The positives of what could be a dire season

Nani celebrates his first against Bayern

At the moment I know it looks like our season has indeed gone down the pan after 2 bad weeks but whilst the media talk of impending doom and gloom we must bear in mind that it has not been all bad and there are some encouraging points to be taken.

Despite being sent off against Bayern Munich we would all do well to remember that Rafael kept one of the best players in the world on a short leash for the time he was on the field. We have always known that he was going to be a classy operator, he has the physical attributes to bomb up and down the right flank for years to come, but in that match he showed that he can perform against the best in the world on the biggest stage. Yes he was sent off and was guilty of a school boy error but at 19 he is barely out of school! He has years to learn and with age and experience problems such as positioning and decision making will iron themselves out.

Despite having a monumental task in front of him in filling Ronaldo’s boots, Antonio Valencia has not done a terrible job. His pace and crossing from the right have been invaluable and he has struck up a partnership with Wayne Rooney that has seen the aerial part of Rooney’s game develop to a whole new level. People said he wasn’t United class well he has proved many wrong although I would love if he used his left foot (yes he has one!) a bit more.

On the subject of wingers what can you say about Nani that hasn’t already been said? Written off by many including us the fans, Nani has finally developed into the class player he was bought to be. His performance against Bayern was Ronaldo -esque and even when we were down to 10 men he still carried a threat going forward. It appears that he has finally found his feet and next season he will only get better as it appears that he has got over the mental aspects that prevented him from developing much earlier in his United career.

Wayne Rooney has been phenomenal, he has developed the selfish streak in his game that he needed and defenders all over the world are bricking it. We get offended when people call us a one man team but undoubtedly we miss Rooney when he is out and it is just a testament to how good he actually is, so in essence it is actually a compliment! Unfortunately he got injured at the wrong time this season, it was unavoidable but Rooney’s character means that it will only make him much hungrier next season as he thinks about how much better his season could have been. So to any non United fans reading this bear this in mind.

We are being told that the problems are terminal at Old Trafford at the dynasty is over but the problems on field can be fixed with a purchase or two, the priority being a creative midfielder. When we do The title race, despite being declared so by some, isn’t over and even if we don’t pick up the title this season we have been lucky enough to win 3 in a row.

Next year we will return stronger having learnt from this year’s mistakes and I wouldn’t bet against us rectifying them!