This Season vs Last Season – Manchester United’s Seasons Compared
Manchester United’s new manager will be a happy man going into the last two fixtures of the year 2016 in the Premier League. The Red Devils have not been able to find consistent results this season to launch a title challenge and are currently at the 6th place in the points table after 17 games. They are fresh from a victory over the Baggies ahead of their Boxing Day fixture against Sunderland at home and the manager will hope that his side can keep up the good work from the last few games. At the same time last season, it was a completely different story at the Old Trafford with manager Louis van Gaal, who was in his second season at the club, found victories hard to come by.
After 17 games last season, United were in the 5th place in the points table, with 29 points on board. They scored 28 goals in that time and stood just 9 point off the top of the table. However, they have scored just 24 goals this season, but have 30 points to show for their efforts on the field. They are 13 points off the table toppers Chelsea at the moment and are going into the last two games of the year on the back of three back to back victories in the league. They managed to take just 1 point from the three games leading into the Boxing Day fixture last year, showing some improvement in their performances over the span of a year.
Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils managed to get into the round of 32 of the Europa League last season to set up a clash with FC Midtjylland. They failed to qualify for the Champions League this season and were once again drawn in the Europa league this season and the Red Devils have shown some consistency by moving into the next round of the competition this season as well. They have set up a clash against St Etienne in the round of 32 this year and will hope to go the distance if possible.
In both the seasons, United, have not been able to launch genuine title challenges and though they are still in it, at least theoretically this season, they are far from a team that can beat the best in the league. So this has seen Mourinho, the current manager at the club, look to add a number of star players to the squad in January. The likes of Victor Lindelof, Nelson Semedo and Virgil van Dijk have been extensively linked with a move to the Old Trafford this January with Mourinho looking to build a squad for the long term.
In a similar time last season, Louis van Gaal, was under severe pressure to deliver and was rooting to get the best out of his squad in every game. He was also looking at possible January additions who can make the squad better and was linked with the likes of Felipe Anderson and Romelu Lukaku for a move in January. However, Van Gaal was unable to get his hands on his transfer targets and had to settle with the options at his disposal, which he found hard to come during his time at Old Trafford.0
Mourinho seems to have a plan for what he wants to accomplish at the Old Trafford unlike Louis van Gaal, who took one game at a time and failed to think about the future. Surely, Manchester United are in a better position at the moment, than they were at this time last year.