Disappointed? Yes ; Surprised? Not Really - MUFC fan

So, the most dramatic season ever has come to an end and Manchester City has won the title.  They managed to snatch the title in the last 30 seconds of their game against QPR and ensured that ‘United hearts’ were crushed in the most cruel manner possible. I, begrudgingly congratulate  the Blue half of Manchester for their title because, well, they did deserve it.

Now, I will move on to explain the Heading and my motive of writing this article. I am a Man Utd fan, and as the Title suggests I am Disappointed. Disappointed at our lack of fight at Etihad. Disappointed at the lack of passion shown in that game. BUT most of all I am disappointed that we lost the title which we came so close to winning, and the fact that it is our Manchester rivals who get to keep the League Title, just hurts a hell of a lot more. If you think I am done with being disappointed then you are wrong. I am disappointed at the fact that we let an EIGHT point lead uncharacteristically slip.

This season has seen a lot of ups and downs but the height of disappointment has to be losing an eight point lead with six games to go and also showing a lack of fight against Manchester City at Etihad when the game was billed up to be the Title Decider. After the City game, when I went online on social networking sites, many people blamed SAF’s tactics as the reason we lost but truth be told, it was not his tactics but the personnel he trusted, who on the night did not repay his trust in them. Park-Ji Sung, it can safely be said, is no more the “big game player” and when Ryan Giggs was added to the midfield which already had Scholes, it was never going to be easy. I was personally scared that Rooney(who was playing alone up top) would at some point get frustrated to the level where he would do something stupid and get a yellow maybe even a Red.

Now, on to the Second part of my Heading. Surprised. This is a difficult one to judge. After December, considering the injuries we were hit with and the results against Blackburn and Newcastle, there was a part of me that thought that, Champions? Nah, doubt it. Then came Scholes and thereafter the Chelsea game. We, then, went on a run and I suddenly believed again.  Suddenly believed that Yes, the title could, very well be headed back to us. Though I have to admit, that at the back of my mind there was this little voice that said, “This has been a funny season, and there could still be another twist left”.

How right was that voice at the back of my mind and how I really wish it wasn’t!

So  was I Surprised? Not really. While I am surprised and disappointed that we threw away an Eight point lead, I am not surprised that Manchester City has won the title.

Why?

Because even though I hate to admit this, they have been the better side over the course of the season. They have the best squad in the country without a shadow of doubt. How many players from United would walk straight into the City team? Rooney is one, Antonio Valencia would be a good squad player for them or Carrick maybe? Other than that?

There in lies the explanation of why I am not surprised that Man City did celebrate their title win. Credit must be given where its due and Man City players deserve this title. They wanted it more and it showed in the Manchester Derby. Don’t believe it? Go watch Kompany celebrating his goal against United and Yaya Toure’s goal against Newcastle. Credit to Mancini too. He shed the defensive tag of Man City of last season, and brought a more attacking style to City. He handled the Tevez saga admirably. He probably foresaw that and bought Aguero, which, did till a certain part of the season, lessen the impact of the Tevez saga. The only blemish on a good season for the Italian was probably his faith (too much) on Mario Balotelli.

I would like to point out here, that am still proud of the efforts put in by the team though am sad about the title going the other way because they were able to stretch city till the last match, infact, till the last minute, even after having their key players injured at various junctions during the season.

The season is now over and  it will be a very long time before the season starts again. I hope (and believe) that Sir Alex Ferguson will have identified the weaknesses in our squad and would be looking to improve the team in those departments. Midfield is one which requires re-enforcement and Shinji Kagawa will help in some way to solve the midfield troubles. There have been positives which I will be discussing in my End of the Season review, but here is hoping that, next season this time, I am not disappointed but rather celebrating another title win for The Red Devils.