2009/2010 Season Review: Man Utd’s Perspective

A couple of ill-thought comments from a disgruntled Arsenal fan inspired this, so bear with me.

Tonight marks the close of the 2009/2010 European football season, and while my interest in the Champions' League final will only last as long as the ice cream and sandwiches do, I think the season in general has been a pretty good one. For a long time now, pundits and personalities have been talking about how the English Premier League campaign this year has been arguably the best one in a while, breaking away from the traditional two horse race between United and either Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. Granted, the Gunners did finish meekly, but there was a period where they looked like serious contenders.

The season was always going to be a tough one for United. Losing two world class players – one of them to your city rivals, as well – is never going to be easy for any side that has prided itself on its attacking flair and tendencies. The losses, coupled with injuries to key players all over the pitch, made the job that much tougher.

Still no excuse, of course. Every team faces its own injury problems, and one will rightly argue that a side with the resources that Old Trafford has (despite the Red Knight debacle) could have and should have plastered over the cracks left by the departures and casualties. In recent seasons such names as David Silva, Fernando Torres, Arjen Robben, Ronaldinho, Miguel Veloso and Sergio Aguero have been linked to the Red Devils, though like Alan Shearer so long ago, none of those moves came to fruition.

That being said, though, the failure to capture Alan Shearer (supposedly because Alex Ferguson would not give him penalty-taking duties over one Eric Cantona) paved the way for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and the super-sub (alongside Teddy Sheringham), wrote themselves into the history books at the Nou Camp about eleven years ago. Stroke of good fortune, perhaps? Solskjaer and United won numerous titles during his time there (I'm not even going to try to list them), and Shearer… well. Moving on.

Transfers aside (I've already talked about Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen at length, as well as my thoughts on Giuseppe Rossi and Gerard Pique), I think United can be satisfied with their season. One trophy, the Quarter-Finals of the Champions' League, second place in the domestic league. Not to gloat, but Liverpool and Arsenal fans, "Man U didn't win anything" isn't anything you can gloat about either, looking at what everyone was left with once the dust had settled. Fabregas pining for a return to Spain and Anfield's dynamic duo looking dejected on the final day of the season aren't exactly positive omens for the future, as much as signing one striker (who should have arrived at least six months ago)

Hats off to Chelsea, though, who went through a season that was at least as turbulent and disruptive as United's. Also facing injuries to players like Michael Essien and both Coles, as well as the unnecessary drama surrounding John Terry's debauchery, together with managerial change, they came out on top in a season where most backed Liverpool, and bagged themselves the FA Cup to boot. Scoring so many goals and beating all the top sides (something United almost did in their aforementioned treble season).

Fantastic results against big sides (Milan and Spurs immediately come to mind) and Rooney's emergence as one of the greats despite his tender age affords United fans some measure of relief, though not nearly as much as a big trophy would. All due respect to the Carling Cup, of course. What United can take heart from is that Antonio Valencia and Nani seem to have matured into really big game players, and others like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, Edwin Van Der Sar, Patrice and Nemanja Vidic have continued to show why they warrant a place in the squad. The likes of Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, Darron Gibson, Wes Brown and (sadly) Dimitar Berbatov will have to step up more in the months to come for United to improve on their second-placed finish, though.

So United didn't record their fourth consecutive Premier League title, and failed to set a new record for title wins that was for so long Anfield's. So Rooney didn't win the Golden Boot after scoring over thirty, creating a bunch more (including 9 goals and 5 assists in 9 for England) and winning the Player of the Year award. So the Champions's League eluded Ferguson again, after United finished as the British side that progressed the furthest alongside Arsenal. So United fell to such side as Burnley and Fulham and Everton, despite beating Arsenal, Liverpool and just about everyone else but Chelsea.

That's why the standings speak for themselves, though.

Am I disappointed that United finished like they did? Sure. Before the loss to Chelsea and the draw to Blackburn, the title was still firmly in the grasp of the wily old Scot. Poor performances can cost you, though, and they did. Still, in a season tinged with disappointment, I'm sure United fans will still rally behind their team, looking forward to 2010/2011. If it's any consolation to any of you, we still outdid the two other red teams, and I've yet to meet a Chelsea fan who has supported the side since Zola and Di Matteo were in it.