Now that the season has drawn to a close (and I’ve collected myself), I thought it was only right to sum up where we are and where we’re going.
I can’t lie. I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to this football club. I was gutted on Saturday when we lost the F.A cup final. I have never been a good loser, and it stings even more thinking about the ramifications directly from that too.
As the silver fox in the football competition world, I’ve never lost my hope or failed to see the magic when it comes to the F.A cup. Who would have thought with how we started our campaign, we would end up finishing third in the league, with a league cup trophy and another final to contend with. Am I proud? Absolutely. Does it make it hurt any less? No.
But ultimately, it wasn’t to be and it wasn’t our day. Now more then ever, however, I truly believe our time will come again. And when it does, we will know the blood sweat and tears that it has taken to get us there.
For me, Martinez has been a huge loss since his injury, and it was defensive errors that cost us massively. Not disputing the goalkeeper involvement. It’s also hard to imagine what would have been if Bruno had a ferocious striker in front of him to feed goals to. To wonder where we might have been without the Casemiro suspensions and obstacles we faced. But that’s enough what ifs. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. In truth, the glaringly obviously gaps to get this squad and future line ups from A to B was and is obvious. There are players whose time is unfortunately up and there are spaces to be filled by hungry new reds.
On a positive note, Erik ten Hag has truly found his feet at his new home. His ability to get the best out of the cards he has been dealt hasn’t gone unnoticed. He doesn’t throw his players under the bus. Nor does he forget about the true heart of the club being us the fans. I am so optimistic with what he can do here if he only has the tools he needs which he so rightly deserves.
Which leads me to our biggest problem and the poisonous root tarnishing our growth. The owners. I never expected anything to come easy with those lot. But this circus, with the endless loop of stories and so called bids is nothing short of ridiculous. You’ve sucked so much out of this club. But not the life of it. So let us breathe. Take your money and go. Until the situation is finalised, we simply can’t move forward the way we need to. On what was a glorious sunny day at Wembley, the last thing we needed was a Glazer watching on who we have tried to thrive in spite of, not because of. For me, the best celebration of all will be the day they are truly gone. And please please let it be a full sale only!
As the chant goes, we’ve seen it all, we’ve won the lot, we’re Man United and we’re never gonna stop. We’ve done the treble. Before smartphones. Before social media. Before clubs could seemingly hide away from multiple violations. We did it the hard way. And nothing and nobody can ever take that away from us. We’ve been down. We’ve got back up. While memories are beautiful and I’ll never lose my pride at being a truly historic team with a true love story behind it, it is time to make some new ones.
So, roll on August. Roll on huge changes. Roll on never giving up. Let others have that moment. Because when ours comes again, we are going to be insufferable.
To give credit where it’s due, I was thrilled to see Marcus Rashford be voted both the player’s and fan’s player of the year. That’s it right there isn’t it. The epitome of everything we stand for. A young kid from a council estate in Manchester breaking through the ranks to reach the pinnacle. The heart. The youth. The true spirit of what we stand for. That, we have never lost.
As for Garnacho, whilst I don’t want to put pressure on his shoulders, he is wonderful to watch. This is his calling and he has time and character on his side. Seeing that he had the trophy as his phone lock screen and the hurt on his face after the defeat has only convinced me more that he is going to turn that pain into power.
And then sprinkle in a bit of experience and leadership and in walks Casemiro. What a character he is to see us in poor shape and say I’m coming and I’m making my mark here. Then put his money where his mouth is.
Then you have Lisandro. I truly can’t wait for his return. What is something that we were missing the most? Leadership. Someone to command at the back and get well and truly stuck in like a centre back we used to know called Vidic.
This is the start of a true team. With unity and cohesion. It feels different. Now fill in the blanks and we are good to go.
It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that in a recent poll we were voted the most hated fans. We never stop or give in. We’re the ones you’ll hear singing when we’re winning and even louder when we’re losing. We’re the ones who won it all. And truthfully, the club on everyone’s lips regardless of form.
Why? Because we’re Manchester United. Featuring on a headline near you every single day. You can’t escape us. The progress is apparent.
The comeback? Well I believe… that’s imminent!
unitedshestands 