Could have really used another 8 so can rotate Mainoo and not risk burning him out
Best transfer window ever?
- Thread starter Tincanalley
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Could have really used another 8 so can rotate Mainoo and not risk burning him out
I’ve seen a few people say this. Totally get it as Mainoo needs rotated and seems to be tired after 60/70mins.
What player though? Any names?
Not a popular choice on here but Rabiot
Mount, Eriksen, Casemiro, Bruno can all play 8.
Eriksen and Mount can mainly cover that position, no? With Ugarte in the team I'd imagine Eriksen in particular could be put to better use and not have to do much running around.
Agree with this, think we have decent cover for Mainoo, not perfect, but we can't fix everything in one window. Nor should we, we can't sign too many players. I don't think we should get anyone else in.
We must be just about the only club who spends £200m+ every year in the hope of coming top 4.
Yeah, for sure and why it won't be perfect, but still fantastic for me. Can't solve all of the problems in one window, but we did address a lot, and if we end up offloading both major problems in Greenwood and Sancho, for some revenue, I say they done a great job
100%. Find it so frustrating that we continue to spend so much money without any progress. Hopefully that changes under INEOS but it still feels like we are buying for the manager. Half the squad is now built for Ten Hag and basically Ajax from 5 years ago. When he eventually gets sacked we are left having to rearrange the squad once again for a new manager. We need to get out of this cycle.
I hope it works out but it is concerning if Ten Hag does eventualy go what sort of rebuild of the squad will be needed.
No rebuild should be needed. We should be hiring people who are able to get performances out of what they're given, like what happens at any normal club. It's only the United fanbase that has this weird thing about giving new managers time and money to completely rebuild the squad
I dont agree with the Rabiot or any other defensive #8 suggestion.
We already have a defensive minded #6 in Ugarte/Casemiro, we need someone in the Eriksen mould for our #8.
After many years I can say United plugged the gaps I expected them to in the window, instead of buying a #10 when we need a CM, or buying a CB when we need a DM etc. Beginning of the window I would have said these were the priority positions :
CB
DM
CF
RB
CM
We plugged 4 of those positions, and went for the extra CB in Yoro instead of a CM. I can live with that. De Ligt, Mazraoui and Zirkzee are exactly the profiles I would have gone for.
But in midfield I would have gone for Douglas Luiz and Joao Neves instead of Ugarte. I would have preferred the ball playing #6 like Douglas Luiz. If we wanted a physical monster instead, I would have opted for A.Onana(bonus points for his aerial ability).
So for me its a 8/10 window.
CB
DM
CF
RB
CM
We plugged 4 of those positions, and went for the extra CB in Yoro instead of a CM. I can live with that. De Ligt, Mazraoui and Zirkzee are exactly the profiles I would have gone for.
But in midfield I would have gone for Douglas Luiz and Joao Neves instead of Ugarte. I would have preferred the ball playing #6 like Douglas Luiz. If we wanted a physical monster instead, I would have opted for A.Onana(bonus points for his aerial ability).
So for me its a 8/10 window.
That would be the case if someone else above Ten Hag was steering the ship over the last 2 years but that hasn't been the case and it looks like he's still at the wheel judging by this summers signings.
So if the club decide he has to go at some point. What do they do with a squad built by Ten Hag geared towards whatever it is he's been trying to implement the last few years? Do they go for a manager with a similar profile and just carry on down the route Ten Hag was aiming for or decide to go in a different direction?
The reason we've needed to rebuild the squad after every new maanger is because like with Ten Hag we've let them for the most part identify and sign their own players. That's still the case currently, we haven't had a DOF in place for several years building a squad with a view to different managers in mind.
I like the way we are including big sell on fees for outgoings transfers. The issue we always face is since our players are on huge wages, the buying clubs don't want to pay big transfer fees. Using the sell on clause helps us to somewhat overcome this issue.
If one player makes it big and has a future transfer it could be quite lucrative.
On the incomings side I'm pretty satisfied but ideally we need another CM, LB and CF. That would have made a perfect window but we've struggled to sell some players that could make that happen.
If one player makes it big and has a future transfer it could be quite lucrative.
On the incomings side I'm pretty satisfied but ideally we need another CM, LB and CF. That would have made a perfect window but we've struggled to sell some players that could make that happen.
It's probably not ours this year. We wanted to offload 2 players (Stengs and Bijlow), but both failed their medical.
There should be no more rebuilds from this point onwards. Just small changes when necessary. The managers should be the ones to go when it doesn’t work now. No more of this three-year-cycle bullshit we’ve been doing. If it’s not working or there arent true signs of progress inside 6 months, bye, and onto the next guy.
I wholeheartedly agree that's how it should be and I've no doubt that's the stage Ineos would like to get to.
But I'm just concerned that right now we're obviously still operating under the previous model where the manager drives the transfer policy and identifies the signings.
If ETH goes at some point do the new regime choose to use the squad Ten Hag has assembled as a base to work from. Or do they decide to draw a line under the Glazers/Woodward transfer strategy. And go for more radical change.
Whilst they look like EtH signings, most of them are genuinely good technical players who have performed at different clubs to a high level. They should be fine as a base for any new manager to sprinkle a couple of their own (with agreement from the club) signings on top of.
Any manager who comes in only gets 6 months?
Of course that's horse shit. And you know that.
To you maybe, but we’ve been giving them time for the last 13 years since we got rid of Moyes, when it was clear within 6 months what we were going to get. Not a single one of our last 4 managers has improved beyond what they showed in the first 6 months, regardless of how many times we’ve won the transfer window with them, or had “the best transfer window ever”.
No it's just rubbish
Even Klopp and Guardiola in their first 6 months didn't show great improvements on the previous manager. Would they have been sacked under your watch?
And if managers come in knowing they have to get it all right within 6 months, you're never going to see the likes of Garnacho and Mainoo given a chance like they have under Erik. They'll do the safe thing and go with the more experienced players for short term results
I could go on, but I doubt we see things the same way. I think Ten Hag was very very lucky to keep his job, but this is based on over 18 months of solid turd. If the next manager comes in this winter and is only given until May, then I'd lose all interest in it and it would be pointless.
It all depends from what point you are looking at. When we are talking about current City team, then I agree, no manager should be expected to get more than a few month to get things going to at least a good level. But at United, we were fairly distant in terms of tactics and methods. The whole topic of collective improvements (sum bigger than their parts) has been missed for way too long, last season we finally saw something that occasionally resembles an organised pressing scheme. That needs to taken into consideration. I am doubtful about ETH, he certainly doesn't have to be the one, but the challenge he faced was big and acting as if we'd still be that European powerhouse that simply needs a little nudge to get going is just wrong. Over time, when things got functional and stable, we might come into a position where this 6-month-rule might be a feasible way but right now, it would be mere actionism. Great way to look busy but without achiving much.
To a degree, every manager will bring in a few players to highlight the meaning of certain roles or positions and I guess that is fine. I would agree with the other users saying that this years acquisitions don't really seem like a ETH only bunch. All of them are modern player types with good technical abilities, something most modern managers should be able to build something out of. We overpaid for some of his choices, I certainly can see that and some of them are failures but the profile has been a good one throughout.
Obviously ridiculously early to say but on paper has to be up there with your best for a while. Hard to improve upon the signings made as there are very limited players who've moved that would have been better options (and likely wouldn't have opted for Utd over the club's they chose) and you've done a much better job this window getting rid of deadline, both in terms of the number of bodies shipped out and fees received.
Leny Yoro - Excellent signing
De Ligt - Very good signing
Mazraoui - My favourite signing this summer
Zirkree - It's too early to tell but he isn't a prolific goal scorer, so we have to wait and see on this one but I like that we have a forward with flair
Ugarte - Another Schneiderlin, Fred, Casemiro (current version) type. He might be better than all of them but the point is that he doesn't add control to the midfield. Also too expensive
Outs - Outside of Greenwood, we'd do okay without them so good business done on that side as well
De Ligt - Very good signing
Mazraoui - My favourite signing this summer
Zirkree - It's too early to tell but he isn't a prolific goal scorer, so we have to wait and see on this one but I like that we have a forward with flair
Ugarte - Another Schneiderlin, Fred, Casemiro (current version) type. He might be better than all of them but the point is that he doesn't add control to the midfield. Also too expensive
Outs - Outside of Greenwood, we'd do okay without them so good business done on that side as well
Think Ugarte will surprise you
ffs sake how is Lindelof still here?
Getting Sancho out will boost this window to Good.
But we're massively short everywhere from CM upwards and we'll almost certainly suffer for it.
And left back too obviously
But we're massively short everywhere from CM upwards and we'll almost certainly suffer for it.
And left back too obviously
Not quite but it's a promising start. Surprised Eriksen and Lindelof stayed and I can't help but feel we're a bit short in the centre of midfield (although Bruno and Mount can drop in there if necessary).
The season feels like a big reorganization of the defence and defensive midfield for the future; also a massive gamble that Garnacho, Amad and Hojlund develop at a quick pace and Antony and Rashford really step up and perform a hell of a lot better than they have been doing for over a year now.
The season feels like a big reorganization of the defence and defensive midfield for the future; also a massive gamble that Garnacho, Amad and Hojlund develop at a quick pace and Antony and Rashford really step up and perform a hell of a lot better than they have been doing for over a year now.
So we are gonna roll with:
Hojlund/Zirkzee
Garnacho/Rashford Bruno/Mount/Eriksen Antony/Amad
Casemiro/Ugarte/Mainoo/Collyer?/Sekou Kone?
Shaw/Malacia Lindelöf/Maguire/Martinez De Ligt/Yoro Mazraoui/Dalot
Onana/Altay
Ideally would have had another midfielder, but the Collyer/Kone someone of them has a decent chance to show what they can do already.
Hojlund/Zirkzee
Garnacho/Rashford Bruno/Mount/Eriksen Antony/Amad
Casemiro/Ugarte/Mainoo/Collyer?/Sekou Kone?
Shaw/Malacia Lindelöf/Maguire/Martinez De Ligt/Yoro Mazraoui/Dalot
Onana/Altay
Ideally would have had another midfielder, but the Collyer/Kone someone of them has a decent chance to show what they can do already.
Window closes later in Turkey and Saudi Arabia... so keep those fingers crossed!
I think everything we have done is very good. Unfortunately I think it isn’t enough, especially with our injury rate. We still have players who will barely play. We still have key positions with no back up.
That's fine though.
With Sancho off it’s really exceptional. We didn’t address the lack of proper striker issue but that’s because we put a lot of faith in Hojlund - not really a transfer thing. So it’s truly a 8.75/10 window, the best in many many years
Unfortunately not everything can be done in 1 window. Ideally I’d have liked us to target someone like Toney for upfront as I still don’t see where our goals come from this season.
Yeah absolutely. The transfer team have still done a brilliant job. We were in a horrible position after years of mismanagement. Our sales have been superb.
Best window we've had since Ibra came. Got rid of soo much deadwood with actual good offers and sell on fees and bought Zirkee, Yoro, Ugarte, Maz and De Ligt. So much better then I ever expected honestly. Well done to INEOS. Obviously we couldn't buy a LB and another midfielder but a damn good window in a loooong time.
Excellent window and I don't say that lightly. We made some really important signings to improve the squad a lot and to be able to get rid of Greenwood, Sancho and McTominay (getting value for all 3), it's truly special. If I were playing Football Manager, I wouldn't be able to replicate this transfer window 
Yeah, its a great first step for this management team, they did a lot in a short space of time. I agree that striker depth is still a concern and I'm also concerned about burning out Mainoo and our leftback depth. But these things can be addressed in January too.