The Manchester United squad we have right now is very much like the Old Trafford, not fit for purpose. We could try and patch it up and hope it lasts a few more years, but the performance from it won’t be what we need, expect or deserve.
Like the stadium, we need to rip it down and start again from the ground up. The only players who might have a future here are the youngsters and maybe a couple of more experienced players who have the right mentality, maybe as squad players who can help guide some of the younger players. I’ll be surprised if we have 6 players currently in the first team squad who are still here the next time we genuinely challenge for the title.
Sometimes you need to hit the bottom before you realise the scope of the the task at hand and seriously start making the changes. People keep talking about a rebuild, but you need to demolish what you have before you can start to rebuild it. We haven’t actually rebuilt the squad since LvG, we’ve just renovated it with some pretty tasteless add ons.
Amorim actually said in one of his early interviews that things will likely get worse before they get better. Which is exactly what is happening. That suggests that he fully knew what needed doing and what was likely to happen while doing it. Which gives me some hope that things are going somewhat to plan despite perception from the outside.
Finishing 15th or 16th might not be part of the plan, but it’s probably something that the club appreciates might need to happen in order to start moving in the right direction. They could have chosen to stick with EtH or with Ruud until the end of the season then bring in Amorim at the end of the season. They chose not to do that, they wanted the new man in and starting to make the changes immediately. They made that decision in the full knowledge that it would be challenging and things might not get any better this season.
We now need to see that decision through. Amorim is here now so that he can start getting the players to understand his system and can learn it in real games. A pre-season practicing a new system is all well and good, but it doesn’t mean it works in real matches. We found that out under EtH, a whole and successful pre-season playing his system, only to lose fairly comprehensively to Brentford and Brighton and the manager having to reassess his plan two games into the season.
This way, Amorim will understand his players, what they are and aren’t capable of, as well as understanding what the English Premier League is like. He can assess his system and his players and plan for the adjustments he needs to make in the summer. Meaning we hopefully start next season in the right way with a squad capable and in full understanding of what the manager wants, and with a manager who knows his players’ strengths and weaknesses.
This season was written off when we sacked EtH, it is about making to the end of the season and for the manager and players to learn as much as they can along the way. A bottom half finish might be useful, it makes everyone at the club fully aware of the size of the task ahead of them. It maybe encourages those players who should leave but keep hanging on to finally make the jump. It gives the manager free license to clear out players who don’t have what it takes.
Finally it highlights to fans that currently expectations are beyond unrealistic, that we need to temper those expectations and not react so emotionally to every result. We’ve experienced the highs, we’ve seen our club at its peak, at our best. We all know we are a million miles away from that, yet we still oddly expect great performances, and results every week.
We are judging this team against a standard they am have never shown themselves capable of. It’d be like entering your son in a race against Usain Bolt then genuinely being surprised and upset when he loses. No matter what happens this season and over the summer I fully expect to see fans start next season massively overestimating where our team is and what they are capable of. Subsequently leading to disappointment when they don’t live up to that unrealistic expectation.
Next season we should see a side that can play the way the manager wants on a more consistent basis. Early in the season that probably still doesn’t mean managing it for entire games, let alone for most matches. Depending on the strength of other sides in the league, we should probably be expecting a 10th to 7th placed finish. That isn’t what we should be aiming for, we should always aim to win every game, but the reality is that is probably where our team will be at that point. We will have a newly constructed team, with players who aren’t yet fully in sync with the rest of the team, along with many young and inconsistent players who are still learning.
If by the end of next season we start to see the team being able to play how the manager wants for 90 minutes in pretty much every game, then we are on track. Then if we have a good summer and bring in more quality in key positions, along with young players progressing, then we can hope for a good season in the 2026/ 27 season. Finishing in the top four and maybe winning a cup. If we follow that with another good summer, along with those young players continuing to improve then maybe during the 2027/28 season we might see a title challenge.
However, that is three season’s away, and that is a realistic target for our next genuine title challenge. As fans, we need to back the manager, the team and the club. They will make mistakes, and it will be frustrating at times, but if we can’t get on board, then we run the risk of creating the tension that will derail it, either making it take longer or stopping that progress entirely.
Written by Shappy February 19 2025 16:41:50
