Whose first full season at United did you enjoy most?

[Sir Erik ten Hag]

I'm talking about all United managers post-Fergie. Who had the first season that made you enjoy the most? Not necessarily the season with highest point, just a general feeling of enjoyment and the hope each season bring to you for the future.

I'm talking about the full season though. So Ole's interim season wouldn't count. His first full season would be the 2019-2020 season.

This obviously doesn't count managers without a full season (Giggs, Carrick, Rangnick...etc)

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Jose isn't it. No comparison

 

[Galactic]

What do you think?

 

[Marcelinho87]

EtH surely? This season was the first in a long time fans felt connected to the players again.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Mourinho..
won two trophies and were very hard to beat. Looked like we had an exciting team who could go on to challenge and I actually thought we would.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Jose first season actually tried to play some great football, then that positivity spilled into his second season where we kept winning 4-0 and then the slide into trying to get sacked.

I’d say this season though, feel like we’re in good hands with ETH and have seen at least some kind of evolution in our football. Trophy is nice but more importantly for me big transfers have all been solid and there’s a plan.

 

[Revaulx]

With the exception of Moyes, I enjoyed aspects of all of ETH’s predecessors’ first seasons. At least they left me optimistic for the future. I suppose I felt most optimistic with LVG who actually seemed able to get us playing a dominant style of football, albeit only fitfully. Jose’s two trophies were great, but our reliance on Ibra and collapse in the league at the season’s end didn’t bode well.

This season has brought us a trophy and a very decent league position all things considered. That coupled with the fact that Woodward is no longer around is what’s going to make me opt for ETH.

I’m fully aware that it could all come to nothing. The continued lack of a decent support system for the manager is a major worry.

 

[Bondi77]

LVG....the football was shite but the pressers were gold.

 

[Siorac]

Well, this one, certainly. Before this, I would have said Van Gaal's first season: after the utterly bleak hopelessness under Moyes, it felt like we were at least going somewhere. And then there was Juanfield and the 4-2 against City.

I don't have the love that many people seem to have for 16/17. Mourinhoball wasn't anywhere near as depressing as 17/18 but the signs were already there.

 

[Yagami]

José

• The buzz of seeing Pogba and Ibrahimovic play at Old Trafford.
• The two trophies.
• I also thought our best football came in his first season despite finishing 6th compared to 2nd the following year. There were so many games where, like now, poor finishing stopped us absolutely demolishing a team. I remember someone making a compilation at the time of Pogba creating good chances that we fluffed and it was a relatively long video!

I definitely like and have more faith in ten Hag to be a success long term, and to finally transform our style of play, but I did feel more excitement in José's first season.

 

[Real Name]

ETH. No contest really.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Jose first one was really good… we won a double.

 

[GueRed]

Jose Mourinho 2016/17.

two glorious cup runs.

one of them the Europa League (the old UEFA cup) the first time in our history.

 

[Mercurial]

José double and Zlatan were memorable!

 

[Rhyme Animal]

José, of course.

 

[Appletonred]

Ten Hag has been a breath of fresh air and the arrival of Lisandro Martinez a very astute signing, the new owners whoever they are, simply have to give the manager complete backing this summer, supply him with all the tools that he needs to continue the job and to maintain progress.

 

[Kopral Jono]

Given how bewilderingly rare it is for a club of our stature to go all the way in Europe (regardless of competition) those occasions always feel like the next best thing after winning the league for me, so with that in mind: Mourinho's first season. This season is close second.

 

[Josh 76]

LVG....the football was shite but the pressers were gold.

Playing Liverpool off the park at Anfield was fecking amazing. A distant memory nowadays!

 

[RVN1991]

Ten Haag by far. Could never warm to Mourinho and I always had a feeling it would be a 3/4 year run at best with bland football throughout, ETH feels like more sustainable long term and the football is way better.

 

[mancsarered]

Ten Hag's has been the most satisfying for a number of reasons. I never expected us to finish 3rd given what he inherited. We won a trophy and went to another cup final. The signings of Casemiro and Lisandro have been my two favorite post-SAF. He seems set on being here for the long haul. All signs of optimism; I genuinely feel like we're going in the right direction. Jose's two trophies felt good in the moment but they just papered over the cracks.

 

[DOTA]

1. EtH
2. Ole
3. LVG
4. Jose's draw fest

Moyes didn't get a full season, so seems unfair to include him.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

Ten Hag, by far. Mourinho is the only one that comes close, but we played much better football this season (we had more draws than wins at Old Trafford in the league in 16/17, including some truly dire ones) and our approach was miles better - getting thrashed by Liverpool and City was embarrassing, but we got walloped by Chelsea early on under Mourinho and then gave up even trying to play football against the top six.

Van Gaal's first season was better than the second but the football was shite. Ole's was two-thirds shite with the odd great performance (really just Chelsea, City, Spurs) and then a great end with Fernandes in the team - he gets the bronze. And the less said about Moyes, the better...

 

[Strelok]

ETH first season obviously. Finally we have a structure and play with a proper style and being properly coached. Then the new signings. The best thing was that narcissistic ahole and his circus & fanboys finally left. And I have a short memory.

Then Ole's first season I think. After all the horrible football and the utterly toxic atmosphere under Jose with all the mess and hatred and the terrible division among both players and fans. And also Jose fans left with him.

 

[Fully Fledged]

ETH.

 

[TMDaines]

I was most optimistic after Mourinho’s first season, put it that way.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

I didn't particularly enjoy this season just gone due to:

- The spillover of the Greenwood stuff
- The Ronaldo debacle
- Going through the season without a useful striker
- Weghorst post-Barcelona
- Casemiro suspensions ultimately leading to poor form in the league.

Jose's season was so weird. It all felt really positive, but we drew so many games in the league. A solid defensive unit, but 54 goals in the league at the time seemed absolutely mental with Martial, Rashford, Pogba, Mata, Mkhi, Ibra and Rooney.

Moyes and LVG were painful first seasons.

So probably Jose's? The Europa campaign was fun.

 

[Trex]

In José first season we'll finish every game hanging on regardless of the opponent. There was neglect of youth, our league form was the worst of any new manager bar Moyes. Our cup run was great though. ETH is better all round. His better league form, better football brand, gave youth a chance (Garnacho). This season is definitely the best foundation any united manager has created post Saf.

 

[eire-red]

EtH for me. Instilled a semblance of United mentality into the team, turned OT into a fortress, brought some youth through and managed a very good points tally all things considered.

Recruitment was much better also, and it feels like progress this season is much more sustainable and the path to further improvement is clear in regards to what we need.

Some of our performances were the most dominant I've seen from United in a long time as well. Thinking specifically to Spurs at home.

I liked how we had a bit of a wobble towards the end against West Ham and Brighton, but the squad held their nerve and we finished the season with four wins on the bounce. Under past regimes, we would have likely crumbled.

It seemed like we put together more consistent results and performances as well, with longer winning streaks and less false dawns.

 

[Bondi77]

Playing Liverpool off the park at Anfield was fecking amazing. A distant memory nowadays!

Has Mata ever played a better game of football??

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Ten Hag, although it turned a bit annoying when I had to endure 20 straight games of Weghorst ball.

Jose was fun at times and Pogba/Ibra was awesome, but as some others said I constantly questioned his decisions and hated how much we would turtle up at times as a team.

Honestly if it wasn’t for lockdown and no fans, I think Ole in 19-20 trumps them all. It’s the best attack we’ve had since Fergie left without a doubt and our front 3 was genuinely elite post lockdown. It’s just sad that it was all played in empty stadiums so it falls behind this season for me

 

[Stu Pearson]

ETH the only manager since SAF that I any have any belief in I would have loved Ole to succeed but that was not to be. Now looking forward to the future with confedence

 

[ErikElevenHag]

This season and it's not even close.

We won 2 trophies with Jose, but some of the football served up was truly horrendous. Still have nightmares about the 0-0 with Hull at Old Trafford, ended up having to go on my own and I was bored shitless. Even with the 2 trophies it never really felt like we were going anywhere, we finished 6th in the league, hardly a team looking like being on the verge of something special.

This season feels different. We have a manager who has a clear approach and knows what he wants. He's managed to improve us significantly on the season prior to this one despite our limitations. We've competed on all 4 fronts for the majority of the season and with such a thin squad it's not a surprise we had a bit of a lull following the carabao cup final. This season is the first time in a long while that i've actually looked forward to our games, as opposed to being worried all week about what embarrassments we could face the next time we play.

Can't wait to see what ETH can produce next season, hopefully following a strong summer in the transfer market.

 

[Melville Red]

David Moyes. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing him sacked and not quite getting in a full season.

On a serious note, it has to be ETH, good early signings, something different about the club a manager who knew what he was doing both on and off the pitch plus a trophy and he’s such a cool fecker with his polo neck sweaters.

 

[Kaos]

Might be recency bias but EtH for me.

Trophies? Check.
Attractive football? Check
Likeable squad? Check.

Only downers were the hammerings we got at Anfield and Emptyhad as well as the horror start.

Jose's was decent but I never liked him, nor his football. And with Ole I always had it in the back of my mind that he ultimately wasn't good enough and would inevitably fail. LVG was a snoozefest.

 

[Skills]

Probably Ten Hag's up until Anfield.

Mourinhos first season was a snore fest. Oles was horrific up until the COVID break. And Louis' was rescued by a small run of great form at the end.

 

[jem]

That's actually a tricky question. Van Gaal's season towards the end was looking very positive (the much-discussed run including Juanfield during which we played some lovely football); Jose's first season delivered just about everything you'd expect (in a good way) from Mourinho (including promising seasons from Pogba and Mikhitaryen); and Ten Haag pulled off a pretty miraculous task of getting us into two finals. Hell, I'd even argue Ole's first season, while quite the rollercoaster, had some amazing highs, after Bruno joined the team (it was also the one season in which Martial played up to his potential.) It's what has happened after these seasons that should worry us - I'm really hoping Ten Haag is able to navigate that better than his predecessors (granted Jose got us 2nd in his second season, but worrying signs were appearing.)

 

[Denis79]

Jose, I really thought we were back. ETH was good up until we got annihilated by Liverpool, that left deep scars.

 

[Offside]

How anyone is saying 16/17 is totally baffling. The most predictable crap every game, go 1-0 up, miss a hatful of sitters, sit back and end up drawing.

 

[Jippy]

More interesting question would be which player's first season did you enjoy most post-SAF?

 

[Denis79]

How anyone is saying 16/17 is totally baffling. The most predictable crap every game, go 1-0 up, miss a hatful of sitters, sit back and end up drawing.

We went on a 25 game undefeated run, won the Charity Shield, League Cup and Europa League and only got 6 points less in the league than we did last season.

Most of us believed that just small tweaks were needed for us to challenge properly again. The season after is a different story though.