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Post by Dave on May 25, 2015 14:06:04 GMT
7/10.
Realistically it was all about top four this season, we've achieved that relatively comfortably in my eyes, few bumps along the way but there were no great challengers. Position wise job done.
The performances have been up and down all season, early on it was a case of experimenting with the team, systems, LVG trying to find balance etc. In the second half of the season we've seen an improvement, most players found their feet with the philosophy and we saw some of the best football for years in wins over Spurs, Liverpool and City. The performances against the top sides has been brilliant, the best record, vast improvement on that front, at home we've become a force again it's just our away form that has been poor and it's been a struggle to breakthrough lower side opposition. The ending to the season was disappointing but effectively the job was done.
Player wise some of the transfers haven't worked out as we would have liked but other players have come to fore the likes of Fellaini, Smalling and Young have improved vastly. The experienced players like Carrick and Rooney have learnt to adapt to new roles. Herrera who was left out of the team, with us all wondering why has come back to be a better player and have a better understanding of the team and we are reaping the benefits.
Next season realistically I think we are looking at a title challenge, decent run in the CL and hopefully a cup. With the right signings and hard work that can be achieved under LVG. Need to improve our consistency and crack those lower league sides. Biggest disappointment was going out of the FA Cup.
What did you think of our season, did it reach your expectations and what are you expectations for next season? Fire away.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 15:00:26 GMT
Proper transition season oneit. :lol:
Considering the delayed arrival of VG and the delay to actually get hands on it's been a remarkable season to pack in what he's packed in, change what he's change, and still come out top 4. Frustrating on the performance and result front but with a proper pre-season and the right quality players in place we'll surprise a few next year.
On balance an 8/10 is deserved considering it would be such a culture shock to all but a few at the club.
If you were taking it out of context and just going off performance and result you'd proabbly be down to 6.0 with flashes of 9.0, but that's not the whole story.
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Post by matt on May 25, 2015 15:33:26 GMT
The official goal was to reach the top-4. This was achieved through ups and downs, but we fully deserve to be where we are. We may have dropped silly points, especially at the start of the campaign, but when you see how we have performed against the big teams, no one can deny we deserve to finish fourth.
In my books though, the biggest goal was to rebuild, attacking the very roots of our English DNA and implement a new "philosophy" as LVG likes to call it. English football is undoubtedly being left behind on the European stage, and it's about bloody time some managers stepped up and adjust English football to the demands of modern football. It may not please everyone, but LVG is smart enough to realise that and he has been doing a terrific job on that front for me. All your traditional English pundits mocking him, saying how we wasted 150M, how we should be ahead and challenging for the title, etc. don't have a clue. Even Paul Scholes imo has shown why he and the people of his mould, from the old-fashioned era, should stay far away from a managerial position now. The game is evolving in a way they don't accept or understand, and I thank LVG for having the courage to stick to what he believes in, and for daring to challenge the English philosophy.
It's too early to say if we will be successful on the long-term, but I truly like the basis he has set up this season, emphasising possession, making us tactically more aware (as shown in the big games). he is preparing us for a new brand of football. It is not a coincidence if the two most successful teams in Eruope over the last decades were Barca and Bayern, where he set up the same basis. We wasted a year under Moyes, but I think LVG has filled that hole pretty well. If Woodward can get the targets LVG wants, then we might witness something special next season at United. We may not win silverware, it might be too soon, but we're defnitely on the right track imo.
It was a good first season for LVG and United. I don't want to throw a stone, but I really wonder how this season could have turned out if some of our transfers had worked better and if our frontline had produced more (Di Maria especially, Falcao and RVP). People like to blame our defence, but I am convinced it wasn't the issue to move one step further. No one could have anticipated Di Maria's and Falcao's failure, but surely that was a factor between us finishing 4th or second, bewteen us losing at home in the FA Cup and perhaps reaching silverware? "If's", I know : but my point is that the roots seem pretty solid now, and I am looking forward to seeing how we fare next season with a few more quality signings.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 16:42:47 GMT
I'd echo everything said by you all. I think it's been a good season as we've achieved our main objective which was getting back into the top 4. The performances have been very up and down but as the players have grasped his philosophy more as the season has gone on we've seen improved displays.
Most pleasing has been our displays against the bigger sides, the only game we were 2nd best in against the top sides was away to Arsenal and we managed to win that 1 by playing a clever counter attacking game and in the end could have put 3 or 4 past them despite being on the back foot for large periods. The wins against City, Spurs and both victories against Liverpool (particularly the 1 at Anfield) were a joy to behold and some of our best displays for years, including Fergie's last couple in charge. Controlled every game from start to finish.
Another pleasing aspect of our performances this season have been the never say die attitude which seems to be back in the side. We lost it last year as we folded to numerous defeats but this season it seemed like the old spirit was back in the side and we scored a number of late goals to take something from a game.
In terms of the style of football I like what he's trying to do here, the possession based game is something which will stand us in good stead next season in Europe and I think we're the best equipped of the English sides in Europe with LVG's philosophy. There's been a lack of cutting edge at times but there's no denying that with the right players in this system we'll turn dominant possession into more points next season, that I'm certain of. We've defended very well as a unit this season, individual errors is what's been costing us defensively but as the season's gone on these have become few and far between. The relationships being built on the flanks have been great to see in the latter part of the season as well.
Of course there's been some very disappointing aspects to our play, our inability to break down lesser sides (particularly away from home) is something which needs to be addressed next season. We can't be dropping points against these sort of sides and expecting to successfully challenge for the title. I think this will be rectified next season though, I'd be much more concerned if we were getting mauled by the bigger sides again.
It's been a strange season if you look at individual players. The so called big name exciting stars have been the ones who have produced the least, namely Di Maria and Falcao. Whilst our best performers (besides the keeper) have been players who were previously ridiculed and had huge question marks over their heads. Young in particular has made an incredible turnaround and in the end he was a genuine contender for player of the season to De Gea. Herrera has come on leaps and bounds and is fast becoming my favourite player at the club, in 1 season with us he scored 6 goals despite being on the bench for much of the early part of the season. He's full of life and energy and isn't scared to get mixed up in a physical battle as well, really excited to see him progress even further next season.
On the whole it's not been a stellar season in terms of the overall performances of the side but it has been an incredibly important one on so many levels. Back in the top 4 with some incredibly good performances thrown in which hopefully give us a good sign of what's to come after we invest in the right players in the summer and I for one am incredibly excited for next season as I really think we're going to do some serious damage on all fronts.
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Post by Kaushik on May 25, 2015 17:38:13 GMT
The season is full of ups and downs. Overall happy with 4th place. New signings failed to impress bar Herrera.
Top 4 is our objective for this season, so in that regard this is a successful season. But I feel we could have finished 2nd or 3rd if we could have avoided the 3 straight losses.
We will be much better next season, this team is only going to improve. Happy with the signing of Depay, a great young player.
7/10
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Post by spens1 on May 26, 2015 1:25:43 GMT
Solid 7/10. we did what we set out to do.
New signings where pretty much bad except Herrera, but the guys who were busts actually proved to be vital (Fellaini and Young). We could have been better in stretches (if we had only lost once, and not 3 in a row, then yeah we would have probably have finished 3rd, avoiding a CL playoff)
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Post by Jerry Koh on May 26, 2015 2:18:41 GMT
I wouldn't give it a rating out of ten. Has this been an excellent season? Nope, not by any means. Has it been good enough in terms of what we needed to do? Certainly.
Our transfer activity last summer wasn't exactly the best (look at our two South American attacking superstars), but we can certainly take heart from Herrera's performances during the last two months of the season. Rojo and Blind look promising too, and hopefully Shaw can come good. Despite some of the poor performances and results we've witnessed this season, I am still confident that Van Gaal is the man to take us forward into the post-SAF era (unlike my old man).
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