Y & Z United Perspectives by Kevin, Justyn & Wayne Tabone
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ew season, new expectations! But then again there’s always expectations in anything associated with Man Utd. Domestically, there is huge competition within the Tabone clan to come out as winners of the Man Utd App Match Predictor and the Fantasy Premier League Tabone League! Let the games begin! Once again, notwithstanding there was evident improvement, Manchester United failed to land a trophy last season. That penalty shootout was, is and will remain so painful in our memories. What is your rating from 0 to 10, 0 being lowest and 10 being highest, for last season and why? Wayne: The team has improved both the quality of the football played and also the players’ mentality. I think the overall performance merits a 7. If we would have won a trophy last season, then it would have went up to 7.5 or even 8. The beginning of the season was atrocious but as the season wore on, the team got into a rhythm and won match after match, even breaking the record of undefeated away matches. This gave us the momentum to reach second in the Premier League. The obvious downers were losing tragically against Villarreal, losing to Leicester city 3-1 in the the quarter finals of the FA Cup and bottling the EFL cup against Manchester City 2-0. We also have to improve when playing against the big 6 clubs - losing 3, getting 5 draws and getting 2 wins meant that we lost too many points from these matches - 19 out of the 30 points. Justyn: Manchester United is all about winning trophies and unfortunately we fell short once again. When comparing this season with past seasons, Ole has only been able to match
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VOL 49 - ISSUE 1 - SEPTEMBER 2021
Mourinho from the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. In my opinion, Manchester United were very inconsistent throughout the whole season and even during the matches. I would give a rating of 7 for last season. Reaching the final in the Europa League was expected from Manchester United however, finishing second place is most definitely an achievement. In my opinion, the team needs to improve their consistency in matches where it is expected of them to get the 3 points. Kevin: The trophy was the only thing missing from my targets and expectations. At the start of the season, I classified my expectations into 2 categories – primary & secondary. My primary was to improve from the previous season. In my eyes this was achieved – 2nd from 3rd in the league and qualified for the final in one of the cups. Champions League was a disappointment, especially after such a strong start. I would say the loss away to İstanbul Başakşehir was the lowest point of the season. The result was a disappointment, but the manner of the loss was even more so.
My secondary target was winning a trophy, an achievement which I feel would have helped the confidence of the players for the years to come a great deal. Having said all this, I would still give the season an 8 out of 10 score. This transfer market is looking to be one of the busiest Manchester United have had for some time and there are quality players lined up to wear the famous red shirt next season. If you were John Murtough, apart from Sancho and Varane, which other players would you like to see joining our team for the coming season? Wayne: It is very unlikely for the club to do two big deals and another big signing. But if this happens, I think that Declan Rice would be the perfect person for the role needed in the club. He is a disciplined midfielder and so can play alongside Paul Pogba. He is not only technically gifted, but he is also excellent in moving the ball up field, he is very young and for his age he is a very mature player. He is also a great player to have in the dressing room, as he has a very lively character.
