Lyndon
Pinto
United crash out of Europe
The
views expressed in this article are solely of the author and not necessarily
that of the blog owner
The only chance Manchester United has of
reaching the Champions League next season is to win it. Not to be pessimistic
but the chances of that happening with our current squad is bleak and the game versus the scousers at home was a newer low point. United will
overcome the Olympiakos deficit but a Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or
PSG test might be a little too strong for United.
Our next ploy into Europe would be the
Europa League. In all realism, United could at best finish a disappointing
fifth, however, I would rather we beat West Ham and Man City and draw the rest
of our games so that we clinch 8th place because United should NOT play in the
Europa League.
Why? Well in all likelihood teams finishing
6th
and 7th will qualify for Europa League as the domestic cup winners
would have already qualified for the Champions League, with the team coming in
6th and 7th starting their qualifying round as early as July 31.
With a host of our stars playing at the
World Cup there will be very little to almost no time to rest, making it one
long season, with fatigue and injuries United’s premier league campaign will
suffer...again.
While an 8th place finish would be
devastating to United’s reputation, all will not be lost.
Without any European cup competition to
look forward to, players might be reluctant to sign on. However I believe
United should learn from their noisy neighbours and implement a similar
strategy.
While lavishly spending and paying
exorbitant prices for players might not be United’s piece of cake, they will
have to shell out a substantial sum as the current United squad is in desperate
need of a complete overhaul.
That said, United should sign players who
are willing to sacrifice a year out of Europe with the aim of getting back into
the elite competition the following year in addition to being part of the
renaissance of Manchester United Football Club.
With just the Premier League and two
domestic cups to concentrate on, United could pose a formidable challenge in
the coming season.
In addition, being such a big brand, United
could possibly use its market status to increase revenue by playing friendlies
against non European clubs, as and when feasible. With revenue dropping and
players having to be bought, Executive Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward will have to
find ways to keep the money flowing, keeping in mind the Financial Fair Play
rules.
As a passionate fan of a currently
struggling club all I have to cling on to is my belief of ‘believe’....
something I am sure is not new to Man United fans, specially since 1999. And
while hope helps distort the pain of reality, let us recall our past history
and understand that as a football club we have always prevailed, maybe not
immediately but eventually.
It is
time for us United fans to swallow that bitter pill called pride and lower our
expectations for a year - if not for the sake of the club then for our own
sakes - so as to allow the new management, team and club to rebuild and
reinvent itself just like a phoenix, but neither as Busby Babes nor as Fergie’s
Fledglings but us David’s Daredevils!