After another disappointing season by many accounts for Manchester United, it was clear that a pattern was emerging in the post-Ferguson era that, regardless of the manager in charge or the marquee acquisitions that were brought in, a club so rich in a history of its own making, be it from homegrown or native talent, had lost its identity.

Now I think I’m right in saying Marcus Rashford, a Wythenshawe lad, is far and away the best thing to happen to Manchester United Football Club since Fergie’s retirement, and despite that, a team crumbling at the seams in the three years since his electric emergence into the first team has quite remarkably produced a pressured and ill-mannered relationship between the fans and a 21-year-old local boy and supporter of the club that has done nothing but good things so far in his career. If that’s not an identity crisis, I’m not sure what is.

Nevertheless, with a new season on the horizon things needed to change. The British, the wise and experienced, the world class, they had all tried and failed during more than enough time in the dugout in their quest to reignite the club’s fire and therefore, the decision to offer Solskjaer a three-year deal was a very smart and forward-thinking move first and foremost.

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The reason for that is solely down to his affiliation with the club, his willingness to stick around and his genuine understanding of what the fans need and the patience and time required (whether he is given that or not remains to be seen) to restore genuine belief that world class football can make a return and be sustained at Old Trafford, and I believe he has made some crucial steps to achieving that this summer.

After scouring through a handful of previews for the upcoming season, it is apparent that this ‘We’re Manchester United, we expect this, that and the other now’ attitude remains, and whilst this is understandable given the stature of the fanbase, the club’s history and the consequential expectations that are ingrained within their DNA, it is a view that is irrespective of the current world of football, the gulf in class between themselves and their superiors and the time needed in order to bridge that gap.

With the age-old history lifeline in mind (the one that always crops up in a losing football argument), there might be more life in its relevance this time around for United fans. To reiterate a previous point, their history is enriched with a world class British core that many a football fan, including myself, has looked up at as the benchmark for an enjoyable team to watch and an enjoyable club to be a part of, and this summer definitely displays remnants of those golden memories.

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The signings of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in particular don’t just serve a reminiscent purpose of course, from a footballing standpoint they are absolutely vital.

Watching Manchester United last season, their attacking threat was there for all to see at times. Whether it was a honeymoon period or not, having all of their offensive line playing at their best provided fluidity and quality of the highest order, with that in mind, to hold onto a lot of these players is another huge positive to take from this summer. That attacking force partnered with a defence that is confident on the ball, capable of breaking the lines and making the right decisions in starting a progressive or aggressive attack, the best can be brought out of the likes of Martial, Rashford and Pogba week in, week out.

(Credit: Evening Standard)

More often than not under Mourinho as well as Solskjaer towards the end of the campaign, United’s key players were left frustrated and ultimately disinterested on the back of countless misplaced passes and aimless punts down the line by players that are simply incapable of playing out from the back with conviction and tempo, and whilst Solskjaer’s back four remains a far cry from the likes of Liverpool and Man. City’s for the time being, developments in style and tempo in the first two thirds of the pitch especially will be apparent from these two defensive signings alone.

As for the attack, the Lukaku sale could be a big loss, but to hold onto everyone else was massive. After all, Lukaku never really hit the ground running or fit into their system as much as he or everyone else would have liked and so the move was right for both parties.

With the Belgian gone, direct, counter-attacking football looks to be the way they are heading and the likes of Dan James, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood could have a bigger part to player than many people think after impressing in pre-season. With bags of pace and a set of offensively versatile players at his disposal, an interchangeable front three or four of the City and Liverpool kind with Martial occupying a more central role looks to be Solskjaer’s ideal.

Over the past few years, Man. United have consistently had a world class attacking repertoire and I think that continues to be the case, the part that many people seem to overlook more often than not is that in these superstar front lines, the ability to utilise the danger men in unison is down to the rest of the team picking the right passes and having that understanding of when to bring them into play and bring the best out of them, the way that the top teams seem to be able to do with ease.

This is why I believe that United have done some shrewd, albeit overdue, business with Maguire and Wan-Bissaka that will add a new dimension to their attacking output as well as provide some much needed solidity at the back. You can have all the pace and technical ability you want in Martial, Rashford, Sanchez and whoever else, but if the passes are behind them, or over hit, or in any other way besides inch perfect, it is very difficult to get anything going, and that starts from the back.

Putting all these factors into perspective, I do believe that Solskjaer and his signings can get the best out of their key players. And at the end of the day, what hasn’t been tried since Ferguson retired? What harm is there in trying out a load of very promising youth players? To add to the Marcus Rashford point, there are a couple of players looking to emulate his achievements and if there’s one man that is going to give them game time, it’s Ole.

There has been a lot of doom and gloom surrounding the club as of late from everyone including United fans, and whilst the failure to bring in a Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen-level player is a kick in the teeth, I’d be surprised if they’ve got any left after neglecting to bolster their defence in the way they have this summer countless times.

This season could be mediocre or magnificent for the Reds, but this is the first time they’ve had some strong foundations in place across all areas of the pitch to build upon and fight their way back into the title fold. And whilst Solskjaer may not be the man to take them all the way, he will certainly send them on the right path and improve the team and the atmosphere around the club a lot.

As for a season prediction, I think that United will sneak into the top four with a close battle between themselves, Arsenal and Chelsea.