Three Trophies Should Be an Achievement

At the start of the season, had I been offered the opportunity of finishing the campaign with three trophies, I would have more than likely taken it. Today, when you look at that same accomplishment, you can only reflect on what could have been with an unrelenting sense of an opportunity missed.

Manchester United could have been the first team in history to win five trophies in one season, as well as being the first team to successfully defend the crown of European Champions.

Six weeks ago, United were on course for an unprecedented quintuple. And now, before the FA Cup has even been decided, our season is over and we’ve finished with three trophies (I'm ignoring the Charity Shield).

Today, we have two choices; we can take United’s domestic and World success and congratulate the team on a job well done, or we can look at the team’s recent performances and rightly ask questions about the future of this so called “young team."

If you’re happy with the former, you should probably stop reading now. We won the league, rock on!

In Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal, the average age of United’s starting eleven was 28. One year older than that of our opponents Barcelona and yet Ferguson still claimed the team was young and would learn.

While the United players will certainly learn from Wednesday’s loss, it is naïve to suggest youth played any part in the defeat.

Anderson was United’s youngest player on the park at 21, but when he was replaced a half time, the role of most youthful player on the park fell to Wayne Rooney who, at the age of 23 and with over 200 United appearances to his name, can hardly be described as inexperienced.

As Alex Ferguson rightly pointed out “we were beaten by a better team” on Wednesday night but rather than simply accept that; surely we have to ask why?

Statistics will paint a false image of our season. Finishing the Premier League as Champions with 90 points looks impressive and the fact we equalled the country’s all time top flight victories should make it more so, but it doesn’t.

Only three times in our history have United surpassed the 90 points mark in the Premier League, with our highest ever total being 92, achieved in the 93/94 season.

Still, the stats are not a true reflection and it’s hard to be happy with our haul this season—especially when we had so much in our grasp only six weeks ago.

Liverpool pushed United close in this season’s Premier League race and while it’s hard to imagine the Dippers as real title challengers; this season, it almost became a reality.

Chelsea had to cope with a managerial change mid season and Arsenal surprisingly lost five games in their opening dozen, leaving Liverpool with a real opportunity to stake a claim to the title. Fantasy is a million miles from reality though and Liverpool never really had enough to steal top spot from United and finished second.

Next season, I’d bet on both Arsenal and Chelsea to finish above the Dippers and I reckon you’d get good odds on that happening. It also means the race for first will be more fiercely contested.

Will United be up for the challenge? No-one has ever won four Premier League trophies back to back. Bring it on.

Ignoring our (undeserved) impressive statistics, United haven't looked themselves since the home victory against Inter Milan. United cruised to a 2-0 victory that evening, but the manner of the performance seemed lazy, and ever since then winning looked more like a chore than a formality.

By this point, getting to the line was all that mattered in the league and rightly so. United managed to cruise over it with a game to spare, but in the Champions League they had no such luck.

It was a scared or tired team that turned up to play Barcelona in the final. Given that the team had been given a decent rest before the game, I can only conclude it was the former.

United started well, playing nine minutes of great football, but Barcelona scored from their first attack and from then it was men versus boys. Barcelona on the ascendancy and United on the slide.

We lost the game through two sloppy goals but the old adage comes true; you can’t complain about losing if you don’t score a goal.

After the game, a clearly upset Ferguson said “we’ll be better next year” but if you look at the current squad, to push further forward will require some tough decisions.

While hard work is an attribute widely appreciated amongst the Red Devils faithful, without the talent to back it up, surely it’s only a matter of time before the gig is up?

John O’Shea was handed the job at right back after an apparently impressive season covering the same position, while one can only assume Ji-Sung Park was given a start for his tireless energy.

Both of these players have been incredible servants to the club but are they really of Manchester United quality? Yes, they do a job, but do they have quality? I think it’s clear they don’t. Not at the level we need anyway.

Strong and steady will win the Premiership race nine times out of 10. Strong, steady, and sexy will win the lot. Next season, it’s time to bring back the sexy…