What should be the realistic expectations for 2020-21?

MuFc_1992

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If someone offers me top 4, I'd bite their hands off tbh. Our squad depth is still really poor and Chelsea have improved massively and now have a better team than us. I also expect Spurs to do better because Mourhino is usually good in his second season.
 

RedRonaldo

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Top 4. There is still a large gap between us and Liverpool/City. Chelsea is ahead of us too in terms of squad depth/quality, but not sure how their news players would gel.
 

red4ever 79

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I would say top 4 but also highly depends on whether we sign Sancho and a CB. If we get those two in then we should be pushing for 2nd or 3rd.
 

AneRu

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4th to 6th imo because Chelsea, Liverpool and City will have too much quality for us so the best we could do is 4th but that also depends on how good Spurs, Arsenal and Leicester will be.
 

Untd55

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We have Fernandes for the entire season, which should increase our points total alone. So I would say, just based on that, we should get 75 points. Add in De Beek, and I think we should get at least 80 points.

If we get Sancho, then it should be at least 88 points.

Spending would be at nearly £350m under Solksjaer if we signed Sancho as well, so expectations should be very high.
 

Paul_Scholes18

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To win it! That should be our aim and also to win all the cups and do well in CL.
For an ok season then I say if we win something it is a good season.
top 3 is fine too in the league.
 

Fosu-Mens

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Top 4 and 70+ points.

If we sign Sancho and a capable attacking fullback, we should aim for 80+ points.

No chance we are close to being on City and Liverpools level yet. The midfield and attacking starters (with Sancho) might be individually on the same level, but we are so far behind in regards to movement, pressing, overall technical ability, mutual understanding and being able to pass and operate as a unit.
 

Sandikan

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Top 3/4 is our absolute ceiling as things stand.
Add Sancho and a starting centre back of pace and we have half a chance of really competing.
 

nickyboy1981

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We have proven we can beat anyone in the league on our day. I expect we will start strong and be running close up until Christmas when other teams strength in depth might be our undoing.

I'll be happy with top 4 but would like to see a marked improvement against so called lesser teams. Last 16/quarters in champs league depending on who we draw and i'll consider it a good season.
 

OrcaFat

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To win it! That should be our aim and also to win all the cups and do well in CL.
For an ok season then I say if we win something it is a good season.
top 3 is fine too in the league.
Yeah, feck it, I don’t see why we can’t win it. It won’t be a failure if we don’t but let’s start out with the notion that no opponent is too good for Man Utd to beat. It’ll take a bit more belligerence than we’ve shown in recent years but I’m optimistic.
 

SWE-Chucky

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All depends on how many more and of course who we bring in. Lets say (dream) that we buy Upamenco, Reguilon, Sancho and and a backup striker, we should be fighting for place 2-4 with City and Chelsea. If we dont buy anyone else besides VdB then top 6 is more realistic, Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and maybe even Everton (who has a decent eleven) all can fight for first 6 positions togheter with us.
 

cyril C

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We got 66 points last season. With Bruno on day 1 we should have gotten 76. With further reinforcement, I expect 80 points. May be a low 80s won't make much difference on position, but this is a good start.
 

Strelok

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Tbh if we buy Sancho I'd expect us to deliver a good challenge for the title. But no Sancho then imo a top 4 is more realistic. We can't expect our trio attackers to be injure free and keep banging the whole season, that's unrealistic.

CL is another story though. Imo we still lack the experience and depth required to seriously compete in both CL and PL at the same time. But it's a cup so some luck and we may reach a semi I think.
 

dabeast

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Imagine your mood if Rashford and Greenwood has not emerged. The only reason why we are upbeat is because we have been handed £300-400m (prices pre-COVID) by our Academy. Without that we would still be far away from CL places.

#GlazerrsOut
 

edcunited1878

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75+ points and top 4.

Squad isn't good enough nor do we know if they can sustain at minimum their individual and collective output from last year. Realistically if Martial, Rashford, and Greenwood gain more consistency and increase their total goal/assist output, then United should at minimum sustain their league table position from last season.

Liverpool and City have the more consistent and better players. They also have the more experienced and better managers than any of the other top 6 managers with fewer squad weaknesses. However Liverpool should, hopefully, regress and interesting to see how City perform with an older Aguero and Fernandinho and the loss of David Silva, another good leader gone.

United should win more matches against lower half teams but unsure how they'll carry on against other top 6/8 teams.

As far as CL, they should at least make the knockout stages and give a really good account of themselves in the round of 16. I'd like to say they reach the quarterfinals, but there's too much uncertainty around how and if their attacking players can clearly sustain and improve from last year.
 

Amateur2014

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Of course, we are United and we have to fight for the title every year. However, if we have to be realists, a guaranteed (and no drama till the last game) top 4 and 70+ points would be great. With or without Sancho.

My point is that Ole has been for a seasons and a half at the wheel and during the next season he has to show some more progress next season. I am not hoping for the title or to be in the fight for the title even but at least to be firmly at top 4 and not 30 points behind the leader.
 

DRJosh

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My expectation is that the “would you sack Ole thread” would be brought up quite a few times during the course of next season, especially if Sancho doesn’t arrive and VDB somehow under-performs.

But in all seriousness, a 3rd place finish would be amazing
 

Noodle

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There is always a lot of talk about positions, which can be a bit of a red herring. based on your current transfer window i think if you show improvement in relation to whoever wins the league and finish comfortably inside the top 4 most fans would accept that as progress.
 

troylocker

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We will be closer to 1st than last season and end up around 75p fighting for 3rd with the squad we have right now. With further improvements (RW/DC) we will close the gap further.
- Us outside top 6 would be a disastrous season
- Us outside top 4,but inside top 6 would be below par
- Us ending 4th would be on par with our squad strenght relative to the rest.
- Us ending 3rd would be above what we can expect with our current squad
- Us putting up a title-challenge ending 1st, 2nd or 3rd would be a massive success. Not very realistic without further improvements of the squad.
 

OrcaFat

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We will be closer to 1st than last season and end up around 75p fighting for 3rd with the squad we have right now. With further improvements (RW/DC) we will close the gap further.
- Us outside top 6 would be a disastrous season
- Us outside top 4,but inside top 6 would be below par
- Us ending 4th would be on par with our squad strenght relative to the rest.
- Us ending 3rd would be above what we can expect with our current squad
- Us putting up a title-challenge ending 1st, 2nd or 3rd would be a massive success. Not very realistic without further improvements of the squad.
Yes I think that’s about right. Whether or not we can lift ourselves to challenge or get meaningfully close to winning it will depend on who else we are able to sign. Two excellent signings might put us in the mix.
 

DJ_21

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Top 4 should be a must, with Sancho I think we can finish from 2-4, Chelsea are obviously stronger then us with the signings they made but Liverpool have stood still and haven’t improved so I think they might not be as strong next season, I’m going
1. City
2. Chelsea
3. Man Utd
4. Liverpool
 

romufc

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Imagine your mood if Rashford and Greenwood has not emerged. The only reason why we are upbeat is because we have been handed £300-400m (prices pre-COVID) by our Academy. Without that we would still be far away from CL places.

#GlazerrsOut
Manutd have always produced young players, this is the reason we have one of the best academies and one of the only top clubs in England to give young players a pathway into the first team.

The amount of money put into our academy just for this reason, so we can produce top quality for ourselves and not spend crazy amounts in the window in each position.
 

Globule

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Progress.

That should always be the minimum expectation. How you measure that is up for debate, but for me, we need to be putting in more convincing performances more often.
That could still result in us missing out on CL, if there are 4 teams that have stellar seasons, but personally I don't think it would be possible for us miss out while still looking more dominant more frequently.

So my realistic expectation is for us to look more dominant more often.
 

Judas

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Comfortably top 4, not a million miles away from whoever challenges for the title, and a trophy. The squad still needs work, but the second half of the season showed what we can be capable of. Even though I expect this season to be a heavy slog for most teams and some really bleak performances from everyone, we still have a standard we should be reaching.
 

Bondi77

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I expect it to be an improvement on last season as we have a young squad which should improve as the players mature. The Premier League is so competitive so hard to say where we will finish but if we can get our big players to be consistent then our youngsters will follow and we should have a good season.
We have good attack minded players in the team and a coach who likes the players to express themselves so we should have no issue with entertainment value and I am glad we have returned to those values.
 

Chaky_Best

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If we don't sign Sancho and only have Donny, then secure the fourth and fight with the likes of Spurs, Leicester, Everton and Arsenal for the position.

If Sancho + Reguilon, then we should aim at 3rd, compete this place with Chelsea, and at least through the second leg of champions league or quarter depending of the opponent.

If Sancho + Reguilon + Upa (or another good CD), then nothing else than the PL Title.
 

BorisManUtd

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Top 4 again but more points (we had 66 last season so 75+ would be progress) + winning one of the cups. Knockout stages in UCL

If we get Sancho (and Reguilon) then I think 3rd place finish is realistic and even quarterfinal of Champions League.
 

Smores

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The minimum should be a decent improvement in points and top 4 position comfortably secured. If we get lucky with no injuries we should be aiming higher.

Some people seem to be implying the only improvements can come from signings but isn't the whole point that Ole is supposed to grow this young squad?

We've had much worse depth and won titles, it's not everything.
 

TheLord

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I would be thrilled if Ole manages to get us in the top-four of the Premier League and the quarters of the Champions League, with a lot of game time for our youngsters.

It is not fair to ask for more of Ole with the transfer window we've had.
 

bosnian_red

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The minimum should be a decent improvement in points and top 4 position comfortably secured. If we get lucky with no injuries we should be aiming higher.

Some people seem to be implying the only improvements can come from signings but isn't the whole point that Ole is supposed to grow this young squad?

We've had much worse depth and won titles, it's not everything.
Not sure if we've had worse depth and won titles. Sir alex always had depth. Our midfield is fine but the rest is non existent. The problem right now is that it will be a very condensed season. Last season we had the luxury of resting players in other competitions. We don't have that chance this season with the CL and the need for a trophy. It doesn't need much, but a proper attacking depth signing that will constantly push the other 3 and rotate every game without missing a beat is vital so we don't kill our players.
 

Real Madras

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Sign Sancho, Upamencano, and Regullion with VDB and I think we can certainly challenge next season.
 

bosnian_red

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As it stands, entering the season with just Van de Beek added, I'd be happy with 4th place and not caring about the cup comps. Doesn't take much to up expectations though, all we need is 2-3 smart signings to be able to handle multiple cup competitions and aim to win a trophy in there. Need the big signings and more time to develop to start looking at getting up a level and competing for the best though, like Sancho and Upamecano.
 

The Irish Connection

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If we can sign Sancho or another good right winger (Traore, Coman) then I think we should be pushing for the title, maybe within 10 to 12 points of winning it. Without, top 4 should be minimum and maybe a cup final. So, I hope we get what’s needed.
 

Adamsk7

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As it stands, solidifying top four with a better points total in the mid-late 70’s is perfectly achievable. There’s a lot of talk about Chelsea but we don’t know how any of their new players are going to adapt and we forget that despite them finishing so close to us last year, since we got Bruno in and the team took shape, we’ve been significantly better than them. This is them catching up! They bought Werner? Ok I still think Martial is better. They bought Ziyech? Ok I think Sancho is definitely better (if we get him) and Greenwood isn’t far behind. They are buying a keeper? We’ve got better keepers. Havertz? Is he better than Bruno? Maybe one day but not now. There’s no point in worrying about their squad until we hat it can do. I’m confident we’ll get Sancho and we’ll stay above them, hell I even think we can rival City.
 

Kaos

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Top 4 should be a must, with Sancho I think we can finish from 2-4, Chelsea are obviously stronger then us with the signings they made but Liverpool have stood still and haven’t improved so I think they might not be as strong next season, I’m going
1. City
2. Chelsea
3. Man Utd
4. Liverpool
No chance Liverpool finish that low. I really think some of us are reading too much into their form after being confirmed champions. They'll still comfortably finish top 2.
 

DJ_21

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No chance Liverpool finish that low. I really think some of us are reading too much into their form after being confirmed champions. They'll still comfortably finish top 2.
I wouldn’t say comfortably, be a lot closer then last year, Chelsea’s signings will definitely close the gap on them.