From the defending champions to a struggling upper-mid table team, From a royal fortress to a common hunting ground, From the chosen one to the wrong one- That is how the tables have turned for the biggest football club in the world in the last 8 months. Losses against average clubs, Inability to even put up a fight against the top ones and to top it all, no champions league next season- just few of the many pages out of the misery plot that is this season. That too for a club for whom even winning just one trophy in a season was equated with failure. The question which is looming over every football fanatic right now is that is it the end of the road for Manchester United?
Last year in may, while Manchester United were marching towards their 20th league triumph, the several hundred million fans of this club were dealt with a huge blow when the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson announced that it would be his last venture with the club. Emotions ran high around Old Trafford and one question was on everyone’s lips- who will succeed the special one? The question was answered by the man himself when he passed on his throne to another scot, David Moyes- The Chosen One.
Deep down their heart, every Manchester United fan knew that things were just not going to be the same but at the same time no one expected things to go as bad as they have gone this season, after all SAF did leave David Moyes a champion team. United are languishing at a lowly 7th in the premier league table and have been knocked out of every cup competition they played. But more than the results, it has been the general demeanor of the team, which just doesn’t look the same. A team known for its ‘Never say die’ spirit has been giving up far too easy this season. Lack of motivation is clearly highlighted in the individual performances. And to rub salt on their wounds, the club’s ever so loyal fans are beginning to lose their patience.
So is it really the beginning of the end of the golden era of Manchester United?
To give you an objective perspective, the road ahead for United is indeed full of bumps and breakers. Although David Moyes is certainly not the failure which he is being projected as, but the fact is that he is no Sir Alex Ferguson. That persona, that confidence, that arrogance- the qualities that turned Manchester United into ‘The Red Devils’, I just can’t see anyone else in the world possessing them. The team probably requires a complete overhaul. So they either spend lavishly in the next transfer market, which is distant possibility considering the financial worries at the club or they turn towards their academy which, in all probability, will take years.
Well that was all about the objective perspective (the boring part). Now, let me give you my vision as a hardcore United fan. Yes, this season just didn’t belong to us, Yes we no longer have the enigma of SAF looking over Old Trafford but David Moyes is well capable of turning this very bunch of players into one of the most fearsome force of Europe. I mean, give the man some time. Just compare his statistics with that of Sir Alex Ferguson in his first season.
Now, we all know what SAF went on to achieve in the succeeding years.
Okay leave the statistics part out. You know what, this is Manchester United we are talking about. The club which once lost its whole team to a tragic accident and still went on to become the champions of Europe just 10 years later. Rising back after falling off is engraved in the DNA of the club. So, my message to all the rival clubs- Watch Out- because Manchester is still red and the red devils will bounce back. Glory Glory Manchester United!
