Manchester United are not having a good season. The campaign already seemed lost when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November and that proved to be the case as Ralf Rangnick saw his men knocked out of every cup competition while struggling to finish in the top four.
With the very real possibility of missing out on the Champions League next season, there is a chance United could be playing on Thursday nights in the Europa League or the Europa Conference League. This has led a lot of fans to ask whether the club would actually be better off missing out on European football completely.
Part of the reasoning behind this is due to how well Arsenal have done without the distraction of European competition this season, as they looked to restart their own project. And also, with the possible appointment of a manager like Erik ten Hag who has complicated and precise tactics that he needs to implement, the added time to work on them during the week might help.
READ MORE: Manchester United dressing room split over possible Erik ten Hag appointment
I ran a poll on social media and, based on the replies of 200 fans, over 68 per cent of them wanted United to miss out on European football completely next season. You can see the full results of the poll below.
United have only won the Europa League once in their last three appearances in the competition but reached at least the semi-finals on all three occasions. They have never featured in the Europa Conference League as it is a new competition, but they will remember how Tottenham Hotspur were unable to fulfil their fixtures, forfeited and ended up exiting early, something their fanbase cared very little about.
It seems that it's Champions League or bust for many fans. United fans on Twitter made their opinions known after the club's disappointing 1-1 draw with Leicester which was followed up by rivals Tottenham thrashing Newcastle United 5-1 the following day.
United will not give up completely and lose on purpose, but if missing out on European football came about due to the team's problems, the fanbase would not be completely disheartened. Without this pressure to succeed, it may give Rangnick the freedom to play some of the team's exciting youth players like Charlie McNeill and Alvaro Fernandez in the final eight games.
Overall the hope is that whatever happens this season, next season under a new manager - whether it be Ten Hag or someone else - United will be able to improve and start their project the right way. Hopefully, a lack of European football won't impact their business in the transfer market.
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