Manchester United have been ousted from the UEFA Champions League Group Stage and become the first club to do so after reaching a final the season before.
What does this collapse mean as we look towards the future of the Red Devils?
United's collapse may have come as a shock to many, but they haven't been playing particularly well over the last month. The squad has been rattled with injuries after losing both Vidic and Hernandez and are now looking like a team in need to January reinforcements. Although Sir Alex tried to squash talk that Wayne Rooney would not be effected by his upcoming international appeal, it seems that the English striker was indeed as he lacked effectiveness on the pitch. However, Rooney wasn't the sole culprit as United's midfield lacked the strength to take the game away from Basel which allowed them to mount confidence and sustain a lead.
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| An unfamiliar feeling. |
What now?
United will now enter the UEFA Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup, a place that is quite foreign to them. How far they will progress in that tournament is solely up to them as Sir Alex will now have to ponder the importance of this competition. My guess is that SAF will focus primarily on retaining the league title a feat which is already proving to allude them as cross-town rivals Manchester City have already amounted a substantial lead and will also have the fortune of no longer worrying about the Champions League. City went out yesterday courtesy of Napoli clinching victory. United certainly have the experience and talent to still contend but must change some of their tactics.
Sounds crazy right; suggesting SAF to change his tactics? However, with losses all over his squad, he'll now have to depend on the individual talents of a Rooney and Nani to overcome these next few months and hope to still be within striking distance of the title. We'll see what they can do.
The big question; although it's early on, will this be SAF's last season in charge? My guess is no after all from what we've seen of SAF throughout his career he's going to want to leave on a winning note. However, we've seen crazier things happen in football.
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