What are our expectations for next season ?

My expectation is a good cup run and a 5th place finish.. I think we'll be well in the race for top four. Hopefully, we can win the Europa League.

However, in regards to what the aim should be this season for the club, manager and players. It has to be win a trophy and get into the Champion's League.
 
I really expect us to finish 4th, I think it should be the minimum we can achieve.
I also expect/hope that we play better football than we have played in the last couple of seasons.
In terms of the management I am really optimistic for the future.
In terms of transfers I think we have been really poor in our recruitment and we needed at least 2 new starters in the team 1 CM and 1 ST. I know the transfer window hasn't closed yet but there are slim changes we are going to get them.
 
Current odds have us finishing 6th.

In that context, having the sort of season Arsenal did last year where they finish fifth and only narrowly miss out on top four would be a decent season. Because it would still involve us finishing ahead of at least one of the other top four contenders we're not expected to finish ahead of.

If we want more than that, we need to make the sort of transfers that shift those odds over the next few weeks
 
mitchmouse said:
Looking at this forensically: we signed a guy who might not be a first-choice defender and a guy on a free. So the only deal we've actually done with another club to strengthen the team immediately is martinez. Piss poor work and doesn't bode well. I hope I'm wrong and part of me would settle or just enjoying watching us again but I'm worried and wouldn't be 100% surprised if we repeat it again this time next year, to see ETH walk
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Why does it matter that we haven’t made a deal with any other club for Eriksen?
 
b) Winning the europa cup (make the final)
c) Winning the fa cup or the league cup (make the final)
d) Top 4 (fight for top 4)

Similar to past seasons. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We really need to set some realistic expectations here. Don't expect us to punch above our weight. We'll struggle to make top 4. Would be good if we made it. We'll struggle in the cups as well. Would be good if we could at least make the finals.

What happened to previous managers, will happen again. The team will struggle, media (both social and news media) turns on the manager with toxic click baits everyday. Fans blindly believe the toxic media, turn toxic themselves and call the manager clueless and demands he be sacked. Whether he is sacked or not, depends on if he gets any of the above 3. Especially if we make top 4.
 
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VidaRed said:
a) Challenging for the title
b) Winning the europa cup
c) Winning the fa cup or the league cup
d) Top 4
e) Mid table
f) Relegation scrap

If we sign de jong, I would expect us to atleast achieve d) alongwith either b) or c).
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I'm going based on the idea that we have finished our transfer business. I think this is the case, and even if it's not, there's no point guessing who we would sign.

I'm going mid-table based on the fact that we have a very thin and pretty poor squad. I'm not going to assume that Martial and others are suddenly going to look like decent players based on a handful of pre-season matches.

I can see that EtH knows how to coach a football team based on the patterns and style that can clearly be seen in our play, however I don't imagine this will suddenly make us a top four side. I think we'll look better and be more organised, but in the end, I think this will be undermined by the lack of quality in both our starting 11, and especially in the squad as soon as injuries start to build up.

It's also clear that many of our rivals are miles ahead of us and have taken steps to improve their squad during the summer, whereas we have been simply trying to keep our squad numbers from being too badly depleted by those leaving. Arguably we have less quality in the first team than last season and I don't expect Ronaldo to be focused if he stays.

If we have enough injuries and issues with players etc. then things could be really bad. I just hope that the owners can see that the issue is the upper management and scouting system (or lack thereof) and not the manager which is the problem.
 
The best possible league finish would be 3rd but that would require next to zero injuries and a large slice of luck. Realistically, I think we will be in a scrap for 4th, and then it's a toss up whether we have enough to get over the line or not. I am a little concerned as to whether we have enough goals in the squad. Ronaldo was the main outlet last season, and with serious question marks surrounding his future, going into a season with Martial as our only #9 is a concern. We definitely need more firepower if he leaves, and we likely do anyway even if he stays. FDJ would be nice but I just don't know if he will choose us now. It looks like Barca will force him out, it depends who will pay the money they want - we have a deal in place but could be outbid. We need cover in the middle of the park.

The Europa league should be a target for us. Winning that again would be nice. We should breeze the group stages and then it depends who drops in from the CL. We need to go deep in that competition. An FA Cup / League Cup would be great. It would be nice to build that confidence from winning a trophy again. It's a shame everyone above us is now taking them all so seriously again!

In my eyes the most pleasing thing would be to see a team that is fighting for each other again, and giving their all on the pitch in every game. We need to see a real style of play being implemented and I for one am excited to see how we look once ETH implements his methods fully to the entire squad. It won't happen from the first game, maybe not during the first half of the season, but as long as we see it starting to blossom that would be great.

The season will be a weird one. A lot rides on how players treat it with the World Cup being in the middle. Will certain players 'get injured' a few weeks before, possible Ronaldo if he stays - his last chance for World Cup glory after all? Could that affect us and teams around us? Players could get injured at the World Cup which could derail a season for someone close to us.

I am an optimist, so if I were placing a bet I'd say we will finish 4th in the league and win a cup and see ETH's methods and style in the team also. Positive for 23/24 season....
 
Grande said:
You don’t think we can squeak past Bournemouth even?

I think we’re in that fight for 3rd to 5th.
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Meant my expectations were rock bottom. Not that I literally expect us to finish last haha.
 
harms said:
Why does it matter that we haven’t made a deal with any other club for Eriksen?
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because it feels to me like not much has changed and Murtough and Arnold aren't the great saviours some would have us believe. They need to get off their behinds and back the boss. it doesn't feel as if they've done that much work
 
E

Ten Hag could be the best manager in the World but he hasn’t been backed by the inept board and this squad isn’t finishing higher than 7th

As soon as one of the front 3 gets injured this season we’re fecked and are too reliant on McFred again. Very average squad
 
LawCharltonBest said:
E

Ten Hag could be the best manager in the World but he hasn’t been backed by the inept board and this squad isn’t finishing higher than 7th

As soon as one of the front 3 gets injured this season we’re fecked and are too reliant on McFred again. Very average squad
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I hope you have a hard hat and an Anderson Shelter - you are about to get a lot of abuse, including being told you hate the club...
 
Entertaining football that hopefully results in qualifying for CL football either by being Top4 or winning Europa. If that’s not in cards, at least I want the team to finish the season strong playing a distinct style.
 
mitchmouse said:
I hope you have a hard hat and an Anderson Shelter - you are about to get a lot of abuse, including being told you hate the club...
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I'm sure the same ones would have laughed at anyone suggesting we'd finish 6th a year ago after finishing 2nd and getting to a European Final - then adding Varane, Sancho and Ronaldo to the squad.

United are a weaker squad now than a year ago and more reliant on average players. 7th is very realistic unless United pull their finger out in the next 3-4 weeks.
 
I have low expectations but feel I will still be let down.

The squad is so thin and weak, our only chance is if ETH turns into some miracle worker. Look at what we're up against.
 
Lentwood said:
I know people won't like this but I am willing to give ETH a relatively free pass on results. I am mainly interested in...

1) Seeing a cohesive style of football, after having to watch the most amateur and laughably chaotic set-up for the best part of 12-months now.
2) More 'deadwood' and high-earners cleared out of the club. More players coming in on realistic wages.
3) More young players given a proper opportunity.
4) No more thrashings would be nice! Again, no PL team should be getting cut-apart as we did at times last year. We can't be getting hammered by Brighton and Watford...even League Two sides under competent management wouldn't get hammered by these teams!

I think we all know the squad still has obvious flaws, so I think it's pretty pointless setting targets of top four and/or trophies. Realistically, if Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all play close to the ceiling of their squads, we'll probably be battling for 4th at best.
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Will you if we have similar or worse results than last season ?
 
Somewhere between 5th and 10th spot, with 6th probably most likely.

And, based on squad strength I feel like that’s around where we should be. Below 6th is probably underperforming a bit, but I don’t care if it looks like we’re on the up—implementing a system, tailoring players for new roles.
 
6th place.

At this current time we are in a worse position than last season. Squad depth is none existent, squad quality in general is low. All our rivals have significantly strengthened while we haven't.

We are relying on consistently below average players to somehow become good players.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
I'm sure the same ones would have laughed at anyone suggesting we'd finish 6th a year ago after finishing 2nd and getting to a European Final - then adding Varane, Sancho and Ronaldo to the squad.

United are a weaker squad now than a year ago and more reliant on average players. 7th is very realistic unless United pull their finger out in the next 3-4 weeks.
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we can only hope that Conte and/or Arteta try to impose an 8-1-1 system or get offered the Brazil job and leave! Maybe Tuchel will be offered the PSG job if they fail to win all their first 10 games by nine clear goals!
 
Lentwood said:
Well, that's going to be difficult if we see points one and four achieved (better, more cohesive structure/no thrashings)

Realistically, it would be nearly impossible NOT to do better than last season.
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I agree but then again I didn't expect the previous season to be that rotten after finishing 2nd. This team never fail to surprise us in a bad way
 
A month ago, I would have confidently said 3rd or 4th. Now, looking more like 5th or 6th due to another (potentially) disastrous transfer window.

On the positive side, it looks like we signed sponsorship deals with SnapDragon and Qualcomm. :rolleyes:
 
We have a decent attack (only considering because I'm hopeful of Bruno and Eriksen) and defence, crap midfield and an average keeper. We will have a similar season to last, without the crap football and toxicity at least...hopefully.
 
I think we'll get 4th or 5th - I really don't think Arsenal are that good under Arteta and Spurs I can see dropping silly points/a Conte meltdown happening at some point.

There's a lot of doom and gloom on here but we have to remember last season was appalling, that won't be repeated and we have a manager who, even if he turns out to be average, is setting us up to control games. That doesn't mean we'll win them all but we won't be conceding the same amount of stupid goals as last year and throwing away points against so many teams as well. We drew 10 games and lost 12, that's insane when you think of our squad. We had a GD of 0 for goodness sakes, it won't be that bad again. Surely...
 
Depends on signings but it’s looking bleak so far. Even ETH cannot perform magic. 5th - 6th place if we fail to bring in a starting midfielder & attacker.
 
Exceptations for the league:

1. Man. City
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Tottenham

----
18. Southampton
19. Leeds
20. Nott. Forest.
 
mitchmouse said:
I hope you have a hard hat and an Anderson Shelter
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I used to have an Anderson Shelter - every so often I'd look at it and think "that's such a good shelter, that's the kind of shelter that you can rely on for years to come". Turned out to be pretty patchy though - some days it worked brilliantly, other days it shouldn't shelter you from a stiff breeze. Had to get rid of it in the end.

On the main topic: this year should be a free hit for ETH in my opinion. Realistically top six would be par, top four or a cup would be a result - both would be great. But I'll be pleased if by the end of the season there's a good style of play, a squad that looks like it wants to play it, and some of the younger players (including people like Rashford, Sancho, etc. in that) really improving.
 
Fluctuation0161 said:
Spot on. Would be pleased to see that by the end of the season. Or at least visible improvements and progress towards that.
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Agreed. ETH has taken on his biggest challenge and possibly the biggest challenge in the PL to be able to turn round the supertanker that is Manchester United.
And this time, any improvement has to be sustainable, continuous and maintainable.
I wish him all the luck in the world. He is going to need a huge chunk of it.
 
That the fanbase revolt heavily against the glazers and force them out, that would be better than what seems to the new standard at this club of just qualifying for ucl football through either europa league winners or squeezing into top 4
 
Lee565 said:
That the fanbase revolt heavily against the glazers and force them out, that would be better than what seems to the new standard at this club of just qualifying for ucl football through either europa league winners or squeezing into top 4
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It really sucks when you hear Boehly is raising £800m in debt but isn’t borrowing it against Chelsea, Glazers will never leave, they’ve got too good a gig.
 
Top 4 would be great and getting back into CL especially. I am not sure that will happen though if I’m honest. For all the good things Erik brings to the club with his vision of play etc he has never managed in this country and I think we have to expect a rough ride at the start.
I would expect a night and day difference to how we play with and without the ball. Just like Liverpool during Klopps first year, I do expect inconsistency in results though. I reckon we will play far more expansively against top 6 teams than we have been last year but I’m not sure Erik has enough experience against low block teams in the bottom of the table here.
I’d still be really happy if we can play to a high standard and finish top 6.
 
Buster15 said:
Are they really lower than under Ole...
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Absolutely.

The last two seasons I was fairly confident of a top 4 finish.

The first full season under Ole in 19/20 I was pretty similarly depressed about our chances though.

I think we're woefully undeprepared.
 
Our squad is weak as piss but our manager is significantly better. Expect we'll finish 6th but could find ourselves in the CL via the EL if we have a favourable draw
 
With our current business, I worry and expect it'll get worse before it gets better. Come end of season I see us sixth if we don't improve on the current first xi.
 
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