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This was not to happen.
As Christmas approaches, many Manchester United fans want the season to end. If he had his way, the final whistle would have already blown.
United go into Saturday’s Premier League clash with West Ham looking to silence their critics after going three matches without scoring.
While last time out they struggled to an admirable goalless draw with Liverpool, it has been a false dawn campaign so far.
Man Utd have failed to see the best of Andre Onana since his summer arrival
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United made a promising start to the season. After finishing third in the Premier League last season and winning the Carabao Cup trophy, they looked as if they were a team on the rise.
He was supported by Eric ten Hag, who had achieved credit in the bank with those achievements.
David De Gea went out, Andre Onana came in.
Fred left, with Mason Mount recruited from Chelsea in his place.
And since the club still needed a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, big money was spent on the promising, yet raw, Rasmus Hjölund.
However, controversy arose just days before the new season.
It emerged that United were planning to re-sign Mason Greenwood after charges were dropped against the young player at the start of the year.
Ten Hag was hopeful that the 22-year-old would be a part of his squad for the current campaign. He believed that Greenwood would compete with Antony on the right wing, giving him competition for the places he desired.
Except that when the news broke, so did the reaction. Fans around the world condemned his stance and United were forced to resign in embarrassing fashion.
Instead he said that, because of his own investigation, he was confident that Greenwood had not committed any crimes.
And then they loaned the forward to Getafe, where after 18 months without playing, he has started to show glimpses of his best form.
However, this would set the tone for the disastrous season that followed.
United fought back to earn a 1–0 win over Wolves on the opening day of the season, with Raphael Varane scoring the only goal of the game.
Yet they suffered a crushing 2–0 defeat to Tottenham, the first in a series of poor results that should have set off alarm bells.
United bounced back with a win over Nottingham Forest but defeats to Arsenal, Brighton and Bayern Munich added to the atmosphere of disappointment and frustration around the club.
Since then, continuity has been a big issue.
When Ten Hag won the Manager of the Month award for November, United felt that their position had turned around, while the Red Devils had won all three of their matches that month.
But their performance overall has not been that good and they remain firmly a club in crisis.
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Man Utd boss Eric ten Hag has overseen a difficult season at Old Trafford
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Cup competitions haven’t provided much consolation either.
United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle in October, with Eddie Howe’s side recording an emphatic 3–0 victory.
And even in the Champions League, Onana’s regular mistakes cost the club dearly.
Onana made high-profile mistakes in two matches against Galatasaray, as well as the defeat to Bayern Munich in Bavaria.
Had they retained De Gea, possibly their best goalkeeper ever, things might have been different.
Except we’ll never know. And not knowing what to expect from United has been a recurring theme as the campaign has gone on.
Man Utd will be hoping they can turn a corner under Eric ten Hag after a difficult season so far
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Beat West Ham on Saturday and the club will hope they have finally won.
Given the fighting spirit they showed against Liverpool last time out, this will give fans reason to be optimistic.
However, that defeat would mean more destruction.
And which version of United emerges with the halfway point of the Premier League season almost upon us remains to be seen.
