IT'S time Manchester United turn up against West Ham. The Hammers defeated Jose Mourinho’s side in October after a shocking first-half performance. United were a goal down after five minutes, two after 43 minutes with a Victor Lindelof own goal. Putting Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Scott McTominay together in a back three was widely criticised and the oddest of the 19 different defensive combinations United have used since August.
McTominay’s inclusion was castigated by his own fans, yet criticism of him has quietened because he’s improved and done exactly what has been asked of him in some of United’s biggest games. He’s a young lad who needed support, but he got little from United fans on social media until recently – though he did receive plenty of abuse.
At the start of this season, an hour after the transfer window closed on August 9th and a moment when United fans felt disappointed at the lack of signings, I tweeted “De Gea, Sanchez, Pogba, Mata, Fred, Lukaku, Herrera, Matic, Lingard, Rashford, Young, Martial, Romero Valencia, Bailly, Shaw, Rojo, Jones, Smalling, Lindelof, Fellaini, McTominay, Pereira, Mourinho. Lot of talent there. Get behind them. Better to kick off if it turns to shit, not before a ball is kicked.”
De Gea Sanchez Pogba Mata Fred Lukaku Herrera Matic Lingard Rashford Young Martial Romero Valencia Bailly Shaw Rojo Jones Smalling Lindelof Fellaini McTominay Pereira Mourinho. Lot of talent there. Get behind them. Better to kick off if it turns to shit, not before a ball kicked.
— Andy Mitten (@AndyMitten) August 9, 2018
The response was massive. United’s season did turn to shit and fans absolutely kicked off, but it hadn’t even started in August.
“Take McTominay out of that list,” replied mattfuller5. “McTominay really?” asked MKThabo93. “The fact you mentioned Jones, Smalling, Fellaini & McTominay… then proceeded to use "talent”,” cringed ThatGuyCai.
Another was even stronger in his criticism of McTominay. I replied, very sarcastically, stating that McTominay wasn’t a failure in life as he was suggesting, but someone good enough to earn and deserve a professional contract at Manchester United, which is not a bad club to be at. The lad said I was a shit journalist, deleted his tweet and blocked me. Not everyone can handle the glare of criticism when the mirror is shone back at them.
Online can be an unforgiving place for footballers.
“Ah, but they earn loads of money,” comes a typical riposte as a justification for the abuse. Ah, so that means you can call them whatever you want then does it? It’s really no surprise that most players don’t even run their own accounts now for they can’t see much positive from wading through all the pernicious abuse.
McTominay went to thank Jose Mourinho after the Portuguese had been sacked and since then has been one of United’s best players.
Mourinho: “Barcelona was not Barcelona. I think United had one player that was responsible for that. McTominay was a mad dog.” #mufc [RT] pic.twitter.com/Jo2nWqczp8
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) April 12, 2019
And if he starts against West Ham on Saturday, the reaction to him doing so will be far more positive than the last time the teams met in October. Or the time before that when he started in a 0-0 draw at the London Stadium last May.
That was one of those dreadful end of season games which damaged Mourinho’s stock among United fans, especially when he talked as if it has been a decent match. Maybe he was getting mixed up and talking about the previous game against West Ham, a 4-0 home win at the start of the 2017-18 season when optimism was high and Mourinho was seen as the man.
This season may yet peter out into nothingness like last term, but while Solskjaer’s honeymoon period ended when his team were knocked out of the FA Cup, it feels alive at the moment, even though United have lost four of their last five games. The goals have dried a little, too, with four in the last four games. The team scored nine in the three before that. United didn’t have a single shot on target against Barça.
Solskjaer’s side must beat West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday if they’re to finish in the top four. It’s a must win game. Well, Wolves in the last game was the real must win. Losing that and being outclassed for the third time this season has left United sixth in the table, the position they were in when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over.
Solskjaer said his team needs 15 points from a possible 18 to assure that top four finish next season. He’s done well for them even to be in contention, but before those final two matches against relegated Huddersfield and struggling Cardiff, there are games against City and Chelsea in there, plus an improving Everton away. Then there’s the small matter of the Barcelona game next week, which is big enough to sap the most energetic minds and bodies.
"We need players here who are going to take us forward. It will be survival of the fittest"
More from Ole Gunnar Solskjær: https://t.co/iyDmEAt06C pic.twitter.com/KjJvnYOFQw
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 12, 2019
United is structured for Champions League football. David Moyes and Louis van Gaal lost their jobs because they couldn’t deliver it and while Solskjaer definitely won’t, the club’s pay structure is heavily incentivised around playing in the top competition. Champions League football also helps attract the best players, who, not unreasonably, want to win the top trophies. It helps in the contract negotiations to keep the current best players. Champions League football is a factor in David de Gea signing another contract – though the demands from his agent are still way too high for United who’ve already offered to make him the best-paid goalkeeper in the world.
A win, no injuries and a decent performance against the out of sorts Hammers is what is needed right now. Nothing more. Then they can turn their attention to Barcelona and attempting a repeat of those incredible wins in Turin and Paris this season.
