It seems that it’s a big week for questions in this column, so I have another for you. At this exact date last season, how many points did Manchester United have?
Answer is; two more than they have right now. And they were in virtually the same position in the table too - fifth not fourth, but only two points off a Champions League spot.
The point is, we have all been a bit blindsided by the ‘improvement’ under Erik ten Hag this season. But they really are not that much better off than they were under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
And with Marcus Rashford out for a while now, Lisandro Martinez possibly out for the rest of the season and Raphael Varane also injured, they are most definitely in a battle to finish top four, with absolutely no guarantee they’ll improve on last season’s position.
Are they unbelievably different for the huge amount of money they’ve spent? No. But do things feel different? Yes, I think they are. Why? Because I reckon that money has gone on getting some foundations in place, and I think that’s what Ten Hag has done well - he’s recognised he needs to build on something, and is starting to put that in place.
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I think a trophy and two semi finals, and a brief window when they seemed to be in the title race probably got people a bit carried away about the progress. There is still a long way to go before they can challenge Manchester City.
But the club has been screaming out for serious foundations for years, and now they have a manager capable of providing them. He’s also produced a work ethic and team spirit which was lacking, and that’s a big difference.
I’m still not sure if they’ll qualify for the Champions League though, and I’m also wondering if that won’t be such a bad thing. Maybe Ten Hag needs another summer of building before they take on Europe’s elite.
