Lakshay Khurana
We all can take positive notes from something or the other. Well, that can be applied for Manchester United’s performance this season as well. The season started in an ideal way with Manchester United keeping their position in the top 3 for almost half a season, but a sudden catastrophe of injuries took place and Van Gaal’s side fell down in the table. This season too, the Dutch manager and his team were criticized and it was nothing in comparison of last season.
As I was saying, we can take some positive notes from the 2015/16 season. Let’s have a look:
- Match exposure for young players.
Injuries were the main reason why United couldn’t perform well in this season overall, but the misfortune had a gift in return. With positions to fill and many players injured at the same time, Louis van Gaal had no option but to use the reserve players. This gave a chance to players like Marcus Rashford, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, and a few more. If it wasn’t for injuries, we would have not known about their incredible talent soon enough.
- Roles and Positions.
One more thing which can be taken positively from the injuries this team suffered with is that, it gave the Dutch boss an opportunity to test the waters in real time situation. Playing Mata at wing, Rooney in deep midfield, Martial at the wing, and many more experiments have led to a mixed conclusion. We have witnessed that Martial at the wings is not a bad decision after all that he has produced for the team, and we have seen Mata playing much better at the wing role.
Also with fewer options to play from, Louis Van Gaal also adjusted the team formation from time to time and experimented with it. It’s good to know how versatile the teams and players are.
- Still a chance at FA Cup.
What is done is done. It’s all in the past. No European Cup or Premier League trophy? That’s okay. The Red Devils have a chance at winning the FA Cup after 12 years. This is certainly one of the best things to take from the 2015/16 season. A win against the Crystal Palace can glow up this season’s overall display.
