Manchester United 2022 -23 season

 Manchester United 2022-23 season

Manchester United are the most successful club in England in terms of league titles won and one of the most famous clubs in the world. Once upon a time ago, the club was known for creating superstars like Beckham and Ronaldo. However the situation has changed a lot in the present. The club now looks at the most famous players and tries to buy superstars. There are a few players like Marcus Rashford who became superstars at Manchester United, but apart from him, the club have splashed the cash to get the job done. This article will assess the investment made last season and the overall performance this season.

The Boss: Erik Ten Hag

Erik Ten Hag was appointed as the manager of Manchester United towards the end of April of 2022 to take over for the long term. Erik won three Dutch league titles (Eredivisie) at Ajax and this was indeed a great appointment. 

Manchester United's performances have definitely improved under Erik Ten Hag. The team seems better coached, the players are united. Erik definitely made it clear after putting a superstar like Ronaldo on the bench, that he is the boss! Looks like the club with Ten Hag at the helm found a way to move Ronaldo out of the team. The Ronaldo situation was perhaps not handled in the the best way for CR7, a legend at the club, but sadly it had to be done for the team. 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The team achieved noteworthy wins under Ten Hag through counter-attacking football against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City. United’s performances overall at home were pretty good. Perhaps the biggest victories in 2022-23 season were the Carabao cup win and the win on aggregate over two legs against the La Liga champions of 2022-23, FC Barcelona, in the Europa League. 

Some of the other positives include Rashford finding the form of his life, Lissandro Martinez’s defensive performances overall at the club, and Casemiro influence in the midfield. Bruno has also made an impact for the team. These players have stood out with match-winning or match-saving performances that have lifted the dressing room. They have carried this team over the finish line. 

There have been some positives but however we cannot ignore that the same problems are still there in the club. The midfield and defense is still exposed against top teams or average teams with decent midfielders. The performances away from home and the performances after the carabao cup victory have been woefully poor. They struggled to win against the likes of Brighton, Brentford , West Ham, Palace, Newcastle to name a few. The passing is poor, they often gave the ball away cheaply. A 7-0 loss against their bitter rivals Liverpool is unacceptable for a club like Manchester United with aspirations to be the top side. The most recent defeats against Manchester City showed the gap between the top teams and Manchester United. Manchester United could have stopped City from winning the treble but they failed to win the FA cup final. 

With only 58 goals scored in the premier league compared to 88 and 94 goals scored by Arsenal and Man city, it is clear that Manchester United need to improve a lot going forward to be able to compete with the other clubs next season.

Transfer Policy and Ownership Conundrum

Manchester United signed 6 players in the summer of 2022 and 3 players in the january transfer window. Some of them were good and some of them were bad. However despite all the investment, United still need to address key areas. They need a proper striker who can score goals, a couple of midfielders who can play alongside Casemiro and help United control the midfield, a central defender to play in case Martinez is injured and a goalkeeper. De Gea has been fantastic for the club for a long time but perhaps now it's the right time to transition and look at different goalkeepers.

There is a lot of uncertainty around the club with regards to the sale of the club. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Shaikh Jassim seem to be the frontrunners, waiting to hear back from the Glazers who will make the final call. The sale might take a lot of time though. 

Manchester United need to take a step back and assess their transfer strategy, which one can only see happening once there is a change in ownership. United perhaps need someone at the helm who does not go the usual route of getting famous names. United need to perhaps make use of the scouts that they have around the world, look at players who cost less and can make the team better, and get them instead of the more popular, overrated ones. 

It has been a decade of mediocre performances and its time for the second most valuable club according to Forbes to do justice to their value and perform like a top team on the pitch.