What is the Way Forward?

As humans, asides basic necessities such as food, water, air and some might argue money too. We need other things to spice up our existence, make us feel alive. Things that bring us joy and fond memories of laughter and excitement. One of those is sports, and the only sport I am really familiar with is football, which I watch and play (not professionally though).

I have been a Manchester united fan since 2006, that is 15 years now, which is more than half of my time on earth. I have watched this great club conquer England, Europe and world football. Those were the days when watching man united play only bring joy and happiness (except for a few matches). Now, when I watch man united, my eyes are filled with teary sorrows and my heart bleed from despair.

For the football fans, it is no news that Man united are now a shadow of their former self, they have been trophyless for the past 3+ seasons. Even though they have made it to several semifinals during this period as well as the last Europa league final, which they lost to Villarreal in the penalty shootout. Their current league form is nothing to write home about as they’ve only picked 4 points out of possible 21 points in their last 7 league games.

Manchester United currently sits seventh in the league log, trailing behind league-leaders Chelsea with 12 points witj 12 games played so far. I am focusing majorly on the domestic league because they say ‘charity begins at home’. Also, I strongly believe if man united can compete with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool domestically, they will be a force to reckon with in European club competition such as the UEFA champions league and the Europa League.

My view of the problem in Manchester is majorly pointing to the manager and his tactical approach to games, as I strongly believe that is the major problem affecting the team’s performance in games.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

Having watched most of Man United’s game since Ole took charge, I can say that one of Man United’s major problem is game plan. Often, we sit back and try to counter teams by watching run-ins from attackers (especially wingers) even when we play against lesser teams. While counter-attacking is a good game plan, especially against teams that play with a high defensive line, it can have little or no impact against teams that maintain low block.

Another problem I observed in Ole’s tactics is little or no adaptability during games. What I mean is: while you might have a game plan you want to use against a particular team prior to the game, there are times where the plan doesn’t work after the game has started. It is up to the coaching staff to observe what is or what will and act accordingly, it might require you changing tactics or ensuring the players stick to the plan by having a word or two with them from the touchline.

Because of our style of play, we rarely dominate games. Rarely would you see united have a ball possession of 60+%. Other big teams such as Chelsea, man city, Liverpool (Who are the major contenders for the league this season) often dominate games against lower teams especially. And if you can dominate your opponent, you are likely to exhaust and break through their wall (defence).

WAY FORWARD?

Even though I am happy and impressed with signings made by Ole over the last 3+ years, I am unimpressed at how he had utilized the soldiers in his army. Often times, games have been won/salvaged because of individual brilliance, like in the game against Westham this season, a stoppage time penalty-stop- brilliance from our goalie David De Gea  - whom I think has been our best player so far this season – helped us go away with all three points.

As at when I was writing this article, I got a notification that the board has agreed to part ways with the current manager Ole, and it will be announced soon. With former player Darren Fletcher set to become the interim manager, with Michael Carrick the assistant until a new head coach is appointed.

That is good news as I was going to suggest the way forward was to sack the current manager (Ole). Whom I think isn’t tactical enough to manage the team to start competing with other top clubs and bring it back to its glory days filled with trophies and celebrations.

A number of coaches are on the radar, such as Zidane, Erik ten Hag, Brendan Rodgers, among others. Personally, I fancy Zidane for the Job. When the decision is finally made, irrespective of who is appointed, I hope the squad is invigorated and everyone involved works hard and diligently to achieve success.

Thank you for reading and God bless you.

Special thanks to @HappyBoy for the new sponsorship, I promise to do my best to uphold the faith you have in me.