Things can only get better...but when?

Every week, as another game approaches, it feels like yet another opportunity for United to turn a corner and show the world that the new United is really just like the old United. Yet it never happens.

The romantic football fan in me still gets excited when I see those superstars line-up for United – I had to pinch myself when I saw Falcao, Di Maria, Rooney and Van Persie start together for the first time – yet that feeling of expectation is soon transformed into disappointment. And, just like the performances, to be a United fan is currently unenjoyable and monotonous.

So many questions, all beginning with a confused ‘why’, run through my head every time I have watched United play this season. Why is van Gaal so stubbornly sticking with his 3-5-2 formation when his ‘philosophy’ clearly isn’t improving or benefiting the team? Why is our defense, complete with some shiny new acquisitions, still so poor? Why is Herrera consistently left out of the starting XI? Why has it not worked as well as we’d hoped for Di Maria or Falcao? And more recently, why is Rooney rotting away in midfield when Van Persie and Falcao are currently so lackluster and ineffective in attack? These are all questions that are being raised on an almost weekly basis as United continually underwhelm with their “miserable” brand of football. How ironic then that we are now being led by a successful adopter of ‘Total Football’ with a side containing some of the game’s most exciting players – something absent from poor old David Moyes’ side of last season.

Ultimately, however, it is a point’s game, and the points listed alongside Manchester United’s name in the league table indicate that things are not as bad as we are all making out. The goal at the beginning of the season was to regain our place in the 2015/16 Champions League and, given the level of investment that was made in the summer (over £150million just to remind you), it should not have been overambitious to supplement this with a trophy win as well. We are currently on course to achieve both. However, whereas in previous campaigns United had shown enough spirit and grit to win games without playing well, it feels like we are currently scraping through games undeservedly and with a large dose of luck. That luck will surely run out, and if we do not start pulling together the quality performances we expect from this team then our pre-season ambitions could evaporate as a more deserving side (namely Southampton, who are unfairly being disregarded as genuine top four finishers) takes advantage.

One thing is for certain though: United are not alone in underperforming this season. This has been a strangely anti-climactic season for a lot of the top clubs. Aside from Chelsea, the other five teams who finished above United last season have been inconsistent and are equally in danger of missing out on their targets – especially Liverpool, who are a pale comparison of last season’s side who finished second, and Everton, who are currently whiskers away from being sucked into the relegation battle. The fact that we are seeing Southampton excel, while the likes of West Ham and Stoke City are also in contention for European places, speaks volumes.

Perhaps therefore the general quality of the league has deteriorated so dramatically that these smaller sides are overachieving (while not necessarily playing outstanding football themselves) and capitalising on the poor form of the Premier League’s old guard? This however is another more profound conversation for another day!

For now, we await eagerly for the next installment of United’s season; desperately hoping to witness something different from the last while praying that our concerns will finally be resolved and that 'corner' will be turned.



Will there be a change in formation to allow for a more fluid, dynamic attacking display? Will our defenders do their job for once and give De Gea a break from winning yet another Man of the Match award? Will Herrera be given his chance to shine for a full 90 minutes rather than playing a bit-part from the bench? Will the real Di Maria and Falcao please stand up? And will Rooney return as a striker? All will be revealed on Monday against Preston in the FA Cup. Although at this stage, I am not keeping my hopes up.