Where Will Manchester United Finish This Season?

We’re now just days, hours, and minutes away from the start of a new Premier League season. This, of course, means that anyone with even a passing interest in football is currently boldly predicting where each team will finish in the standings with the brazen confidence of Trevor Brooking and Mystic Meg’s lovechild.

Chelsea fans will obviously be confident that Jose Mourinho can defend their Premier League title with consummate ease, while Arsenal and Manchester City supporters will be adamant that the purchases of Peter Cech and Raheem Sterling, respectively, will have now given their sides the talent to truly challenge the West London natives.

But what about Manchester United’s loyal contingent? What can they expect? After all, confidence at the club is relatively high after Louis Van Gaal’s first season at Old Trafford helped to stabilise the club following David Moyes’ failed, brief tenure. Plus the club have made some astute purchases in the transfer window, while at the same time clearing out some of the dead wood that Van Gaal had clearly grown weary of.

Does this mean that we are now at the stage where the United faithful can once again realistically start dreaming about Premier League glory?

No. Not yet. In fact, rather than striving for the trophy that they previously picked up on an almost annual basis, United fans should simply be hoping that they consolidate their position within the top four, while at the same time imposing themselves on the European front.

Of course, that’s not the Manchester United way though. Fans, players, backroom staff and anyone who is even remotely connected with the club will always aim to win the Premier League title at the start of each and every new season.

And while that un-blinkered ambition is one of the main reasons why Manchester United are a global phenomenon, at this point in time that goal is still slightly out of their reach. This is despite the fact that considering how much Louis Van Gaal has spent amalgamating his squad United should, arguably, be odds on favourites to lift the Premier League come next May.

But, looking at the squad he has assembled they are still a few players short of genuinely challenging for the trophy that most fans believe is rightly theirs.

However, as they showed in patches towards the end of last season, they are more than capable of ending the campaign above Manchester City, and a solid third place finish in 2015/2016 would give fans a jolt of confidence, an air of superiority, and provide Van Gaal with the platform to add the further additions that would turn United back into a genuine European super-power.

Anything more would obviously be welcome. While anything less would suggest that simply finishing in the top four is now the norm for United. And that simply will not do.

Prediction: Manchester United to ultimately finish 3rd. They’ll be a bit more consistent than last year, but still expect a hotchpotch of both superlative big-game and frustratingly unconvincing performances.