It has been a rollercoaster season at Old Trafford where Manchester United’s year has been defined by so many highs and lows. While they are still within reach of clinching a spot in next year’s Champions League, last week’s loss to Chelsea was another stark reminder of what has come and gone.
It won’t take away from wins over Manchester City and Liverpool, but the battle for second place has been a struggle all year and the fans of the Red Devils would undoubtedly have preferred chasing Chelsea for top spot in the Premier League standings rather than jockeying for second heading in to the final stretch.
There has been plenty of regret that management has had to deal with and while a return to Europe’s top competition would shake some of that outlook, there are five things in particular that stand out about this season that will stick with fans moving forward.
Lack Of Consistency from The Start
The wins over rivals Manchester City and Liverpool in particular stand out among the highs of this season, but they also served as a stark reminder of what could have been. The Red Devils showed flashes of their ability from the start but their lack of consistency from the beginning stood out among their biggest issues. While the club has bounced back down the stretch, it’s too little, too late in terms of a Premier League title pursuit. There will be plenty of fingers pointed in terms of what went wrong early on but perhaps the biggest regret the manager and players will have to deal with is that things didn’t click sooner.
The Loss At Leicester
There are some United fans that have been calling for manager Louis van Gaal’s head since the collapse at Leicester City in September in which a second half collapse really seemed to rock the team’s confidence in a 5-3 loss. United had just demolished QPR 4-0 in the first game after the transfer window and was in the perfect situation to build some momentum against a seemingly inferior opponent but everything fell apart in a hurry. In some ways this united team still hasn’t fully recovered.
The FA Cup Falter
There will be debate about whether or not United would have bounced back so strong in wins over Manchester City and Liverpool if they didn’t first deal with the heartbreak of their FA Cup exit, but in a year where everything else seemed lost, the Red Devils fans seemed to cling for the longest time to the idea that they could bring home at least one trophy this season. The FA Cup loss to Arsenal stung even more since it was the former United academy product Danny Welbeck that scored the winner. While a spot in the Champions League next year is a decent consolation prize, this team has to regret missing out on ending its FA Cup drought.
Signing Falcao
It seemed as though Manchester United had locked up the best offensive weapon available and a striker that could really compliment Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie up front with the addition of Radamel Falcao, but the move has not worked out and the club could cut ties with him in the near future. Four goals and four assists isn’t nearly enough to match the hype that came with his arrival and Falcao will largely be remembered as a regrettable addition by the United brass.
Injuries
There is probably no way to really limit the injuries that ravaged the team throughout the year but one of the biggest regrets Manchester United will have is that they couldn’t do more to keep their players on the field. There is no doubt that injuries played a significant role in disrupting the team’s ability to click earlier on in the season. While there is no way to completely eliminate injuries from the game, they will probably wish they had better luck in that department.
