United’s Realistic Expectations For 2022/23

There is absolutely no doubt that Erik Ten Hag has a huge job on his hands in terms of rebuilding this Manchester United side, and that work begins now. We can expect Ten Hag to be given at least 3-5 years to get this sorted, but that by no way means that we are going to accept failure until he gets it right. BetStation has listed the best betting sites online and most of them have us at about 25/1 to win the title this season. Even the most optimistic United fan would say that those odds are far too short. With this in mind, what should we be expecting this season? Let’s take a look.

Level of Success

Let us start by what we should be looking to achieve this season in terms of success, and we’d say that a top 4 finish is absolutely within our reach. Getting Champions League football again strengthens our hand in the transfer market and helps the project to continue going from strength to strength. Whilst it is unlikely that Liverpool and City drop out, there is no reason we cannot pip Chelsea or Spurs to those places. Chelsea are also going through an overhaul and they could certainly open up a gap for us. Additionally United should be looking for at least one domestic trophy.

Mentality

As any United fan will tell you, the most worrying thing about the team over the last couple of years has been the mentality, which really peaked this season. The petulance of players, the players downing tools and the general body language of so many has got to change. This will be a measure of how well Ten Hag is working with the players, and unity has got to be top of his agenda. This is the very least we can expect from the side this season.

Big Teams

United dropped points against just about everyone last season, or it certainly seemed that way, but it is the big games where we have to see our boys step up. The fact that Spurs can take points off City and Liverpool but we can’t is a real problem, and something we have to change. These big wins may count the same as a victory over Watford or Palace, but they mean more to the fanbase and they help to recreate the culture we once had.

Old Trafford

I think I speak for every United fan when I say that it is embarrassing that clubs think that they can come to Old Trafford and get a result. I understand why they think that, because we have let them. This season we want to see Old Trafford return to being the fortress that it once was, a stadium which strikes fear into the hearts of away fans and clubs. This may take more than a season but we have to start that this year.

This could be an odd season with the World Cup kicking off halfway through, but United need to use that to their advantage and upset the odds with a 4th placed finish, an improved mentality, blistering home form and some big scalps.