either...

No, this wasn't a good season. It wasn't as bad as the Ralf season, but it wasn't good either.

Of course it was a good season. Relative to where we have been lately anyway. 3rd in the league, won a trophy, finalists in the FA Cup. We didn't play too badly in the final either. 7-0 is a bad scoreline, but it doesn't render the whole season as useless. Another team winning a treble is an irrelevance. We look at ourselves and where we have ended up.