My cup is half full today

As United's season lurches dangerously out of control the knives are out and the doom mongerers are predicting the end of time. Danny Mills thinks it could be 10 years before United win another title. He might be right. Football success tends to work in cycles and you need only look at Liverpool's record over the last 20 years to strike fear into the collective heart of United fans. There's good reason to question whether the end of the Fergie era has signalled a return to mediocrity for this great club, almost unthinkable just a year ago. I've been pretty vocal in my own views about Moyes' suitability as manager of United but you have to respect the club for not pressing the panic button just yet, when other clubs with less heritage and tradition would have pulled the plug already. Yet amidst the veneer of self-destruction and almost total capitulation let's just draw a line under one poor season as there remain 5 clear signs for optimism heading into next season. 1) The emergence of Adnan Januzaj You can't credit David Moyes with much this season but you can certainly point to his promotion of this Belgian-Kosovan youngster into United's 1st XI. I've only seen him at close quarters a handful of times but let me tell you he is some player and destined for great things. It speaks volumes that he effectively carried United on his very young shoulders for much of the first half of this season, such has been his skill, confidence and audacity in his breakthrough season. He's a United-type of player at a time where very few others can make that claim. No one has made quite the same impact since Ronaldo, and before him Giggs, He could be as good as both of them in a few years. You heard it here first! 2) Securing Rooney long term will help to attract top talent Scoff you might, but securing Rooney to a long term deal, warding off Chelsea and other suitors is as important to United as the same stance taken by Liverpool over Suarez. Rooney is a talisman for the club. Every time he steps on the pitch, he plays his heart out for United. You can point to his hardline tactics, or those of his agent, in securing lucrative deals but we must overlook this. He will soon be United's all time top goalscorer but beyond this he is a genuine world class talent and the message his continued tenure sends out to those who might consider joining United should not be underestimated. He is a vital part of United's strategy to attract top talent to the club. Top players will still think "I want to play alongside Wayne Rooney". 3) The penny has finally dropped It might be painful viewing to watch United splutter through games with no plan, no imagination and no confidence but you can argue the club needed to drop down a peg or two for the hierarchy to finally see that all was not well. Fergie's achievements of winning the title last season by 11 clear points with what was widely regarded his weakest team are looking even more remarkable now. Yet there have been signs over the past few years that United have failed to recruit in key areas of midfield and were relying on 1 or 2 key players to keep up a major challenge. Last season the marquee signing of Van Persie was enough. This season the squad has been found out. It's fair to say the club's hierarchy didn't take this seriously enough in the summer with an unstructured transfer policy but I don't think anyone at the club will take any further chances now. A revamp is required and it has taken a monumentally poor season for the penny to finally drop 4) An impossible act to follow was SO last season I can't predict the future and a year from now I could still be lamenting another very average season but the smart money is that it can't get much worse than this and that the inevitable dip post Fergie, whilst worse than initially expected or feared, is over and the only way is up from here. Either David Moyes will get money to spend and build his own team in his own mould or the club will break with tradition, realise Moyes is not the right man to take the club forward and bring someone in with more experience and a better playing style with some new players. Whichever one it is, you cannot see United being this disjointed again. That doesn't mean it will lead to immediate riches but there will be a plan and the impossible act of following Fergie will be consigned to history. Perhaps this is part of the bigger plan - no one could have done it justice so Moyes was always a stop gap before the next glorious era. We can live in hope. 5) No European football It might sound obtuse but if United can't qualify for the Champions League next year, (which they can't!) then it's better to miss out on Europe altogether which also looks likely now. Let's face it, players do not want to join United to play in the Europa League. It's Champions League or bust. The Europa League is an unwelcome distraction. The club has to play on Thursday then Sunday and the season often has to start in July. United need a good, pre-season with new signings in place and gelling. The incentive for new players and old is to get back into the Champions League again. Concentrating on domestic success for one season will not harm United, it may enhance future prospects. It's certainly helping Liverpool right now. They look the freshest team in the title race. Some of you might think I'm clutching at straws a little - and only time will tell - but in an age when the media, the fans and the pundits focus on the negatives, it's helpful to see beyond them and work out where there are chinks of light. Right, I'm about to settle down to watch United's latest and most important game of the season - vs. Olympiakos in the CL, where they face an improbable task of overturning a 2 goal deficit with no away goal for protection. It's not impossible, but it's pretty unlikely on current form. I just hope this isn't the last we see of United in this competition for more than a year or 2.