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Once The Theater Of Dreams

The Red Devils, Manchester United were regarded as the dominant force in English football ever since the premier league started. The Red Devils were not just a football team, but rather, they were a movement. Manchester United has rich history that includes bringing in numerous youth players to the first team on two separate occasions. Firstly as the Busby Babes and then as the infamous Class of ’92. During the time when the Class of ’92 was included into the first team squad, football was not just seen as a sport, it was seen as a way for people to get together. Manchester United was not just a football club; rather it was the front runner to promote unity among the United Kingdom. It was during that time that football peaked, salaries increased, attendances in stadiums got bigger, stature of the football stars grew and all in all, the beautiful game reached astonishing levels of fame. Manchester United is the club which spread optimism throughout the United Kingdom. A young blonde lad named David Beckham became a global icon. His popularity was more than pop singers, supermodels and even some heads of state.

Manchester United completely dominated during the Gaffer’s tenure at Manchester United. From winning the treble to winning countless titles, to overthrowing Liverpool as the club with the most top flight of English football medals, to producing world beaters like  David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville etc. To date, the Red Devils have won 13 premier league titles, a feat which for decades no club would be able to equal. That’s just the class of Manchester United, that’s just the legacy of the red devils, that’s just a proof of their complete dominance of English football. All together in SAF’s tenure at Manchester United, a total of 38 titles were won by United, including 13 premier leagues, 2 Champions League, 5 FA Cups, and 4 League Cups.

However, it’s true that nothing lasts forever. Ever since SAF left Manchester United, the club has faced difficulties. Last season was a complete disaster, for Manchester United a 7th place finish is equal to being relegated. This was our lowest finish since 1990 and it was the first time we have missed out on reaching the champions league since 1989. Our win percentage at home was only 47%, to help you understand how low this is, you should know that it was 87% in 2012-2013, 79% in 2011-2012 and so on. It was pretty much always above 75%, therefore the downfall to 47% came a major shock to all avid followers of the game, regardless of being Manchester United supporters or not.

Just one small good thing came out of the failure last season which was that many plastic fans stopped supporting United; they shifted towards clubs like Manchester City because well City won the league. It is always nice to know that most of the supporters of the club you support are genuine and would continue to support the team, not considering the performances. It evolves the remaining supporters of a club into a brotherhood. Consoling each other after losses and continuously hoping for a revival.

Some football pundits said that it will be sometime before Manchester United returns to the Champions league, but truth are told; there is no Champions league without the champions of football. People are saying that Manchester United will never reach it’s lost heights, that the golden period of Manchester United is now finished, but little do they know that winners never quit and quitters never win and Manchester United is a winner, not a quitter. Sadly, just saying and believing this is not enough, rather to return to lost heights, tactics have to be rethought, players have to be bought, and the belief among the squad has to be reinvigorated. This is easier said than done.

But, this season, it shall all change once again. Luis Van Gaal is a name all football fanatics would be familiar with; he is a brilliant manager, who will surely get the club back to where it belongs, the top of the league. New promising players have been signed. Luke Shaw, the talented right back has been included in the squad to bolster the defence after Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra have left. Herrera has been signed who will add that creativity to the squad that it lacked last season. World beaters such as Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao have been added to the squad to provide the much needed star power also another talented defender in form of Rojo has also been bought.

Although the season has not started up to the expectations of fans, progress has been made. LVG needed some time to test out the different players in the squad, to try different formations etc. Another reason for the bad performance in the first few games was because new signings such as Luke Shaw were out injured. Robin Van Persie also had injury problems, whereas Marcus Rojo did not have a work permit and Di Maria and Falcao were bought after the losses, not before.

After the match against Queens Park Rangers, a United fan can feel the tide changing once again in our favor. It seems as if the glory days are coming back, because the 4-0 win against QPR was a complete demolition. Manchester United played beautifully, as they have in the past. Old Trafford is now alive once again, fans are now dreaming once again. Soon shall those dreams be realized. Soon shall Old Trafford be regarded as the ‘Theater of Dreams’ once again not some place which once used to be the theater of dreams. Soon Manchester United shall be the club that reigns over Manchester and England, not their rivals, such as the other club in Manchester or the team which decades ago used to perform well in English football.

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