Manchester United 2021/22 Season Review: Kings No More
Manchester United 2021/22 Season Review:
Kings No More
-Samarth Purohit
-Editor: Mitansh Kagalwala
Manchester United. Perhaps one of the most successful teams
in Europe, definitely in England, with 20 League titles (13 Premier League
titles), 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, including a treble, and cups galore. Post
the departure of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, however, the Red Devils
have failed to hit the highs of his tenure, not lifting the league title since
2013, and being trophyless for 5 years now.
However, by the start of the 2021/22 season, all that seemed
set to change. Manchester had finished a resurgent second place in the previous
season, ahead of rampaging rivals Liverpool, with a seemingly weaker squad.
Club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was at the wheel, and for once, United started
the season having had a great transfer window on paper. Young livewire Jadon
Sancho arrived at the club, ending a long and frustrating saga. 4 time UCL
winner Raphael Varane arrived from Real Madrid to shore up United’s defence, a
sore spot for multiple seasons. And the icing on the cake: the return of United’s
prodigal son, Cristiano Ronaldo, from Juventus. The season started brightly,
with United notching 13 from 15 points in their first 5 games. A minor blip
against Young Boys in the Champions League aside, this seemed like the season
where United would finally challenge for the title.
Then came United’s EFL Cup 3rd round exit in a 1-0
loss to West Ham, and the catastrophic form that followed. United picked up
only 4 points from their next 7 games, including particularly humiliating
defeats against Liverpool (5-0) and Manchester City (2-0). Good form and
victories in the UCL and a solitary 3-0 win against Tottenham provided little
respite, however, as this poor run culminated in a 4-1 defeat to newly promoted
Watford, and the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ralf Rangnick was brought in to replace the Norwegian, to
much optimism and hope. Indeed, United’s form seemed to be on an uptick, despite
the Red Devils not exactly putting on the swashbuckling displays expected. 14 points
from 6 games, including a draw against Chelsea and a win against Arsenal (under
interim boss Michael Carrick), and qualification to the knockout stages of the
UCL.
All was not quite as well as could be, however. A solitary
half against Crystal Palace aside, his tactics would fail to be implemented by
the squad. His brutal press interviews didn't help his case with the board, as
he'd often criticise the way the club was run. Despite a few good games here
and there, Manchester United seemed set to finish at best, in fourth place,
with Conte’s Spurs and a resurgent Arsenal breathing down their necks.
Then came the UCL Round of 16 and derbies against Manchester
City and Liverpool. United were unceremoniously dumped out of the UCL by
Atletico Madrid’s lockdown football, losing 2-1 over both legs. The derbies
ended in 4-1 and 4-0 losses, respectively, with United never in either of the
games. At times it looked as if City and Liverpool had turned up to play rondos.
The Mason Greenwood case, in late January, didn’t United’s
sporting ambitions either. The striker was taken into police custody, leaving
United with only two ageing strikers in Ronaldo and Cavani, and pretty much no
depth in attack. Not a single player was added to the squad in January, and the
club would pay the price for it. The last few games saw fans just hoping the
season would end soon. A 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace on the final matchday finally
put United fans out of their misery.
All the summer signings, all the optimism around a balanced squad
of youth and experience, all the hope, only to culminate in a 6th
place finish, United’s worst ever points tally in the Premier League, and a
divided dressing room.
SQUAD REVIEW
Perhaps the biggest factor in United’s dismal season is
their poor recruitment and lack of foresight. United have failed to secure a
world class defensive midfielder since the retirement of Michael Carrick years
prior, despite the team desperately crying out for one. Nemanja Matic, while
good, doesn’t have the intensity to play week in week out for the English
giants. The lack of a CDM meant Scott Mctominay taking up the role on the
field. The Scot is a physically intimidating player, but not quite up to par
technically and on the ball, and, by all accounts, not the calibre nor the type
of midfielder United need as a starter. The midfield, with Mctominay and Fred usually
starting in a horribly unbalanced double pivot, would get destroyed week in
week out due to the lack of a proper CDM, which killed much of the momentum
Manchester United had.
Jadon Sancho would take a while to adjust to life in England,
a task that was made harder by Cristiano Ronaldo’s inclusion in the squad,
despite the Portuguese’s heroic goal-scoring exploits. The team would have to accommodate
for Ronaldo's lack of pressing or fluidity at many points in the season, which
eventually hindered the output of the team as a whole. Bruno Fernandes, the
team’s best creative offensive option, would have to periodically play in
deeper roles due to this issue. Anthony Martial was sidelined entirely, and Marcus
Rashford was out with injury for the first half of the season. When Rashford
did return, he was a shadow of his former self.
Captain Harry Maguire would have an awful season, with his
defensive blunders causing many goals to be conceded. The lack of a CDM in
front of United’s high line meant that Maguire was often caught out due to his
lack of speed and agility. Fullbacks Aaron Wan Bissaka and Luke Shaw weren't
much better, and Varane was riddled with injuries. None of the three managed to
live up to pre-season expectations, especially Shaw, who was coming off a
wonderful Euro 2020 campaign.
PLAYER OF THE SEASON
There wasn’t really much choice, with Ronaldo and goalkeeper
David De Gea being the only realistic contenders. Despite his age, however, the
Portuguese legend was far and away United’s player of the season. He bore much
of the blame for United’s poor form due to his lack of pressing in Rangnick’s system,
but there is no doubt that without the striker’s 24 goals, United would be
much, much worse off. Ronaldo may not be the speedy, silky winger he was in his
first spell at Old Trafford, but he is still one of the best strikers in the
business.
THE FUTURE
Cristiano Ronaldo has since been trying to engineer a move away from Old
Trafford, and new manager Erik Ten Hag is showing promise in pre-season with the squad,
as fans once again have hope for a top 4 finish this season. However, it'll be
daunting, especially with the strength of the Arsneal and Tottenham squads, and the damage caused by the 21/22 season to Manchester United's
legacy is untold. Signings like Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez to bolster
the defence have flamed hope once again, however, a new CDM is still not to be
found for the Red Devils, a worrying sign before the beginning of the 2022/23
season. The signing of Christian Eriksen ought to give United's attack some much needed creativity and finesse.
Once the kings of England, and the most dominant force in
the league, Man United have no option but to rise, like their rivals Liverpool
did, or crumble, like their other rivals Arsenal did for a long time.
The season marks the first time in EPL history that
Manchester United were simply written off as an easy game to win, despite the
quality of individuals in the team. It will be up to Erik Ten Hag to make these group of
individuals, into a squad, but the early signs from preseason are promising,
and United fans can hope for a better year.
CHECK OUT OUR CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD SERIES:
CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD PART ONE: FC BARCELONA
CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD PART TWO- MANCHESTER UNITED
CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD PART THREE: ARSENAL
CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD PART FOUR: JUVENTUS
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER 2021/22 SEASON REVIEWS:
FC Barcelona 2021/22 Season Review: A Season of Two Halves
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