da bet7k： Manchester United’s season now boils down to qualifying for next season’s Champions League and winning the FA Cup.
da brdice： Finishing in the top four shouldn’t be too difficult, especially if Tottenham manage to beat Chelsea in the weekend’s biggest fixture on Sunday, but lifting the Cup for the second time in three seasons might prove trickier with Spurs and potentially the Blues blocking the route to glory.
The fact that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are so far out of reach is clearly in part down to how the Spaniard has drilled his team this season but United also let them out of sight around the festive period.
Draws against Burnley, Leicester and Southampton in December allowed City to plough on ahead and former United defender David May believes there is one major element that the current crop lack that the great sides of the past had; leaders.
May, speaking exclusively to 888Sport, said:
“If you look back over the past 25 years when United have been so successful, they’ve always had somebody on the pitch to drag the team along.
“You go back to Robbo being on the pitch or Keane being on the pitch. Then there was Rio, Vidic, Evra, and Neville. I look at this team now and think ‘is there anyone who’s going to get the game by the scruff of the neck and push on?’ – someone who will bollock their team-mates.
“There are not an awful lot of leaders now. Those type of players are a dying breed. For United, Nemanja Matic could do it, Herrera could do it. They have the enthusiasm. But you just don’t see players now give out bollockings. That just doesn’t happen anymore.
“At times the players have let themselves down because they’re the ones paid to perform on the pitch and they’re the ones who have missed chances or not created enough of them.
“We’ve had too many draws, particularly over Christmas in games where you’d expect United to win. Due to them City made headway and sometimes you have to hold your hands up to that.”
Read the full 888sport interview with David May, including his thoughts on Luke Shaw’s failure to follow instructions.