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Proof of the Progress, Lies in the Redemption




"I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless. It's frightening, turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now it's here. Or should I say, I am."

Bruno has been compared to Thor’s arrival in Infinity Wars, but I feel this Thanos line resonates so well with his arrival. The man’s talents have been craving a stage like Old Trafford, it was truly destiny that he arrived and turned things on his head.

United have been through the hell and back this season. Yet, Ole saw his team do what he had done himself as a player - redeem themselves. To claw back a massive points deficit has been an intrinsic part of the DNA for ages, but it had gone missing of late. Those late season unbeaten runs, the ability to win games with moments of magic, and of course the odd squeaky bum time, it returned. Alas, there was no trophy parade, but there was ample proof that it won’t be too long before the procession starts.

Ole laid the template, his coaching staff put blood, sweat and heart to implement it, Ed and Judge juggled with it and created more hurdles. The season started with Dan James reminding us what a winger was, and the way he ended it - reminded how it takes time for a winger to become a finished article. Aaron Wan Bissaka exhibited the art of demoralizing opponents with his defending and reminded us was consistency was like. Harry Maguire in the last one year took on the pressure of being the most expensive defender alongwith being the Manchester United captain, and was a calm, mature head even when shit was flying through the roof. Ighalo reminded us of the little kid in all of us who dreamed of playing for Manchester United. Our academy boys – Rashford, Scott, Mason, Brandon – grew into men and didn’t shrug when the going got tough. And then came Bruno, who ignited the place. A cleverly crafted jigsaw started falling into place and the opponents started falling apart.

Sir Winston Churchill once said “Never let a good crisis go waste.”

Ole and his team have taken a que from that. This team has matured from each setback and grown as the season has gone along.

A team dubbed relegation candidates, a manager memed as a joker / PE teacher / owner’s pet, have done the double over the entire Top 5 barring Liverpool, have remained the only unbeaten time since a packed restart, have gone into the last day with something at stake for the first time since 2013, have done it despite people in the background lacking efficiency in the transfer windows, have restored an identity associated with a United team and have given themselves an excellent platform going into an even more competitive season. If this is not redemption, I wonder what it is.

Thank you Manchester United, for bringing back the squeaky bum times. Oh how we have missed it.



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