Last year Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a lot on his plate. It was his first pre-season in charge of Manchester United and he was preparing for his first full season.
United had had a brilliant start to his reign, winning games and playing expansive football, but after his position was made permanent things went awry and the season petered out miserably.
Question marks were more than raised and as is usually the case when results or spells don't go well, there was a healthy number of people believing he was out of his depth.
The doubters were wrong and Solskjaer, actually, is perfect for United. He never got carried away in the beginning, and he never got too down despite the disappointing way the season fell away. He just observed and took action.
Mismanagement
In the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson retiring, United have been mismanaged on a spectacular scale. The managers have proved to be mistakes, and the players they signed have by and large been decidedly poor.
It meant that Solskjaer had to do a rebuild just as the previous managers had done, with the exception of David Moyes who suggested he needed major surgery, but not many title-winning teams get dismantled before a title party has finished.
Solskjaer had players with egos. Many quality players, but players who seemed to put themselves first or had certain agendas. They also had hefty salaries. They felt that United were privileged to have them, when they should have been privileged to be there.
He got rid of some big players, but ones who were perceived bad apples and didn't fit into his philosophy. In doing so reduced the wage bill in no short measure and in the case of Romelu Lukaku recouped a large transfer fee.
His signings in the summer were excellent. He paid a premium for both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire, and Dan James came in for a much more reasonable price.
All three have had good seasons. They have improved the team in the first two cases, and James has shown flashes of the player he can become. He needs to improve, but the same goes for Wan-Bissaka and Maguire.
The transfer window in January was a huge success. Bruno Fernandes has been a revelation. An incredible player who has had an amazing effect on the players around him. He is downplaying recent comparisons with Eric Cantona but if he catapults United to future success, then it will be an inevitable link.
Odion Ighalo was left field, but has been brilliant when called upon. The only surprise was that he was not used more in the latter stages of the season.
All in all, the squad looks youthful and healthy. There is a huge amount of talent and a very good blend of youth and experience. However, changes do need to be made and Solskjaer has some big decisions to make. There are three potentially key areas that need addressing.
Sign a central defender
Changes in the squad are needed and outgoing ones look obvious in some cases. There are a number of players who have contributed very little over a long period of time.
Marcus Rojo and Phil Jones are the most obvious but the likes of Andreas Perreira and Jesse Lingard are players that have had game time but produced little. The returning Chris Smalling is another who's future in unclear.
Any players that leave will need replacing, but the centre-back position is key and it's one of the positions that needs more quality. Maguire has improved United, but he still has limitations.
He and Victor Lindelof have formed a good partnership, but the amount of goals United concede where there appears to be no communication and no appreciation of where the danger lurks is a problem.
Sevilla's winning goal was mainly the fault of Wan-Bissaka, but Lindelof has more experience and has to communicate to ensure that full-backs are actually alert and marking. Maguire has been caught out on several occasions, but he is the number one without question.
A commanding, dominant centre-half is quite possibly a bigger requirement than snaring Jadon Sancho.
Goalkeeper
Dean Henderson has said his goodbyes to Sheffield United on Instagram so it looks like he will come into the fold. He is a confident lad and has previously said he doesn't want to come back to Old Trafford unless he is going to be the number one. So is he going to be?
Big call for Ole. Massive call. This above anything else in the summer is the biggest issue he has to make a decision on.
Football is a fickle sport in general. You are only as good as your last game goes the saying. David De Gea is also confident, but it appears he wants to cash in some of those chips he has earned over the past eight or so years.
He has been so brilliant for United that it is almost unthinkable that he could be usurped by a young Englishman yet to win a full international cap. That is the reality though.
He has made more howlers than had world-class games over the past couple of seasons that have brought his place into question. Solskjaer has backed him all the way.
So much so, he has potentially upset the wonderful servant that is Sergio Romero. He has generally been the goalkeeper in cup competitions and won the Europa League with United in 2017. Jose Mourinho did the decent thing and played him in the final.
Solskjaer chose De Gea for both the FA Cup semi-final and the Europa League semi and that must have hurt Romero.
There are two ways of looking at it. One way is that Solskjaer does rate De Gea so highly and believes he will recapture his ability. Showing faith and loyalty to him is not exactly a bad thing.
However, it's possible that he chose to praise and keep faith with De Gea because he knew that this could be his last season as number one. He missed out in that Europa final in 2017 and this could make a nice swansong. Not to be.
Whatever happens, that decision needs to be the right one for all concerned. Henderson for all his brilliance at Bramall Lane this year will find out what a different club Manchester United is if that brilliance isn't continuous.
Win the "must-win" games
Whatever the coming and goings one of the other things that needs addressing is United's inability to win the crucial games. All games count, and a United manager should set out to win every one.
Solskjaer does. Yet some games are more important than others and under his watch, there has been a number where they have slipped up.
The recent one-off semi-finals were both examples. Excuses can be made, but Chelsea in the FA Cup was a flat performance. They had played many games and had much less rest but were underwhelming.
Against Sevilla, United were the better team overall. They failed at the crucial times at both ends of the pitch. A frustrating night.
Knockout games are obviously "must-win" but some of the league games where United have slipped up are probably more of a worry. They got over the line to finish 3rd, but victory over Southampton at home would have made things much easier.
Again, lots of games in a short space of time and down to ten men due to a Brandon Williams injury, it was a disappointment they could not hold on.
It happens too often as it did the year before when a 4th place finish looked possible, but the playing staff and fatigue due to the increased intensity of play were the excuses at the time.
Solskjaer has to take some blame. He hit on a formation and was reluctant to change despite the obvious risk of lethargy to follow.
The media suggest that the backup options are insufficient and his hand was forced, but that is not a little unkind. Ighalo, in particular, could feel hard done to being a spectator for much of the run-in.
It is important that United do find a way to win the bread and butter and the key games. The squad is well balanced, like the manager, and they are playing some sublime football.
The team will grow together and get better. The deficiencies will be corrected by individuals or they will be moved on. Some of that will happen in the coming weeks with those that Solskjaer has already made his mind up on.
He needs supporting once more in the market coming up, and quality does need to come in. Whether a marquee signing or not, better quality is needed.
He is the perfect manager for United. He was the "baby faced assassin" on the pitch. Not much has changed off it.
He comes across as pleasant and charismatic, has humility, and he doesn't crave the plaudits or attention. He's already shown he can be ruthless though.
He has more tough decisions ahead and he needs to get them right. United missed out on a good opportunity for silverware this year. He needs to avoid a repeat.
