Is our squad average?

If all fit, squad strengths

Top Tier:
Man City
Liverpool
Arsenal

Next Best:
Newcastle
Chelsea
Villa

Best of the rest:
Spurs
United
 
Our attacking players are closer to bottom half level than average in this league.
 
Garnacho and Hojlund no where near good enough to be starting for the club week in week out. I would say we are a Europa league club at present. I think the midfield and back line is getting there.

If I was the manager I would be playing Ugarte DM with Casemiro and Mainoo ability to get forward and LW Bruno CF Rashford RW Anthony to be honest.
 
ifightdragons said:
Good goalkeeper and defence.
Average, unbalanced midfield.
Shockingly bad attack, which includes Bruno.
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I think our midfield is decent, Ugarte, Mainoo, Casemiro and Eriksen are all good options. Bruno has had a slow start to the season but he’s nowhere near shockingly bad.
 
I'm optimistic that we'll be revisiting this thread in 6 months and surprised at how much better our squad is than it seems right now.
 
On the whole - yes, however, we have very good players in some positions. We have very good defensive options, young players with potential but no top forward thinking players in the prime years of their career.

We have one midfielder of the required quality/profile - and he is 19. Again, no top class midfielder in the prime years of their career. Rashford is supposed to be the one top class forward in peak years but he has been returning nowhere near that level for a long time, so again - it’s just hope that Garnacho and Hojlund become top players.
 
They're not hiding behind the manager though. This is who the majority are. This thier level.
 
Like many others have written: we rank somewhere between 4th and 7th on paper. I don't know if this counts as mediocre or not. I do however know that there is no reason for why Aston Villa and Chelsea should play better football than us. A good manager should be able to get something out of our squad.

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That being said, I think we lack quality players too. We have far too many with the description "good enough" and "potential". The only top player we have is Bruno and he is 30 years old. I think we need a top level goalscorer as well as a winger who can consistently dribble past defenders. Right now I would say that we don't have a single attacker with "United quality". Not one!

Time will tell if Mainoo and Ugarte can make a good partnership, but we will probably need to strengthen that area too. Our defence is fine on paper, but I miss a character like Rio or Vidic. It's nice to have that larger than life presence in the box.

So yeah, we're minimum 2 excellent players away from being a title challenger. Possibly 4. But the most important part is still a good manager. Hopefully Amorim is that guy.
 
I wouldn't say average. Hojlund, Diallo, Mainoo, Yoro, Garnacho are some of the most exciting young players in Europe so I think its a bit harsh on calling them average as they will only be getting better. Its not there fault there been thrown into the deep end. I think our defense is now decent and midfield is getting better. We need more experience and consistant players in the squad and when I say consistant I'm looking at Rashford. New established Striker and a winger and we won't be too bad! The likes of Garnacho/Diallo/Hojlund should not be starting consistently for us at the moment and need a better player than Rashford as he's probably the most incosistant player I've ever seen! Its time to cash in.
 
You can't look at the league performances week in and week out for the lat 12 months and come to any other conclusion that at best it is an average squad, easy blame the manager , coaches etc for everything and there may indeed have been weakness''s there that the new coaches hopefully will address but the reality is the players themselves have not been good enough either.
 
I wish it were average, sadly it's far worse. You could have prime Fergie or Pep manage these guys and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. To anyone who thinks Amorim is going to save us I've got a beautiful ocean front property to sell you in the desert.
 
I don't think its average. What I do believe though is that some very tough decisions need to be taken.

A- I know that many English fans think that Luke Shaw is a fusion between Paolo Maldini and Roberto Carlos. However we really need to get rid off him. The guy is extremely injury prone and quite frankly.....he's really not that good. We need a LB and we need it quickly. Rashford is struggling because of with and Amorim system depends on wingbacks

B- CM- Mainoo is decent but he's not ready to be regular first teamer just yet, Mount is a joke, he's never available and Eriksen is decent but he's running out of legs

C- The attacking part of our team needs some serious investment and quite frankly its ridiculously overrated. Rashford would probably be sat down by Nani let alone a Giggs or a Ronaldo, Garnacho has potential but he's no where near the finishing product yet and he should be on the bench, Diallo is at par with Garnacho (more maturity but less raw talent), someone needs to explain to Bruno that he's not half the player he thinks he is, Zirkzee needs time and so does Hojlund.

Stats and the EPL table doesn't lie. Our forward line simply doesn't produce enough goals and assists. That won't change with the current squad
 
Haaland has scored more goals than our team. Chris Wood has scored one goal less. We had - goal difference last year and -goal difference this year. If anyone thinks we're anything above average they're living in cuckoo-land I tell you. Cuckoo-land
 
In terms of being able to compete at the highest level, than yes we are obviously in the average bracket.

Football is a team game though and if you compare our players like for like its a bit of a wasted effort and its all about how the x11 implement the game plan. We have been below par in recent years as we make too many individual errors and haven't worked as a team unit for years.

That's the biggest thing that needs to change.

I do worry about the depth. Our LB/LWB area looks shockingly bare and our fringe players don't exactly inspire much, the likes of Lindelof, Maguire, Evans, Anthony, Zirkzee.

We have a lot of good players, and if we can implement a good system that every player follows, then good players start to elevate they're game.

Currently on a player by player basis, we are bang average. But the potential in this squad is quite high as we value young players and allow them to progress. Garnacho/Amad/Mainoo/Yoro/Hojlund could have ridiculous future's ahead of them
 
Ahead of our back 5, I would say that it is very fair to say that we have no top class player aged between 23 and 28 in our entire squad. Worse than that, we barely have any players of any description at all aged between 23 and 28 in our squad in front of our back 5. Rashford, Mount and then Ugarte and Zirkzee just about fit into that category. The rest are kids or past their best.
 
It is certainly a squad that demands a lot from the manager in order to reach its top-four ceiling. Whether it will provide the foundation for a title-aspiring side or not will depend on the short and mid-term signings. If the cash is spent to implement a new direction (not necessarily a different style), there's hope. If we keep forking out millions with a mindset of accommodating what we already have, the cycle will continue, and it will keep eating managers alive.
 
It is overrated but good enough to challenge for top 4-6 positions, if we have a good manager which I think Amorim is. Major issue this season is that we miss way too many chances and our attacking players are not good enough. Palace, West Ham and Chelsea should have been at least 7 points. Villa, Spurs, Newcastle also have good teams/squads and ours is not better.
 
As a team we are average at best, the squad is disjointed, however the quality of individual players varies from average to potential world class, the team with the current squad has the potential to be top 3-6,

Some posters still looking to excuse the previous manager(s) instead wanting to blame the players for letting the manager down, I can guarantee that no manager and no players are intentionally, wilfully not giving their all, not wanting to win, be at the top of the tree, sometimes it is obvious that players are not playing 100% but this is never going to be a conscious decision to be half arsed, the managers job is to get the most out of the players they have, and then sculpt the team with players in-out.

I am confident that Amorim will improve the morale, get the vast majority of players onboard with his vision and get much more out of these players than we have seen for probably 4 years.
 
Our squad is not only average in terms of ability (overall), but also unbalanced.

GK - Onana is bang average, the second choice is not even that.
RB - We're actually strong in this position, Dalot and Mazraoui provide great options.
CB - Again we are strong in this position. Yoro, De Ligt, Martinez and Maguire are excellent options.
LB - Doesn't exist. We're playing centre backs and right backs. Who knows what is wrong with Malacia, Shaw is done.
CDM - We have 1 guy who plays that role and he's getting on. Casemiro is still very talented as a footballer but can't play as the holding player as much anymore because he can't cover the ground. We're desperately short here.
CM - Eriksen is talented, but can play half a match before gassing out. Mainoo might be world class one day, but is an inconsistent teenager. Ugarte? Not seen enough of him yet. Seems like a McT replacement for now.
AM - Bruno is talented, hard working and erratic. His leading quality is being more creative than the rest of the dross around him. Mount was a mistake.
Wingers - Antony is rubbish, Amad is a good squad player, Garnacho has something special, but like Mainoo is still young and inconsistent. Rashford is good for half a season every 2 seasons.
Strikers - Hojlund and Zirkzee are both, young new, and hardly setting the world alight.

If we get top 6 or above, we're over achieving. Don't look at the names, wages and transfer fees - look at the actual output and ability.

To improve this squad we desperately need (first choice players);

1 striker
1 leftback
1 central midfielder
1 defensive midfielder
1 goal scoring winger
 
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FrankDrebin said:
People overate the potential of the young players imo.
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That's the whole idea of young players - the coaching and mentoring is to make them better and unlock as much as their potential as possible.

There was a reason why Bellingham became a monster in Dortmund and Yamal is shining in Barcelona at the moment. They weren't criticized as heavily as Garnacho, Amad, or Hojlund are in Manchester United. They were given space and time to grow, and the coaching system is doing everything it knows daily to help them.

It shows that we just throw them all in and hope they "magically" do their own thing, and if they are having a tough time, we still play and play with them and rely on them. Yes young wonderkids need the play time and experience to grow, but they also need seasoned and proven professionals beside them and the coaching system to unlock their potential - the latter part is making all our under-25 players look much worse than they are.

Our squad is unbalanced and the players who should be carrying atm. (Bruno, Rashford, Antony) haven't done so, which puts relying on the younger players under huge pressure.
 
Think forward line is inexperienced. This department is our biggest issue to address. We really need experience in there, the rest of the team is above average, but again our big issue is injuries so taking away any depth to the squad. What I do think is that they have been incredibly badly coached and are disorganised. New manager is going to have to make some big decisions regarding the likes of Rashford, Shaw and Malacia who have just not been available, Mount the same reason. Does he ditch Eriksen and Casemiro and bring younger but class replacements.
 
Yes but because of age, not general player prospects.

People seem so surprised we have struggle for goals when our first choice attacking 3 are Rashford 27 years old, Garnacho 20 and Hojlund 21.

You have to go through this painful period if you want to move away from buying Cavani, old Ronaldo, Ibra, fecking Ighalo, Falcao etc. every couple of seasons.

General squad is fine, GK and defence I think is top 4 level, CMs are weak, forwards are inexperienced but good. All in all, I don't think we are worse than many of the teams above us but we have had a lot of bad luck in a short space of time this season which puts our league position in a horrible place. The issue we have is with a young forward line we may well outplay teams if Amorim gets us playing half decently, but we will still drop a lot of points if we aren't clinical.
 
Below average for the PL. Shocking by historical United standard.

No left back, no real striker, no CM, greedy wingers who can't make decisions, hollywood players, old players - we are a right mess.

You can put a bad jockey on a great horse and it'll win. You can't put a great jockey on a bad horse and expect to win. I am glad ETH is finally gone, now we need to ship out a lot of the players until we can get a decent quality squad.
 
Let that sink in a bit, Manchester City is having the same problem atm with Doku & Savinho, both are young and inexperienced and don't produce goals or assists weekly - they have as frustrating performances as Garnacho had last night. Because their squad is built for a long time, they have more experienced and proven players to get them the goals, so the trusting performances of not-that-seasoned younger attackers doesn't show as much as our's do.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
Yes but because of age, not general player prospects.

People seem so surprised we have struggle for goals when our first choice attacking 3 are Rashford 27 years old, Garnacho 20 and Hojlund 21.

You have to go through this painful period if you want to move away from buying Cavani, old Ronaldo, Ibra, fecking Ighalo, Falcao etc. every couple of seasons.

General squad is fine, GK and defence I think is top 4 level, CMs are weak, forwards are inexperienced but good. All in all, I don't think we are worse than many of the teams above us but we have had a lot of bad luck in a short space of time this season which puts our league position in a horrible place. The issue we have is with a young forward line we may well outplay teams if Amorim gets us playing half decently, but we will still drop a lot of points if we aren't clinical.
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Players like Saka and Palmer don't seem to have much of an issue showcasing their talent, despite their respective clubs putting a lot of hope on their shoulders at a young age.
 
Garnacho, Hojlund, Zirkzee and Amad are all substitutes that need someone more experienced in front of them in the picking order. Players around 26-30 that is consistent internationals. That was United when SAF coached and that is the likes of Real Madrid, City Bayern etc. Young players need that to grow. At the moment we are asking them to play week out and week in. The results talks for themself.
 
Very average.

None of them excel in any sort of tactical, positional or game reading ability. Everybody just wants to do stepovahs and curl a 50 yarder into the top bin.
 
I’d say that part of our squad is undercooked at this moment. We rely on young players and Rashford in the frontline. Maybe Rashy is the one that needs replacing.

If we take our big chances, we would be in top four.
 
I actually don't think the squad is that bad anymore. Sure, improvements are needed but it's a much better squad than it used to be IMO.

Onana - Decent / Good (I was his biggest critic but he's doing quite well now).
Mazz - Good
Martninez - Good
De Light - Good
Yoro - Unknown but hopefully good
Maguire - Good squad option
Dalot - Good
Ugarte - Jury is out, but I quite like him
Bruno - Good
Garnacho - Very good
Casemiro - Decent option
Hojlund - I believe he's a good player if in a properly coached team
Mainoo - Top talent


It's obvious we are lacking in attack, LB and another midfielder. The likes of Shaw, Zirkzee, Rashford and Amad are either unreliable or simple not good enough for a league challenge, regardless of the manager.
 
Footyislife said:
GK: Above Average
CB: Excellent
LB: None
RB: Excellent
DM: 1 player...
CM: Good (lacking physicality)
AM: 1 player (others hurt)
LW: T-rashford and a Wonderkid
ST: Mediocre Prospects
RW: Mediocre Prospects

In summary if we ever get a LB, depth in our midfield and some more attacking talent upfront we might be better

PS - Also mods really? Autocorrecting t-rashford to Rashford. Even if I get banned going to die on the hill of free speech. If he complains I'd politely ask him to play better and try running more and I'll gladly praise him. Love the kid for what he's done for us, but he shouldn't be surprised at the flak when he's not performing. Not a good look for him and huge part of our cultural problem of lack of accountability
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We don’t condone name-calling on this platform, it’s not witty, it’s not funny, it’s not constructive, it’s just poor taste. Criticize him all you want as this is what accountability is about, but if you’ll insist on name-calling, it will be that weird hill that you’ll be choosing to figuratively die on.
 
This thread is ridiculous. On paper, our squad is far better than average. We're just playing levels below the sum of our parts.

GK: Onana - handily above average. On his day, he's elite. This season, he's been great. More than capable of clangers, sadly

DF: Mazroui, Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Shaw, Yoro - This is arguably top 10 in the world for personnel. Top 20 without a doubt

MF: Bruno, Mainoo, Ugarte, Casemiro, Mount, Erikson - Lots of depth and quality in depth. Mix of players in their prime, youngsters, and old heads (Yes, some are out of form, past their best, or haven't settled in. But, Bruno is one of the best creative AMs in the world, Mainoo is a prodigy and already starts for England, Case was arguably the best DM in the world just 2 years ago, Mount was twice Chelsea's POTS, etc, etc

FW: Where we're weakest, but still marginally above average. Our system has been so poor that it's hard to know what level they can play at. We've seen Garnacho, Rashford and Hojland produce real moments of quality so they're definitely capable. Jury's out on Amad and Zirkzee but neither are worth writing off. Bologna were a decent team last year. It's fair to say that they had an average attack with Zirkzee leading the line. He's now our backup striker - how can our forward line then be below average?

Everyone is always so doom and gloom here, to the extent that they can't even discuss Man Utd rationally. I don't get it
 
AnotherLondonManc said:
This thread is ridiculous. On paper, our squad is far better than average. We're just playing levels below the sum of our parts.
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Its funny right. Blame the manager, want him sacked.. gets sacked then the same people will say the players are not good enough.

It cant be both, if the manager was so bad, means he didnt coach well or the players were so bad he couldnt get them to play,.

Either way, you cant want to call for a managers head if you feel the squad is that bad.

Personally, I think our squad is more than good enough to get top 4.
 
100% average. We have some really good players but they don't fit. Said players also have huge flaws or prone to brainfarts every game.
 
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