Three Reasons for Man Utd fans to be positive after Europa League defeat

Analysis

Man Utd lost the Europa League final in humiliating fashion to Spurs.

After betting their entire season on winning the Europa League and getting into next season's Champions League, Man Utd played so poorly in Bilbao.

Having knocked out Lyon and prevented Athletic Club from contesting a final in their own stadium, United then put in a pitiful effort to be beaten by Spurs.

This makes their horrendous league finish (potentially as low as 17th) all the worse as now they will head into 2025/26 with no European football at all, a devastating financial blow to a club that looks set to have some troubling times financially.

The chickens of the 2005 Glazer takeover coop all coming home to roost at last.

But!

There is still cause for optimism. What cause? Well, three things to be precise. So dry your eyes, grab your Treble DVD's and have a read:

1. No excuse to avoid a squad clear-out

When Ralf Rangnick was put in temporary charge of Man Utd, the Austrian coach said that the squad needed a complete overhaul with 10-11 new players.

He was scoffed at, but he was right. The thing is Man Utd were always just about good enough that those in charge could pretend the squad's level was alright.

Last season Man Utd played about as badly as they have this season, they just had greater luck in front of goal and so won more games. They also scammed their way to an FA Cup final (#JusticeForCoventry) where they played pretty much their only genuinely great game of the season and won.

That win convinced Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his big brain board to not only stick with the horrendous Erik ten Hag, but to give him full control of the transfer budget and allow him to spend over €100 million on players!

Of course things didn't improve so they had to sack Ten Hag mid-season and bring in Ruben Amorim, but without a pre-season and a shambolic ramshackle squad, Amorim's high-demand system has left United more vexed than opponents and they've struggled.

The squad still needs an overhaul.

Had they won the Europa League, you can believe that INEOS would have thought they could skate by with perhaps one or two choice signings.

Not now.

Now they know.

Rangnick was right.

Burn it down and build again.

2. Time on the training ground

Whether it's Ruben Amorim in charge or a new manager, one of the most important things to any coach is time on the training pitch to implement new tactics.

However, the demands of European football mean no one ever really gets that time. You're playing every three days, so between travel, rest, recovery and injuries... you'll be lucky to get one solid day of training a week.

And when your system of play is complex (like Amorim's) then it becomes a serious problem.

Part of why Antonio Conte was able to have such instant success applying his 3-4-3 system to Chelsea back in 2017, or why Jurgen Klopp had everyone singing to his hymn sheet after his first season, or heck Mikel Arteta's success when he joined Arsenal as head coach... was down to having no European football.

Arteta and Conte came in following seasons so bad that neither club was in Europe. Meanwhile Klopp took over halfway through 2015/16 with a ramshackle squad, made the Europa League final and lost and because he finished 8th, had all of 2016/17 with no European football and every midweek free.

Well, now Man Utd will have most every midweek free. Lots of time on the training pitch for Ruben Amorim (or whoever replaces him) to drill his system into his players. So much time to work on building understanding, movement, timing.

If Man Utd genuinely do rebuild their squad this summer then, honestly, this might be the best thing to happen to the club ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. A proper chance to wipe away a decade of dumb decisions and rebuild Manchester United into a fully functioning lean and mean modern football club.

3. Now you know how it feels

In the film Kick Ass there is a scene where wouldbe superhero "Big Daddy" shoots his daughter and protege "Hit Girl" in the chest.

It's all for training, of course. She's wearing a kevlar vest and is fine, more or less.

When explaining why he shot her, Big Daddy (played by Nic Cage doing an Adam West impression) explains that now she knows how it feels, she won't be afraid when someone pulls a gun on her. She'll know her armour will protect her and she'll be ok.

Man Utd just got shot in the chest.

This is about as bad as it can get for United. And everyone is ok. The sky didn't fall, the world is still turning. Football can seem like the most important thing in the world but it isn't. Everything is fine, you'll be alright.

Man Utd may get better next season, there's certainly reason to think they will! Or maybe they'll have to endure a few more years of pain. In the end, it's just football, it'll be ok.

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