Man Utd performances have been mentioned in the FA Cup thread, so posting here as it's more suitable:
I think perceptions have been affected slightly by our injuries and performances in the latter part of the season.
Around the middle of the season, there were plenty of decent games where the team looked confident and played well, yet for the most part they struggled more often than not. Rojo was our second best centre back and Zlatan was a key striker and member of the team and those injuries had a bad effect.
I don't think we're that far off the likes of Chelsea at all, but it will come down to how new signings adjust. We have a solid base to build from and finished the season very well indeed, all things considered.
The more I think about it, it was a fantastic end to the season, it's better than finishing second, third or fourth, yet infinitely more risky. The Europa League is obviously inferior to the Champions League by a significant margin, but as far as general trophies go it's a very good one, and comes with other great benefits too.
People also forget we'd have lost a lot of money from the Adidas kit deal if we missed out on the Champions League (something like £21m), so that's yet another bonus.
I think next season will be very exciting, the top 6 will strengthen and will all be demanding the Premier League, it could be very close.