We lost herrera who has never been that regular a starter. If pogba goes we'll be bare. But he won't.
Obviously we could do with a solid starter in there but not many teams can bring a 50m man in.
Solskjaer target 5 signings; 6 players could leave [BBC, Telegraph, Guardian]
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We lost herrera who has never been that regular a starter. If pogba goes we'll be bare. But he won't.
Obviously we could do with a solid starter in there but not many teams can bring a 50m man in.
Ah fair. Could be that they're waiting to see how the incomings go for now and then come the end of the window, dump off those that aren't needed.
I just think the foreign clubs will wait until our window is shut so we can't use premier league interest to up the price.
I don't get it, the big foreign clubs have all spent money (and will spend even more)
Buying from English clubs?
When it comes to the outs I think the issue is that none of our guys represent a priority or first option for the interested clubs. Darmian for example is linked with several clubs in Italy and Spain but when you dig deeper he is seen as a replacement if player x leaves or an alternative if player y turns them down. I expect he will go but it will probably be close to the Italian deadline when he will be somebodys consolation prize because their summer did not really go to plan and frankly the same will be true of others such as Rojo.
He definitely needs the "I want you to thrive but you're in last chance saloon" speech from OGS.
Where's the logic ? It's not like clubs these days are unaware about which clubs are involved.
Yeah, we can still sell, or giveaway, players for a few weeks after our window shuts. Rojo, Bailly, Darmian could interest foreign clubs. Think we are probably stuck with Smalling and Jones. Not too unhappy with keeping Smalling as we need depth. Same sort of sentiments apply to Bailly. But we should definitely move Rojo and Darmian, even if we need to give them a helping hand to get (most) of their wages off the books.
Clubs constantly leak fake interest in players to up the price. Premier league clubs have more money than any other league so would be easy to use to drum up the price. If the foreign clubs wait that isn't a tactic we can use.
Faking interest will only work if the agent is in on it, and even then it's a stretch at best as the "faked interest" might state it's bullshit, it's not like the world of football is that big and clubs in 2019 are unable to verify which clubs are actually interested.
Clubs that do their due diligence aren't daft enough to fall for it
This is a good post for the sake of realism. Not a bad side. But it’s nailed-on top eight, not top four.
Yes I am trying to be realistic. I can see why people have problems with this team and I agree. Slow at the back, lack of goals and no RW. Although we are screaming out for a RW we are more desperate in midfield. People keep saying bring in Fernandes –
Fernandes-Mc Tominay—Pogba is not going to work. Lets face it we have tried for years to get Pogba to be a hard working midfielder that helps out the defense. He is not that player. And Fernandes is not that player although more likely to adapt than Pogba from what I have seen. Even if you want these two attacking players then the foundation they will build upon is Mc Tominay! A young player that is not a natural DM. This forces all 3 midfielders to adapt to a style that is not naturally how they play. Square pegs round holes. This is a mistake we have been making for years.
We have all seen how Man City functions without Fernandinho. They fall apart. So even though it looks like bringing Partey in as a DM is a negative move it will actually free up the attacking players and build a base to attack from. This is the key type of player we are missing. Then Mc Tominay can play to his natural position – Box to Box. Or maybe Fred will step up. Pogba can do more wandering around and the front three can press more instead of being pushed back. Is Longstaff really the solution? He looks good but it’s a lot to ask from a player with 2000 minutes of first team football. If we buy more than one midfielder Partey + Fernandez then this will work much better than using Mc Tominay as a DM. Still you are asking players to play a different role to their natural positions and yes some players adapt – e.g. De Bruyne. But most don’t .
Attack wise – Ole has obviously decided Rashford is the main striker and Martial is first choice LW and Im pretty sure he sees Lingard as RW. I don’t agree but that’s how it is. Potentially if they step up then we should have a good attack. Throw in Mata, Sanchez, Lukaku (if he stays) and Greenwood and there should be enough goals. In theory.
If we are talking unrealistically then yeah I hope for a DM first, Then RW (Pepe or Sancho) , Then a box to box midfielder (Not Fernandez. He is a number 10) – but its not going to happen.
Do you think OGS rates James so low that Lingard will start ahead of him?
Do you really rate Lingard so low? The guy may be a tool at times but he has played consistently under LVG, Mourinho and now Ole. He is an English international with 24 caps in a team that made the World Cup semi and over 100 PL games.
I'm not saying he should be a starter but he is obviously ahead of Daniel James (zero PL games) at this moment in time.
James doesn't play on the right is the main issue, despite being right footed.
You'd think we'd be able to convert him, but having seen that Rashford and Martial couldn't be trained to play well there, and we didn't even bother trying with Sanchez, and it appears it's quite the ask!
Honestly, I do. Off-pitch antics aside, I never saw he do anything to prove he's good enough for West Ham, let alone Manchester United. In my opinion, to have him as a squad player is already a stretch.
James is an unknown quantity, but I think he has the tools to be a good player even in the PL.
Could be wishful thinking, but yes, I think he can easily adapt to the right. The problem with the players you mentioned is that they are drifters who like to move to the middle/cut inside. James is way more vertical so it's not so counter-intuitive to switch sides.
I’m not going to lie, I’m depressed as hell by the activity so far this summer, but we were always only going to sell once players are brought in. As inept as the club is they wouldn’t sell the deadwood first, that would only ramp fees up further.
Would not be surprised once Maguire comes to then see Darmian and Rojo leave (at least). As Ole also said, if Lukaku leaves we’ll be looking for a replacement.
Bring in Maguire and the CM target(s) and we’ll start seeing squad players shipping out.
Would not be surprised once Maguire comes to then see Darmian and Rojo leave (at least). As Ole also said, if Lukaku leaves we’ll be looking for a replacement.
Bring in Maguire and the CM target(s) and we’ll start seeing squad players shipping out.
Maguire, Fernandes, Longstaff and a Lukaku replacement (Ben Yedder?)... all whilst tieing down DDG long-term and keeping Pogba for another season would be a very good window in my opinion
Really hope you are right about the part in bold mate. I have been wanting to get rid of the deadwood for a while but we have a problem we pay them such high wages that other clubs are not going to be prepared to match and I don't think they are going to want to take a wage cut when they are shipped out unless they are desperate for first team football.
Just read this
Does it mean any tranfers in will be covered with the players' sales??
Does not sound promissing.
Does it mean any tranfers in will be covered with the players' sales??
Does not sound promissing.
I think he means that if a couple players leave, he might need to replace them too.
It can all change fast but there has to be some concrete movement soon, otherwise this will very likely end up being very similar to last summer which would be fecking criminal.
RW is very likely dead in the water so I assume we are waiting on Sancho and we'll try fill in with James, Greenwood and Lingard. That doesn't sound like a good idea, but alright I can almost live with that, at least the two youngsters will have their chance. We are clearly trying to get Maguire for CB, which ok fine, not my top choice but at least it's something, although we'll seemingly have to pay over the odds or be left standing with a dick in our hands (again), which would be a bit of a fecking disaster. I don't even know what are we doing with our midfield, because we clearly need two midfielders and we don't seem to be close to anyone. I assumed we were going to get a B2B to replace Herrera but of the two we have been linked with one is Fernandes, which who knows how much of it is just Portuguese press BS and he's also a 10, which maybe makes some level of sense, considering we are playing 4231 in preseason with Pogba staying deep, but also is this really going to work against the bigger teams? The other one we were linked to with any substance was Longstaff but that move is also apparently dead and we haven't been linked with anyone else so who the feck knows.
Never mind the fact that we still don't know if Lukaku is going to stay or not (at least we apparently have WBY lined up as replacement) or what's going to happen to Pogba OR with any of our actual deadwood( but at least we can sell those after the PL starts).
3 weeks left. So much for doing our business early. I dunno. It's not looking great. I know the market is inflated and we're not the most attractive club right now, but we also spent relatively feck all in the past two TW and other teams with shitloads of cash seem to be capable of doing deals (with the added bonus of not being currently in a crisis) so I don't know what are we playing at. Hopefully something will happen fast and I'll forget I ever wrote this.
RW is very likely dead in the water so I assume we are waiting on Sancho and we'll try fill in with James, Greenwood and Lingard. That doesn't sound like a good idea, but alright I can almost live with that, at least the two youngsters will have their chance. We are clearly trying to get Maguire for CB, which ok fine, not my top choice but at least it's something, although we'll seemingly have to pay over the odds or be left standing with a dick in our hands (again), which would be a bit of a fecking disaster. I don't even know what are we doing with our midfield, because we clearly need two midfielders and we don't seem to be close to anyone. I assumed we were going to get a B2B to replace Herrera but of the two we have been linked with one is Fernandes, which who knows how much of it is just Portuguese press BS and he's also a 10, which maybe makes some level of sense, considering we are playing 4231 in preseason with Pogba staying deep, but also is this really going to work against the bigger teams? The other one we were linked to with any substance was Longstaff but that move is also apparently dead and we haven't been linked with anyone else so who the feck knows.
Never mind the fact that we still don't know if Lukaku is going to stay or not (at least we apparently have WBY lined up as replacement) or what's going to happen to Pogba OR with any of our actual deadwood( but at least we can sell those after the PL starts).
3 weeks left. So much for doing our business early. I dunno. It's not looking great. I know the market is inflated and we're not the most attractive club right now, but we also spent relatively feck all in the past two TW and other teams with shitloads of cash seem to be capable of doing deals (with the added bonus of not being currently in a crisis) so I don't know what are we playing at. Hopefully something will happen fast and I'll forget I ever wrote this.
Wondering if city/Pool/spurs/UTD go for a same player what order the player can choose his club at this moment ?
Yep, only real reason to come to us over Spurs is that we're far more likely to pay high wages. And that just leaves you with mercenaries more motivated by collecting pay cheques than success on the pitch
What are these lists based on?
How do you really know who we and other teams have been in for?
Even someone like mane who went to pool and said we were interested, we don't know what level our interest was at.
We've beaten city to Sanchez and fred recently. Yes both have been between shocking and average but the fact remains.
Have we ever lost out to tottenham for a player? Have we gone for the same player? Not sure we have.
How do you really know who we and other teams have been in for?
Even someone like mane who went to pool and said we were interested, we don't know what level our interest was at.
We've beaten city to Sanchez and fred recently. Yes both have been between shocking and average but the fact remains.
Have we ever lost out to tottenham for a player? Have we gone for the same player? Not sure we have.
I would have hated to have been in the trenches with some of our 'fans'.
The perpetual self-loathing and put down of our club has become so tiresome and nauseating.
We are Manchester Fecking Utd.
Biggest club in England and one of the biggest in the world.
This spoilt like attitude of "we are less attractive than Spurs etc" is pathetic.
The perpetual self-loathing and put down of our club has become so tiresome and nauseating.
We are Manchester Fecking Utd.
Biggest club in England and one of the biggest in the world.
This spoilt like attitude of "we are less attractive than Spurs etc" is pathetic.
It’s not a spoilt attitude, it’s a fair reflection of how things stand at this very moment in time. Of course plenty of players will still join us over them, but for many reasons players may see Spurs currently as a better destination, and that’s fair enough, we’re not at our best right now.
Reality seems to be 2, maybe 3 in and none that should be sold to be sold. 
Longstaff and Maguire would be decent business now. I hope at least Rojo, Darmian and Lukaku are out so they aren't impeding younger players in the pipeline. Jones or Smalling as makeweight in a Maguire deal would be even sweeter.
With Lukaku leaving, we need at least 3 more. A CB, DM/CM and a ST.
Doubt we will sign more than one, Ed seems to be working a month on a single deal at a time. a little more than 2 weeks to go.
Doubt we will sign more than one, Ed seems to be working a month on a single deal at a time. a little more than 2 weeks to go.
Maguire and done, I expect. I'm not even convinced we'd replace Lukaku if he leaves. So much to do, so little time. Another frustrating as feck summer, as most of us predicted.
Same as last year, 2 buys and pretending to try and buy more players.
Yes we might be the biggest club, but we are no longer the best, we are no longer the best run club. That is the reality.
I got your point but you need to accept the reality by looking at current state of our club and how it is being run.
Ndombele recently picks spurs over us and I can’t blame him but I am sure we will bounce back as we got all the tools needed to become the greats again, Needed a spark like one or two game changing signings with few other proper signings could rejenuvate our club. Good thing is we can afford them if we are really serious about becoming the best again.
Not a big deal if we dont replace Lukaku IMO. Maguire and a center mid is essential though. If only Maguire I think we can get 4th but our midfield will leave us unbalanced defensively and lacking control throughout the season if we don't improve there.
hazard, Trippier....
It is going to be interesting if we do keep Pogba and bring in Bruno which looks like it could well happen before the window closes.
As you say, if we play 433 with both Bruno and Pogba, unless we have a Kante type who does the work of two men, we are going to be wide up especially on the counter.
It could potentially work with the diamond, Martial/Rashford up front, Bruno as a number 10/false 9 with Pogba left, McTominay/Fred right and hopefully a new solid DMC but 433 I would be surprised if he plays both Fernandes and Pogba unless maybe against the lesser sides at our place as we will be very very open.