What should the expectations be for next season?

So much depends on the transfer window we have, and also how the other big teams fare. Let’s face it, our likely 3rd spot this year is partly down to Liverpool and Chelsea being in shambles.

But I’d say another top three finish, CL quarterfinals and a good domestic cup run would be nice. More importantly the team should take steps in the right direction in terms of the quality of play and the future proofing the squad.
 
A lot of it would be dependant on recruitment. If we sign genuine top quality players like Anderson, Tchouameni, then I would expect us to be reaching 75-80 points. Might still be finishing 3rd but closer to the top 2. And perhaps QF in the CL

If we are signing the likes of Baleba, Ederson etc, then it will be a battle for top 5 like this season with us getting around 65 points. I don't think there is that much between the squads of Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Villa and it can boil down to injuries, good run of form, one player overperforming to dictate who finishes 3rd and who finishes 6th. So it's going to depend on the recruitment all these teams make to see who is genuinely able to improve the base level of their squad.

Carrick is someone who I think will get the squad to perform at their base level. Not overperform like someone like Pep or Enrique but also not underperform like Amorim or ETH. While he will inevitably get the blame if things don't work out, it genuinely depends on how our recruitment is this summer. If we are serious about challenging for the league in the next couple of years, then the recruitment needs to reflect that.
 
If United make the right managerial appointment and transfer decisions this summer, then a serious challenge for the title isn't beyond the realms of possibility. I think Arsenal will be the team to beat if they win the title this year as it will boost their confidence by proving they can win the big trophies.
 
We should be looking to be pushing a title challenge deep into the season, similar to City this year, get through the group stage of the CL and win one of the domestic cups.

Sort midfield out, have a fit first choice back 4 for most the season (would be nice!) and I think this is achievable.

The following season go all out for a title win.
 
There are lots of variables at the moment - I'm sure I'll miss many of them. However:

  • The Premier League feels like it is weaker at the top end the league compared to City's recent dominance with high points totals (and Liverpool/Arsenal winning it/being up there with points totals in the high 80's or 90's as well). This gives an opportunity to every side who feels they should be finishing in the top 4/5 or 'challenging' for the title to actually go and do it. So, for me, the chance is there for four or five teams to go big in the Summer with signings and/or a new manager who they feel can take them to that next level. Whoever gets it 'most right' should have a huge chance to win the league next season, but if all the teams go in with perceived similar business then the ambition/expectation probably remains similar. We can talk about each team individually a bit as well.
  • Man City could finally receive some form of punishment that greatly hinders their ability to win the title. Maybe they're in the Championship next season? Maybe they start next season with a mammoth point deduction that immediately makes it nigh on impossible for them to win the league? Maybe Pep does leave... They already have 2-3 important players from Pep's time leaving and could lose a lot more if any of the aforementioned things happen. Or, maybe none of this happens, they have a great window spending £250m and have the best squad again.
  • Arsenal could be seen as being on a bit of a knife edge. They could win the league and the Champion's League, one or the other, or neither. If the latter happens, do some players go elsewhere and they replace Arteta for continually failing at the last hurdle? They are probably more likely to stick with him regardless and try one more time with a few big signings. If they do win something though, it might mean they push on and win multiple things over the next few years if other teams don't improve a lot.
  • Liverpool, despite spending an extortionate amount last time, still need multiple players. They probably have to spend £150-200m again to bring in a quality player in defence, midfield, and attack. They also have a big decision to make on if the manager is the right fit.
  • Aston Villa... I get the feeling that Emery is more coming to the peak of what can be done there. Maybe I'm wrong, they could obviously win the Europa League, be in the Champion's League next season and continue to be involved in the top 5 mix. They will need huge investment though as I think it's clear for everyone to see that their squad has struggled with the involvement in more competitions leading a tail off in form as we get to the end of the season. If they can't bolster the squad with quite a few players then it's hard to see them maintaining.
  • Chelsea are broken. I don't even know how they begin to fix things, they have to change drastically. The entire strategy is wrong. It might not be as difficult as it seems if they can get a manager who would do similar to what Carrick has done - steady the ship, sell some of these wasters. Get a couple of experienced players and they'll probably be closer to top 5 next season. However, are their board going to even consider that approach?
Basically, all the teams above are in the situation of uncertainty over their manager to some extent I think it's fair to say. Some of the teams have other glaring concerns, or track records of the same things happening when it comes to crunch time.

However, Manchester United is no different to all of the above. We share most of the same concerns. What's clear though, is that if we can't get it right with the next manager (Carrick or otherwise), sign two high quality midfield players, along with probably 3-4 other players and remove the right players from the squad in this next window, then the board are deciding not to try and grab any opportunity of winning the title next season. What's more, in my opinion, is if we don't get those real top drawer midfield players, we are effectively forfeiting any expectation of even achieving the placing we have this season again. So, the expectation for me lies in how this Summer window is approached. It could be a realistic chance of winning the title, or battling with multiple teams to finish 5th.

If I had to be pushed on a bare minimum - we should at least get into the last 16 of the Champion's League, go multiple rounds into both of the domestic cups, and qualify for the Champion's League through our final league position (even if our transfer windows aren't absolutely stellar). I'd hope that we can get to the stage where this feels like not a good season again, but most of me is saying it will probably take another two Summer windows to get us in the position we'd all hope to be.
 
On the face of it, i feel two good cup runs, CL round of 16 and another 3rd place finish would be ok, along with some evolution in the playing style.

Realistically, the expectations should be gauged based on what we do in the transfer window.
 
Progress. I'm of the opinion this squad should already be competing for 1st, minimum top 4/5. What to expect in league and cups next season all depend on who's manager and what happens during the summer.
 
e.cantona said:
Progress. I'm of the opinion this squad should already be competing for 1st, minimum top 4/5. What to expect in league and cups next season all depend on who's manager and what happens during the summer.
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When you say this do you mean the name Manchester United should be competing for 1st or the players we have on paper should be a title challenging squad? Because if it's the latter then how have you come to that conclusion? We've got a young GK, average full backs, are best CB's can't stay fit, unbalanced midfield and a very inconsistent attack.

Nothing about that teams scream title challenging except Bruno. For me CL football is a must for next season but I'm very worried with what the team will look like with multiple games a week. Last time we had that we finished 15th and even this year we've had games where we look gassed to death by the 60th minute and we've played 1 game a week for the majority of the season.
 
2nd at minimum in PL and CL quarter final
Dont care much about the mikkey mouse cups
 
Challenging for the title.

Considering we are only 12pts off which included the shit show of Amorim for half the season I don't see a reason why not.

Anything less then we will have made mistakes in the transfer window and/or with the managerial appointment.

If we (INEOS) can't build on our current situation they never will.
 
Cement position in top 3 and look to be within 10 points of the top two come the end of the season (mid/high 70's points).

Solid return to the CL targeting QF at least.

Deep run in one of the domestic cups.
 
We need a superb summer transfer window. It all hinges on that.

Show ambition, bring the right caliber of players in and we should easily be able to aim for 3rd again and a solid run in all cup competitions. Once again we're in a moment, when we could realistically take a big step forward and make strides towards eventually reclaiming our spot as a title winning club. If we cheap out though and only try to do the bare minimum, then we'll just be in another scrappy dogfight next season.
Arsenal/City will be up there, Liverpool should be more consistent again, Villa won't go away for now, Newcastle without Europe might be better and Chelsea with a decent manager will be in the mix too.

This summer will really show where Jimmy and his friends want to take the club in the midterm. Either as a proper team, which can actually challenge in 1-2 years, or otherwise to set the club into standby mode, while they wait to build their shiny stadium and pat themselves on the shoulder in helping our resident Florida Men to some more juicy dividends.
 
sullydnl said:
Personally I'd be content with finishing in the top five and qualifying for the CL again next season, as being able to do so in a year in which we're not solely focused on the league would represent progress on this year.

Do that while trying to play a brand of football I believe can plausibly compete for the league regularly in the future, and I'll be happy with how the new manager is doing.

Whereas if they drop out of CL again or play a type of football I don't buy into, then their job should be under scrutiny.
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It's definitely this for me. Also want to see us in the knock-out stages of the Champions League. I think this ambition alone will require significant spending.
 
Just to put into context the degree to which we've benefitted from fewer matches this season, below is the player who has played in the most matches for each of the top 5 teams (so far).

Zubimendi - 53 matches.
O'Reilly - 50 matches.
Shaw - 35 matches.
VVD - 52 matches.
Rogers - 51 matches.

And teams like Chelsea (Enzo - 50 matches), Newcastle (Barnes - 54 matches) and Forest (MGW - 51 matches) have also been impacted by significantly bigger workloads.

When we talk about having finished 3rd this season, it should come with an asterisk that we had a significant advantage over the teams around us. And that should impact what we view as realistic next season when that advantage is gone.
 
sp_cgb said:
We need a superb summer transfer window. It all hinges on that.

Show ambition, bring the right caliber of players in and we should easily be able to aim for 3rd again and a solid run in all cup competitions. Once again we're in a moment, when we could realistically take a big step forward and make strides towards eventually reclaiming our spot as a title winning club. If we cheap out though and only try to do the bare minimum, then we'll just be in another scrappy dogfight next season.
Arsenal/City will be up there, Liverpool should be more consistent again, Villa won't go away for now, Newcastle without Europe might be better and Chelsea with a decent manager will be in the mix too.

This summer will really show where Jimmy and his friends want to take the club in the midterm. Either as a proper team, which can actually challenge in 1-2 years, or otherwise to set the club into standby mode, while they wait to build their shiny stadium and pat themselves on the shoulder in helping our resident Florida Men to some more juicy dividends.
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Agree with the sentiment. We really need to be on the front foot and show ambition, otherwise we'll inevitably fall down the ranks again. Hopefully we can, for once, strengthen from something that resembles a position of some strength.
 
A respectful showing in Europe
A push closer to Arsenal/City in the league maybe even a genuine challenge
A domestic trophy or two would be most welcome
 
The aim should be to maintain Champions League football for the seasons ahead. It gives us a good foundation to be on the race for those tier 1 prospects or established players.

Good domestic cup run, qualify out of the groups and top 4 should be the minimum NEXT season
 
expectations.....

for me simply qualify for the CL again and to have a decent run in the cups

We would need a really excellent transfer window with all new additions firing for us to challenge the consistency of Arsenal.

City have been poor by their standards. I'd expect them to be much better next year.

Problem is that a team like City needs minor adjustments to make marginal gains....the odd player here and there

we realistically are going into the window with the prospect of having only Mainoo as our only reliable midfielder confirmed for next year. We are lacking consistent goalscorers in attack, creativity from fullback and there are a number of injury question marks.

It's a team overhaul we are looking at - It would take some amazing signings and good sales with all new players hitting the ground running for us to be as consistent as we've been under Carrick so far.
 
Depends. If Pep stays, then 3rd but getting closer to 2nd, and a strong run at the cups + make UCL knockouts.

If Pep leaves, the board has to spend $$$ and there’s no reason why we can’t compete for the league. I mean it.
 
sullydnl said:
Personally I'd be content with finishing in the top five and qualifying for the CL again next season, as being able to do so in a year in which we're not solely focused on the league would represent progress on this year.

Do that while trying to play a brand of football I believe can plausibly compete for the league regularly in the future, and I'll be happy with how the new manager is doing.

Whereas if they drop out of CL again or play a type of football I don't buy into, then their job should be under scrutiny.
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This is it exactly. Consolidate, add more good players next summer and eventually we will get there. I don't expect a title challenge next year. We have an outside chance but we also have an outside chance of turning pants again
 
Yagami said:
Even if we have a good transfer window this is a big ask.

Since our last final in 2011, we've won one knockout game. That was the PSG one where we were very fortunate that their CB had that brainfart.

You should imagine that we'll qualify from the group stages this time under the new setup, but our record since 2011 is terrible:

11/12: group stage
12/13: last 16
13/14: last 16
15/16: group stage
17/18: last 16
18/19: quarter finals
20/21: group stage
21/22: last 16
23/24: group stage

I think we'll do well to reach the quarters again even if we have a good window
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We have won two knockout ties, and two knockout games.

Moyes beat Olympaikos in the Round of 16 in 2014. That is our last knockout win at home in the CL. We then got knocked out by Bayern in the quarters.
 
Frosty said:
We have won two knockout ties, and two knockout games.

Moyes beat Olympaikos in the Round of 16 in 2014. That is our last knockout win at home in the CL. We then got knocked out by Bayern in the quarters.
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Oh, yeah. My bad!
 
Entirely depends on recruitment and squad fitness.

Bare minimum should really be a comfortable top 4 finish, and a non-embarrassing CL campaign.

A domestic cup run is whatever
 
Qualify for UCL again(finish top 4/5 in the league) and reach R16 in the UCL.

The squad is too thin, limited for more than that at the moment. With a new midfield, have more control in games.
 
If the summer recruitment goes well I’d say the minimum is top 5 and CL round 16. Maximum would be challenging for the league, but would be a big shock to see it happen.

I think Liverpool are in trouble next year, they have too many positions to fix.
Villa are likely to fall away.
I think Chelsea will improve, but they will continue to have a soft core.
Spurs have enough talent to get back into top 8 and cause trouble on their day.
Plus Newcastle if Howe stays wount have Europe as a distraction.
 
Dominos said:
Ole got 4 months of title winning results from December to March during his interim season.

The point being, lifting the mood of the dressing room and giving the players confidence mid-season can result in an upturn in results but you can't extrapolate that to say if Carrick was manager for the full season we'd be on course for 85+ points to win the league. It's possible, but unlikely.
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The comparison with Ole is so lazy.

Ole also had a squad that finished 2nd the season before he took temporary charge. It was just a bit of a toxic mess. This is still the base of a squad that only finished a few spots off relegation last season.

It's also worth noting that post "honeymoon period" Carrick has managed to carry on winning. The form under Ole fell apart after PSG.
 
KStandBarmyArmy1993 said:
The comparison with Ole is so lazy.

Ole also had a squad that finished 2nd the season before he took temporary charge. It was just a bit of a toxic mess. This is still the base of a squad that only finished a few spots off relegation last season.

It's also worth noting that post "honeymoon period" Carrick has managed to carry on winning. The form under Ole fell apart after PSG.
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Let's be honest though, that finish does not reflect the quality of the squad but Amorim's inability to handle the job.
 
We need to build out and improve our squad to become a rock solid CL team so that we can start pushing truly for the title in ~2 years time. Next season I am very happy if we get CL again (when was the last time we had back to back CL seasons), ideally also a QF in CL. So anything that is a CL spot is good enough for me! Next summer we can look to add one or two players that are will push for the title.
 
adexkola said:
We can aim for this but this should not be the expectation from fans unless we are 10 points ahead with 5 games to go

Minimum expectation should be a comfortable top 4 finish, going far in one of the domestic cups, and being more comfortable with dominating play. This is dependent on transfers of course.
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We can't just say a comfortable top 4 finish is the minimum expectation anymore. Well we can but it doesn't make it real.

Villa and Liverpool are only 6 points behind us just now, and we've had a very good run of results. Chelsea fell apart but I wouldn't necessarily write them off next year, Newcastle have also been dire but could be in that race if they can get their act together as well.

I think teams with enough quality and consistency to be in the title race regularly can rightly claim to expect a comfortable top four finish as a minimum expectation, other teams cannot. Liverpool were the league winners last year and they aren't comfortably top 4 with only a few games to go.

All any team needs to do is to go out, compete and try and win as many games as possible and see where that takes them.

The club itself obviously has to consider goals as they will plan according to whether they are likely to achieve them or not and falling below an expected level of performance or result may result in the decision to look for a different manager.

As fans though, we have absolutely no right to demand a title challenge or a comfortable top four finish at this time. That reeks of entitlement, and whilst it'll be great if we can do either of those things, I'm not expecting it to be easy next season, we earn the right to play Champions League football and win trophies, we shouldn't be demanding it.
 
Obviously next season depends on how well recruitment goes this summer but realistically I’d be happy with winning one of the cups, a CL place finish in the league and a good run in the CL as we won’t be just playing league games like we’ve been doing under Carrick so far.

If we bring in two top quality midfielders, a squad midfielder, a left back and a striker then top three again is definitely achievable and we COULD even mount a title challenge as Guardiola looks like he could be off as well as Rodri, Silva and Stones and Arsenal are Arsenal BUT we need to really get recruitment right and hit the ground running next season to build momentum.
 
Have to wait to see what we get in/out as well as who is managing us to fairly answer this.
 
Same as it’s been for the last I don’t know how many seasons - top four, a good cup run (ideally a win) and good football with a clear identity being formed and a team that looks coached.
 
Go deep into the domestic cups.
Get to knockout stages of CL
Qualify for CL

That should do.
 
Back to where we belong - The Treble.

Or at the very least The Double.

We are Man Utd!
 
Dominos said:
I think multiple managers now have achieved decent seasons with us with a similar blueprint - standard 4231, being strong on the counter/quick attacking transitions, keep a decent midblock shape out of possession, don't do anything crazy in terms of pressing/high line, not too bothered about possession, not great at breaking down low blocks. Mourinho, Ole, ETH and Carrick have all got top 4 finishes doing this.

Whenever these managers have stepped out of line and tried to do something different or more ambitious with the players they had, it's all fallen apart. It's possible they don't know how to coach anything else, or it's possible they just keep trying to implement something that the players aren't capable of or suited to.

My concern is there's 4 quite big weaknesses in this squad - overall technical level throughout, lack of attacking quality at full back, lack of legs in midfield, and lack of pace in defence. I don't see how we resolve all that in one window, and therefore we may end up yet again trying to implement a style that isn't suited to the squad. If results did then suffer, the dressing room meltdown then usually follows.

For that reason, I would be content with another season of Oleball but just do a better version than we're currently seeing. But at some point the squad weaknesses have to be addressed such that a transition towards a better style of football can work out for us.

The recruitment team also need to be conscious of this in their decisions also, I would hope for example in 2026 and beyond we wouldn't sign AWB and Maguire for 130m who are the antithesis of the players you want if you're aiming to play progressive football.
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Midfield has long been cited as the principle issue preventing us from playing a better style of football, and it appears midfield will be overhauled with multiple signings this summer.

If that overhaul occurs, there's no reason not to expect big steps forward in how we at least try to play football, even if there are still other weaknesses preventing us from playing it to a title-winning standard. If we don't see that from whoever the manager is next season, there's no reason to believe we'll see it from them going forward.
 
Challenge for top 3 while also playing good football, while also doing well in cup competitions.

Currently United are top 3 in the league, and have actually played well vs teams like Arsenal and City, but this isn't always the case vs other teams. They have to show their quality every single week, for whatever reason this isn't always the case with the team.
 
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