Abhranil Roy
As hard as it may be to accept, Manchester United will almost certainly miss Champions League football, and that means we will be missing from Europe’s elite competition for the second time in 3 years. Having spent over 300 million pounds in the same time, obviously the expectations are vastly different from what we ended up seeing. Everyone knew it would take time for United to cope with Fergie’s departure, but no one had even wildly guessed that we would take such a hit.
What does the immediate future have in store for us?
Well, obviously we have the FA Cup final to win on 21st May, and if we clinch it, it will be our first silverware since that Community Shield in 2013. Crystal Palace is our opponents, and though they have been on a poor run of results of late, yet this is the Cup and there are never any favourites. Beyond that, some of the players will be leaving to join their National Teams for the Euros, and as fans, we will be hoping no one suffers any serious injuries. Also the Red Devils will have to address several issues surrounding the team itself, including the fact that the future of the manager is uncertain and that there are several players who need to be replaced. The new host of players and managers will have to go about doing their job much, much better than what the present lot have done.
What about the long term plans?
Well the long term plans obviously will have to be centred around the young guns, and more specifically Anthony Martial. The 20 year old has been carrying United all season, and he certainly looks set for big things. Of course we will also probably have the likes of Marcus Rashford, Cameron Borthwick Jackson, Andreas Perreira and Timothy Fosu Mensah at his side, and that will certainly be a dream team for any Old Trafford faithful. If the management can organize proper development plans for these young stars and still ensure that the club can go on fighting for trophies on all fronts, season after season, that will certainly go a long way in ensuring that we retain our identity as one of the world’s best football clubs.
