Ole’s ambition – top four, a trophy and a lethal pairing!
IT’S been a long and often miserable wait, but after 100 days without a competitive ball being kicked in anger, United will play a meaningful game of football again on Friday night.
It might be in very different circumstances. Their last Premier League fixture was the 2-0 derby win at Old Trafford, an afternoon when the stadium crackled with atmosphere. The celebrations at the end after Scott McTominay had sealed victory in injury-time were raucous and unconstrained.
Since then, there was the 5-0 win in Austria against LASK Linz, a game played behind closed doors in a purveyor of things to come, and then ...nothing.
When United walk out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on
Friday night it will be into an eerie silence, to begin a barrage of fixtures in the Premier League, FA Cup and then Europa League as the season comes to an unusual and rapid conclusion.
While the circumstances have changed, the targets haven’t. United are still unbeaten in 11 games and while more than three months have passed, they were in spectacular form in February and March before the season was halted.
If they can rediscover that rhythm then it could still be a successful, and surreal, season. Over the next couple of months the Reds have four targets they can focus on to try and turn 2019/20 into a good story. ■ FINISH IN THE TOP FOUR FRIDAY night may well be crucial to this. Victory in north London will almost certainly end Tottenham’s faint hopes of a top-four finish and given the relative ease of United’s run-in after this game, it could set them on course to overhaul Chelsea.
Frank Lampard’s side are the target for now, three points clear in fourth. Before the season was suspended the momentum was with United. If that remains the case then catching Frank Lampard’s men shouldn’t be difficult, but the last three months have presented clubs with an opportunity to press the reset button.
After Tottenham comes the Old Trafford clash with Sheffield United on Tuesday, June 24. Win both of those games and the Reds’ position will be strong.
It may well be fifth is enough for a Champions League place, if City lose their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against their two-year ban from European competition.
But United will want the kudos of finishing in the top four, rather than taking the ‘back door’ route, even if it is because of City’s own misdemeanours.
■ GET POGBA AND FERNANDES IN THE SAME TEAM
THE most fascinating decision awaiting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this week is whether he starts Paul
The truth is we still don’t really know just how good Solskjaer is as a manager of United Tyrone Marshall
Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in the same midfield. If he does, the fascination will then be how he fits them in together and what the dynamic is like.
The World Cup winner Frenchman and the Portuguese playmaker began United’s 2-1 friendly defeat to West Brom together on Friday and reportedly looked good in the same midfield, even if the result didn’t go United’s way. Fernandes will be aiming to pick up where he left off, having made a blistering start to his United career, while Pogba will want to make up for lost time, having had an injury-hit season so far.
If Solskjaer can find a way to fit them in the same midfield and get the best out of both men, then it could be transformative for United. It’s an intriguing subplot between now and the end of the season.
■ WIN THE FA CUP
OR EUROPA LEAGUE
THE truth is we still don’t really know just how good Solskjaer is as a manager of United. Making judgements this season has been fraught with danger and while the signs were positive before the campaign was halted, we’ve seen how unpredictable this side can be already. He’s certainly done enough to ensure he’ll get another season in
charge, but his case will be strengthened immeasurably if United can maintain their good form.
To that end, a top-four finish will be vital, but winning a cup will be just as treasured. It will also mean, whatever happens, the Norwegian will have fond memories to look back on. Given the enthusiasm, dedication and ambition with which he’s approached his task, he deserves to lift some silverware as United manager.
They have a very winnable FA Cup quarter-final coming up at Norwich City a week on Saturday and are as good as through to the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to that thrashing of Linz in Austria. Both competitions present United with an avenue to silverware this season.
■ DEVELOP THE YOUNGSTERS FINALLY, United will hope to use the next dozen or so games (presuming they progress in the cups) to continue developing an exciting set of youngsters.
Teenagers Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood are certain to get more first-team football, while there may also be more opportunities for Tahith Chong, who has recently signed a new deal, and Angel Gomes, who could yet follow suit in the next two weeks.
Behind those, players who have limited or no exposure to the first-team set-up on a matchday may get an opportunity, such as James Garner or even Teden Mengi and Hannibal Mejbri.
There’s some excellent talent coming through the academy at the moment and these unusual circumstances, with no crowds, may be an opportunity to give some of them a chance.