To say that Man United has suffered during its transitional season is a bit of an understatement. All that the side has the possibility of salvaging from a pretty dismal season is the Champions League, and that is a long shot at best.
Last week, they faced Olympiakos in the first leg of the knockout phase and came away having lost 2-0. On 19 March, they’ll face the Greek side back on their home turf at Old Trafford.
Having enjoyed the excitement of being up around the top of the Champions League for the past twenty years, if they lose out to Olympiakos, they really will have nothing to look forward to this season. It may be that the side doesn’t even qualify for the Europa League – which wouldn’t interest the fans much anyway.
But the only real difference between the squad that was on top form last year and the one that clearly isn’t this year is the manager. Sir Alex Ferguson definitely added a ‘wow’ factor to Man United, but was it really all down to him?
Could David Moyes be able to turn it around with a bit more time?
At least the Man United focus is now clear.
At this stage in the season, the only realistic chance they have for any trophy winning is with the Champions League. Although even the most loyal of Man United fans wouldn’t expect their team to push past favourites Barcelona or Bayern Munich to win in May, they will be expecting a decent performance from the Reds at the second leg against Olympiakos. If you play at the 32red casino, you could even get an odds-on bet on Man United winning the match. There’s a two goal deficit to be rectified and this is one last chance for Moyes to demonstrate his managerial and leadership skills.
So far, the Red Devils supporters have remained loyal to David Moyes during the inevitable transition period. When the team faced Olympiakos in Athens and were comfortably beaten 2-0, United didn’t look like half the team they should be when playing against a relatively minor team.
During that match, United only had one shot on goal. This is what makes the next game so important – they need to show spirit and guts and even if they went out of the competition with a 2-1 or 1-0 win at home, it would be better than the wimpish performance in Athens. A gutsy approach to this next match will do the squad and David Moyes a lot of favours when it comes to facing criticism from the media and the team’s fans.
To add to their woes, local rival Manchester City is doing really well at the moment, which adds insult to injury. At the moment, everyone views Manchester United as a team that have dominated the Premier League for decades but for whom things have now gone sour.
They need to put in a decent show in the next stage of the Champions League to keep their fans happy and for David Moyes to get the pressure off him.
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