Let’s be honest. How many people actually take Robbie Pundit Savage seriously? Probably less than the number of main cast members who would survive an Oscar-bait behind-enemy-lines war movie. Certainly he’s one of those people with opinions not worth getting riled up about, but recently he’s said something about United that I do take issue with. Apparently, he’s up in arms over the fact that Manchester United thinks getting fourth place is a job done, Louis van Gaal thinks that United are close to catching Chelsea, and some fans are celebrating as if United have won the league.
Hang on just a minute, Robbie. Here is Paul Scholes to demonstrate exactly what i think of that.
The overcelebration issue seems to come up an awful lot in this season (I don’t suppose anyone has yet forgotten Robin van Persie’s against Chelsea). I agree – fourth place should not be celebrated like a league title. Yet there is a major problem with this assessment of Savage’s: United did not. Perhaps individual fans did, but I personally know of no one who saw this as a massive achievement on the level of 2013 or any of the nineteen previous titles. There were no dressing room pictures, no wild popping bottles of champagne, no declarations of ‘we see fourth place as a trophy’ – those belong to a certain London club which for the facade of impartiality will not be named.
Have a look at any of the interviews with any of the players post-game and post-season. No one acknowledges that fourth place is the be all and end all. Everyone has acknowledged that fourth place is the minimum requirement van Gaal set out to achieve, no more and no less, and that it’s not good enough for a club like United. “Carrick: We want titles not fourth place.” “Blind: Manchester United will always aim to win the title.” “Mata: we’ll be trying to win trophies.” I don’t know where Savage got the idea that United are satisfied with fourth from, because we aren’t. Fourth is simply the stepping stone towards better and greater things, a repetition of 2008 and 1999 being written in the cards.
There is nothing wrong with celebrating fourth place as fourth place, which is what I think United fans were doing. Any fan of any club would be happy when they see their team make it into arguably the most prestigious club competition in the world. You can’t deny people the right to celebrate such an achievement, particularly with such a precarious run-in at the end, as well as on the back of a terrible season much of Manchester would rather forget. But when posts like ‘we’re back, bitches’ began peppering social media, the intent was far less ‘we’ve got fourth place, job done’ than ‘this is our chance to be great again’. Second best was not enough for Sir Matt Busby and will not, one suspects, be enough for van Gaal. His ostensible aim this season was to reach the Champions’ League, but not once did he say that this was his only aim – in fact he’s probably taken a shot at the title more than fourth place in his many entertaining press conferences. This is not about settling for less.
A huge part of the ‘celebration’ was a sigh of relief in knowing that, for all the final table, United seriously underperformed. Here, Savage gets the second part of his argument – that United are still miles away from getting anywhere near the title. It’s in this area that he has more ground to argue. The most expensive transfer window in British history, a splendid array of attacking talent at least on paper, a more than capable manager, resulted in a limp finish through a mix of ridiculous injury, questionable formations and misfiring players. There are certainly very many kinks to be worked out, amongst them how to play against teams which park the bus, as demonstrated so ably by Chelsea and West Brom towards the end of the season, and how to win convincingly (indeed why United cannot seem to win) against teams they should be thrashing. The very lineup of United’s best side seems to be constantly called into question, although the scope of rotation that the Champions’ League would allow soothes this thorn a little. Consistency was a hallmark of this season’s champions and it is something that van Gaal has yet to find.
For all these questions, however, I would say that van Gaal and United have actually had a very solid season and are well within reach of Chelsea, with the addition of some good players shoring up areas in desperate need of replacement (hello, Evans). The window of Tottenham-Liverpool-City was an enlightened look at the possibility of this United side, the performance at Anfield in the first half hour particularly lauded far and wide. It is evident that this United has bags of class and is perfectly capable of beating big teams. If they’d played more like that throughout the season, and not choked up at stupid times like against West Brom, Everton and across the holiday period, second place would have been theirs easily. The loss of Carrick after the derby was particularly damaging and a blow from which they never really seemed to recover. Imagine, though, a fully recovered Carrick at the heart of a ticking, clockwork United beefed up by some world class signings, beginning with Depay. A weak end to the season, almost certainly. But miles away? I wouldn’t say so.
Savage, then, is quite wrong on United’s position, and spectacularly wrong on United’s determination. Questions have been asked as to whether Chelsea can emulate the United of Ferguson’s era and go on to dominate for twenty years, but I doubt it – other teams are far too close, United included, and I quite fancy the chances of being treated to a Player of the Year awards 2.0 van Gaal Victory Speech soon enough. What I find the most offensive is Savage’s suggestion that United have rolled over and are fanatically celebrating fourth place. As a former United player you’d think Savage would know better – this club has always been and will always be about winning. There is a sense of acceptance around the 14/15 season, but not of satisfaction. Fourth place will never be enough – and rightly so.
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