Football eh! Once again, as soon as our line-up at Old Trafford was announced, you would have thought the end of days had been brought forward by three months.
No pace, no creativity, no chance. And those were some of the more positive opinions offered.Accusations have been laid against numerous members of our staff this season. Most without foundation or clear minds. Such is the knee-jerk world we live in, where thoughts that used to get left within the confines of four walls are now shared to a worldwide audience.
Of course, given our form, confidence and the way things have manifested this season, on face value our starting XI wouldn’t have filled even the most ardent fan with much confidence. And that’s even factoring in a record and historical bias that makes a trip to Old Trafford a chore rather than enjoyment.
But this is a rank awful Manchester United outfit. And beyond that, some of the players we called upon were horrendously lambasted by our support.
Vladimir Coufal and Aaron Creswell were both told this week that following their contracts' expiring at the end of the season, they are free to leave. Both produced exemplary performances.
Guido Rodriguez, a player deemed not good enough for West Ham despite owning a World Cup-winners medal controlled the midfield with aplomb. Tomas Soucek, a player so committed and wholehearted that you’d be willing to spend time alongside him in the trenches, pops up again with not only a key goal, but a no-nonsense. Intelligent shift.
And that’s before we include Konstantinos Mavropanos. Another appearance from the bench, contributing positively to three points. The internet generation having deemed him to be one of the worst players we’ve ever had. We’ll let me tell you, from bitter experience, he’s a long, long way from that.
I wish I was that poor I could represent my nation 35 times. I’d offer a limb to play 50 seconds for West Ham, let alone 50 plus appearances.
But are they all infallible? No of course not. Are they perfect? No! But all of them are players who have served our club and given their all. At Old Trafford we saw Graham Potter, another who has suffered criticism without the grasp of the bigger picture, execute a perfect plan.
Anyone who’d seen Manchester United this season would have seen that strangling the midfield, preventing wide options from having space to run into is key. Starve, frustrate and control. Our line-up was not picked to wind up our support. It was to execute a game plan. And boy, did we.
There’s no denying it’s been a hugely frustrating, disjointed and disappointing season. On the back of four campaigns of having positivity, albeit through European qualification and the pursuit of the resultant campaigns. A fall from the wagon was always going to hurt.
Amplified by a failed change of style and regime, I admit that there’s been much to lament about this season. So much promise, yey it’s fizzled out with a whimper. So let’s appreciate when things do go our way. Let’s rejoice in days like yesterday. Let’s let the game pan out, before destroying the side before a ball is kicked.
A comfortable victory at old Trafford is a thing of rarity. Forget the level of opposition. Forget that their minds are possibly focused elsewhere. Some destinations are predestined to be difficult to get results from.
Celebrate the win. Celebrate that some of the contributors to it gave their all for us while some won’t be here for much longer. And their collective efforts over the years have been something to be proud of, not critical.
Aaron Creswell. 11 years' service. Over 300 games. Resilient enough to bounce back from an awful injury. Good enough to be an England international. A modern day bargain and club icon.
Vladimir Coufal. Again a bargain. Whole hearted. Passionate, humble exceptionally professional. Lukasz Fabiabski. Nearly 200 games. A fantastic signing and role model.
All three were part of the squad at Old Trafford. All three great signings, great value - and too frequently, greatly underappreciated.
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