Big Damn Football Post 2015
Fourth.
I'm not sure this Big Damn Football Post is going to be all that big. There's not a lot to say. They set out to get back into the top 4. They did that.
A little surprisingly, they did that. Ten games, thirteen points. That was something that featured in Louis Van Gaal's speech at the Player of the Year awards. Ten games, thirteen points. That was how they started and then they went from that to thinking that they could actually finish second.
They didn't.
But it was a possibility at one point.
It was a genius speech by Louis Van Gaal because realistically, the season was quite an awkward one. I struggled with the lack of entertainment value, the performances weren't quite hitting the mark and they were getting through games without much conviction.
I posted my frustrations just before they went into a rather difficult set of four fixtures. Fixtures I didn't have much hope for.
They won all four of them. Comfortably. As in, best team on the pitch.
Then they lost the next three.
Awkward.
There was improvement. Those four games, which sounds pathetic, showed just how far they had come from last season. Fourth was always the aim but those four games made us think they could do better, last season we were glad they didn't do worse.
It was also the four games in which they had very few injuries. Go figure. That was a big feature at the start, players couldn't get through games. They were averaging three injuries a game at one point which is just absurd. This vine shows the relief after things calmed down. It would have been interesting to see what LVG would have done with a more stable team, would it have made a difference? I think it would have.
The feeling around the club is different, LVG hasn't come in and set the place alight but he has come in with some sort of plan and he adapts. He wasn't always successful and some of the things tried this season have been baffling (Jones taking corners for instance) but last year we were doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Top four means qualifiers but the more games this team play with this manager, the better.
I'll cling on to those four games that were such a joy to watch. If they can tap into what they did to produce those 360 odd minutes, they'll be on the right path.
There's still an awful lot to do but it's a start. It's a start.
Positives: Top four. A manager who appears to be much more in control of, well, everything. The improvement in mentality which seemed to revive a few players. Herrera, Rojo and Blind settled into the team quite nicely. We well and truly fell in love with Mata this season. The Phil Jones face plant defending.
Negatives: Painful performances. Crippling injuries. David De Gea looking bound for Spain. Di Maria not building on what was such a promising start. Falcao, what was that?
Future: Again, all areas of the team needs strengthening but that's a carousel that never stops turning. I'm a bit more cautious about next season, small signs of improvement won't be enough. LVG has got a full off season now to buy players for his system but after failing to get the best from Falcao and to a lesser extent, Di Maria there are seeds of doubt but something feels right here. I'm not sure what but I'm not feeling like I'm going crazy with this team anymore.
It's a feeling that might be wrong, I hope it's not. I really want him to do well in this league, with this club. This season gave me hope
That's all I was asking for.