Manchester United finished in sixth position in what is a somewhat disappointing end to Jose Mourniho’s first season as manager. Mourinho may claim that he prioritized the Europa League towards the latter stages of the League, but nevertheless that is no excuse, and the season was barely bailed out by winning the Europa League. There were fewer wins and more draws for United this season, than at any other time during the Premier League era and that will be something that Mourinho will not be proud off. Yes, three trophies were won this year. That would be good for a mediocre team, but Manchester United should be winning the FA Cup, EPL and Champions League, not settling for second tier cups.
Mourinho himself admitted at the beginning of the season that he had been hoping to win the League and despite the addition of expensive signings Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the team never really found consistency.
Though the United board will excuse Mourinho for the sixth place finish this season, it is hard to see them giving him another chance should their league performances be similar next season. United will need to add in one or two extra World Class strikers. Meanwhile, to pass the time until next season we will have some fun with Old Havana Casino table games.
Top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who bagged 28 goals this season, did not receive adequate support from out of favor Wayne Rooney nor Anthony Martial. The club will also need to add in a centre back as well as a quality midfielder to fill in the void left by Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Despite Ibrahimovic regularly being on the score sheet and being viewed by many as United’s hero this season, the best player was arguably Ander Herrera who has shone under Mourinho due to his versatility.
Despite United’s season looking mediocre from the perspective of an elite club, they can take heart from the fact that the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson praised Mourinho for the way he handled affairs and went on to add that the team could have challenged for the Premier League.
United churned out 15 draws and Ferguson said that had those draws been turned into wins, the team could have been a contender for the League title.
The best moments for the Red Devils this season has been winning the League Cup, albeit through the help of some poor refereeing which helped them while their performances in the Europa League have also been commendable.
