Manchester United’s terrible 2024/25 campaign could not be saved by the Europa League after Ruben Amorim’s men lost in the final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Some would argue that Manchester United did not deserve to win a trophy and get into the Champions League after their dismal season and you can’t disagree with them.
The Europa League was the chance for that to happen but United could not break down Tottenham Hotspur’s defence. The same defence which has been shaky all year.
Ruben Amorim has not even been here a full season and already has people calling for him to be sacked. No matter what side you are on, it’s impossible to say things haven’t been dire.
There was a huge risk when the club decided to bring such a different manager in mid-season and that has shown across the second half of the campaign, but other factors have not helped the situation.
When the United board gave up on the season
When it was confirmed that Erik ten Hag was sacked, many fans were thinking the same thing: Why not make this decision in the summer?
United were already on the back-foot early on in the season and the club decided to bring in a man who was going to change things completely.
With a poor squad anyway, it was always going to be unlikely that you would get that desired ‘new manager bounce’ when you know that the manager is going to change so much.
But the moment the United board decided to give up on the season was in that January transfer window, and that is even more obvious when reflecting on the season.
Antony and Marcus Rashford were both allowed to leave on loan. Whatever you think of them, that is one player who has scored over 100 goals for the club and another who cost £85 million a few years ago.
No one came in to replace those players. You got an inexperienced Patrick Dorgu to come in for Tyrell Malacia, who also left on loan, but no attackers.
In the final, Spurs had one shot on target and scored. United had all of the possession but no cutting edge in attack. Is that actually so surprising when you look at the options? Not really.
This is supposed to be one of the biggest clubs in the world
On one side, you look at the loan deals of Rashford and Antony and think that they were good business, since both players have seen their values rise after solid performances away from Old Trafford.
But just look at the facts. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and you are loaning out two senior attackers midway through a season and replacing them with nobody. United’s remaining attackers were not only not good enough, but they are kids.
Alejandro Garnacho (20), Rasmus Højlund (22), Joshua Zirkzee (23) and Amad (22) are the only forward options remaining. Two of those were out injured for extended periods. Are you expecting to be threatening with those as your only options?
The season has been dreadful and things need to change, but the United board essentially thrown in the towel after that January window and it ended up costing United in a European final.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.