MANCHESTER UNITED may have finished second in the Premier League, but in truth 2017-18 was another underwhelming flop.
It was a vast improvement in terms of league position, having finished seventh, fourth, fifth and sixth in the past four seasons.
But in truth, United never had a chance of winning the Premier League – and didn’t threaten in cup competition either.
Slowly but surely, their Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League places were surrendered.
And all the while, noisy neighbours Manchester City were storming their way to the league crown.
Ultimately, United were embarrassed by City, finishing 19 points adrift of the top spot – closer to Arsenal in sixth than the champions.
The brightest spot in an otherwise drab season was merely preventing City from celebrating the title in the Manchester derby.
That’s a far cry from the United of yesteryear, when Sir Alex Ferguson had them terrorising teams all over the world.
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But since leaving at the end of the 2012-13 season, it’s been a startling decline.
David Moyes and Louis van Gaal fared dreadfully in comparison – however big the boots they had to fill were.
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Jose Mourinho has done better – winning the League Cup and Europa Cup last season and at least getting United back into the top two this time around.
But is that enough? Any United fan would say absolutely not.
In 2007-08 and 2008-09, United won the league, with City struggling in ninth and tenth.
Just as United started to show signs of slowing down, and Fergie’s exit appeared close, City started to close the gap.
The Etihad side – now overflowing with money following their takeover – finished fifth in 2009-10, with United second.
Fergie led United to two more titles – including his last-ever season, fittingly – in the next three seasons, with City winning the other.
The tables were already beginning to turn, but the exit of Ferguson saw the wheels fly off the United machine.
Years of languishing miles adrift of the champions followed, with Mourinho eventually being roped in to save the day.
The Special One has certainly improved the United Moyes and LVG, but Old Trafford fans demand the best, not second-best, not third…
Yet Mourinho’s style – often a defensive, turgid, lethargic one – has left United fans wanting more.
His signings have fared just as badly too, with the likes of Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez all failing to reach the heights expected.
Going back to the 2017-18 season, United fans can take some – very little, but some – in a second-place finish and guaranteed Champions League football for next season.
But does that merely paper over the cracks of United’s decade of decay? Or will 2018-19 prove the turning point?
Big decisions will need to be made in the summer, but if there is one thing that is certain: United’s future is looking very UNcertain.
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