FantasyIreland said:
A quality bit of tub thumping i agree,however,it doesnt address any of the issues that have plagued us this season.
The problem is that very few of the issues we have to face actually "plague" us. Our season is being presented as a monumental failure, comparable to the "capitulation" that Hansen promised Mancini was presenting last March. Just as we actually did the opposite of "capitulate" last April and May, so we aren't living through a self-made disaster now.
We have 59 points from 29 matches and at that rate would end the season with 77 points. I think most would be disappointed with that if we had been told this at the start of the season. It would never win the PL but should be good enough for second, if we get 77. The problem is that the team we all dislike above all others (to put it mildly) already has 74 points and is on course to finish the season with 96, which is a record total. In other words no team at any time would have pushed them into second. It is this which has distorted everyone's - our own fans as well as pundits - view of our season. And let's not denigrate our achievement last season: we didn't win the title because United blew it, or because we got two goals in stoppage time or because the rags blew a two goal lead against Everton. We won the title because we did better than the second placed team, in a season in which they got more points than any other runners up. At times we played the best football the PL has ever seen, we scored at rates not rivalled since the 19th century. We won the title and we won it well.
In the CL we went out to Madrid and Dortmund. Ajax beat us to third. Ajax won at OT last season, and Madrid won there this. United went out to Madrid. Dortmund disposed of Shaktar with ease, after Chelsea had been well beaten in Donetsk and struggled at home. Arsenal lost to two German sides this season, one of which is well below Dortmund in the Bundesliga and which won 2 - 0 at the Emirates. A big part of the CL is exactly WHEN you meet strong teams, and United met them one round later than we did.
So, fine, I was standing on my soap box and thumping my tub - but let's be clear on what the real issues are before we start on the same old broken records of sack the manager, kick players who don't put any effort in or "don't want to play for City" or don't "value the shirt" or any other of the facile crap we get thrown at us.