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The most depressing day of the Premier League season so far? If you are a fan of Manchester United, it must be October 6, 2018. It is at this moment that Newcastle – a team led by Rafa Benitez who is organizing his players as they prepared to defend themselves against Thanos – went up 2-0 in the previous match. First 10 minutes to Old Trafford. If it was surprising, the shock was the following: Jose Mourinho's men made a 3-2 return with goals from Juan Mata, Anthony Martial in the second half and, in the 90th minute, a guy named of Alexis Sanchez who, according to legend, used to find the bottom of the net regularly.
Great, no? If they had been under the responsibility of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at this time of the season, consider the possibilities of wellbeing. The team could have made an even bigger comeback than by beating a 12-point lead over Kevin Keagan's Newcastle to win it all in 1995-96.
Instead, it was a false dawn, a wink that you would miss, that would prolong the discomfort and madness that infected Manchester United in Not-So-Special-One-Anymore.
Remember, the return of Newcastle comes after a series of abject results: a 1: 1 draw against the Wolves in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup leaving the Carabao Cup on penalties in the derby of Frank Lampard, a 3-1 defeat embarrbading against West Ham and a goal. draws of the Champions League at home in Valencia. If United had lost to Newcastle that day, they would have had 10 points in eight games and nine points behind Manchester City.
Grim, it's the least we can say. The players put as much effort as The Dude of The Big Lebowski. Mourinho continued to live in a Manchester hotel between two grumpy appearances at press conferences, a war going on with the best player on the team, Paul Pogba (among others) and a sleepy football brand that threatened to put Ambien bankrupt. But there was hope: if Mourinho lost to Newcastle, reports suggested at the time that United would fire him and bring Solskjaer to finish the season.
Then United organized this damn return. It was like being in a horrible relationship: months of misery punctuated by a good evening during which you remember the good times before the quarrels and sorrows ruined everything.
With a reprieve, Mourinho did not waste much time to drop his supporters, which allowed them to lose points against Crystal Palace, Southampton and Arsenal (a team mired in its own misery). ) before the nadir: to be instructed by Liverpool at Anfield, a 3-1 record that flattered United.
Finally, thankfully, United sent Mourinho on a gardening leave, scoring 26 points in 17 games and 19 points behind Liverpool and 18 points on City.
Unfortunately, the dismissal took place two months too late. Solskjaer, former badbadin of United-Faced Assbadin, returned to Old Trafford as acting manager and, as a human defibrillator, immediately launched United's moribund campaign.
But imagine that the owners, the Glazers, launch Mourinho after the Newcastle match? These are the kinds of questions that arise in the bitter night watches, when your thoughts mingle between the darkness of your mind and your fancy desires. And of course, it is unrealistic to expect the Glazers to have eliminated Mourinho before the start of the season. After all, he guided United to a second place, although the gap between the clbad (and the points) with Manchester City made him arguably the most unsatisfactory finalist of all time, with empty calories and no substance. But this match from Newcastle – the club had the opportunity to renew its title winner credentials … or at least not to be a punchline in the running.
You've heard me well and I hear some of you laughing while I'm writing this – and, enough, I'm not
City and Liverpool have better teams, Spurs advance without injuries Dele Alli and Harry Kane before, inevitably, they incite things.
But look again at United's statistics this season: Under Mourinho, 26 points in 17 games; under Solskjaer, 25 points in 9 games. Alan Turing does not need to understand that if Solskjaer maintained this pace from October, Manchester United would claim top honors – certainly as much as Tottenham – and would not be sweating. outside the Top 4 and miss the Champions League next season.
"Ole is driving, tell me how you feel," sing the fans.
Ole, that's good.
Of course, United faced reality against PSG in the Champions League before rebounding to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup. It was a pleasure to see the team play football aggressively and pleasantly and gobble up points like Pac-Man on Adderall. The team remains slim, Alexis Sanchez is still Alexis Sanchez, the defense is a Phil Jones fails and Chelsea and Arsenal still breathe in the back to finish fourth.
That's the ultimate friction, is not it? We could be sitting here in May with United in fifth or sixth place. Under the Not-So-Special-One-Anymore, the bar was so low that Warwick Davis would break his back trying to lose weight. On the other hand, Solskjaer makes fans dream. In other words: being below Top 4 under Mourinho was a fait accompli; under Solskjaer would feel like a gust of wind.
It's the hope that kills you … and the thoughts of what could have been.
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