There’s no manager, no trophy expectations, no noise. There was a few boos when the final whistle blew against Brighton, but then there was stunned silence. Where do Manchester United go from here?
When United lost to Brighton in the FA Cup, a statistic was thrown around. 40 games – that’s how long United’s season is. It was the shortest season since 1914-15, when no cup competitions were held due to World War I.
They lost to Grimsby in the second round of the Carabao Cup and suffered their first ever defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup, making it the first time since the 1981-82 season that United had been eliminated in the first round of two domestic cup matches.
That wasn’t the only sense of déjà vu United experienced on Sunday night. The other was Danny Welbeck. The last time United played fewer than 45 games in a season was 11 years ago, when Welbeck scored the FA Cup winning goal in Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Old Trafford. It’s nostalgic.
And while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick, the two main candidates for United’s interim position, have held the position in the past, this is too many nods to the past.
So what does the future hold?
United are currently one of just three Premier League teams to play top-flight football in the calendar between now and May, the others being Bournemouth and Everton. This season, even the bottom five teams in the division still have a chance to win a trophy. The United silverware ship has set sail.
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Darren Fletcher has reacted to Manchester United’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford.
There is still a chance to qualify for the Champions League, with the club only three points behind in the race for fourth and fifth place to qualify. And interim head coach Darren Fletcher believes his team can qualify for Europe’s top table next season.
“That will be accomplished this season,” Fletcher said. “That’s not what fans want to hear about Manchester United. They should win the cup and challenge for the Premier League.
“That’s where we are. We have to face it and deal with it. It’s not at Manchester United level and it’s not what is expected of us. But we have to do something about it. We have to qualify for the Champions League and take a step forward, which is important for many reasons.”
“The players have to step up. They will come together. I challenge them to do that. They have enough quality and leadership to do it.”
“That’s the challenge I set, not to waste the season.”
Champions League football will mean success for United from here on out. Not with the older version of United we used to know, but with the club’s current standards it would definitely be a success. However, there are still some challenges to achieving that goal.
Following this latest blow, United’s next two games will be against two of the best teams in the country. Manchester City will be at Old Trafford next. It’s a difficult challenge in any case, but it’s even more difficult when no one at the club knows who will be leading the team in that match.
Saturday, January 17th 11am
12:30pm kickoff
After Arsenal’s away games after the Manchester derby, United could be nine points clear of the top four. It’s not impossible that United don’t win both, but given their current situation and Fletcher calling United a “fragile” team, any other outcome is hard to imagine.
Another question is whether this United team can really qualify for the Champions League.
The Opta supercomputer gives us a 4.9% chance of reaching that goal in May. There are currently four teams who are statistically better placed than United to be in the top four. That includes fifth-placed Brentford, who Opta believes have twice as much chance of reaching there as United.
Keith Andrews’ side is a complete club from top to bottom, with transfers to improve the team, excellent home form and a striker who is aiming for over 30 goals this season. How do you refute that logic when United have a team that is the exact opposite of all that?
Predicted Premier League standings based on expected points (xPt)
United are currently expected to finish eighth, 10 points outside of the Champions League places, but this may not be enough for European football. The prospect of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’s two full seasons at the club ending in back-to-back trophyless seasons and back-to-back seasons away from Europe is a very real possibility.
No wonder banners were put up claiming Ratcliffe was incapable of solving the situation, and a protest was planned for the next game against Fulham, saying the current ownership structure was not fit for purpose.
As with Sunday’s full-time game against Brighton, United fans will have little to shout about between now and May. Perhaps the silver lining for them is that they don’t have to struggle much longer with 17 games left in the season.
Manchester United’s next two matches against Man City and Arsenal will be broadcast live on Sky Sports on January 17th and January 25th.
