Manchester United Will Regret Europa League Downgrade

By Femi Hills for 9jahut
The Snake has swallowed the Pig. For all the talks about English clubs facing an apparent crisis in Europe, teams representing England have all qualified for the next stage of Europe’s most elite competition, well except Manchester United.
It is easy to understand the frustrations of Manchester United fans at Louis van Gaal.
Last season’s Champions League spot achievement was meant to spur this United side to something greater this year, especially with vice chairman Ed Woodward handing the manager so much money to spend in the transfer market to improve the team.

A quarter of a billion pounds in funds was the result. It was nail biting time. The club that once enjoyed so much success under Sir Alex Ferguson was eager to see a shining silverware this season.
After blowing a chance for a trophy in the FA Cup quarter-final encounter against Arsenal at Oldtrafford last season, United ignorantly repeated the feat against Middlesbrough in the League Cup this season, losing on penalties after a dull stalemate in normal time.

But if there was a sense of disdain for the League cup, in a competition that United were meant to take seriously, they floundered.
Louis van Gaal knew a victory against PSV at Old Trafford in the Champions League would utimately guarantee them a spot in the last 16, yet they labored to a frustrating 0-0 draw, amid the boos from the home crowd at full time.

It was an entirely mundane affair that summed up the season for Manchester United: Lackluster in the final third and Boring.
To guarantee a spot in the next round, United had to beat Wolfsburg in Germany, especially with PSV hosting a misfit CSKA Moscow in the other group match.
After taking the lead at the Volkswagen Arena courtesy of Anthony Martial who has been a revelation for the club since he joined, United were trailing at half time.
Joshua Guilavogui well crafted own goal looked to be sending the Manchester club to the next round in the second half, as PSV were having a shocker at home, but Naldo’s winning goal for Wolfsburg in the death annihilated such hopes. PSV also confirmed the exit when Davy Proepper scored for them very late on to send the stadium into raptures.


For a side fighting for the English Premier League title, Thursday night football in the Europa League is a suicide mission.
According to stats provided by Skysports, Over the last 10 seasons, English teams’ Premier League finishing positions have fallen by an average of 2.4 places when they have played a minimum of six Europa League fixtures.

An example is Everton last season. Roberto Martinez’s team achieved their highest ever Premier League points tally of 72 as they finished fifth in the 2013/14 season, but the following year they fell six places as they contended with Europa League commitments. Their 10-game run to the Round of 16 included long-distance trips to Russia and Ukraine.
Louis van Gaal after the Wolfsburg defeat surprisingly boasted that United are better off with him at the helm.
“But when you see the facts, we went further in the Capital One Cup (this season), qualified for the Champions League group stage, we have played all these matches and are still in a very good position in the league.
“The facts say we are better than last year. That’s my answer because I can only give facts. I’m also disappointed that we are out of the Champions League.” He observed.
But if those are the positive attributes for a manger that spent a gigantic sum in the transfer market, standards have certainly fallen at Old Trafford.
For now, United will have to deal with everything that entails playing in the Europa League and can only hope the catastrophic fall would not affect their title surge this season, because anything less than a title parade in May 2016 for Manchester United, could well be curtains for the Philosopher in English football.