Manchester United won their final game of 2021 3-1 against Burnley and so much has changed since then in 2022.
As the end of another year approaches, we have looked back at some of the biggest changes at Old Trafford in the past 12 months…
Manchester United have a permanent manager – and he’s the right man
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick led United to that win over Burnley and it took months within 2022 for United to move towards a first choice permanent pick.
Erik ten Hag emerged as the leading contender and has underlined that the club has – after so long in deciding – got the call right.
Ten Hag has restored standards behind the scenes and there are signs of an entertaining, high-tempo, attacking philosophy which will only improve with time.
The club’s transfer operation off the pitch made his first summer far harder than it needed to be, with the Frenkie de Jong saga rumbling on before United finally got into gear and signed players of the right quality.
The Dutchman has the fans’ backing, and there is far more certainty around the club now than there was when we embarked on 2022 with Rangnick at the helm with no real idea of what came next.
Cristiano Ronaldo is gone
Ronaldo scored United’s third goal against Burnley, and even at that point, there was talk about how he and Rangnick’s pressing style would mix.
Rangnick did not have the authority or permeance to take Ronaldo on, and Ten Hag inherited a situation where the Portugal captain wanted to leave.
The Dutchman did not take Ronaldo on in public, dealing with the relentless questions about him in press conferences expertly and disciplining him accordingly when he refused to come on against Tottenham.
Ronaldo torched his own United career and by the time he left, Ten Hag had the backing of the majority of the fans.
But United do need a striker, especially given Anthony Martial’s struggles to stay fit, and Ten Hag has acknowledged the need to get more goals into his side.
Ronaldo’s exit was right for all parties but United do need to put in place and effective succession plan in 2023.
Maguire, Fred and McTominay are no longer guaranteed starters
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer never lost faith with Harry Maguire, much to the frustration of the likes of Eric Bailly, and Rangnick backed him too.
The German also never moved away from the McFred midfield combination, which was a staple of starting XIs dating back to the start of Solskjaer’s reign.
Ten Hag deployed it in pre-season – which was bad news for Donny van de Beek – but once he finally got Casemiro and Christian Eriksen through the door, things changed.
United have given their midfield a much-needed overhaul, and that competition has actually brought more out of McTominay and Fred when they do get their chances.
One or both can be effective squad players even years down the line once Ten Hag gets his squad how he wants it, while it remains to be seen what the future holds for Maguire at United.
Marcus Rashford is back
Rashford was an unused substitute in that Burnley game. Although he had undergone surgery to get injury free, he looked weighed down and off-colour.
Early in 2022, there was talk of him potentially moving on and while United do need to agree a longer term new contract to completely eradicate that risk, the outlook has completely changed.
Rashford is enjoying his football again, winning his England place back and scoring as many goals as any Three Lions player in Qatar despite making just one start.
Ten Hag is clearly an admirer of Rashford and his methods are getting far more out of him, with plenty still to come if he can become even more clinical in front of goal.
Our final line-up of the year — let's get the job done!
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 30, 2021#MUFC | #MUNBUR
A much-needed squad overhaul – which is not finished yet
From the starting XI against Burnley, there is only one player you would expect to definitely start for United when they face Bournemouth in their first game of 2023 – David de Gea.
Luke Shaw would hope to join him, but Ten Hag has signed Tyrell Malacia, who offers stiff, genuine competition for the Englishman.
McTominay scored that night, but as mentioned, Casemiro and Eriksen will expect to be in situ by the time Forest came to town. Bruno Fernandes was suspended against Burnley, and will face Forest barring any hiccups.
Eric Bailly, Nemanja Matic, Edinson Cavani and Ronaldo have gone, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka likely to join them when the transfer window opens in 2023.
Jadon Sancho should still come good, but Dean Henderson, Alex Telles and Jesse Lingard were on the bench for that game and have since left.
But it is clear more work is still to be done for Ten Hag to get this United squad where he wants it, and plenty of changes are needed off the pitch to make that operation as slick and efficient as it needs to be.
That is just another area where Ten Hag’s relentlessness comes into play as we look forward to 2023 with more excitement than we did 2022…
The post 5 things which have changed in the year since Manchester United's final game of 2021 appeared first on United In Focus.
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