The last few seasons have been tumultuous to say the least
for Manchester United. Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure at the end of
the 2012/13 the club has simply not been the same. With 4 permanent managers
and 1 caretaker manager in under 6 years the club has become disjointed and a
place for uncomfortable viewing for its fans.
David Moyes
Sir Alex’s hand-picked ancestor at one of the biggest clubs
in world football turned out to be disastrous. He managed less than a season at
the club where he struggled to utilise the ageing talent he had at his
disposal: including Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and the January signing of
Juan Mata.
His Premier League experience at Everton had been pretty successful. He became a well-liked and respected manager of the club after completing over 10 seasons with top 10 finishes in all but 2 of them. In the 2004/05 season he even managed to gain the Evertonians Champions League football but they failed to get past the prelimanary qualifying rounds.
He took the Manchester United job before Sir Alex had even finished his final season, the anticipation was high and so were the expectations after 27 glorious years with their previous Scottish manager. But the story of Scottish success did not continue. The marquee signing of the summer was Moyes’ own Evertonian creation of Marouane Fellaini, a player United fans began to ridicule as the years went on leading to his transfer to China this year.
Fellaini stayed at the club until January 2019, providing a few important goals for the club as well
The start of Moyes’ season was only foreshadowing what troubles lay ahead of Manchester United as the first pre-season game ended in 1-0 defeat to Thai team, Singha All Stars. Before Christmas United were in poor form, 13 points behind the pace of Arsenal, league leaders at the time.
However, it was not all doom
and gloom as the Champions League began to look promising. 4 wins from 6 games
in the group stage placed them top of the group and won against Olympiacos in
the round of 16. A Robin Van Persie hat trick sealed the deal for United as
they made their way to the quarter final. Here they were stopped by Bayern
Munich 4-2 on aggregate but it was still an impressive run of form for a
manager in his first season at the club.
The league still wasn’t going their way though and neither were the domestic competitions, losing to Swansea in the FA Cup and Sunderland in the League Cup. Remaining 13 points behind, now 4th placed, Arsenal condemned Moyes by April as he was sacked with 4 games to go in the season. United’s 7th place finish was enough for Europa League football but it was a long way from their glory days with Sir Alex Ferguson as David Moyes held the shortest stint of a Manchester United manager in 82 years. 10 months in the job was all it took to break the foundations of one of the most successful teams in footballing history.
Louis van Gaal
Off the back of his success with the Dutch national team at the 2014 World Cup, van Gaal was swiftly swept up by Manchester United as he looked to piece together the impossible jigsaw of the team left behind by Moyes. He had taken the Netherlands all the way to 3rd place in Brazil beating Mexico, a newly emerging Costa Rica and the hosts themselves in the third place play off.
Ed Woodward, executive vice-chairman of the club, said van Gaal had “impressed everyone around the club”, however, just last week the former Manchester United manager announced his beliefs on Woodward claiming, “he has zero understanding of football”, something Manchester United are all too familiar with as a result of the poor transfer history in recent years.
Yet the start of Louis van Gaal’s reign looked like a very promising time for the club with multiple lucrative signings, some of which became club favourites but some became the biggest flops the club may have ever seen. The signings of Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao for £29 million and Luke Shaw from Southampton for £30 million are some of the best signings in recent years with both players becoming important member of the squad, Ander Herrera ultimately leaving the club this summer without a single contract extension. The disappointments of the following season were Angel Di Maria, signed from Real Madrid for an English transfer record of £59.6 million, yet another Galacticos reject being accepted with open arms by a seriously inferior English club, and Radamel Falcao who’s loan signing from Monaco was everything but exciting as he failed to have the same success he had seen in the French and Spanish leagues.
The majority of the highlights from this season were defeats despite a 4th place finish for the side. The opening day of the Premier League season ended 2-1 to Swansea City, a team who managed to torment Manchester United at ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ for some years. The second round league cup tie against MK Dons has gone down in history as one of the darkest days of United’s in recent history, a disgraceful 4-0 defeat in which the team were simply dismantled was the earliest League Cup exit for the club. United also took part in one of the most entertaining games of the season; a thrilling 5-3 win for newly promoted Leicester City at the King Power Stadium led to United’s worst start to a season since the 1980’s, this game was probably the highlight for Di Maria’s season, and his whole Manchester United career, with a beautifully chipped goal but his efforts weren’t enough to get a result.
A rare moment of celebration for Di Maria during his time in Manchester
Even more signings in the followung summer transfer window once again filled the fans’ hearts with promise for success. However, yet again the majority of these signings ended inevitably and, in the opinion of many, prematurely. The highlights of the transfer window were Memphis Depay from PSV, the young dutchman at the time had bags of potential, however, he struggled to carry them through his United career and even lost a few on the way, Anthony Martial an unheard of French boy, if anything, signed from Monaco leading Manchester United fans deep into Youtube compilations to find the highlights of his realtively short career and Morgan Schneiderlin, another Frenchman who looked to hold the midfield but was unsuccessful at doing so ever since being shipped across to Merseyside, however, he currently dons the blue shirt of Everton rather than the more prosperous red of Liverpool.
The following season contained just as much disappointment as the previous seasons. The side were knocked out of the Champions League group stage in an average group containing German side Wolfsburg and new signing Depay’s former club, PSV. Yet 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses were not enough to secure knockout stage status. The Europa League took them to Denmark and FC Midtjylland where they suffered a 2-0 defeat, but the home leg was a moment of recent Manchester United greatness as it brought about the emergence of Manc born and bred, Marcus Rashford. A brace from him and goals from Ander Herrera and Memphis Depay were enough to secure a last 16 spot, but that’s as far as they went. There was success in the FA Cup, however, as United conquered Crystal Palace in the final 2-1. Extra time and a sweet match winning goal from Jesse Lingard secured the club’s first silverware since 2014.
However, the many failures outshone the achievements as Memphis Depay failed to impress, Matteo Darmian had little impact after his signing and Sergio Romero, obviously, hardly got a look in with De Gea claiming the number 1 shirt. Over £75 million was spent on Depay, Schneiderlin and Darmian none of which had an impact just showcasing United’s poor transfer decisions and financial stupidity in recent years.
The only major positive from this season would be the creation of new talent for the future. New signing Martial burst onto the scene becoming the club’s top scorer with 11 goals, including a famous derby winning goal against Liverpool. There was also the emergence of academy players Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard both with years ahead of them and both showing nerves of steel when the club needed a victory in the big moment.
Marcus Rashford carried his childhood club to the Europa League last 16
This is part one of two about Manchester United post-Alex Ferguson. The next will be about the infamous spell of Jose Mourinho and the controversy over Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s appointment.
Unlike the political world , England are currently on top of the footballing world at the end of the 2018/19 season. Spurs’ and Liverpool’s Champions League comebacks and Arsenal and Chelsea both making their way to the Europa League Final topped the season off in fantastic fashion as for the first time ever there is an all English final in both the Champions and Europa League. However, not all the footballing news comes from the Land of Hope and Glory. There are also stories of footballing miracles in Holland, Spain, France and Italy as the giants of world football are eventually being pushed to their limits domestically.
Ajax
Trophyless since the 2013/14 season this youthful Dutch side has taken on the world this season and beaten it, save Tottenham Hotspurs. A youthful team, with an average age of 24 years, found its way to the Champions League semi-final, champions of the KNVB Cup (the Dutch equivalent of the FA cup), and have just accomplished their first Eredivisie title in 5 years.
But whats the secret to their success? Just like in the 20th Century, their academy. In the past it has created many of the greats: Dennis Bergkamp, Johan Cruyff, Patrick Kluivert, Edwin Van de Sar and Clarence Seedorf to name a few. The present is no different. Young, Dutch players like Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt are at the heart of team and have the belief and passion to play for the badge.
Yet this is where the Ajax team we are seeing this year is different. Dotted throughout the team are highly underrated, world-class players. The likes of Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech are fundamental in attack and Tadic especially has really found his true footballing abilities at Ajax. In the midfield is the youth of Frenkie de Jong and also David Neres plus Donny Van de Beek, however, there is also the anchor of experience with Lasse Schone being a key aspect of the midfield and a set piece master. In defence Matthijs de Ligt is backed up by a revitalised Daley Blind and Joel Veltman (2 more academy graduates with much more experience).
The combination of youth and experience, silky skills and tough defending, creates this perfect Ajax dynamic. Mathhijs de Ligt, despite being the youngest in the team, is the captain and the leader of the defence – showing maturity beyond his years. He also isn’t shy on the goal front with 7 goals this season alone but the attack is the place in the Ajax team requiring the least support. They have become the highest scoring team in Europe this season with 162 goals in 52 games with Dusan Tadic netting 28 of them in only 34 games. Their fluid, stylistic attack is what really carries the team forward and allows them to break down teams like Juventus, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich home and away.
And that is what has defined their season, their Champions League success. They cruised through the group stages picking up two draws against the German champions, Bayern Munich, pushing them the whole 90 minutes in an absolute thriller with 6 goals, two red cards and a stoppage time equaliser from Argentinian left back Nicolas Tagliafico at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Next up the holders Real Madrid, not just the holders but the team that had won the competition three years on the trot. The first leg was a tense 2-1 victory to Los Blancos, putting Madrid in control with the away goals rule. However, it would be Ajax who would rock up to the Santiago Bernabeu and spoil the party. In one of the biggest shocks of Champions League history Ajax dismantled the shambolic Real side 4-1. Every goal just as special as the last: a now trademark counter attack finished off by Ziyech started the night off well; some audacious and spectacular skill from Tadic saw him run through the majority of the white shirts pick out David Neres in the box and he put Ajax 2-0 up and going through; yet another counter attack which was precisely placed in the top left by Tadic on the edge of the box showed Ajax’s ruthlessness and finally a wonderfully whipped free kick from the tightest of angles by Schone beat Courtois and beat Madrid.
Ajax tear Real Madrid apart at the Bernabeu
The quarter final tie with Juventus had just the same spark and charisma as the last. A relatively even game in Amsterdam threw it all up to play for in Turin and Ajax took this opportunity and took their place in the semi-final. De Ligt summed up his fantastic season by finishing off the Old Lady with a thumping header Ronaldo himself would’ve been proud of and booking their tickets to London whilst at it.
Matthijs de Ligt fires Ajax ahead against Juve
Yet another good performance was witnessed in the first leg of this semi-final, the biggest game of their season so far, with Donny Van de Beek giving Ajax a 1-0 lead in an even tie. However, it was Ajax being wasteful for the first time in the competition that finally destroyed them. Despite going two up in the first half in the second leg, their clinicality just was not the same as they found the upright on multiple occasions and came inches wide on others. A fabulous Lucas Moura performance surpassed the efforts of Real and Juve as Spurs, in Indiana Jones style, slid into the final by the skin of their teeth and managed to grab the win on the night and on aggregate.
But this defeat does not define this fantastic Ajax season, not at all. With the final game of the Eredivisie season played, Ajax finished the season in their usual style, a 4-1 win with Tadic bagging 2 more goals sending them to the title and himself to an impressive tally of 28 goals domestically. Their defence was also highlighted as formidable with only 4 losses all season. Their last loss was on 17th March as they finished the season with an 8 game winning streak, including a 3-1 win against biggest rivals PSV Eindhoven. Impressive in both their league and in Europe Ajax are looking revitalised and a threat for the future.
However, their future is all down to one thing, transfers. Do Ajax cash in on their biggest and best young players or do they hold on to them and regain power on the European stage and start to compete with the big boys at the top? Already it seems like they have gone with the first option, unfortunately. Having already signed a deal for Frenkie de Jong to join Barcelona in the summer for €75 million, it looks like they will eventually do the same with Matthijs de Ligt with Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and pretty much every team in Europe vying to sign the youngster to add stability to their defence.
Getafe
One of the biggest shocks of the season within Europe’s top 5 leagues. Getafe, deep within the Segunda Division only 3 years ago, were striving for a Champions League finish within La Liga. The Madrid based side haven’t been outstanding within the league and haven’t provided any shocking results against the likes of Real or Atletico Madrid or Barcelona, however, they have been able to dismantle the rest of the league. Taking into account their 5 losses against the top 3, the team have only lost 4 other games throughout the whole season and have convincingly beaten Sevilla twice and gained wins from the majority of the teams around them, including Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.
A major part of their Champions League chase was their ability to keep a clean sheet. The defence has come up with 13 of them in the league, competing with the likes of Barcelona and smashing Real Madrid out of the water who’s defence, comparatively, has been a shambles. Only conceding 33 goals puts them second lowest, behind an Atletico Madrid side with world beaters in goal with Jan Oblak and in defence with the Uruguayan combination of Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez.
The two Spaniards have been scoring goals for fun this year
Unlike the performances of Ajax, this has been a pure team effort. There are no standout players in the attack who do it all, their top scorer is shared between Jaime Mata and Jorge Molina at 14 goals each.
David Soria has been in fantastic form between the sticks for Getafe this season
Yet another thing separating Getafe with the rest of La Liga is their spending. In the last season having only spent €20 million on 21 players. Some of the highlights of that spending are goalkeeper David Soria signing for €2.7 million and this season gaining 13 clean sheets and Jaime Mata a free transfer becoming top joint goal scorer.
This is a rare occasion in football. A team with little funding, with no bright academy players but with a team that play and win together to challenge in such a competitive league with some of the worlds best. A Champions League spot was that close it was painful to miss out on such an achievement. The ability to play under the lights against the world’s best, hearing the Champions League anthem blast out the speakers and putting your all into your clubs first feature in the top European competition. However, Getafe will have to settle with the Europa League next season, not bad for a team who were 2nd last in the league 3 years ago.
Atalanta
With their last top 10 finish in the 2007/08, Atalanta have been revitalised in the last few years with 2 top 4 finishes in 3 years. Relegation in the 2009/10 season was obviously a low point but all they have done since then is climb the table. To the point now where they easily compete with the best in the league having beaten Napoli, Inter Milan and Lazio this year and gaining points against the likes of Juventus and Roma.
Duvan Zapata is currently the league’s second top scorer
Goal scoring has been the team’s main asset this year, becoming the highest scoring team in the league aided by the efforts of Duvan Zapata (22 goals) and Josip Ilicic (11 goals). This impressive run of form has earned Zapata a call up to Colombia’s Copa America squad and gained Ilicic over 50 caps for his country, Slovenia.
The attack doesn’t just come from these two either, Alejandro Gomez, a massively important member of the team for a few seasons now, has continued his success. With a higher average match rating than all of his team mates, he has contributed 6 goals and 10 assists to the team and has had a less attacking role, dropping into midfield with his pace and tenacity.
Continuing with new talent and unexpected performances is Hans Hateboer. The midfielder has been dropped into defense this season, in an unfamiliar environment he has proved his ability to be a key member of the team. Adding 5 goals and 5 assists to the team’s tally really helped the push for Champions League qualification. Exemplifying his adaptability is a performance just last weekend against Juventus in which he played at centre back against one of the best attacks in the world, managing to hold the league champions to a draw in an impressive away atmosphere.
Atalanta running riot against Juventus
Atalanta’s season has really showed it’s impressiveness against the Old Lady especially, with 2 draws from 2 games in the league and a 3-0 demolition in the Coppa Italia thanks to a brace from Zapata. Only one other team in Serie A have not lost a game to Juventus this season, relegated Genoa, showing the formidability of the Turin-based champions and the admiration that Atalanta deserve.
Success hasn’t just come in the league but also in the Coppa Italia. Beating Fiorentina and Juventus on their way to the final, they missed out on some silverware for this fantastic season as a result of a 2-0 loss against Lazio in the final with 2 very late goals ending the game.
One game to go, Atalanta need to win and they get Champions League football next year regardless of any other results. But being in 3rd place isn’t always a comfortable position, especially when the pressure is on and both Inter and AC Milan are on your tail. Yet pressure is something Atalanta have not cracked under this season and there is no need to now.
Lille
Talent. That is what LOSC Lille create, that’s what the majority of the Ligue 1 creates. It’s what the majority of Ligue 1 offload to PSG, cementing PSG’s domestic success. This season will be no different, but Lille’s domestic success has been just as sweet as PSG’s.
Pepe has shot to stardom this season in Ligue 1
The creation of Nicolas Pepe has been vital for the club this season, both competitively and, eventually, financially. The Ivorian winger is now at the forefront of transfer targets for some of the best teams around the globe with an asking price of at least £70 million. His 22 goals and 11 assists have been fundamental for Lille’s domestic success, placing himself 2nd top goalscorer and 2nd top assister in the league and the team 2nd in the table, ahead of a more impressive than ever Lyon side.
To cope under the pressure of PSG is something very impressive in Ligue 1, Lille would be considered to have done that this season despite being 16 points behind. Yep, 16 points behind, with 1 game to go. The shocking thing is, the last time Lille won the league, in the 2010/11 season creating Eden Hazard, Gervinho and Moussa Sow on the way, they only needed 76 points to do it. Their tally of 75 points this season would’ve still won them the league as second place Marseille had only 68 points. The huge increase of PSG-based domination and the required points to actually win the league is what is truly damaging the league and its reputation. For a team like Lille with great talent and capability this season it is hard to see them still fall far too short to compete with PSG.
However, there are positives. Lille came out on top 5-1 when they last locked horns with PSG in April and, other than their one 2-1 loss to the league champions, only lost 5 games all season. Also, Pepe is not the only emerging talent. There is also promise in the French winger Jonathan Bamba and 19 year-old Portuguese striker Rafael Leao, scoring 21 between them.
But much like Ajax, the team’s future comes down to what they do in the transfer market and, much like Ajax again, they have already promised to sell their top player, Nicolas Pepe, although unclear who to, the loss of their best talent will damage the team again, just like when Eden Hazard upped sticks for Chelsea. The competition in Ligue 1, despite only arriving, is leaving almost immediately.
Wolves
The lowest placed team featured in this blog but perhaps the most impressive? Wolves were automatically promoted as winners of the Championship in the 2017/18 season. An impressive season saw the introduction of the team’s Portuguese influence from manager Nuno Esperito Santo and agent Jorge Mendes. This trend has continued into their first season back in the Premier League.
The team caught unrelenting amounts of attention as a result of their impressive signings in the summer, the transfers had a certain Iberian influence in them including: goalkeeper Rui Patricio for £16 million, veteran Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho for £5 million, Diogo Jota for £12 million from Atletico Madrid and the loaning, and subsequent £32 million purchase, of the Mexican talisman, Raul Jimenez.
Impressive first seasons for both Jota and Jimenez in the Premier League, showing their former teams their true quality
The latter two of that list have lit up England’s top flight in attack, creating some of the biggest shocks of the season. Jimenez scoring 17 and Jota scoring 10 in all competitions this season showing their true ability to perform in top flight football.
The most impressive thing about Wolves is their huge number of signings and yet the ability to keep the squad performing well, massively contrasting the performances of Fulham who were in much the same position when the season began. This led to their 7th place finish in their first season back in the Premier League, giving them a Europa League qualifying place as well. Not only in the league have they performed but also in the FA cup, making it all way to the semi-finals at Wembley beating Manchester United with a dominant display in the quarter finals.
One of the more surprising influences in the team was Matt Doherty. The Irish man has transformed his footballing abilities to that of a world class right wingback. With plenty of pace he has the ability to control Wolves’ attack down the right wing and has been with plenty of goals this season too, with 4 in the Premier League and 4 in the FA Cup. Creating chances is also of importance to the Wolves veteran, 10 assists and their top creator of the season just echoes this.
Nuno’s genius has led his side to success in the league, in the cup and to a potential European tournament next season. Wolves have done the unthinkable and taken English football storm, gaining points from Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs on their way to it. Not only are the top 4 in the Premier League dominating the footballing world currently but also the top 10 are contending and pushing for their own success.
That brings to a close my first blog post. I’ll be trying to bring out a new post every month or so. Hopefully you enjoyed this very first one on the European football season
Know The Game 