The deadwood and the backups

UNITED ACADEMY said:
Don't you know that the keeper from U23 match can also be from over 23 years old & also U18?

A young keeper needs proper experienced to be developed. And when I said proper experienced is playing in actual professional comp not U23 or U18.

Being named in Europa league squads don’t show capability. How is sitting on the bench means the player is capable? Ole fielded a full young squad once in Europa League.
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Geez, this is hard work!
If we have a lot of injuries in a position we rely on our youth players and that has always been the Manchester United way if you have not noticed.
From Albiston to Rashford players have stepped up when we have had injuries and they have had no previous first team experience and done a job for the club.
How many times has Grant been called upon since he has been here?
We have an excellent young GK in Kovar who plays in the U23 side whom I am sure could do a job if by some slim chance he is needed.
 
Bondi77 said:
Geez, this is hard work!
If we have a lot of injuries in a position we rely on our youth players and that has always been the Manchester United way if you have not noticed.
From Albiston to Rashford players have stepped up when we have had injuries and they have had no previous first team experience and done a job for the club.
How many times has Grant been called upon since he has been here?
We have an excellent young GK in Kovar who plays in the U23 side whom I am sure could do a job if by some slim chance he is needed.
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Do you realise that we are talking about goalkeeper not bloody full back or striker? Name me a young keeper who is in the situation stepped up from the academy or U23 squad when we had injuries and done a job for our club, can you?

Why is it so difficult to understand the situation of goalkeeper?

Young goalkeeper needs professional experienced for their development, there is no benefit making them into our 3rd choice keeper, his game will be limited means we are stalling his development. This is why Grant is more suitable for the role. Less wages that's not going to hurt the club at all, he had past his development age & no issue for not playing a game.

Tell me, what's the benefit for a young goalkeeper keep playing in the U23 side instead of put him on loan to gain professional experienced?
 
It all depends of anyone personal vision of how a squad should be composed.

IMO the squad should be composed by starting quality players, players that are subs but challenge to be starting and youngsters. Any player that doesnt fit in that category for me is deadwood and we shoud get rid of.

Players like Rojo, Jones, Pereira, Lingard, Grant, Alexis, Mata, TFM should be shown the door.

Theres no point in having players that are not good enough just for the sake of squad depth, I know having depth is important but those spots should be filled with players that challenge to be starting or players that are showing potential and may eventually turn out starters.The way I see it giving minutes to the players mentioned above is a total waste, they are not good enough and never will be.
 
Bondi77 said:
How many times has Grant been called upon since he has been here?
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2, and none have been because of an injury crisis.

The scenario of having the 1st and 2nd GK injuried and the same time is so unlikely that I think we can spare having a U-23 GK as our third choice.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
Do you realise that we are talking about goalkeeper not bloody full back or striker? Name me a young keeper who is in the situation stepped up from the academy or U23 squad when we had injuries and done a job for our club, can you?
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For any club? Casillas and Donarumma come to mind, for ManUtd specifically I cant remember using a third goal keeper because of injuries at all, can you?


UNITED ACADEMY said:
Young goalkeeper needs professional experienced for their development, there is no benefit making them into our 3rd choice keeper, his game will be limited means we are stalling his development. This is why Grant is more suitable for the role. Less wages that's not going to hurt the club at all, he had past his development age & no issue for not playing a game.

Tell me, what's the benefit for a young goalkeeper keep playing in the U23 side instead of put him on loan to gain professional experienced?
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We necessarily need a goal kepper for the U23 so its not like we are sacrificing a young keeper to have him as third choice.

in the vastly majority of times the third choice gk is not even on the bench, so he doesn’t even need to travel and miss training or games for the U23s.

For me the fack that we have Grant as third choice is just a total waste of wages, he is not going to get better obviously and he’s not pushing Romero or De Gea to be better, and in the really unlikely scenario that both goalkeepers are injured and we need to use our third choice we can surely use the U-23 keeper, thats why most clubs dont have a senior third choice GK.
 
SAFMUTD said:
For any club? Casillas and Donarumma come to mind, for ManUtd specifically I cant remember using a third goal keeper because of injuries at all, can you?
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Of course for our club, that's what the poster was referring: "we have a lot of injuries in a position we rely on our youth players and that has always been the Manchester United way if you have not noticed."

No I can't remember which is exactly my point, a young keeper should go on loan to gain professional experienced, not being stuck in U23 for ages and gained zero professional experienced.


SAFMUTD said:
We necessarily need a goal kepper for the U23 so its not like we are sacrificing a young keeper to have him as third choice.

in the vastly majority of times the third choice gk is not even on the bench, so he doesn’t even need to travel and miss training or games for the U23s.

For me the fack that we have Grant as third choice is just a total waste of wages, he is not going to get better obviously and he’s not pushing Romero or De Gea to be better, and in the really unlikely scenario that both goalkeepers are injured and we need to use our third choice we can surely use the U-23 keeper, thats why most clubs dont have a senior third choice GK.
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I already said a non 23 years old goalkeeper like Grant or a new promoted from U18 keeper can still play in the U23 matches.

Why do you care about such a small wages? His wages is not hurting the club, Grant is not a problem that you should be concerned, I just don't get how you prefer to sacrifice the talent of young goalkeeper to be wasted & stuck playing in U23 just to save small wages.
 
SAFMUTD said:
For any club? Casillas and Donarumma come to mind, for ManUtd specifically I cant remember using a third goal keeper because of injuries at all, can you?




We necessarily need a goal kepper for the U23 so its not like we are sacrificing a young keeper to have him as third choice.

in the vastly majority of times the third choice gk is not even on the bench, so he doesn’t even need to travel and miss training or games for the U23s.

For me the fack that we have Grant as third choice is just a total waste of wages, he is not going to get better obviously and he’s not pushing Romero or De Gea to be better, and in the really unlikely scenario that both goalkeepers are injured and we need to use our third choice we can surely use the U-23 keeper, thats why most clubs dont have a senior third choice GK.
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I thought it was quite an easy issue to understand.
An argument could be made that because Kovar gets regular football in the u23s he would be more suited to step in if a crisis arose anyway.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
Of course for our club, that's what the poster was referring: "we have a lot of injuries in a position we rely on our youth players and that has always been the Manchester United way if you have not noticed."

No I can't remember which is exactly my point, a young keeper should go on loan to gain professional experienced, not being stuck in U23 for ages and gained zero professional experienced.




I already said a non 23 years old goalkeeper like Grant or a new promoted from U18 keeper can still play in the U23 matches.

Why do you care about such a small wages? His wages is not hurting the club, Grant is not a problem that you should be concerned, I just don't get how you prefer to sacrifice the talent of young goalkeeper to be wasted & stuck playing in U23 just to save small wages.
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I agree his wages are not a problem, but theyre a waste nevertheless.

you do understand that we have a U23 goalie right now as we have Grant right?

all the opinion of sacrificing a the talent of a young goalkeeper is nonsense since the fact that Grant is or isnt on the team doesnt change the fact that we use a youngster in the U23.

if anything using Grant in the U23 would be stalling on a young player development.

Bottom line Grant is a low cost insurance we pay so in the oddly case we need him we will have someone experienced available. I think its not worth it due to the unlikeness of the scenario happening.
 
Bondi77 said:
How many times has Grant been called upon since he has been at Utd?
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Twice. So what's your point? Are you expecting a young goalkeeper to be well developed by playing almost zero professional experienced?
 
SAFMUTD said:
I agree his wages are not a problem, but theyre a waste nevertheless.

you do understand that we have a U23 goalie right now as we have Grant right?

all the opinion of sacrificing a the talent of a young goalkeeper is nonsense since the fact that Grant is or isnt on the team doesnt change the fact that we use a youngster in the U23.

if anything using Grant in the U23 would be stalling on a young player development.

Bottom line Grant is a low cost insurance we pay so in the oddly case we need him we will have someone experienced available. I think its not worth it due to the unlikeness of the scenario happening.
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I think I made my point enough but you didn't listen. I said young goalkeeper should be going on loan to gain experienced for the sake of their development. Which is why someone like Kovar needs to go on loan next season.

If anything being stuck in U23 or 3rd choice keeper without any games time in actual professional matches will stall their development.

How is going on loan and having Grant as our 3rd choice keeper and emergency of U23 keeper would be stalling a young keeper who is going on loan? :lol: You are more benefit playing professional football than non-professional or academy football.
 
Bondi77 said:
I cannot make it any clearer than I have made it.
Have a nice day.
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Yea the same here. I don't even understand why are you having a difficulty to understand that going on loan getting experiences is better than stuck in U23. There is a reason why Foster, Zieler & Dean went on loan instead of being stuck in U23 and became regular EPL & Bundesliga keeper.

So have a nice day. Don't get stuck with 3rd choice keeper.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
I think I made my point enough but you didn't listen. I said young goalkeeper should be going on loan to gain experienced for the sake of their development. Which is why someone like Kovar needs to go on loan next season.

If anything being stuck in U23 or 3rd choice keeper without any games time in actual professional matches will stall their development.

How is going on loan and having Grant as our 3rd choice keeper and emergency of U23 keeper would be stalling a young keeper who is going on loan? :lol: You are more benefit playing professional football than non-professional or academy football.
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By that logic we shouldn’t have any youngsters in the academy, all players should be loaned to gain experience, and fill all those places with old players who wont mind playing at all.
 
SAFMUTD said:
By that logic we shouldn’t have any youngsters in the academy, all players should be loaned to gain experience, and fill all those places with old players who wont mind playing at all.
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Your statement is invalid because no one will make an attempt of the loan move from U18 goalkeepeer. That's why they must start in U23 first. Zieler & Dean are good example of the importance of going on loan.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
Your statement is invalid because no one will make an attempt of the loan move from U18 goalkeepeer. That's why they must start in U23 first. Zieler & Dean are good example of the importance of going on loan.
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lets make a thread out of it, do you agree? I know its not a relevant thing to discuss but things are slow in football so we may end up entertained :lol:
 
SAFMUTD said:
lets make a thread out of it, do you agree? I know its not a relevant thing to discuss but things are slow in football so we may end up entertained :lol:
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It's relevant enough. We are talking about 3rd choice keeper and it's related to backup & deadwood.

I take it as you are still insisting that stuck in U23 or 3rd choice keeper is better than going on loan. I even gave good example of Dean & Zieler, how they were benefit in going on loan and end up became regular keeper for PL & Bundesliga sides and yet you still don't get it. If that's the case then I have nothing more to say.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
It's relevant enough. We are talking about 3rd choice keeper and it's related to backup & deadwood.

I take it as you are still insisting that stuck in U23 or 3rd choice keeper is better than going on loan. I even gave good example of Dean & Zieler, how they were benefit in going on loan and end up became regular keeper for PL & Bundesliga sides and yet you still don't get it. If that's the case then I have nothing more to say.
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I just dont understand why do you insist the player would be stuck in the U23, you do know we can just use the U23 in turn right? We wouldnt have the same keeper stuck just for the sake of it.
 
SAFMUTD said:
I just dont understand why do you insist the player would be stuck in the U23, you do know we can just use the U23 in turn right? We wouldnt have the same keeper stuck just for the sake of it.
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Who's going in turn? Someone like Dean Henderson? If we did something like that last season, Dean wouldn't be regular PL keeper by now.

And You are crazy enough if you expect a goalkeeper who just got promoted from U18 to U23 should be considered as our 3rd choice keeper. Not many 19 years old keeper are capable to handle pressure, not every 19 is the same as Iker, DDG & Donaruma.

Just like what the poster mentioned in your thread, "You have a designated third choice goalkeeper because you want someone who is consistently involved in first team training and planning, just in case they have to step in."

I am in shocked how you are still don't get it when 99% in the thread you created are on the same page as me. If there is no option to buy an experienced keeper then I understand to trust the young one like how Jose did on Joel few seasons ago. However, if there is someone available especially for a keeper who has PL experiences like Grant then it'll benefit for both the team & also the young keeper to go on loan.

And if Grant is happy with the role & we have no issue of keeping him for his wages then I don't see why do we need to get rid of him, should use the advantage by put on loan our young keeper.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
Who's going in turn? Someone like Dean Henderson? If we did something like that last season, Dean wouldn't be regular PL keeper by now.

And You are crazy enough if you expect a goalkeeper who just got promoted from U18 to U23 should be considered as our 3rd choice keeper. Not many 19 years old keeper are capable to handle pressure, not every 19 is the same as Iker, DDG & Donaruma.

Just like what the poster mentioned in your thread, "You have a designated third choice goalkeeper because you want someone who is consistently involved in first team training and planning, just in case they have to step in."

I am in shocked how you are still don't get it when 99% in the thread you created are on the same page as me. If there is no option to buy an experienced keeper then I understand to trust the young one like how Jose did on Joel few seasons ago. However, if there is someone available especially for a keeper who has PL experiences like Grant then it'll benefit for both the team & also the young keeper to go on loan.
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Lets not deviate this thread anymore, I’ll be happy to repply in the other thread, cheers!
 
Of all the squad we now have Jones and Pogba should be first out the door; Jones simply isnt reliable enough and far too injury prone; Pogba just doesnt want to play for United so why try and keep him? Lindegard must be border line, but he really needs to get his act together, hes not a kid anymore.
 
redmanx said:
Of all the squad we now have Jones and Pogba should be first out the door; Jones simply isnt reliable enough and far too injury prone; Pogba just doesnt want to play for United so why try and keep him? Lindegard must be border line, but he really needs to get his act together, hes not a kid anymore.
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The level of hate against Pogba is amazing, you dont hesitate to show him the door but are willing to give Lingard a chance :wenger:
 
Where do I say I "hate" Pogba? I have no feelings regarding like or hate towards him at all; he was employed to do a job, I pay to see him do that job, but the fact is he has very rarely done his job for some considerable time. If I had a guard dog which refused to bark I wouldnt hate it, Id give it to somebody who wanted it; if I had a car that refused to start despite having every attention lavished upon it, Id get rid of it. I wouldnt hate either, just as I dont "hate" Pogba, but I certainly dont want him at my club.
 
redmanx said:
Of all the squad we now have Jones and Pogba should be first out the door; Jones simply isnt reliable enough and far too injury prone; Pogba just doesnt want to play for United so why try and keep him? Lindegard must be border line, but he really needs to get his act together, hes not a kid anymore.
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redmanx said:
Of all the squad we now have Jones and Pogba should be first out the door; Jones simply isnt reliable enough and far too injury prone; Pogba just doesnt want to play for United so why try and keep him? Lindegard must be border line, but he really needs to get his act together, hes not a kid anymore.
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Lindegard left in 2015.
 
We could easily lose Sanchez, Smalling, Rojo and Jones. For one reason or another, they barely played for us last season.

In the next category, we have the players we KNOW aren’t good enough but that we’ve had to use whilst the squad is re-built. I would include the following in this category....Pereira, Lingard and Mata. I understand Mata is likeable and was very slightly better post-Bruno but his wages are extremely out of kilter with his contribution.

Finally, we have the players who could maybe be allowed to leave at the right price. I would put Dalot and Pogba in that category. I wouldn’t be actively seeking to see either but if the right offer came in and we had identified the right players to spend the extra cash on then could be worthwhile
 
Lentwood said:
We could easily lose Sanchez, Smalling, Rojo and Jones. For one reason or another, they barely played for us last season.

In the next category, we have the players we KNOW aren’t good enough but that we’ve had to use whilst the squad is re-built. I would include the following in this category....Pereira, Lingard and Mata. I understand Mata is likeable and was very slightly better post-Bruno but his wages are extremely out of kilter with his contribution.

Finally, we have the players who could maybe be allowed to leave at the right price. I would put Dalot and Pogba in that category. I wouldn’t be actively seeking to see either but if the right offer came in and we had identified the right players to spend the extra cash on then could be worthwhile
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I agree entirely except in the case of Mata, he's real quality and rarely lets us down.
 
Sea-Cow said:
I've never disagreed with a post more in my life.

Pereira is not serviceable and should not be a member of a premier league squad, end of discussion.
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Agree.

We could play Mata there, or even Sancho if he signs. or Pogba if he stays. or Grealish if he signs.

Periera has been afforded chances, and not performed well enough. I was a big big fan of his a couple of years back, wanting him to have his chance before he went on loan again but performances speak volumes. He isn't good enough
 
I've said since Ole came in (and beforehand) that our entire squad needs a proper gut and re-build and the outgoings would be just as important as the in-comings.

It's a difficult task re-shaping an entire squad of 25 while keeping players happy and buying into a new mentality, especially considering that we have players spanning across 4 different managers (Fergie, Moyes, LVG and Jose).

Ole needs to be praised extremely highly for what he has done already in terms of re-building the squad, while it's also clear the squad seems much happier under him than any other manager. People quickly forget the negative aura under Jose in particular. That was a toxic time.

While Ole has done well with outgoings so far, there's still work to be done.

The aim is to have quality throughout the squad, even the bench, with youngsters pushing for game time and improving while playing with high calibre players. Focus on youth, a hungry motivated squad can be title challengers, no doubt.

We've already seen the likes of Young, Fellaini, Lukaku, Darmian, Valencia go permanently and we lost Herrera to a free transfer. Smalling, Rojo and Sanchez also on loan rather than being an unwanted squad member. I've heard the media call this so far "ruthless" but for me its necessary and arguably not ruthless enough.

We all accepted before a ball was kicked that this season would be hit and miss form wise and probably a season lost with the transition with the squad. It's a work in progress after all.

So Ole's had 2 windows, signed 4 absolute top calibre players and shipped a lot out. Perfect so far! Shame its 2 windows correcting other managers errors but hey ho, it needs to be done!

So for the next window (or 2 as the world a bit mental), in terms of out-goings i would personally class the following as essential departures:
Smalling - Been on loan all season, not a player wanted in this current squad. Not part of the re-build
Sanchez - Been on loan all season, not a player wanted in this current squad. Not part of the re-build
Rojo - Been used sparingly in non-important games. Not part of the re-build
Jones - Pretty much the same as Rojo only we haven't loaned him (guessing no offers?!)
Lingard - Used sparingly, suffered with poor form this season. going backwards and didn't start at a good level anyway. Top form Lingard would only be a squad member for me, so this seasons Lingard serves no purpose whatsoever

So that's 5, quite a high number, but being realistic these 5 barely offer us anything anyway, so i'd look at what else we could do also:
Periera - Surely proven he isn't of the quality required. Future has to be in debate
TFM - Does he offer anything? Contender for loan/permanent transfer. I know injuries have hampered him but come on.
Pogba - The big one. The fan divider. A lot of what we do will rest on this guy, i personally think 3 seasons of debating if he fits us or not is enough. Time to move on if we can. It's a difficult sell due to the high fee we'd expect but probably for the best. Selling him has better squad value than not, for me. If we cant sell him he has to be used of course
Gomes - Contract issue. Would it harm us if he left? Id say no as he's not contributed to the 1st team and looks to be a raw prospect - wouldn't be a big loss really. if he signed, so be it. Squad option
Henderson - If he isn't displacing De Gea, he needs another loan. Big issue for us over the next 2 seasons in whether we phase De Gea out for Hendorson. We cant continually loan him out and De Gea surely will decline further

I think we are still in a position where we need more outgoings than in-comings, but of course if we lose 5+players we;d have to look at 3 in.

For the next window, i'd look at 3 signings, maybe 4 if you add in a youngster. You could push to 5 if a deal comes up you just cannot say no too: 3 would be the minimum though!
Ighalo
Sancho
Zakaria
Bellingham (younsger)
Upamencano (if reported 40mil is true, we must)

Squad:
Gk:
De Gea/Romero/Henderson/Grant (Might have a dilemma with De Gea/Henderson, but suspect that Hendo will be loaned again - a problem for a summers time, ideally De Gea sold and Hendo naturally succeeds)
Full Back:
AWB/Shaw/Dalot/Williams/Laird(Youngster)
CB:
Magure/Lindelof/Bailly/Tuanzebe/TFM(Youngster) + Possible new signing (Upamencano)
DM:
Matic + Essential new signing (Zakaria)
CM:
Fred/McTom/Pogba/Periera + Possible new signing (Bellingham)
AM
Fernandes/Mata/Pogba/Periera
Wide forward:
Rashford/James/Mata/Greenwood (Youngster)/Chong(Youngster) + Essential new signing (Sancho)
Striker
Martial/Greenwood (Youngster) + Essential new signing (Ighalo)

Sancho is a game changer, He elevates us up a level. Adding a DM is also essential as it phases Matic out and keeps the quality aspect of the squad ticking over and keeping Ighalo is important as we will not find a more motivated deputy for Martial.
 
I think its important that we sell and target players according to injury record. We have carried so many crocks for years. So the likes of Jones is obvious but Bailly is also dodgy. Also targeting Upamencano Im not sure is worth the risk. Id rather get Koulibaly but doubt we will have the cash. So I think someone like Ben White will be a good option.
Fernandes, Sancho, Maguire etc - all good injury records. We should keep going.
 
Bondi77 said:
How many times has Grant been called upon since he has been here?
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Once in 2 years. Romero has been excellent; best substitute goalie in the world.

We have an excellent young GK in Kovar who plays in the U23 side whom I am sure could do a job if by some slim chance he is needed.
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It doesn't work like that. Experience is highly valued at goalkeeper level. Goalies tend to last longer than other players too. Some don't retire until they reach their 40s. Serious injuries aren't as common. Our young keepers need to angle for outside loans to emulate what Henderson did.
 
Here is my complete inventory of possible exits. It could be a massive clearout this summer. Lots of contracts officially end. Other contracts have only 1 year to run. We surely want to sell some players too. In theory, up to 31 players could leave. If they all left the first team squad would be reduced to only 17. Five of them 'under-21s'. That is a seriously young squad! I don't expect Mata nor Matic to be sold. TFM may stay but I don't see why. Sergio Romero should stay. Last year, Kieran O'Hara, Ethan Hamilton had contracts extended after doing well on loan (I assumed for 1 year extra, maybe it was longer?). For some reason my info says these contracts end in June: Di'Shon Bernard, Ethan Galbraith, Anthony Elanga. I expect they'll all stay. Even keeping Mata, Romero and Matic, the 1st team squad would be down to 20. If so, we'd need to recruit at least 4 more. We could also internally promote a goalie to replace Lee Grant as #3 (Kieran O'Hara), sign a Bosman, or buy a cheapie (Lee Grant cost £2m).
 
I always hated the term squad players. At a club like United a player can either improve or he is taking the spot of someone who can actually improve. Don't take me wrong its impossible to have a 23 men squad made up of WC players. However its possible to have a reserve team of players whose more then a body on the pitch. Having players like Ole, Teddy, Blomqvist, Fletcher, Butt, Park and co help keeping the first team on their toes in respect to guys like OShea, Owen, Fortune and co who had no chance in hell of making it to first team level.

Another lesson that needs to be learnt is that injury prone players = waste of space. Its common sense really. A manager can bubble wrap an injury prone player as much as possible however when facing 2-3 games in a row and when the lines start getting thin, then he'll have no choice but to throw caution in the win and play the few players still standing to the ground. Thus a manager need to make sure that his small squad can take the beating.

Thus here's my list

GK: DDG, Grant, Romero, Henderson & Bishop (loaned)

RB: AWB, Meunier (FREE), Laird

CB: Maguire, Lindelof, Smalling, Tuanzebe, (young cb on cheap if possible)

LB: Shaw and Williams

DM: Matic and Mc T

B2B: Bruno Fernandes and Fred

AMC: Pogba(if he commits to a contract), Mejbri.

RW: Sancho/Zaniolo, James

LW: Rashford, Martial

STK: Edouard, Greenwood

If Pogba leaves then everything changes. We will probably be involved in a fee + swap players. Id go for 60m + Jovic and Odegaard.
 
Backups? United must do what other clubs like Chelsea, 'Pool, and City do. Keep 3 players for every position. The 25 man squad must include 2 for every position, plus 3 more who should be: Goalie, striker & defender. That means we need to keep another 8 players 'just in case'. They will either be exceptional U-23s (like Greenwood), or will be out on loan. That way, United will never have an unbalanced squad again, & won't be ambushed in the transfer market buying players from BTEC leagues who need 1 or so years to adjust to the PL (Fred), or buying players close to the end of their career at inflated prices. Look how Chelsea coped with their transfer ban - they just recalled some of their loanees. With 3 players for every position, everyone has to step up. The first teamer will be immediately under threat from at least 1 squaddie. The squaddies will be under threat from the best loanees. The loanees know they need to perform to move to OT, and even to keep their contracts.

United need to buy tier-1 players like: Pervis Estupiñán, Mohammed Salisu, and Adolfo Gaich for about £5m - £15m. Send them on loan if they aren't immediately good enough. Stop panic buying squad quality players: Fred, Matic, Lukaku - at inflated prices. The only players bought at inflated prices should be genuine worldies or contenders.
 
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This is how I view our squad:
Week in week out starting material:
De Gea
AWB
Maguire
Pogba
Bruno
Matic(only for next season and should be used sparingly)
Rashford

Starting players that should be back ups eventually:
Bailly
Shaw
Martial

Solid back ups:
Romero
Lindelof
Williams
Fred
McTominay
Mata
James
Greenwood(expecting him to be a starter in 2/3 seasons though)

Deadwood:
Smalling
Rojo
Jones
Dalot
Lingard
Pereira
Sanchez

Loan out
Henderson
Tuanzebe
Levitt
Garner
Chong
Gomes(think he`s leaving though unfortunately)

From the deadwood category I think Pereira will stay but the rest will leave IMO but Sanchez on loan again. Not included Ighalo because he`s practically gone at this point if people follow the news. This summer focus should be on a CB, CM, CF and RW. Realistically I think we go for Rodon, Bellingham and Jimenez/Dembele in the respective positions. Outside Sancho no clue which other RW we could get. If we miss out on him could see us getting some scrub like Matondo or not signing a RW at all.
 
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UpWithRivers said:
We still need one or two players but just as important is the continued clear out of the deadwood and also the backups. One of our main problems this season is that the back up players have failed us. Not all of them but lots of them failed us when the main team were injured. Its all well and good having a good first team but without a decent squad we will get one or two injuries and start plummeting again. So lets review -

RB - Back up is Dalot - Looks like he is on his way out. Should he stay and does everyone trust him to be back up? I would say no. Time to move on. So options for backup include Laird - could he do a Williams? He has the talent but Im not sure he is ready. Maybe needs a loan? Or Brandon can play RB. Or we buy - if we did I would go for Max Aaron's. Cheap as Norwich relegated, attacking to give another option to the defensive minded WB.
CB - Looks like Maguire and Lindelof are first choice. Rojo and Smalling are gone or as good as. That leaves Jones, Bailly, Tuanzebe. Jones and Bailly are too injury prone. Id sell Jones. Tuanzebe for some reason is not getting a look in. Id say loan him but with selling Jones, Smalling and Rojo we need numbers. So we need another first teamer that leaves Lindelof, Bailly and Tuanzebe as back ups?
GK - De Gea obvious first choice and Romero the best back up keeper anywhere. Then there is Lee Grant. But what about Henderson? Bring him in to replace De Gea? Replace Rojo? Or Loan. I would loan for another season.
LB - Sorted with Shaw and Williams as back up
CM - Hard to tell who is first choice. I guess Pogba (if he stays), Fernandes + one of Matic, Fred, McTominay. From backups if Pogba goes we need an attacking replacement incase Fernandes gets injured. Grealish I guess is the obvious choice. Then we are short of cover/replacement for Matic. None of the others are pure DM's. So if we get say a Partey then Matic is the back up DM. Fred/Mctominay as the box and Pogba(Or Grealish)+ Fernandes as the number 10/attacking roamers. Then there is Lingard and Periera. Sell as fast as we can if it was up to me. If we do then who comes in to replace - young players? Chong etc?
Attack - Rashford, Martialand hopefully Sancho is the first team. So backups are Ighalo if he stays, Greenwood, Mata(for RW), James. I think its enough with good quality for replacement in all positions for now. Oh then Sanchez. Need to get rid any way we can.

So sold - Jones, Dalot, Smalling, Rojo, Sanchez, Lingard, Periera

Backups after first team players are bought - Presuming we bought Sancho, Aarons, Partey, Upamecano, Ighalo, Grealish and Sold Pogba for example
RB - Laird/Aaarons
CB - Lindelof, Bailly, Tuanzebe
GK - Romero, Grant
LB - Williams
CM - Mctominay, Fred, Matic,
Forwards -
CM - McTominay, Matic, Grealish
Forwards - Ighalo if he stays, Greenwood, Mata(for RW), James.
Click to expand...

This won't happen, and will never happen.

Stop making FMish assumption based on FMuppet shortlist, it seldoms works if not never works.
 
My squad for next season

-----------------De Gea-----------------
AWB--Lindelof--Maguire--Shaw
---McTominay---Pogba---
Sancho---Fernandes---Rashford
-----------------Martial-----------------

-----------------Romero-----------------
Dalot--Bailly--Tuanzebe--Williams
-----------Fred-----------Matic-----------
Greenwood--Mata--James
------------------Ighalo------------------

2 decent XI's in my opinion, more than good enough to 'challenge' on all fronts. I did consider Laird over Dalot which would move him into the outs but I understand Laird has had a fair amount of injuries since the Astana game which will no doubt have set his progression back

No place in my squad for Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Lingard, Andreas or Sanchez though unlikely we'll be able to shift them all. Henderson I'd send back out on loan again as I would Chong
 
Sky1981 said:
This won't happen, and will never happen.

Stop making FMish assumption based on FMuppet shortlist, it seldoms works if not never works.
Click to expand...
I said for example. I just listed random names to illustrate the positions that we could buy to assess what the quality of the back ups would be. The importance of the thread is the back ups. The first team players are irrelevant. Just pick any as long as they are first choice.
 
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