@Marcus2011 This man clearly appreciate what a great person Jose Mourinho is. Unlike me. :P

Don't think the game against Ajax didn't deserve much praise though. United had something like 3 or 4 decent chance and nearly never had possession of the ball. Instead, they defended all game long after scoring the first goal (wich was a deflection). I mean, thats not bad, its a good way to win, but normaly, its more expected of the underdog, people who know their player are worse than those of their opponent. I mean, the most enjoyable sight I had in that game was when Traore went and dribbled with the ball. Don't remember an United player trying to dribble with the ball. Yes, their discipline was outstanding, but they showed no creativity nor did they had any individual brillance. Ajax player actually looked better individually for me. :P

I'm not sure we can call him a genius or nuthin, tbh - I don't see how United this season were any different from Liverpool last season except we won the two finals we had and they didn't. Fine lines.

Roadway to Finals

Ajax
Celta Vigo
Anderlecht
Rostov
St.Etienne
FC Zorya
Feyenoord
Fenerbahçe

Winning Europa League is not easy (except for Sevilla), but I don't remember a easier road to Finals than this one. Therefore this does not deserve much praise for me too. But a Champions League Qualification is.

3 or 4 years ago, this season would have been considered as a failure considering the money he spent in preseason. I still stand by my words. A team with Pogba, Ibra, Mhiki, and Rooney (I know he lost his form) should have no business finishing 6th. Truth be told, UEFA did us a favor by allowing that Europa champion will contest in UCL, and we got lucky in the teams we played. Losing the final would have made this season the worst possible. But its a little tolerable that we made UCL next year. All in all, I'd say the season is still a bad one for not finishing top 4.

Fair points , but then should we discredit Real Madrid's CL title due their easy road to Final ? or What about in 2011 Manchester United had fairly easy route to CL final considering that Chelsea was in shambles that year ( as always with manager being fired before vital games ) . My questions is then did Ajax had more difficult route ? If yes then doesn't it justifies that beating them United proved that they are better than anything that Ajax faced ? Shiit , if not then idk maybe we should change the way any knockout tournament is played .

3-4 years ago United had a better defense , Sir Alex who knew how to play that team and Rooney in much better shape along with other players . United has become Madrid of 2005-2011 .. Buying expensive players then expecting unrealistic results from managers and then failing short by not being able to find a good chemistry within the team . Suck it up because you are acting like spoiled brats ! It takes time to built a team and find right players that will fit into Mourinhos philosophy . Considering that Mourinho usually takes a a year to build a formidable team just like when he did at Madrid and finally stopping total dominance of Barcelona.

Message for today is that You can't buy titles , and It was your , United fans words . Not like your academy is producing exceptional talents so relax and enjoy this years trophies .

@emobot

Ajax overall has a very good young team . Not sure why everyone just bashes them as if they are mediocre team compare to Manchester United and were lucky to go past Lyon .. . If anything Ajax had a better team than Lyon and United were the underdogs in the final . They had better balanced squad , great chemistry between players , playing total football , barely wasting time with a ball , constantly have the ball moving but manager didn't get his tactics right against Mourinho and was forced to play their simple none threatening possession football .

@Marcus2011 Totaly agreed. ;)

@Marcus2011

Fair points , but then should we discredit Real Madrid's CL title due their easy road to Final ? or What about in 2011 Manchester United had fairly easy route to CL final considering that Chelsea was in shambles that year ( as always with manager being fired before vital games ) . My questions is then did Ajax had more difficult route ? If yes then doesn't it justifies that beating them United proved that they are better than anything that Ajax faced ? Shiit , if not then idk maybe we should change the way any knockout tournament is played .

Fair points also. But UCL Road to Final can never be compared to UEL Road o Finals. Except that one, your opinions are solid. Maybe if Ajax and ManU faced eachother earlier in the tournament things would've been different. Like you said, Ajax has a very good young team. Them being too young affected their play with experience factor in the Finals. Because Final games are always stressful for youngers.

@Marcus: My point wasn't about beating Ajax or not deserving UEL title. Rather, it was that we are lucky to achieve UCL by UEL route where 2-3 years ago, it was not possible. My point was not about lifting EPL title, rather not finishing top 4 after spending 100 Mil+ in the transfer window. I generally say most teams deserve the titles they win. There are some exceptions, notably Barcelona's 2009 UCL title where Overbo blew some massive calls all game. But that's for another day.

3-4 years ago United had a better defense , Sir Alex who knew how to play that team and Rooney in much better shape along with other players . United has become Madrid of 2005-2011 .. Buying expensive players then expecting unrealistic results from managers and then failing short by not being able to find a good chemistry within the team .

3-4 years ago, i.e. 2013-2014...United had an aged defense that was coached by Moyes. I'd say 6-7 years ago, we had an amazing defense. But, agree to what you're saying that Fergie knew how to play this team. United becoming Madrid of 2005-2011? Are you kidding me? How is the present day Madrid any different? They ALWAYS buy talent. Every club does it now a days. Even Barcelona or your Chelsea. There are very few clubs which still thrive on Academy players. Ajax might be one of the few, but all the giants in Europe have got their players from elsewhere. In fact, even Fergie routinely bought and sold players. But to address your issue of us buying titles, how is United buying players to replace an aged squad a crime? I still fail to see how its different now than when Fergie used to be there.

Suck it up because you are acting like spoiled brats ! It takes time to built a team and find right players that will fit into Mourinhos philosophy . Considering that Mourinho take a bought a year to build a formidable team just like he did at Madrid finally stopping total dominance of Barcelona.

I am still trying to comprehend which part of my statement showed me acting as a spoiled brat. Did I say we should have won EPL? NO. Maybe you should understand what the other person is trying to say before you generalize every United fan? Most of us understand that building a winning team takes time; at least one season. If United had hired someone who promotes youth, we wouldn't be in this position of buying titles. Things have changed, and we understand that. The team Mou inherited was a top 4 team. Once again, to spell it out for you, I'm saying its a top 4 team, and not a title winning team. If it weren't for Leicester last year, United would have finished 4th. LVG had them level on points with City. How is it not fair to expect the team to finish top 4 after the money we spent and the quality we added? This is not an Everton calibre team and our goal is not top 6 every year. Yes, we were spoiled by Fergie. But doesn't mean we are not reasonable. We expect a top 4 finish at the very least, especially with the team we have. If you have watched United play the last 2 months, you'd understand that Mou literally gave up EPL top 4 and focused only on Europa. That's a realistic approach, but not one I'd expect Mou/United to take after improving the squad.

That moment when you agree with ashwin. Might literally be the first time. ugugugugugug

I think that Madrid have built a solid core of players, which has allowed them to take leaps forward over the past 6-7 years. Ronaldo, Ramos, Casillas, and Alonso were part of this core, and it has evolved to Ramos, Ronaldo, Marcelo, and Modric nowadays.

Some players need to be indispensable, and I don't think United has anyone like that in their squad today except for Pogba and De Gea (De Gea is a skeptical one too because he always seems to be linked with Madrid). I think Marcus is right in the comparison with the Madrid from a decade-and-a-half ago. Lots of quality players are purchased, but no major success is achieved.

In United's case, they don't even have any top-class players on their team outside of the Pogs, Zlatan, and David.

Frankly, I don't know what to say about our season. Part of me is glad that we've won the Europa League, but more importantly grabbed that all important CL spot, but another part of me is still screaming at how our team still hasn't reached to its fullest potential.

There were times in our games that I felt the players didn't know what they were doing, and it's quite horrible to see when you have Mourinho as your manager. But grabbing two trophies on your first season? I'll take it any day. At least it's something to remember than not winning anything and grabbing a top 4 spot.

It's still early days to see what Mourinho can do with our club. I think his usual 3 year stint isn't going to happen with us, as we are still currently a broken 'top' club. What really matters is next season. Let's see what Jose can do, and even if its still a small improvement than this season, I'd take that as a successful season because right now, we need to start over from the basics.

@ashwin

105 million out of that was spent on one player : Pogba then 42 mil and 38 was on Mkhitaryan and Bailly . That is three players you have spent money on that needed time to adjust to league . Although i think Pogba did well , but i am sure others will disagree .
I don't know what is your take on Uniteds squad but I don't think three players had potential to suddenly turn United into title fighting top 4 fighting force when you have 5 other top clubs with established squads fighting for the same .

Weren't you complaining yourself how United was completely dominating other teams but just couldn't finish it off either due to some magic from goalkeepers who would turn into Neurs against United or simply because United's forwards couldn't convert chances .

Yeah United is lucky that EL title grants victor direct qualification to CL . However, I feel like you are saying that players should go home and feel ashamed with their achievement . Should they have quit EL and concentrate on the league like Spurs did ? Did you see how that turned out for them ? :))

How is the present day Madrid any different?

I made the comparison but obviously trying to highlight that when Madrid was spending huge money , fans and president didn't expect them just to win La Liga or finish top 4 , but win European trophies which they have failed to do from 2002 till 2014 . Madrid's objectives are always global not like Uniteds who can be pretty happy with domestic dominance and some quality performances in CL . Madrid is expected to do well in CL after splashing huge sums on worlds best players , not players like Mkhitaryan or Bailly who probably wouldn't make the bench at Madird . Again , point is that your league expectations are too ambitious with squad you have so be patient this drought will be over unless you go crazy with money and become Liverpool .

I am still trying to comprehend which part of my statement showed me
acting as a spoiled brat. Did I say we should have won EPL? NO. Maybe
you should understand what the other person is trying to say before
you generalize every United fan? Most of us understand that building a
winning team takes time; at least one season. If United had hired
someone who promotes youth, we wouldn't be in this position of buying
titles. Things have changed, and we understand that. The team Mou
inherited was a top 4 team. Once again, to spell it out for you, I'm
saying its a top 4 team, and not a title winning team. If it weren't
for Leicester last year, United would have finished 4th. LVG had them
level on points with City. How is it not fair to expect the team to
finish top 4 after the money we spent and the quality we added? This
is not an Everton calibre team and our goal is not top 6 every year.
Yes, we were spoiled by Fergie. But doesn't mean we are not
reasonable. We expect a top 4 finish at the very least, especially
with the team we have. If you have watched United play the last 2
months, you'd understand that Mou literally gave up EPL top 4 and
focused only on Europa. That's a realistic approach, but not one I'd
expect Mou/United to take after improving the squad.

Again, would quitting EL made an improvement in top 4 race ? You have clear chance to take EL and you think that it is success to finish top 4 .. shit if you go like this you might become Arsenal .

Expect to finish in top 4 against 5 other top clubs ? Ok mate , this is not so easy . And why disrespect Everton ? Everton caliber player is one of the greatest players your club ever had .. should i give you hint who ? However, you muscled him out of Everton with money!

This is the problem i always had with United fans . Always looking down on everyone ! It makes me happy that you are being tossed around because every bit of shame you deserve it . Well since Jose joined United , i am sort of rooting for Jose ( just enough where he is still worse than Chelsea ) .

Most realistic and right approach was to go all in on Europa League just like Chelsea did in CL 2011-12 . It was smart decision that paid off ! Not only you have a title but god damn access to CL !! If you don't want it ? I bet you Guardiola would have swapped places with Mourinho right now ! No throphie and barely making into top 4 ( Liverpool also ) yet still so far behind Spurs and Chelsea ..

@emrecan

What is your point ? Borussia Dortmund young team was embarrassing Real Madrid in semi final with Mourinho as their manager at the time . Young can be nervous but sometimes young don't give f*ck and do what experience players scare to do ! That means play freely with no fear ! They were just tactically outplayed and key players were completely shut down !

@iheart

Correction : 3 trophies . You can count Community shield too . I remember for Moyes it was considered as good season too and fans defended him that he needed more time to bring more glory ..

@Marcus2011

What is your point ? Borussia Dortmund young team was embarrassing Real Madrid in semi final with Mourinho as their manager at the time . Young can be nervous but sometimes young don't give f*ck and do what experience players scare to do ! That means play freely with no fear ! They were just tactically outplayed and key players were completely shut down !

Which game u talking about? About 4-1? I don't remember Borussia team as a very young team in that game. Average age of starting 11 was no less than 25. And remember the 2nd game where they couldn't handle the pressure and almost giving away. But an example from UCL's Semi Final is not valid for UEL. And I never said Manchester United did not tactically outplay Ajax. Ajax was outplayed for sure. But the main reason for that was them being not able to handle the pressure in a Final game. Like I said in my previous comment; maybe if it was played withing two legs before the Final, things would've been different.

25 is a pretty young average age for a starting XI.

Back in the 4-1 thrashing, Lewandowski was 24, Gotze was 20, Reus was 23, Hummels was 24, Gundogan was 22... that's a very young core. None of those players had hit their prime yet.

Compared to the team they beat, Ronaldo was 28, Ramos was 27, Modric was 27, Alonso was 31, and Higuain was 25. They beat a very experienced and solid Real Madrid side.

I just computed the average age of Dortmund's starting 11 against Madrid. Looks like I was wrong about them being no less than 25, they had an average age 24,72. That's pretty young. Still the difference with Ajax' average age is exactly equals to 2. That's also huge.
But that was not my point. I mean you can't compare a team who reached the finals of UCL, with a team from Europa League. They reached the UCL finals for some reason. They could've even won the UCL if it wasn't for Robben's last minute goal.
Also how can a defence line with an average age of 20.5 handle the pressure of a Final game against a tactical side of Mourinho? I am not saying they don't play good. I watched them a few times. They are good and have bright futures for sure.

How ? Same way Ajax beat Lyon and Schalke who had experienced players . United played long ball and both goals were scored out of nothing. Manager should have expected Jose would use defensive tactics ( obvious ) , rely on set pieces then let Ajax have the ball to play on counter . Ajax manager should have had better response with his changes. I don't think players experience played the role . It was managers tactical battle and Jose won it .

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