Missing out on / ignoring Mane and Kante was a big mistake

I wasnt overly keen on Mane, but I did want Kante

Ive been proved badly wrong so far on Mane and still think Kante would have been a good signing
 
VP89 said:
I'm more upset we missed out on Firminho by actively pursuing Depay
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Yeah but question is how well would Firmino would fit in our squad? Remember he looked like a flop for the better part of the last season.

We really should have signed Kante, especially since Tottenham was interested in Schneiderlin.

We signed Mikhi early and that's the reason we gave up on Mane probably.
 
We just need to get the best out of them because at their best they are obviously better players, but Pogba is still adjusting and has shown flashes here and there, while Mkhitaryan on the other hand probably isn't fancied too much by Mourinho for whatever reason, but you can't ignore how good he was last year for Dortmund.
 
Don't want to blow my own trumpet but I said back in the last January window even before the summer one we should attempt to sign mane.

I wasn't overly keen on signing kante though as I thought he'd be a one season wonder, maybe we should throw in a bid for that idrissa gueye now because he's very similar to kante.
 
Nowhere near as bad as the mistake we made when we didn't sign Lionel Messi as a child. Or Cruyff, Zidane, Maradonna or Pele all those years ago. They were huge fecking mistakes.
 
We didn't ignore Kante. He chose Chelsea, for whatever reason. Probably because Mourinho is a straight-shooter who wouldn't guarantee him anything. That's why Kagawa chose us over Real Madrid(Mourinho told him that Özil would be first choice, unless he could prove that he's better). As a new manager, Mourinho knows that he can't guarantee anything. I'm sad that we missed out on Kante, as he's my favorite non-United player in the PL. But at least we tried to sign him. It would have been worse if we completely ignored his obvious talent.

As for Mane: HAH! 95% of the people in here would have chosen Mkhitaryan over him if they were asked this summer. Probably 100% of the people who had seen both play. Hindsight truly is 20/20.
 
Who needs Kante, when we are signing Verratti?
 
Mane was a misstep. I liked the idea of signing him last summer and he'd have been a good addition to our attacking options this summer. I'd have bought him in addition to Mkhitaryan, actually.

He's quick, strong, plays all across the front and knows where the net is.

He'd be getting the sort of minutes we've been wasting on the likes of Memphis, Young and (let's be honest) Lingard.
 
At some point, hopefully, people will realise our problems arent actually about who we buy but about what we get out of them. If the title could be won in the transfer window, we'd be absolutely sorted.

No one in their right senses would have picked Mane over Mkhi ffs. Yet, one is barely able to get mins while the other is acing it at Liverpool. Swap these players and we'd have a "Ignoring Mkhi was a big mistake" thread here.
 
Not fussed about Mane, he's a fantastic player but he's not something we're missing, we've got plenty of players who can play in his position equally as well as him if not better, problem is none of them have turned up this season yet, they're both in a sulk but let's not forget Mane spent most of last season sulking himself he may have come here and done the same.
Kante is one that I feel did get away, the thought of him Herrera and Pogba in midfield is something to behold. He's not the greatest footballer in the world but his off the ball work is sensational, he's the kind of player who will do all the dirty work so all the talented players can play. He's such a Mourinho type player as well which makes it all the more frustrating. With all the French players we have as well it's a puzzler if he did indeed reject us for Chelsea. He also has a fantastic attitude, was never more evident then during the 3-0 Arsenal game, he wasn't at his best but he was still at it, there was no dropping of the head and self pity, he still went about his business.
 
Mane would've been great. He is a wide player in the true sense of the word, something which we lack at the moment; and you can see the instant impact he's had.

The only 'proper' winger we have is Memphis, and he's shite. The rest are more converted playmakers/ strikers and lack the pace to trouble defences.

With any luck, Mane and Coutinho will be off to bigger clubs in the near future.
 
Kante would've had the bigger impact of the 2, but considering the budget alloted for the window (transfer fee + salary), he was probably out of full consideration until Pogba was finished, one way or another. Once Pogba was signed, it was doubtful we'd get another player in. Jose & Woody figured Pogba plus a CM roster of Carrick, Schneiderlin, Herrera, and Fellaini would do for this season.

To expect such a high roster turnover would've been too much to ask. Yeah, Woody would've loved to splash the cash, but we'd have no takers for those that needed to leave.

Not sure Jose would've rated Mane, as he does not put enough of a shift defensively for him, which was part of his falling out with Hazard. Mane does fit Klopp's system much better, and Liverpool does benefit a whole lot by not having any European games, allowing them to go full pressing. Same goes for Chelsea as it allows them to fully bed in their new system. It will be interesting if/when the fixtures pile up a bit during the holidays.
 
The Caf makes me laugh.

I recall discussing signing ages when LvG was here and the majority moaned and declared he was rubbish. I'll find the thread in the transfer forum.

For what it's worth though I don't think you can complain about the business we did. Pogba is immense as is Bailly.

Zlatan was free and Mkhitaryan could still go either way.

Pogba and Bailly are 23 and will be at the club years whilst possibly being the best in the world in their positions.. yet people complain.
 
The Mane one irritates me a bit. I wanted him here since about last year. I think he's the most "Fergie" type player we could have bought.

And obviously Kante is superb. Everyone wanted him.
 
I think its very difficult to assess this as a big mistake. Thinking back on decisions made, it becomes an easy way out to assume what we didn't choose would've been better. That way of arguing really is a fallacy.

And that's not even starting to discuss whether we actually had the capability of signing these two players, maybe neither wanted to join us. We can hardly say its a big mistake from United that Kante wanted to play for Chelsea. Just as it wasn't United's big mistake that Cristiano wanted to play for Real.

Finally, a transfer is not something conclusive after four months. Who are we to say that Mane will continue being the sharpest winger in the PL while Mkhi will rot in the basements of Carrington. In March it could be completely different.
 
Whilst acknowledging that Kante is a good player, I'm not particularly disconcerted that he isn't a Man Utd player. Kante is best utilized as a defensive box to box midfielder, and we have two of those in
Rasendori said:
Personally, I believe it would be an inherently risky strategy to predominantly utilize Herrera as a no.6. People will invariably reference the game against Chelsea in 2015, as justification for why he can do a good job as the deepest midfielder. However, they fail to acknowledge that not only did Herrera switch off allowing Hazard to score the only goal of the game, he nearly made it a second goal deficit with a deeply underwhelming pass which momentaraily put the team in jeopardy. Moreover, they also fail to acknowledge that it wasn't the only game Herrera played as a DM under LVG. Indeed, Herrera was also utilized as a DM against West Brom in May. a game which we lost 1-0. More pertinently, Herrera didn't have the same galvanizing influence as Carrick, which meant West Brom were successful in there tactic to cede the majority of possession, congest space in a resolute defensive display.

I felt Herrera's best performances for us, were doing that spell following our loss against Arsenal in the Fa Cup, until Carrick had to come off against Man City due to a calf injury. By way of illustration:



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Even when we played 3-5-2, or a 4-4-2 diamond, he was still one of our best players as the RCM.
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Having Herrera as the RCM, Pogba as the LCM and then somebody else behind them is the best way to go imo. I said in July that Pogba flourished when Marchisio entered the fray, over Padoin. The midfield now had a player capable of being a deep lying playmaker, whilst concurrently being a grafter, as exemplified by the fact that Marchisio was one of the solid, energetic foils with dogged determination to compensate for Pirlo's defensive frailties. With Pirlo, Pogba was more of a shuttler, but looked more liberated with Marchisio and a defensive box to box in Khedira. It's noteworthy that Herrera is very tenacious.
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and
Rasendori said:
However, I'd personally like to him be used as a defensive box to box midfielder in a 4-3-3 with the point downward. The type that deep lying playmakers value, to compensate for their defensive frailties. For instance, Napoli have Jorginho can spray the ball around with consummate ease, and therefore he relies on the underrated, workhorse Allan to do his dirty work. Back when Vidal was at Juventus, and thus when Allan was at Udinese, it was often those two who leaded the interceptions and tackling rates in the Serie A. Similarly, how Pirlo benefitted from the work rate and athleticism of Gattuso and Seedorf. Furthermore, this could be even more important if we manage to get Pogba, as he functions well when there is an established playmaker in the side. This was evident when Pirlo was at Juventus, it was also evident last season, where Pogba struggled at first, as despite the efforts of Padoin, his passing range is limited, and by the same notion, it's no coincidence that Pogba's performances when back to expectation levels when Marchisio entered the fray.
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What we lack is a deep lying playmaker, as exemplified by the galvanizing influence Carrick's had, as well as the fact that it was only when Marchisio recovered from injury, where Pogba truly rose into prominence, after having similarly indifferent performances at Juve, with Padoin momentarily at the base. On the assumption that it isn't a coincidence, that both Kante and Mane are playing in the EPL, then perhaps the real pity, is that we didn't end up with Xhaka. Moreover, if that example isn't palatable given, the aforementioned duo of Kante and Mane were respectively at EPL clubs last season, as well as this season, then there is perhaps an argument on it being a pity we didn't make the acquisition of Van Dijk. Unlike Smalling, he's comfortable playing on the left side of central defence, and comfortable in possession, which would aid us in our transitional play.
 
This isn't Pokemon... You can't sign every single player...

Id have taken Pogba and Mkhi over Kante and Mane any day. Still would, Pogba is settling nicely now but Mkhi hasn't had a proper chance yet.
 
When LVG wanted Mane everyone was really underwhelmed with the prospect
 
charlenefan said:
When LVG wanted Mane everyone was really underwhelmed with the prospect
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Boom,CAF in one sentence,who knows maybe in few months time or in a year,someone will make a remark like 'Do you remember that thread about us making huge mistake regarding X player and most agreed?"...
 
People need to stop harping on about signings. Our players are collectively playing far below their level and that has to be addressed before we whine about how great the cow in the other field is compared to our own. Considering it's such a widespread problem it will most likely keep happening to new signings as well, and it would've happened to Mané and Kanté too. It's not like the players we signed this summer were complete duds last season.
 
I'd much rather have Pogba than Kante.

Kante would have been a good partner for him.

Mkhitaryan is a better player than Mane is. I suppose in hindsight, I would have took Mane cause of his form and the fact that Jose doesn't seem to fancy Mkhitaryan for whatever reason. Mane would have been the better choice in that case.
 
Why anyone thinks that Mane for us would be playing as well I don't know.
We have Martial, Miki for two who no one would have swapped at the time, and neither have turned up this season. Would Mane for us?
 
I'm really not bothered about either of them
 
Mane? No.
Kante - yes, but we were after him, at least that's what he said - but he preferred Conte and Chelsea, so there were nothing we could've done.
 
Since all players seem to regress the moment we sign them, I don't believe anymore that a "great transfer window" is the key to our problems. (Mood: XY is doing well at his new club? Maybe. But if he had come to us, he would be average or a desaster.)
 
Yeah it is a pity. it's also a pity we missed out on
Ronaldhino
Hazard
Sanchez
And many more. I think our transfer business was good Pogba is growing in confidence and has been pretty good and will end up a top top talent . Bailly looks like a steal Mhiki needs to get his act together but will come good And Zlatan has his Mojo back and will in my opinion be very important for us. Mane and Kante would have been great additions but you can't buy everyone in one transfer window.
 
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Should have signed Hazard

Should have signed Sanchez

Should have signed Ozil

Should have signed Belerin

Should have signed De Bruyne

Should have signed Aguero

Should have signed Gundogan

Should have signed
 
I didn't want Mane but did want Kante. I think with Mane he suits Liverpools style a lot, in our team i don't think he'd have been anywhere near as effective. It's similar to how i see it with a few Dortmund players and players like Pedro who did will at Barca but isn't actually that great when asked to be the main man.
 
I agree with @Rasendori on Kante, we aren't lacking a bix to box hustler, we need a playmaker who screens the defense to take over from Carrick.

Sandikan said:
Why anyone thinks that Mane for us would be playing as well I don't know.
We have Martial, Miki for two who no one would have swapped at the time, and neither have turned up this season. Would Mane for us?
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Agreed, we have the quality in the positions Mane plays, they just aren't delivering right now.
 
Kant-ona said:
Since all players seem to regress the moment we sign them, I don't believe anymore that a "great transfer window" is the key to our problems. (Mood: XY is doing well at his new club? Maybe. But if he had come to us, he would be average or a desaster.)
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Agree 100%.
The problem is not a lack of skilful players. The problem is something else and at present Jose has identified a weak mentality. Only time will tell if Jose can introduce a winning mentality and if it makes the difference.
 
Our problem isn't midfield, it's out wide in both fullback and wing positions. We're very weak in those areas. Mane would have been a good addition to the team.
 
No we should have signed Klopp.
 
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