 NUSQUAM CELARE

by Robert Mizzi

As the season kicked off with an emphatic 5-1 win over one of our archrivals, I couldn’t fail but notice how the general feeling of the supporters has been transformed during these past weeks. The crowds returning to Old Trafford, the players in jovial mood, a brand-new kit with a new sponsor – and two great signings. All these have contributed to the return of the feelgood factor after the disappointing end to the last season.

The doom and gloom following the 27th May now seems a distant memory for most if not all the United faithful. But not all of us United supporters have such short memory and get easily carried away. Without dwelling too much on that apocalyptic day – some of us still recall how our beloved Red Devils scuffed at the opportunity to land Ole’s first trophy and calm down the doubters. More importantly, it would have given the manager, and the club in general, a much-needed boost of confidence. It was not meant to be, and 80 days later another season kicked off after a summer transfer market that saw Jadon Sancho finally arrive at Manchester United and Raphael Varane unveiled as a United player before the season opener against Leeds. The mood has been well and truly lifted…onwards and upwards…but with caution, if I may add.

The title of this article is a Latin translation for ‘nowhere to hide’ and realistically speaking, this is how I feel things are at the moment for the club, in general, as well as for the manager. Some of the readers may interpret this message as somewhat negative. Indeed, it is not the first time that I have been told that I seem to tend towards negativity when writing about United, be it an article or commenting post-match on my blog. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion of course, and I classify my approach as realist rather than negative. Part of being a supporter of a football team is how you live the trials and tribulations of your team, and everyone experiences this in a different way. Experience has taught me to be realistic and that getting carried away because we won 5-1 on the opening day against a rather mediocre opposition is not going to happen. It was a great performance, do not get me wrong, but I have already seen some posts on social media that made me cringe. Feet on the ground, one match at a time, still 37 matches to go. Realism.

The arrival of 2 star players may be interpreted as a statement of intent from the club. Some may argue that the team still needs a world class box‑to‑box central midfielder and a young top striker to be considered challengers and as much as I like Cavani, I tend to agree. Relying on the McFred partnership through an entire campaign has proved unconvincing in the last couple of seasons, especially so when creativity and flair are needed to break down opposing defences. And asking 34-year-old Cavani to bang in the goals on a regular basis in the tough EPL is a rather risky business. The emergence of Mason Greenwood may prove to be a solution up front. The boy has got talent and can only learn from a seasoned pro like Cavani. All United supporters are also

hoping that we see Marcus Rashford return to his best after finally getting operated to solve his niggling injury. And if you want my opinion on this Rashford injury, it is clear and unequivocal - the club should have put their foot down and have him operated upon at the end of last season (possibly before) to have him ready for action at the beginning of the season. He still contributed zilch to the England cause. Martial remains a bit of an enigma and if Greenwood continues to make progress, he may soon find that playing time will be rather limited this season.

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has been at the helm of United long enough to build his own team, instill his mentality and have a real go at challenging for the EPL. I firmly believe that this should be the first priority this season and I think that most supporters believe that Ole truly has nowhere to hide this time round. This will be his third full season in charge of Manchester United and in all fairness, he has been given more time than his predecessors to prove himself. He is now at the point where he must bring home the silverware, in some way, shape or form. Whether we like it or not, football is a result-driven business and we have to put aside our affection for the 1999 CL final hero and concede to the fact that he is at the point where he has to deliver.

The management seem to have backed him up this summer with 2 important signings (whether it was to save face with the supporters after the Super League debacle or to really back up the manager is more or less superfluous at this stage) and this group of players should have the hunger and skill needed to have a real go at winning the championship. Of course, the hunger and skill need to be backed up with top notch preparation, physically and mentally, and proper game management.

This game management aspect is a concern for many of us supporters. My mind simply boggles when I think that Ole and his team have come up with a number of perfectly planned and executed strategy against strong opponents but on various other occasions, the team seemed to run completely out of ideas – especially against the so-called smaller teams. The epitome of such instances was the final vs Villareal when, in my opinion, the entire management of the match was a complete fiasco. I am sincerely hoping that lessons have been learnt, and I stop there on that day as I am trying to erase it from my memory but keep having nightmares about it!

The inclusion of Varane in defence will hopefully bring out the best of Maguire. If both players can manage to form a strong partnership within the first few weeks of the season, it could be the foundation on which to build a title challenge. But before everyone gets carried away, realism comes back into the equation. Let us give Varane a chance to settle down and get acclimatized to the hectic pace of the EPL. Experience helps, but I still expect a few mistakes until he finds his feet, and social media will no doubt highlight any mistake with no mercy at all.

Sancho will have a bit more room for error in comparison to Varane, but he needs to deliver the goods to become the darling of the United fans. Manchester United is a big club and the whole environment can lift you or make you feel intimidated. We have seen big signings failing to deliver and I am hoping that Sancho is not going to be one of them and hits the ground running.

Apart from the two signings, there are many other variables that will determine the fate of United’s season, and at the end, I believe Ole’s future as United manager. To name but a few, a solid defence, Pogba’s willingness to stay and provide good solid displays on a regular basis (not necessarily as scintillating as vs Leeds), Bruno not getting worn down like last season, Greenwood becoming the player he can become, Rashford recovering his fitness and form and focusing on football, Cavani returning 15-20 goals, and in the absence of the arrival of a central defensive midfielder, Fred and McTominay proving their doubters, including myself, wrong.

All the above needs to be managed meticulously by Ole and his team during the next 9 months. Many supporters have often debated if Ole is good enough to lead United but let us not forget that he has an entire coaching team behind him. There were many times in the past seasons when I wished to see more involvement from Carrick and Phelan during the matches. When things are not going your way, the manager needs to rely on his assistants and I personally feel that at times, this support seemed lacking during the actual match.

I truly believe that this is a defining season for Ole Gunnar Soksjaer and that in some way or another, he must deliver the goods. As I said earlier, having a real go at winning the EPL must be an objective despite the strong opposition. We are at a stage now, where saying that our rivals have better squads is not an excuse anymore. The squad we have has been built over the past 3 seasons and the manager knows that he has been given enough time to deliver. At the title of this article goes…nusquam celare.