Thank You, Zlatan
By: Wayne
Manchester United has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my best childhood memories involve waking up early on the weekends with my dad to watch the boys in red. In 1999, my dad was getting ready for me to be born. He knew I was going to be a pretty fucking sweet kid, so he was excited. Besides the nerves of having his first son, my dad was in the midst of watching his favorite soccer club win an English treble. Premier League, champions league, FA Cup. The level of consistency and elite play that is required to accomplish all three in one season is extraordinary. On May 26, 1999, the Red Devils took on Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final at Camp Nou in Barcelona. Entering stoppage time, Manchester United was down 1-0, but late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer stole the win for the Devils. I couldn't walk yet, but that Wednesday night in Barcelona set the stage for Manchester United as my first fandom.
As kid, I was lucky enough to watch legends grace the pitch for my favorite team. Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, and Robin Van Persie were appointment viewing every weekend. But as soon as Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, things started to feel different. A turnstile of coaches have come through since - David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho. A rotating cast of overpaid international players who have never lived up to their potential - Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Alexis Sanchez, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Romelu Lukaku. Living up to the unparalleled 27 years of clinical coaching by Fergie was never going to be easy, but the past few years have been particularly trying for everyone involved with Manchester United.
Sure, a Europa League and FA Cup win were good achievements for a regular club. But Manchester United isn't a regular club - it was once estimated to have 659 million fans worldwide. The brilliant heights reached under Sir Alex Ferguson are revered, and I desperately want as a fan to get back to that point. I want to understand the feeling my dad felt watching this team win an English treble.
Marcus Rashford remembers. Sure, he's a young superstar, but this man has years and years of Manchester red in his blood. He grew up in the suburb of Wythenshawe, Manchester, and was a part of the Manchester United academy for much of his teenage years. He made his first-team United debut in 2016 as a 19-year-old, scoring 2 goals in each of his Europa League and Premier League. It was immediately clear this kid was going to be a star.
Marcus has now scored 13 goals in his previous 14 appearances for Manchester United, and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's open, counter-attacking system has really benefitted the young center forward. No goal was bigger than his 23rd-minute penalty this past weekend against bitter rival Manchester City. United could have been forgiven for a loss. The Etihad is a tough place to play, and City desperately needed points out of the encounter as they look to keep their title hopes alive. But the moment wasn't too big for Rashford, and he set the pace all evening. The young star already has 14 goals against the Premier League's "top 6" (Utd, City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham) in the past 5 seasons. To put that into perspective, City star Raheem Sterling has 13 goals in 9 seasons against the "top 6". Rashford always delivers in the biggest matches, just like his electric manager Ole.
Manchester United has had an uneven record against the middle of the table this season, and injuries to Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Luke Shaw at various points have not helped matters. But the team is undefeated against the top 6 this season, and Ole has a 53.8% win rate against the top 6 sides. United is now 5 points out of the top 4, and with the excellent form they have been in recently a Champions League spot feels within reach. The win over Manchester City was glorious and honestly shocking. It was one of the best performances I've seen out of this team in what feels like years. The Manchester City fans couldn't stop the Red Devils on the pitch or off, as the fans tried to get involved late in the match, throwing lighters at Fred as he lined up for a corner. Pathetic. What wasn't pathetic was the consistency, pace, passing, and defense shown by the Man Utd boys.
Ole has drawn some great play out of his somewhat limited roster this season. Fred's box-to-box play in recent matches has made the loss of Pogba hurt much less. Daniel James has flashed elite pace and counter-attacking ability. Martial and Rashford have provided a constant goal threat when in the lineup. Scott McDominate has been, well, dominant in the midfield and is developing into a future captain of this team. AWB has been one of the best transfers of the year with his spider-like agility at right-back. He might be the best defensive fullback in the Prem. This team has talent in spades, and an uneven record against inferior opposition is the only thing keeping it from asserting itself near the top of the Premier League table.
Senior players reportedly went to the Manchester United board before the recent wins against Tottenham and City to "plea" for Ole to remain in place as the manager. The culture around this team is vastly improved since the Mourinho era, and the players seem happier than I can remember since Fergie. I believe Ole needs to hire a disciplinarian assistant coach. Someone who can yell at the players when they fuck up defensively. Someone who the players really hate, but respect enough to follow their command. Ole is the purveyor of goodwill at United, and you can't help but love the smiling Norwegian standing on the sidelines. But someone who can get the players to put in the dirty work is necessary, and it doesn't seem like that man is currently on the staff.
Beyond the coaching staff, the board needs to fully back Ole with a proper budget in the transfer market. Regardless of whether or not Paul Pogba leaves in January, more reinforcements are needed. Jesse Lingard, while still pretty damn young, cannot be the regular number 10. Someone like James Maddison or Kai Havertz would be much better. Saul Niguez, from Athletico Madrid, has been linked with the club as well. Jadon Sancho or Erling Halland would provide an instant boost to our goal threat. With Napoli's culture collapsing, and off-the-field issues aplenty, it seems that their top talent could be on the move. Kalidou Koulibaly, a long-term target of United's, would be a dream signing. Beyond all those star names though, this team needs depth. We need more young guys like James and McSauce to lead the cultural overhaul taking place, and it might take some digging beyond the online lists of top young transfer targets to find the right value.
The Manchester United board has to back Ole after his recent performances. They have to invest the proper financial resources needed to bring this club back to the forefront. Ole is the man to lead the charge, now he just needs the right players. Some of those guys are certainly already on the team, and I can't help but love the progress we have made this year.
