It hasn’t been the kind of season that fans of Manchester United had hoped for. True, the team has won three trophies including a major European title, a spot in the Champions League has been guaranteed, but finishing sixth in the Premier League is not exactly something to be proud of.
At the start, the expectations were high, especially with the arrival of Jose Mourinho and the big signings, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But at a club like Manchester United, such is life. The fanbase is used to watching their team win the league title, year in and year out. Finishing behind the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool doesn’t make them happy at all.
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Securing a Champions League spot may be enough for Mourinho but it isn’t enough for the fans. “It is the hardest I have ever worked,” the Portuguese boss had quipped. But clearly, there is more work to be done. Now, that the Europa League triumph has finally sunk in, we look at the five things that went wrong for the 20-time English champions this season:
#5 Pinning too much expectation on Paul Pogba
To be honest, Paul Pogba has not had a poor first season but the fact that he cost United £89m weighed heavily throughout. Whether he was spraying passes around the field, beating opposition players with his strength, creating chances or scoring goals, the pundits had to point out how he could have done it better.
He has been largely criticised for the lack of goals, however. What these critics fail to understand is that it is not Pogba’s role to score. Alas, the fact that he is only 23 years old and is still improving day by day has gone largely unnoticed.
True, being the most expensive player in football, fans will always expect more of him but you just cannot overlook that he has actually been pretty good in the centre of the field. However, to excel, he will need more runners around him and that is where Ed Woodward comes in.
#4 Points lost in home games
United enjoyed an unprecedented 25-game unbeaten streak in the league. Following the humiliating 4-0 loss to eventual champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, they won 13 and drew 12 games.
There is a possibility that you have already read the following statement in several memes across social media – during their unbeaten streak, United managed to move from sixth to sixth in the league table.
Yes, they were solid in defence, not conceding more than one goal in any of those 25 matches. But they failed to kill games (especially, at Old Trafford) and in the process, lost valuable points. Such was the frustration following the home draw against Bournemouth, even Mourinho lashed out in public.
"If you look at the points we lost at home, if you accumulate these points, you are talking about 10 or 12. With these points we are not just speaking about the top four, we would be speaking about the top two or top one. We lost too many points at home and that obviously cost us our position.”
His words sum up the season in the best way possible.
#3 No solid Plan B
Mourinho might be a brilliant tactician, but throughout the recently concluded season, it became increasingly apparent that he had no contingency plan in place. His totem signing, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was Plan A, B and often, C until the ligament tear.
At 35, the Swede started 27 of the 28 league games he played in and even in those he stayed on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. Mourinho’s over dependence on Ibrahimovic was understandable but in those tight games where the striker was ineffective, there seemed to be no plan B.
There was, however, a contingency plan – Marouane Fellaini, to be precise. But the only thing the Belgian can do is bring down the long balls and then give away possession. No title aspiring club can depend on someone like Fellaini to pull the team out of crunch situations.
#2 Long term injuries to key players
It is true that in the Premier League, injuries to vital players can halt a club’s aspirations of winning the title (look at Arsenal, they are the masters of this art). But then, that is why you need to have a strong bench.
Right at the start of the season, Mourinho was adamant that he would have a squad featuring only 23 players. He had deemed that those 23 players were enough to achieve the objectives of the season. Later on, he had to eat his own words.
Injuries had left United threadbare in defence. Mourinho tried all possible permutations and combinations in defence. Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling – all spent major chunks of the season recovering from injuries.
In midfield as well, the situation was no better with Michael Carrick having to start more games than was initially planned. And, if Juan Mata’s injury left United without a creator, Ibrahimovic’s ligament tear left them without a finisher.
#1 Goals, or the lack of them
A quick look at the Premier League table is enough to understand what has been the main drawback of Mourinho’s side. Among the top six teams, Manchester United have scored the least number of goals (the deficit amounting up to at least 20). In fact, even Bournemouth, who finished 9th in the table, have scored more.
Finishing has been an area of major concern. United’s shot conversion ratio of 12.9 is the fourth lowest in the league. All of the team’s forwards have been guilty of spurning chance after chance, and that too in crucial moments. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had scored 17 goals (before he got injured) but his shot conversion rate of under 15% tells a different story.
It is for this reason that United struggled to break deadlocks or kill games when they needed to. Mourinho knows what needs to be done and has already identified one French forward, who is known for his goal-scoring abilities. Perhaps, the next season will be better for them.
