In my case I would set the bar higher if after that amazing run we had kept that basis in similar conditions and built on it this summer, but we didn't.
We had a solid midfield with Matic-Herrera-Pogba performing well, but Matic lost his legs somewhere and is yet to find them. Herrera started flirting with PSG and left because the club didn't match his demands, and I'm still waiting for his replacement. Pogba started praising Real, Zidane at the same time and wanted to leave this summer too, surely aiming now to leave the next one. Fred started this preseason late and he's taking pictures in Greece while we rely on McTominay every week, the only player who's fully focused in that midfield.
In attack Lukaku was sold and we didn't sign any striker. Solskjaer said during the tour that every player sold would be replaced (the same thing he was told, more than probably) but nobody came in the end. Rashford spent the last months of last season playing like a child in the park, and Martial barely moved an eyebrow more or less since his contract extension. We needed a mature presence up front with quality and energy to lead the attack and not depend on these guys, but nothing happened despite selling a striker for 80 M. More steps back.
De Gea was giving bad signs all the season and it got worse in the last months. His head wasn't there for some reason and we didn't solve the situation in any way, so it's still the same. It's amazing that even our best player for years seems to be a headache now. We've improved our defence with two good additions and the punt on James is looking fine, but in these conditions and with holes everywhere, fielding the youngest XI and our two main players distracted I wouldn't expect any miracles.
The main difference I see this time is that under LVG and Mourinho the club spent heavily on transfers and salaries without worries, and now it seems that after the party they're starting to clean the house. They're readjusting the wages spend that reached astronomical levels and they are working with the calculator, and this is why we can't use the same measure stick we used for LVG and Jose with Solskjaer now, and that's why the club will be more lax this time when it comes to fixing the bare minimum.
With the chance of PSG, Bayern, Real and Barcelona looking for a new manager soon I can't see any relevant coach coming to this circus now, just to manage a bunch of kids in the Europa League, with financial restrictions and without a proper structure at the club. So until we're in better state and we can present an ambitious plan to a top manager to push hard again, our coach will be Solskjaer, McKenna, or Nicky Butt if we reach a critical situation at some point and it forces a change, maybe Laurent Blanc but I wouldn't expect more.
I believe the next managerial appointment will be decided by a DoF in the future, to be part of a long term strategy and not as some desperate measure. I think it's inevitable that they appoint a DoF after realizing how useless they are, but one year trying to find someone for that technical role should have been enough, and it's time to see something material.
This is where I'd put the pressure and the emphasis now to force the hand of the club, instead of replacing one manager with another to face the same exact problems and be in the same place. With football people at the helm taking football decisions the rest would happen alone as it happens everywhere, but these guys from the board seem to enjoy making things difficult for themselves or something. Hard to understand.