2024 has been an incredible year for Manchester United: massive highs, desperate lows and everything else in between.
In February, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's approval was formally ratified. Then there was an exciting month of March Winning the FA Cup over Liverpool in extra timebefore going on to lift the trophy in May – the same month in which they finished a truly disappointing eighth in the Premier League.
Erik ten Hag has managed to keep his job, even getting a new contract as a sign of faith. There have also been several new appointments at senior executive level and a promising summer transfer window.
But the start to the 2024/25 season was poor. Ten Hag was fired, Ruben Amorim was hired, and sporting director Dan Ashworth only lasted five months in his tenure. This is not a quick fix and it will likely take some time to build a sustainable new-look mathematical operation.
Away from the field, there are ongoing plans to make that happen Construction of a new Old Trafford stadium To be the focus of major urban regeneration, the club is also keenly feeling the financial pinch which has led to significant spending cuts and staff layoffs.
In teams struggling to fulfill their potential, the goalkeeper often stands out. Andrew O'Nan He may have started out shaky in the fall of 2023, but by 2024, he was saving the day on a regular basis.
Footballers always make mistakes and as a goalkeeper you can't hide it. Unfortunately, Onana, A few crept back It's towards the end of the calendar year, but that doesn't detract from his total contributions over the entire 12 months.
United almost began the Amorim era with a shock defeat to Ipswich Town, but Onana's shot made a stunning save, and the Portuguese coach was reminded of that two weeks later when he came off to play off his goalkeeper after a foul against Nottingham Forest.
“He saved us a lot, so we have to find a way to turn it around and score two goals to help our goalkeeper the way he saved us, for example, in Ipswich,” Amorim said.
to Imad DialloThe year 2024 was the turning point in his career with Manchester United. The Ivorian winger has been at the club for three-and-a-half years, but it is only in the last few months that he has been given a consistent chance – even after his dramatic extra-time win in the aforementioned win. FA Cup match against Liverpool.
Despite flashes of what Amad was capable of, Ten Hag didn't seem to fully accept it. An impressive start and display in the Community Shield in August, followed by a gradual fall to the sidelines – Presumably due to apparent loyalty and shared history with Antony.
Redemption came under the interim leadership of Ruud van Nistelrooy and lasted until the end of 2024. At one point, in November and December, Imad scored ten goals and made two assists in a run of nine matches in all competitions. As a winger, his playing style is not full of tricks and flicks, but what is simpler and more direct is often more effective.
united They are a worse team when Kobe Maino Not on the pitch, which shows the level of impact the 19-year-old from Stockport has made since graduating from the academy. This has not been felt at club level either, because there is a valid argument to say that he has become England's most important player on their way to the Euro 2024 final as well.
As with Imad, simple work done well is better than complicated work done poorly. In doing so, Maino has become the midfield linchpin around which United would, in an ideal world, soon build a project.
For a player so young and with limited professional experience, maturity on and off the field is often the quality most associated with him, as is humility and a grounded nature.
Rasmus Hoglund He has carried a lot of pressure and expectations on his shoulders since joining United in the summer of 2023. The young Dane was little-known at the time, which made his £72m move from Atalanta all the more surprising.
He also arrived with his back infection He took time to adapt, and initially found life easier in the Champions League. But Hoglund has started 2024 with an impressive performance in the Premier League, scoring in six successive matches.
An injury setback brought his career to a halt at the time, and since then it has always been a bit off, although there is clear potential in the centre-forward who is carrying himself in the right direction.
It was 17 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions in 2024, certainly a respectable return in the circumstances even if not remarkable.
Lenny Euro Apparently it was real madrid-Related to. It made sense. Here was a teenage talent who actually resembled Raphael Varane, who plays in north-eastern France – just as Varane did.
Real Madrid beat United to the signing of 18-year-old Varane in 2011, eventually signing the shadow of the French centre-back a decade later. But the roles were reversed this time.
Described as a generational defensive talent, Euro is a first-team player for Lille at the age of 16. While Real Madrid hesitated, clinging to the hope that they could sign the youngster as a free agent in 2025, United went to great lengths to secure a £59m package to land him immediately.
An injury sustained in pre-season means fans are yet to see Euros on a consistent basis, but what he does represent is long-term potential to be world class, and at the same time a player of the moment as well.
no one Expect United to go to Wembley and beat Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.
Under Ten Hag, the team had just scored The worst finish ever in the English Premier League eighth and on the verge of missing out on European football, while City were fresh from winning an unprecedented fourth successive league title and searching for a second domestic double.
It was not in the scenario for Alejandro Garnacho to put United ahead in the first half, and it was no less for Kobe Maino to add daylight to the scoreline nine minutes later. City eventually pulled one back, but United's performance did not match the previous nine months.
Victory meant qualification for the Europa League, which was even more enjoyable against the 'noisy neighbours' who had been winning the title for the past decade.
Although this is all the talk about in the professional game, the vast majority of football teams don't actually win championships. United fans have been spoiled for years in this sense, but even the club's supposed “banter era” is still more successful than most.
