Manchester United come to the end of a season in which there has been little to celebrate, and they have a lot of catching up to do with major rivals, so a number of areas need to change over the summer.
Attitude
Something isn’t quite right at Manchester United at present. It’s easy to point the finger at the players but in this case, it is entirely right to do so.
The players clearly didn’t want to perform for Jose Mourinho, who lost his job just before Christmas before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in as interim manager.
By some miracle, the players decided to turn up and even conjured up an eight-game unbeaten run before losing to PSG in the Champions League at Old Trafford. Yet they managed to turn the tie around thanks to a last-minute penalty, which was converted by Marcus Rashford.
Clearly, the players were proving that they didn’t want to play for Mourinho, but now, after failing to win in five games, Solskjaer hasn’t been afraid to call out individuals who haven’t improved.
Ole’s at the wheel, for now, but he has a few bags to pack during the summer transfer window.
No Champions League
An utterly dismal display against relegated Huddersfield resulted in Manchester United missing out on Champions League football next season.
Huddersfield, who had previously lost their last eight matches, were able to hold Ole’s side to a 1-1 draw at the John Smith’s Stadium, leaving United’s fans fuming with the current situation at the club.
Perhaps the Champions League was beyond them, as proven this season when being knocked out by Barcelona, but enticing players to Old Trafford now appears a little more difficult.
Premier League betting suggests that Manchester United aren’t title contenders, as they seem to be falling even further behind the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
No Attacking Threat
Two goals in their last five matches highlight Manchester United’s issues to find the back of the net of late.
With Romelu Lukaku failing to show any of the kind of promise that his £75m price tag warrants, and with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford drifting in and out of form, Ole needs to have full backing in the transfer market and bring in a twenty-goal-a-season striker. This is easier said than done, mind you, but anything would be an improvement over Alexis Sanchez.
No Consistency
Ole is having to swap and change his eleven almost weekly at present. And who can blame him? The Norwegian hasn’t exactly held back on his opinions of certain players not performing, and he has every right to drop those who aren’t showing enough fight for the shirt.
However, on the flip side of this, the lack of consistency within the side clearly isn’t helping those who are on the pitch. Again, the transfer window is clearly going to be key for Ole and his staff as a rebuilding process is surely going to take place in the coming months.
Paul Pogba
This one might sound like a bit of a stretch, but the French international has been in the headlines more than most throughout the season.
The World Cup winner is clearly talented, proven by his inclusion in the Premier League team of the year. However, some have argued that he hasn’t shown the necessary consistency to be included within the fantasy side.
There are also plenty of rumours flying around that Pogba wants out of Old Trafford, which is certainly adding to the uncertain situation around the club heading into the summer.
Alex Ferguson always made sure his players knew that there was no player bigger than the club, and it would be interesting to see how the former manager would be dealing with the 26-year-old.
