Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League in 2016-17, but what grade do they get for their overall performance?
No one was entirely sure what to expect of Manchester United in their first season under Jose Mourinho. While the Red Devils had a good summer, signing Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (on a free transfer), any hope of a title challenge fell away after the opening few matches of the season, and they soon fell out of the top four as well.
While the new signings all had good seasons individually, the team as a whole never quite clicked. To make matters worse, United faced a cramped fixture list and had to deal with multiple injuries to key players at important times. None of which made it easier to understand Mourinho’s public criticism of Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling.
United did win the Community Shield and League Cup, but it’s unlikely trophies in that tier will satiate the Old Trafford faithful for long. In the end, the Red Devils chose to focus on the Europa League as their route into next season’s Champions League. The gamble paid off, elevating what would have been a very disappointing first season for Mourinho into a solid foundation on which to build.
The manager
Mourinho’s name alone probably helped persuade some of the summer signings to make the switch to Old Trafford, and he deserves credit for beginning to remedy United’s lack of creativity in attack. Ibrahimovic was excellent before picking up a serious knee injury late in the season, and while Mkhitaryan took time to settle, he played a crucial role in the Europa League triumph.
The signings couldn’t, however, turn United into a thrilling attacking side. While the team were perhaps a little more exciting than they were under Louis van Gaal — and poor finishing certainly hurt their goals total — Mourinho’s tactics were often too conservative, especially in the big matches. There’s still a long way to go if the fans are going to see the high-speed, attacking soccer they crave.
Mourinho generally focused on control in midfield, as evidenced by the fact United averaged 55 percent possession in the league, behind only Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City. Pogba, Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini all impressed in this department, even if there was a feeling they were playing an unnecessarily cautious game.
The one thing Mourinho really got right, unsurprisingly, was the defense. Antonio Valencia continues to excel at right-back, Bailly and Marcos Rojo formed a formidable partnership at center-back and when injuries began to take their toll in the second half of the season, Mourinho used a combination of Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian, Shaw, Phil Jones and Smalling very effectively. The Red Devils conceded only 29 goals, the second best record in the league behind Tottenham (26).
Next: Premier League 2016-17 season grades: Everton
The players
There are multiple players deserving of praise for their solid performances this season, both domestically and in Europe. The first is Valencia, who was voted Player of the Season by his teammates. Valencia was nothing short of phenomenal at right-back this season. His crossing still leaves much to be desired, but he shut down almost every winger that came his way, and was mostly very efficient on the ball.
The second is Herrera. The Spanish midfielder seems to be involved in everything good that happens for United in all phases of the game. His defensive awareness and positioning is exceptional, and his ability to efficiently control the midfield is hugely important to United’s dominance of possession.
David de Gea, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Michael Carrick, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and even Paul Pogba (to an extent) had impressive seasons, but Herrera and Valencia were the two best players on the field for United throughout the 2016-17 season.
Not everyone played well of course. Shaw’s career continues to stall, even if Mourinho (and injuries) deserves some of the blame, while Smalling never fully recovered from an injury sustained over the summer. Marcus Rashford did’t build on his breakout campaign as some would have hoped, scoring only five goals in 32 league appearances (16 off the bench), but he’s only 19 — giving up on him now would be foolish.
The failings this season had more to do with overall structural problems than they did with individual performances. In particular, while the defense was excellent, there remains a lack of creativity and freedom in attack. Mourinho bears some of the responsibility for that, but a few attacking additions this summer wouldn’t go amiss either.