Finishing 8th in 2023/24, United were overall pretty poor, with glory over rivals Man City in the FA Cup final only temporarily clearing the black clouds that hang over Old Trafford these days.

Well and truly out of their glory days now, United have failed to make consistent top four finishes since 2013/14 when David Moyes took over from Alex Ferguson, with last season under Erik Ten Haag being their worst finish in that time period.

After years of expensive but overall ineffective moves in the transfer market, last year was a similar story for the Red Devil’s with Rasmus Hojlund misfiring in front of goal, while Onana struggled to impose himself in the United net. Sofyan Amrabat was solid, but didn’t set the world alight, and a significant lack of quality cost United in countless league games.

There were however some excellent breakthroughs, not least from youngster Kobbie Mainoo, who impressed to such an extent in his appearances in the first team that he was called up by Gareth Southgate for Euro 2024, becoming a key player in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Garnacho also impressed, and with this looking to be the season where they see significant development, perhaps United need to focus more on their home grown products than on transfer from other leagues.

Best result: Everton 0-3 Manchester United. (Garnacho 3’, Rashford 56’, Martial 57’).

Worst result: Crystal Palace 4-0 Manchester United. (Olise 12’, 66’, Mateta 40’, Mitchell 58’).

Who is the Manchester United manager for 2024/25?

Ten Hag.jpg

Erik Ten Haag had an underwhelming first season in Manchester United after his high profile move away from Ajax where he made his name.

A Champions League semi-finalist with the Netherlands club, the Dutchman certainly has bags of coaching ability, and has the potential to return Manchester United to the top of the game once again, but we are yet to see his vision truly embed itself on the pitch.

Last season was a mix of individual errors, both at the back and up front, and inconsistent results. United only won three league games on the bounce once last season, and typically failed to back a good result in their previous games with a victory in the next.

Never shy to state his post-match thoughts, Ten Haag has a very specific destination in mind for Manchester United, and with young, exciting talents Lenny Yoro and fellow Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee coming in so far this summer, these two help them take the first steps towards that end goal.

Who is Manchester United’s player to watch for 2024/25? Bruno Fernandes

Three times Manchester United’s player of the season since his arrival in 2020, Bruno Fernandes is the primary creative outlet for Erik Ten Haag’s side, displaying his ability once again last season as he totaled 10 goals and 8 assists in the Premier League alone.

Now captain of the Red Devils, his on field etiquette is sometimes questioned, and there are examples of him diving, faking and whining in order to try and gain the advantage for his side. However, if the decision for captaincy comes down to footballing ability, there is no contest.

He has the ability to pick a killer ball with both feet, converts almost every penalty he steps up to, is a real danger taking set pieces, and dictates play in front of the opposition defense, relentlessly probing for the all important gap in the backline.

Fernandes has described himself as a player who “loses the ball a lot”, but argued that if a striker gets on the end of one of his ambitious passes, his team will score. United and Ten Haag will certainly hope to see plenty of that in 2024/25.

Season Prediction

Having disposed of some so-called “dead wood” in Martial, Williams, Greenwood and Van De Beek, United now have the chance to bring in some real quality in those now absent positions to strengthen the overall quality of their squad.

If they make the right decisions and bring in the right players, as they seem to have done with the arrivals of Zirkzee and Yoro, then there could be a case for them returning to European football by May.

However, bad luck has struck them before the season has even begun, as Yoro and Hojlund went off injured in Manchester United’s pre-season friendly with Arsenal. After thorough assessment, it has been reported that Yoro will miss three months, missing big games at the beginning of the season, while Hojlund will be out for 6 weeks.

Hopefully this is not an omen for Manchester United’s season, and they will be back prior to their opener against Fulham.

Prediction: 8th.

Journalist

Harry Pascoe | Writer at Football Park

Discover Harry Pascoe, a Football Park writer sharing insightful football content every week. Explore his experience here.

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