Big Damn Football Post 2014
"Lately with you, up is down and down is sideways"
- Dean Winchester
My tongue is firmly in my cheek when I state this has been the worst season ever but in my supporting life, it's pretty much true. It's been my toughest season yet.
All I've ever known is supporting a team that excites me, a team that battled through. A team that never gave in. A team that never lost, just ran out of time. I don't know this current team. A team that don't know what to do, a team without a plan B. A team that don't know how to win.
That's new to me.
I hated the fact I couldn't rally myself. I hate the fact I haven't been as good a supporter as I wanted to be this season. I tried. I wanted so much for everything to be okay. I wanted to have faith but with every game and every month I became more and more separated from the team I once adored. More and more frustrated, more and more willing to miss games entirely. They just weren't Manchester United to me and it numbed me.
I stopped believing.
What hurt the most were the performances. We all hate losing and we lost this season far more times than I'm used to but the manner of these defeats were unforgivable. The team must take some of the responsibility for that. They lost all sense of pride. It was as if everything they ever learnt under Ferguson was stripped away and they were learning how to play the game again.
No-one took charge, no-one wanted to fight for Moyes. Worst of all, no-one wanted to fight for Manchester United. These players forgot who it is they're playing for and no matter how questionable the tactics or how dull the training regime, these players had a responsibility that the majority totally disrespected.
The team needs something to happen. A result of ignoring the very obvious signs for much too long. My list of players that need offloading fluctuated throughout the season, flirting with double figures at one point but never going below five. The toughest thing was looking at these players and knowing what they are capable of but them falling so incredibly short.
He wasn't the right person, it was a feeling I tried to suppress very early on. He didn't command respect, he didn't announce himself. A club like Manchester United, especially after Ferguson, needed someone to walk in and take control. Moyes didn't do that. He looked shell shocked for much too long. He looked as if he was on work experience. I guess he was, really. I willed him on, I bit my tongue, I hoped that every turned corner was the turned corner. Yet every step forward the team took was followed by two massive leaps back.
There didn't seem to be any vision, he didn't look like he knew what to do or what sort of team he wanted to create. After the Game of Crosses (Fulham), I willed him to walk. I did the same after the Liverpool circus. Maybe he had too much pride, maybe there was too much money involved. It just wasn't the right role or time for him. He didn't adapt to Manchester United, he wanted Manchester United to adapt to him. When you have no experience of winning, it really can't work that way.
There was no evidence that time would have done any good. That's all people say. "He should have been given time". Ten months is a pretty solid chunk of time. He wasn't handed a mid-table team. People compare his start to Ferguson's, pointing out that Sir Alex was given time. Ferguson took charge of a mid-table team. Moyes was handed Champions. They went in opposite directions. Looking at this team, it either needs someone who inspires them or someone capable of rebuilding on a major scale. Moyes wasn't that person based on this season. We'll never know for definite if time would have done any good because we weren't willing to take the risk that it wouldn't.
People may look in from the outside and laugh at how we're reacting to one bad season. Maybe it is arrogance, maybe it's expectation but maybe it's just a continued strive for better. Should you really accept one bad season especially when there are no signs of improvement? Some times things just don't work out, people don't work out. Having morals are all well and good unless they end up destroying everything they're meant to protect. That was my biggest struggle this season.
Accepting defeat, accepting decline isn't the club we want to be.
The only spark of excitement I got this season came when news of his removal had been confirmed. It was a relief. It was the right time. It was hope. It came with the added bonus of seeing a local boy step in. Having followed the career of Ryan Giggs my heart almost burst. It was a special moment that almost made this season worth it. Almost.
It's a long road, I see that more clearly now and there's going to be more missteps along the way, of that I'm sure. I don't blame any one person for this season. We tried something, it didn't work. It was the season in which we were thrust into the real world. It was a season in which nothing and no-one was good enough.
Positives: Wow. Okay. Very little positives this season, De Gea being the only beacon of light. He's something, he's getting stronger and we need to do everything in our power to keep hold of him. Janujaz was an exciting prospect, you never quite know with the younger players but at times he looked like the only player who understood who he was playing for. Mata? maybe. The support by the fans, while there were a few unsavory moments - the plane for instance - on the whole the support this season has been incredible.
Negatives: See above. Too many. Lack of passion. Lack of fight. No imagination. No clue. Still no midfield. Transfer window debacle ending with obtaining a player who only seems to know how to foul dirty. Not being able to draw any strength from the manager, lack of trust. The fact that they now have to re-build without Champions League football. The loss of identity on and off the pitch.
Future: Beyond ready for a new approach.We need to find someone that fits, a person that commands respect. A person who can rebuild and a person who inspires. A person who doesn't fear the history or the men that have gone before him. An impossible task? Maybe. Personally, I just need to see signs of improvement. I just need to see fight. I just need to see some passion. I just need to see my team.
"Keep supporting us and the good times will come back soon.”
-Ryan Giggs
Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling