Let’s be honest, if you don’t look for reasons to be cheerful in the season just gone, you’d think they’re harder to find than a reason to vote UKIP, but if you sit back, take a deep breath and sit back with (insert drink and snack combo readers choice), you’ll find quite a few plus points, you might not think so now, but hopefully by the time you’ve finished reading this, you’ll join
me in thinking that we’ll be all well and good to get back on posing the top 4 as big a threat as Saville did the TOTP audience kids back in the day….
Young talent
We’ve seen this season how the likes of De Gea & Rafeal (aside from the last few games of the season) have come on leaps and bounds, with older players such as Vidic & Rio moving on this summer, we may finally see what the replacements can do when played in their strongest positions, Jones, Smalling & Evans are exceptional centre backs who’ve played anywhere they’ve been asked to, while I applaud their willing & application, the end result has often failed to deliver much to enjoy, but given now that they’re the ones on which we’ll rely on week in week out at the back, we’ll see them start to fulfil their huge potential.
Even at a glance the talent beyond that that Van Gaal (hopefully) will have to work with and it gets even better, Januzaj, Zaha, Powell, Lingaard, Wilson & Perriera to name but a few, and in the hands of the Dutchman I’m sure they’ll blossom spectacularly if they’ve the application to match their talent, when you compare that to our current options, you surely can’t see that as a step back.
No champions league
Sounds like a proper rattle out the pram thing doesn’t it?
But look at how Liverpool benefited from it this season!
We’re in that same (I feel sick and cheap typing these words, but they’re the only ones that fit), transitional period, we need to find a way to learn to walk the United walk again domestically before we set about trying to run in Europe again, rightly or wrongly, I believe a season where the focus is on restoring some of the lost confidence, and once again becoming a side the teams fear visiting domestically will be ideal preparation for when he hopefully return to the big stage in 15/16.
Van Gaal
Moyes, I had huge hopes and ever bigger expectations he’d do well at United, but in all honesty it became clear after Christmas he was as well suited to the job as Ann Widdecombe would be to one at Spearmint Rhino, in the Dutchman we’ve someone who’s achieved success in different countries and eras, he’s shown great skill in gaining commitment from the established stars, and in nurturing young talent into players who’re ready and equipped to add great value to the club when called up into the first team, these are skills that Moyes appeared to be painfully short of during his time at the club.
So in summary,
Yes 13/14 was a mess, mistakes were made in many areas on and off the pitch, but I believe in making the decision to remove Moyes from his post, bring in a new man who’s better equipped to do the job to the required standard, in making a start to pursuing our targets nice and early (if the Shaw news is to be believed), we’ve learned a great deal from how bad it was, and steps are being taken to ensure that those errors that cost us last season are not to be repeated going forward.
I’ve always found that it’s often the step backwards that helps me work out how to approach moving forward, hopefully the campaign just gone is that step back that helps United work out how to the step forward that’ll allow us to return to the level’s we’ve grown to enjoy over the last 20 years……..
