Welcome, a very merry TFFmas from all of us here at the blog. As we head into the holiday season, there is plenty to look forward to both on the pitch and off it and we are looking forward to the month ahead. This December we will be running the 25 Days of TFFmas, every day up until the big day we will be publishing Christmas wishlists from members of our team for what they would like their club to get for Christmas.
For Day 19 we spoke to James Smith and he gave us his lowdown on what he thinks Manchester United need for Christmas. Find out if he agrees with fellow United fan Ross Grant by clicking here.
The Club
It’s been a rocky start to the season for Manchester United, they are trying to rekindle the success they had under Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, after taking over from Louis van Gaal, is finding life rather difficult. Hopes of a title charge have not yet been realised as the club are currently sitting in 6th position, with the team yet to fully click into gear. The club are struggling to live with the current top four and in Europe it is a similar story. The club are used to the Champions League but in Europe’s second tier competition, they only finished runners-up to Fenerbache and were drawn against group winners Saint-Étienne in the Round of 32. The club can still cling to the hope of adding to their Community Shield win over Leicester though as they are still in the EFL Cup and received a favourable semi-final draw in the form of Hull City and they kick off their defence of the FA Cup, which they won in May thanks to Jesse Lingard’s stunner against Crystal Palace, at home to Jaap Stam’s Reading.
Wish 1- To win the league again
“We aren’t very good at the moment.” Certainly United will be looking to bounce back from disappointing defeats to Watford and Fenerbache as well as a string of draws that have seen them lose pace with the rest of the Premier League’s top four. If they don’t act soon, their three-year wait for a title could turn into a Liverpool style drought. “We should aspire to win the league and it hasn’t gone right so far this season. Sign Griezmann and all will be good!😉”
Wish 2- Martial to hit form again
No matter your age, whenever you move for upwards of £60 million, there will always be a significant amount of pressure. So for Martial, being so young, this must be extra difficult to handle and this season he has just not hit his previous highs. He has received a warning from French national team manager, Didier Deschamps, about his form and he has found himself out of United’s plans for most of the season. However, Martial has recently been invited back in from the cold and all fans will be hoping the injury that forced him off against Tottenham isn’t too serious. “Martial needs to hit last season’s heights in order to enhance our chances, a truly magnificent player.”
Day 3- United fans to get off of Schneiderlin’s and Darmian’s back
Two of the forgotten players of United’s season. Darmian has made occasional appearances as cover for Luke Shaw but Schneiderlin has found game time much harder to come by, having played only three times in the Premier League this season. Both players have received criticism from the fans this season and it has been suggested that neither deserve their place in the team anyway. “Both are good players who aren’t given enough chances, it’s not as if Schneiderlin will thrive off of cameo appearances as he isn’t an impact sub.”
Do you agree with this list?
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Thank you to James Smith for contributing today, we’ll see you tomorrow for another member and another wishlist!
