Man United: Season Preview and Predictions

 MANCHESTER UNITED: SEASON PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

-Samarth Purohit

-Editor: Mitansh Kagalwala

A season of Highs, Lows, Reds and, hopefully not, Blues



photo via: wallpapercave.com


Manchester United, as of the time of writing this, rests comfortably at the third position on the Premier League table, matching the leaders in points. Yet, it seems United’s season is to be a controversial one, with several fans proclaiming a title charge to be underway, and others simply hoping their rivals, Liverpool, do not win to equalise the Red Devil’s Record of 20 Premier League Victories. United have started the season brightly, scoring a bucketful of goals, bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo, and then...drawing to Southampton and nearly losing to West Ham. 


Manchester United’s Manager is a former United legend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Despite his talent on the pitch helping secure ManU their treble in the 1999/2000 season, his talent as a manager is less clearly visible. 


Ole has built the squad up since he joined as manager 3 seasons ago, bringing in young talent like Jadon Sancho and Van deBeek, along with academy prodigy, Mason Greenwood (who seems to be one of the most promising young talents in England), and experienced winners like Raphael Varane, and Cristiano Ronaldo to the club; essentially creating a near-super team since his arrival. This is a clear improvement over the squad Ole inherited, which had the likes of Marcos Rojo and Marouane Fellaini. 


Despite the talent being brought in, United seem unlikely to win this season of the Premier League or make it past the semi finals of the UCL, due to a few key factors at play. Ole has been fantastic at buying the right players at the right time for the club, but a few things stand out when looking at the squad. Ole and United seem hesitant to sell, which has led to a bit of a selection headache at the front. Man United now has 7 potential forwards, all gunning for their shot: Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Edison Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Martial. Further, United have a plethora of attacking midfielders, with Pogba, Fernandes and Van De Beek all good enough to take the field. While squad depth is essential, this depth doesn’t extend to the entire squad, nor is it particularly useful when it’s clear that Lingard, Martial and to a lesser extent Cavani, will not be starting over the likes of Ronaldo or Greenwood.


In particular, ManU has a particularly lacking midfield, by the standards of Premier League football. Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes are great additions to the team, and vital for offensive pushes, but the real flaw is shown in defensive maneuvers. Man United’s defensive midfield still consists of Fred and Mctominay, sometimes an aging Matic, shielding the defence. It is clear that the chances of winning any title is slim when you don’t have a world class midfielder behind the forward line. Eduardo Camavinga was available in the summer, but he joined Real Madrid.  


Fred, United's defensive midfielder, has been lackluster all season, leading to much ridicule from his own team’s fans, who demand he be benched in place of better prospects. Further, United’s lack of a strong defensive midfielder can be seen analysing their first few matches of the season, where United have been able to keep only one clean sheet, despite the best efforts of talented players like Varane and Luke Shaw, which leads to frantic scrambles to ensure a victory in the second half. A world class CDM has to be United's priority for the January transfer window, that being the only missing piece in Ole's puzzle.


Another key factor is the strength of the rest of the challengers; never have there been 4 teams of such strength in Chelsea, City, Liverpool and United, all competing for the Premier League and the UCL. It remains to be seen whether Ole will be able to outsmart and outplay the other big teams; most fans consider him the worst tactically of the 4 managers. 


Predictions for the season:

 

Premier League: 3rd

Champions League: Quarter Finals

Top Goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (well, duh)

Best Signing: Cristiano Ronaldo (who else?)

Player of the Season: Bruno Fernandes










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