Manchester United Season Review

As another season comes to an end, things are looking much, much better for the Red Devils than they did 12 months ago.

New manger, new players, and finally back in the top four. There’s plenty to shout about, but there is still room for improvement.

Best moment of the season? Hands down, without a shadow of doubt in my mind… Steven Gerrard’s sending off at Anfield. His final game against United and he couldn’t even play a full half. Summed up his entire season, and after a bump in the road last year, we did the double over the Scousers once again. You couldn’t ask for more!

Best goal of the season? In the same game, Juan Mata’s second. That scissor kick! There have been plenty of great goals this season, but this one is so significant. If you didn’t love Mata before then you do now.

Best result? Moving away from Juanfield, for me the best result was the 4-2 win over Manchester City. A year ago our former manager said we ‘aspired’ to be like them. They were absolutely in our shadow at home, as they should have been. Most teams came to Old Trafford last year and expected to win, and the side proved that was no longer the case.

Best player? Easy answer of course, David De Gea. He made some crucial saves this season and we would have been lost without him.
Most improved player? There are a few I could pick here. The likes of De Gea, Chris Smalling, Marouane Fellaini. But it has to be Ashley Young. What a turn around he has made this season. He is undroppable in his current form. I never thought I would consider him one of the best players of the season, nor did I think he would have the ability to push out Angel di Maria from the starting XI.

Worst moment? Danny Welbeck scoring the winner to knock United out of the FA Cup, for a few reasons. 1) It’s Danny Welbeck. 2) People really believed he was a good footballer after that moment. I could have scored that goal. 3) Valencia more or less assisted that goal. A stupid moment he has been paying for ever since. All of his good work has gone unnoticed because of it.

Worst result? 5-3 at Leicester City. They were new to the Premier League and it should have been an easy win. It just was not our day. The humiliation was on another level, and if anything, it did Leicester no favours. They ended up on a horrific run after it. Although, they deserved to stay up.

Worst player? Jonny Evans. For possibly the fifth season running. How he can continue as a Manchester United player truly boggles my mind. He is not a good defender. He passes back far too often. It is not a coincidence that United’s best run of games came off the back of his six match ban. He must be sold this summer.

What needs to change? Players need to feel more comfortable taking chances. Just. Bloody. Shoot. If you miss, you miss. We’ll live. Having plenty of possession and doing nothing with it can only be deemed pointless. Fitness was a huge problem this season, and needs to be focussed on next year. A string of injuries helped the younger players but they were a last resort in some cases. Strengthening in the summer is the priority – a more solid defence and a more clinical finisher up top.

What needs to stay the same? The formation works. 3-5-2 absolutely does not. The passion and fight we have seen from some of the players is wonderful – please God keep it into next season. How Ander Herrera has settled into the squad, and spoken so highly about the club proves why he is one of, if not the best signing of last summer.

Who should go? Falcao is already gone. Jonny Evans needs to go immediately.

Who should stay? If we can keep him, David De Gea. Madrid may have nicer weather, but their fans will never love him like United do. What will Ander and Juan do without him?!

Rating? 6/10. We’ve had some horrendous moments, and some absolutely brilliant ones. I am proud of what my team have achieved, and how my manager has transformed them. Getting top four was the objective and he achieved it. But now, we have to go for the Premier League title.