Manchester United played 49 matches across all competitions last season and that was the lowest amount of fixtures the club has played across an entire campaign for a long time, yet supporters wouldn't have complained if it had been cut even shorter.
It was the worst season at the club since 1973–74 when Tommy Docherty oversaw relegation to the second division and the end couldn't have come quickly enough. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick were in charge for three different spells and when United were defeated 1-0 by Crystal Palace on the final day, fans were just relieved it was finally over.
United finished sixth in the Premier League, but it was their performance in the cup competitions which meant the fixture list was notably quieter than usual, as it was - rather embarrassingly - confirmed in March that a trophy could not be won.
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Erik ten Hag has been in charge for just eight months at Old Trafford and the difference he's made has been genuinely remarkable.
The fabric of the club is made of winning trophies and Ten Hag understands that. He is responsible for ending the worst trophy drought at the club for over 40 years and the Carabao Cup triumph in February felt like a significant moment.
Not only did it end the barren run, but it was a trophy in his first season in charge and it was silverware at the first possible opportunity. The Carabao Cup is the least desired trophy in England but it's a trophy nonetheless.
Although supporters won't want to be reminded, at this stage of the season last year, United had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and the Champions League, whilst they had just been defeated 4-1 by Manchester City in the league.
Rangnick chose two midfielders, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes, to lead United's attack on that lifeless afternoon at the Etihad and it's understood Marcus Rashford, who was snubbed and started on the bench, considered his future after that game.
A year later, Rashford has 26 goals and his rise has been meteoric. Rangnick has found his level as manager of Austria's national team and United are making strides to becoming a contender for the Premier League title under Ten Hag's leadership.
The Carabao Cup has been won, whilst the FA Cup and the Europa League remain realistic avenues for more silverware, which means United have already played 41 matches - just eight fewer than they did during the whole of last season (49).
United have 12 matches remaining in the Premier League alone and they are going to end the campaign having played significantly more matches than they did last season.
Ten Hag has embraced each competition and he's been rewarded. Ahead of contesting the Carabao Cup final, United became the only side in Europe's top five leagues to remain in four competitions and that was something to be proud of.
The Dutchman prefers to start his strongest possible team, regardless of the competition, even when it seems absurd not to rotate, like when Casemiro started in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, despite United having a 3-0 lead on aggregate.
The advantages of having a settled team are obvious, but Ten Hag's endearingly brave approach to his team selection will likely mean fatigue will gradually creep into the dressing room at the business end of the campaign.
The players have practically played every three or four days throughout the last few months. David de Gea, speaking after the draw against Southampton, was asked about the gruelling schedule and he admitted it's beginning to take its toll.
"I know, it's crazy the number of games we are playing," De Gea told MUTV. "It's tough, it looks simple, but it's tough to play every three days is tough. The players are running a lot, we don't have much time to recover but everyone is trying to do their best.
"You see every game we fight, try our best and some games, like today, we miss one player, the players are a little tired and we can drop some points, but the team is in a good way, so let's keep going."
The fixtures at the back end of the season have more importance, so there are fewer opportunities to rotate the team, but Thursday night's match against Real Betis in the Europa League is a much-welcome chance to give some players a rest.
United essentially killed the tie with a 4-1 win last week and multiple changes should be made for the second leg away in Spain. Ten Hag does not like to rotate his players but it's logical to change the team in this scenario.
It doesn't make much sense of sticking by his golden role of minimal rotation against Betis.
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