Manchester Utd Thread

Good start. But that’s literally it; a good start.

Two things that are largely positive for us, especially in comparison to last year.

Last year we just couldn’t score enough goals. We weren’t mentally prepared to stand on the throat of teams and really kill them off. We also failed to score from a set piece last season. The psyche and the physical aspect of our play has changed. We now seem to have rectified both issues. We constantly look dangerous from every set-piece we are awarded in the final third. From free-kicks and corners, we look likely to trouble the net. This wasn’t happening at all during the last term and already looks to have been put right, though there is a long way to go. 

We also seem to have built up that killer instinct, and have formed a ‘play to the final whistle’ mentality that has been sadly missing since the days of Sir Alex. Two games in, five goals in the final 10-minutes of matches - even though we were leading in both matches. Last season, this was the period in which we surrendered one-goal leads, but we are now utilising these minutes as time to stamp on the throat of the opposition. 

I think United are mentally and physically prepared to mount a title challenge. But there is a long, long way to go as yet and there are three massive questions that need to be answered in order to see if we are title-ready.

1) Are we going to carry this killer instinct through a whole campaign? We’ve had the best start we’ve had to a campaign in 108 years…but will this mentality stay with us for the season…this whole ‘game’s not over’ mentality that we lacked last year. Big question!

2) Are Chelsea desolate? Are they a shadow of the squad they were last season? We have seen the awful and the great in Chelsea already this season…I have a feeling this Jekyll and Hyde Chelsea may be apparent for the whole campaign (as I alluded to in each of my season previews). If this is the case, it’s great news for United/City fans as it opens up the top spot. However, don’t be surprised to see Conte rallying this dressing-room to fantastic consistency in results. This is a huge question for United/City fans.

3) How f**king good are Man City? In my opinion, they look amazing. I’ve posted on the City forum to say this is the greatest Man City team I’ve ever seen. That ain’t hyperbole. It’s genuine opinion. They are devastating. All we need to know is how tight they can keep it at the back. I hope they don’t get Jonny Evans - he would be a terrific signing for them. Brings a wealth of experience. If they can stay tight, they’ll win the league. So another big question for United’s title credentials is; how good will City be defensively?

If the answer to these three questions are positive from United’s point of view, we can win the title. Absolutely. But they need to answer the first one positively first and foremost. It’s the only question they can answer for themselves. 

It’e been an amazing start to the campaign. No big surprises for me. Still sticking to my pre-season prediction.