The root of our issues - trying to fit square pegs into round holes

ArmaDino

Full Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2023
Messages
532
In any corporation, it is a lot easier to replace the CEO than the entire workforce. And yet, we’ve been doing the exact opposite, hence why we spent 1 billion pounds on transfers with nothing to show for it. Instead of assessing the types of players that we have at our disposal and hiring a manager best suited for them, we are hiring mangers who implement an incompatible play style with the players that we have at our disposal, and then sign him entire new first XI.

For example: we had SAF’s title winning team suited for direct and lighting fast attacks and overwhelming the 16 yard box. LVG was hired as a possession coach and he decided to bin our entire starting XI and replace them with possession based players. Then we sacked LVG and we hired Mourinho who had a very defensive approach, so we had to sell a lot of our players and replace them with new ones who fit the new defensive system low block system.

Ole was the only logical appointment that we made due to the fact that he employed a very similar style to Mourinho, i.e. defending in the low to midblock and hitting the teams on the counter. However, unlike Mourinho he played a bit more progressive and to our team’s strength. This got us some of the best results since SAF retired. The irony that the only bit of strategic planning done under the Glazers was by complete accident and fan pressure.

Then we decided to hire ETH, a manager who employs a high line and puts a very big emphasis on keeping possession, something that our team wasn’t exactly suited for. ETH knew this and that’s why he wanted De Jong, and signed Eriksen in his first season. After the first 2 games of his tenure, he quickly realized that the players he has at this disposal, aren’t capable of playing the way he wants them to and he reverted to “Ole Ball” with a slight tweak to it. As a result, we went on a very convincing run up until the League Cup final and turned OT into an unbreakable fortress.

During season 2, ETH decided to scrap the tactics that worked so well for him in the past and employ his possession based football. However with the exception of Onana, we haven’t signed any players that can facilitate that football. And the result as you expected was a complete disaster.

Now, you would think in his 3rd season in charge both ETH and INEOS knowing about this would make the necessary adjustments, i.e. by either adjusting the tactics or signing the necesary players to fit the current play style. In reality, ETH is still trying to play his purist tactics which clearly do not work and most of the fans want him sacked ASAP.

INEOS have exacerbated the situation as well, by signing players who aren’t exactly compatible with a possession based style that ETH is trying to implement. Our major signings of the window De Ligt and Ugarte are better suited to a low to midblock team that thrive in transition rather than possession. That, and the fact that ETH has been allowed to use Bruno who isn’t exactly suited for a possession based high line team with this suicidal through balls.(Bruno is a type of player that needs space to be effective. He isn't good at creating space with his passes)

So instead of trying to fit square pegs into round holes again and go after the likes of Naglesman, Xabi Alonso, Amorim, and spend a fortune trying to build a team for them(mind you, money that we currently don’t have), let’s be more pragmatic and hire a coach that will get the most out of our current crop of players. At least in the short term. I know these names aren’t going to be very popular here, but someone like Conte, Inzaghi, or Allegri would be a good start to make us look better. Even Ole on an interim basis would be a good start. Basically someone who can get the most of our current crop of players without having to spend 500 million on building “his team”.

Someone who can set us up to defend in a compact low to midblock and then hit the teams on the counter. We do have the pace upfront in Rashford, Garnacho, Hojlund. We have players like Bruno and Eriksen who can play very good passes into open spaces for our forwards to capitalize. We also have players like Ugarte, Mount and Casemiro to win the ball back quickly and play it into space.We have some very good defenders in De Ligt, Maguire, Evans and hopefully Yoro as well who feel a lot better playing closer to goal, rather than on the halfway line.

So what say you caf?
 
We reward selfishness and individuality. Going forward we rarely look like a team, merely a collection of individuals each looking to grab the glory.

Even when we are creating, so many of the opportunities we have are squandered. Sideways pass after sideways pass until it opens up for someone to have an inevitably tame shot from distance. We need to structure the midfield to be more about creativity and supply than players who just want to have a crack. Being a bit- part player in a goal is better than being the main protagonist in the 'Meek long- range shot, easily saved part 738' saga.

I get the criticism of the Mount signing due to his availability, but when he does play I really only see him and Mainoo who seem to understand their primary role is to keep the ball moving and try and unlock defences by playing others in. I think we're so conditioned that unless someone is trying to score they have no value, because after several years that's all we have; waiting for an individual moment of brilliance that players capable of actually passing the ball around effectively really aren't valued that highly.

Sorry but we need more of those types of players. Ones that aren't always injured of course. Players happy to feed into passages of play, not a team of players who only really seem to have the slightest interest if they're the ones who can score
 
sglowrider said:
All I know is 600+ million quid doesn't get you very far if this is the case.
Click to expand...
True, however instead of spending that we should hire someone who can get us some results right now. Then plan for the next 5 years and target the players who's profile would fit our intended playing style instead of going by who's available and let's get them.
 
Seems about right. With the mix of counter and posession players currently on board, choosing either would however only further exacerbate our problems. What all* our players have in common is a high risk high reward style of football. You know, the "score more goals than your opponent" type of stuff. So maybe it's better to lean on that?

I feel 10Hag had been trying that with the 20 shots tactic - which he has given up on in favour of simply rotating counter en posession styles, to the utmost confusion and discomfort of our players - outside of the most stable and clever (Evans, Eriksen, Mazraoui).

*Nearly all: looking at you, Lindelof.
 
ArmaDino said:
In any corporation, it is a lot easier to replace the CEO than the entire workforce. And yet, we’ve been doing the exact opposite, hence why we spent 1 billion pounds on transfers with nothing to show for it. Instead of assessing the types of players that we have at our disposal and hiring a manager best suited for them, we are hiring mangers who implement an incompatible play style with the players that we have at our disposal, and then sign him entire new first XI.

For example: we had SAF’s title winning team suited for direct and lighting fast attacks and overwhelming the 16 yard box. LVG was hired as a possession coach and he decided to bin our entire starting XI and replace them with possession based players. Then we sacked LVG and we hired Mourinho who had a very defensive approach, so we had to sell a lot of our players and replace them with new ones who fit the new defensive system low block system.

Ole was the only logical appointment that we made due to the fact that he employed a very similar style to Mourinho, i.e. defending in the low to midblock and hitting the teams on the counter. However, unlike Mourinho he played a bit more progressive and to our team’s strength. This got us some of the best results since SAF retired. The irony that the only bit of strategic planning done under the Glazers was by complete accident and fan pressure.

Then we decided to hire ETH, a manager who employs a high line and puts a very big emphasis on keeping possession, something that our team wasn’t exactly suited for. ETH knew this and that’s why he wanted De Jong, and signed Eriksen in his first season. After the first 2 games of his tenure, he quickly realized that the players he has at this disposal, aren’t capable of playing the way he wants them to and he reverted to “Ole Ball” with a slight tweak to it. As a result, we went on a very convincing run up until the League Cup final and turned OT into an unbreakable fortress.

During season 2, ETH decided to scrap the tactics that worked so well for him in the past and employ his possession based football. However with the exception of Onana, we haven’t signed any players that can facilitate that football. And the result as you expected was a complete disaster.

Now, you would think in his 3rd season in charge both ETH and INEOS knowing about this would make the necessary adjustments, i.e. by either adjusting the tactics or signing the necesary players to fit the current play style. In reality, ETH is still trying to play his purist tactics which clearly do not work and most of the fans want him sacked ASAP.

INEOS have exacerbated the situation as well, by signing players who aren’t exactly compatible with a possession based style that ETH is trying to implement. Our major signings of the window De Ligt and Ugarte are better suited to a low to midblock team that thrive in transition rather than possession. That, and the fact that ETH has been allowed to use Bruno who isn’t exactly suited for a possession based high line team with this suicidal through balls.(Bruno is a type of player that needs space to be effective. He isn't good at creating space with his passes)

So instead of trying to fit square pegs into round holes again and go after the likes of Naglesman, Xabi Alonso, Amorim, and spend a fortune trying to build a team for them(mind you, money that we currently don’t have), let’s be more pragmatic and hire a coach that will get the most out of our current crop of players. At least in the short term. I know these names aren’t going to be very popular here, but someone like Conte, Inzaghi, or Allegri would be a good start to make us look better. Even Ole on an interim basis would be a good start. Basically someone who can get the most of our current crop of players without having to spend 500 million on building “his team”.

Someone who can set us up to defend in a compact low to midblock and then hit the teams on the counter. We do have the pace upfront in Rashford, Garnacho, Hojlund. We have players like Bruno and Eriksen who can play very good passes into open spaces for our forwards to capitalize. We also have players like Ugarte, Mount and Casemiro to win the ball back quickly and play it into space.We have some very good defenders in De Ligt, Maguire, Evans and hopefully Yoro as well who feel a lot better playing closer to goal, rather than on the halfway line.

So what say you caf?
Click to expand...

If the aim for ETH was to play a high line, as you say, then he doomed himself from the start. To play like this you need center backs with recovery pace. He signed Martinez who is around average pace for a center back. Nor am i sure how De Jong would help with a high line?
As i recall, in those early losses in season 1, we kept getting caught playing out of the back. Remember Brentford? So i think he has always wanted that.

Why cant ETH set us up to "defend in a compact low to midblock and then hit the teams on the counter"
We know he can, because we played like that v City in the cup final.

The issue we have is that when the onus is on us to take the game to the oposition, we cant. We are no good in

Most of the players we have are able to play possession football. Obviously not to the level of City, but im convinced if they are coached to do so, they will be able to.
 
gaffs said:
If the aim for ETH was to play a high line, as you say, then he doomed himself from the start. To play like this you need center backs with recovery pace. He signed Martinez who is around average pace for a center back. Nor am i sure how De Jong would help with a high line?
As i recall, in those early losses in season 1, we kept getting caught playing out of the back. Remember Brentford? So i think he has always wanted that.

Why cant ETH set us up to "defend in a compact low to midblock and then hit the teams on the counter"
We know he can, because we played like that v City in the cup final.

The issue we have is that when the onus is on us to take the game to the oposition, we cant. We are no good in

Most of the players we have are able to play possession football. Obviously not to the level of City, but im convinced if they are coached to do so, they will be able to.
Click to expand...
Rashford, Höjlund, and Garnacho are not good at possession football. Amad, Antony and Zirkzee are better but then you have no pace.
 
For all the talk since Ineos arrived, and the first months were very promising, I can't remember hearing anybody talk recently about an established style of play.

Wasn't that the whole idea of bringing in the right people in the right positions? To identify and clearly define an expectation for how Manchester United play football. That was the first and most crucial job for Berrada, Wilcox and Ashworth to complete, and every subsequent decision should be made with that outline in mind.
  • Clearly define the style of play.
  • Sit with the manager and compare the style of play we saw last year to the vision for the team moving forward. Either receive his agreement and understanding of the new path, or agree to part ways.
  • Assess the coaching and playing staff on an individual basis and determine who is and isn't suitable based on the above.
  • Enter the market and execute moves in and out based on the above assessments.
  • Assess the performance of the team at regular intervals and make decisions accordingly. This is where we are now, 10 games into the season. Is the team playing to the identified style, or showing signs of adapting to it? Is the manager making decisions that fall in line with the step 2 agreement?
If he's not, particularly after such a poor performance in the 2 most important competitions last season, then you have to fire him and bring in someone better suited to execute the footballing vision of the club.
If he is, and this is the style of football decided upon, then we have bigger problems than the manager still.
If none of the above has happened, then what in the name of feck is going on at all?
 
Our style has fluctuated greatly since Ineos came in.....

Tried to control possession and press against Southampton and Palace

Low block and break against Spurs and Villa

Chaos ball in that second half against Porto

we are all over the show.....

if he wants to press high why sign De Ligt? If he wants to play Zirkzee he wants to play a more possession based football?

Honestly I havent a clue what he wants
 
gaffs said:
If the aim for ETH was to play a high line, as you say, then he doomed himself from the start. To play like this you need center backs with recovery pace. He signed Martinez who is around average pace for a center back. Nor am i sure how De Jong would help with a high line?
As i recall, in those early losses in season 1, we kept getting caught playing out of the back. Remember Brentford? So i think he has always wanted that.
Click to expand...
One of the things it took me to understand is that employing a high line doesn't imply that you are a possession based team. For example: Ole also employed a high line as well, and yet we would do most of our defensive actions in the either the low block(around the 16 yard box) or midblock(around the middle of the pitch on our side mostly).

The reason he tried signing de Jong and then signed Eriksen and Marinez was because he was building a possession based team. Usually these teams dominate the possession and pin the opponents on the back foot while using the intelligence of their playmakers to find players in small bits of spaces. Also the playmakers, usually CMs have a very good passing range and excel at recycling the ball when under pressure.

In order to do that you need very intelligent players. Players who create space with their passing in highly congested areas and players who find these small pockets of space and make themselves available. You can't have one without the other. Also, since you spend so much time and resources on the attack, your team becomes very vulnerable to counters. For this you need defenders who have pace, not necessarily CBs, you can also use FBs as well(Walker at City for example).

When we look at our team, the only player who fits the mould was Eriksen. Casemiro and Bruno aren't good at being part of a possession based team. They lose the ball far too easily. Not to say they are bad players, but they are suited more to a direct and fast paced counter attacking set up, as opposed to a meticulous system that unlocks defenses.

I'm still 50/50 on Mainoo, however he is very young and coachable so he can be trained to be part of a possession based team.

gaffs said:
Why cant ETH set us up to "defend in a compact low to midblock and then hit the teams on the counter"
We know he can, because we played like that v City in the cup final.
Click to expand...

Not only against City, but that entire run up until the League Cup final in his first year was us setting up to defend in the low to midblock and hit teams on the counter. It worked well for Ole, until he abandoned it and it worked even better for ETH, until he abandoned it. In a way, I think ETH got overconfident after the League cup win. That 7-0 drubbing at Liverpool should've been his wake up call. Instead, being a stubborn old goat, he continues to persist to this day. Talk about knowing when to give up.

gaffs said:
The issue we have is that when the onus is on us to take the game to the oposition, we cant. We are no good in

Most of the players we have are able to play possession football. Obviously not to the level of City, but im convinced if they are coached to do so, they will be able to.
Click to expand...

I'm going to disagree with you here. This thread title illustrates best my point. This is trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

While you can instruct the players to follow a certain plan, you can't change their playing style. Casemiro and Bruno are a classic example of this. So far the only players we have that are somehow compatible with this are an aging Eriksen, an inexperienced Amad, Onana, Martinez and Zirkzee. To a lesser degree, De Ligt, Yoro, Mazraoui, Dalot and Mainoo. So you can see the problem here: we have far more key players suited to a different style than the one we are trying to implement.

There is a reason managers like Arteta and Pep spent a fortune trying to craft their teams, because the players they had at their disposal weren't exactly suited for the possession based style they were trying to implement.
 
Interesting listening to Wayne Rooney today on Talk Sport Stating that United need a British core and right now they don’t have enough PL proven players and British players who understand the club and understand the league.

Maybe an emphasis on a British spine might help in the short term to improve, however we should only be buying absolutely Elite British players.

We need a left footed CB, a Left back, at least two midfield players, one CM and one BTB goal scoring midfielder, a new experienced right winger and a new CF.

The real question here is would
J Branthwaite, A Robinson(yes he’s a US international but he’s born in MK),
C Rigg or A Wharton, M Roger’s or M Gibbs white, J Bowen or T Dibbling, Ollie Watkins or Evan Ferguson would any 5 player combination of those players really improve our squad plus add D Wellbeck on a 2 year contract to give us experience up front.

Obviously 5 or 6 of them would cost £250-300m and I’m not sure how the club would generate the cash, even if we sold Casemiro, Bruno, Malacia, Lindelof and Antony for £100m, would SJR want to add another £100-150m to become a very definite Brexit FC.
 
Woziak said:
Interesting listening to Wayne Rooney today on Talk Sport Stating that United need a British core and right now they don’t have enough PL proven players and British players who understand the club and understand the league.

Maybe an emphasis on a British spine might help in the short term to improve, however we should only be buying absolutely Elite British players.

We need a left footed CB, a Left back, at least two midfield players, one CM and one BTB goal scoring midfielder, a new experienced right winger and a new CF.

The real question here is would
J Branthwaite, A Robinson(yes he’s a US international but he’s born in MK),
C Rigg or A Wharton, M Roger’s or M Gibbs white, J Bowen or T Dibbling, Ollie Watkins or Evan Ferguson would any 5 player combination of those players really improve our squad plus add D Wellbeck on a 2 year contract to give us experience up front.

Obviously 5 or 6 of them would cost £250-300m and I’m not sure how the club would generate the cash, even if we sold Casemiro, Bruno, Malacia, Lindelof and Antony for £100m, would SJR want to add another £100-150m to become a very definite Brexit FC.
Click to expand...

If we are going that route, Liam Delap, Angel Gomes, Leif Davis and Wharton are the ones I'd look at.
 
ArmaDino said:
One of the things it took me to understand is that employing a high line doesn't imply that you are a possession based team. For example: Ole also employed a high line as well, and yet we would do most of our defensive actions in the either the low block(around the 16 yard box) or midblock(around the middle of the pitch on our side mostly).

The reason he tried signing de Jong and then signed Eriksen and Marinez was because he was building a possession based team. Usually these teams dominate the possession and pin the opponents on the back foot while using the intelligence of their playmakers to find players in small bits of spaces. Also the playmakers, usually CMs have a very good passing range and excel at recycling the ball when under pressure.

In order to do that you need very intelligent players. Players who create space with their passing in highly congested areas and players who find these small pockets of space and make themselves available. You can't have one without the other. Also, since you spend so much time and resources on the attack, your team becomes very vulnerable to counters. For this you need defenders who have pace, not necessarily CBs, you can also use FBs as well(Walker at City for example).

When we look at our team, the only player who fits the mould was Eriksen. Casemiro and Bruno aren't good at being part of a possession based team. They lose the ball far too easily. Not to say they are bad players, but they are suited more to a direct and fast paced counter attacking set up, as opposed to a meticulous system that unlocks defenses.

I'm still 50/50 on Mainoo, however he is very young and coachable so he can be trained to be part of a possession based team.
Click to expand...

My point around ETH dooming himself was in signing Marinez, when Varane and Maguire were both already at the club. Yes, prime Varane could cover the ground, but there is no real pace there.

City and Arsenal can play that high line as few forwards are beating Akanji, Saliba or Dias in a foot race. This is why our back four are constantly backtracking and facing their own goals - we saw it midweek v Porto. The cruel irony is that the one Dutch player ETH didnt sign is the fastest player in the league - Micky van de Ven.

de Jong would have helped in the possession game, for sure. When i watch him, he seems to be the one to take the ball off the back four and start the play from deep. But we know from the get go he wanted to stay at Barca - both for the lifestyle and the money he was owed. So ETH had months to find an alternative. Instead, he signed Casemiro!


ArmaDino said:
Not only against City, but that entire run up until the League Cup final in his first year was us setting up to defend in the low to midblock and hit teams on the counter. It worked well for Ole, until he abandoned it and it worked even better for ETH, until he abandoned it. In a way, I think ETH got overconfident after the League cup win. That 7-0 drubbing at Liverpool should've been his wake up call. Instead, being a stubborn old goat, he continues to persist to this day. Talk about knowing when to give up.
Click to expand...

I just dont think that we are going to play like that, unless we are outgunned. Do you sit back and let Fulham, Brentord and Ipswitch come to OT and hope to play them on the counter?

ArmaDino said:
I'm going to disagree with you here. This thread title illustrates best my point. This is trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

While you can instruct the players to follow a certain plan, you can't change their playing style. Casemiro and Bruno are a classic example of this. So far the only players we have that are somehow compatible with this are an aging Eriksen, an inexperienced Amad, Onana, Martinez and Zirkzee. To a lesser degree, De Ligt, Yoro, Mazraoui, Dalot and Mainoo. So you can see the problem here: we have far more key players suited to a different style than the one we are trying to implement.

There is a reason managers like Arteta and Pep spent a fortune trying to craft their teams, because the players they had at their disposal weren't exactly suited for the possession based style they were trying to implement.
Click to expand...

I agree to a point. But i dont think players are only able to play one way. We may never know, but im convinced that if Bruno was to play for City, he could play the KDB role. He is never going to be Xavi or Bernardo Silva, but with the right manager, I think he would be capable of adapting. The issue is, it feels like he is always trying to make something happen at United because often the onus is on him.

I just think that United players have been allowed to freestyle. Especially when Plan A goes out of the window.

Have we got the ideal players to play possession based football - probably not. But with the right coach, i believe this team could see a massive improvement in terms of ball retention.
 
I feel like you are missing what Ineos are now going to (try to) do.

Previously we recruited for each manager, in hindsight a stupid plan given manager's come and go but it is what we did.

Ineos do not want to do that and they will recruit independent from the head coach. People point to De Ligt/Maz are 'ETH' signings but it was confirmed they were not and also, both seem decent prices even if they only end up being good but not great players.

The real question we do not know yet is which game model they have settled on - the signing of Ugarte points me towards the RB model of much more focus on pressing and direct football, developing and, unfortunately, also selling bright young prospects to fund more growth. That also chimes with why ETH still has a job, as one thing we have done well, at least in spurts, is ramping up our pressing stats.

Coaches they come they go,
Saturday through Sunday
Monday through Sunday yo
Maybe we will win one day
Maybe we'll someday grow
til then just sack those frauds that have no trophies to show.
 
SAF has to take the blame for leaving behind an ageing, weak squad.

SAF also has to take the blame for the David Moyes debacle as well. He was the club and he should have known better.

IMHO it's not the style of the managers we signed the reason for our downfall, it's giving them complete control of the transfers. Every manager signed players who are not suited to what they envisioned us playing. Also every manager failed to get our team to playing how they wanted to play. LvG was the only exception, he wanted a possession style football and he established that(however boring that was).

Another reason for our downfalls is not cutting down wages. We simply paid way too much due to poor negotiations with agents and managers forcing the boards to get players they wanted no matter the cost. This is the reason we have lost so much on transfer outs and the reason we find it so hard to get rid of unwanted players. Maguire is still here FFS. We had to pay money to Sancho when he was helping Dortmund reach CL finals. The cycle continues with Antony, Mount, Rashford. We cannot get rid of these players for the next couple of years.
 
redIndianDevil said:
SAF has to take the blame for leaving behind an ageing, weak squad.
Click to expand...
Blame the Glazers who didn't give him any funds to refresh our squad. Evra floated the theory that the reason he retired on a whim is because he wanted 200 million to sign Ronaldo and Bale, and got turned down.
redIndianDevil said:
SAF also has to take the blame for the David Moyes debacle as well. He was the club and he should have known better.
Click to expand...
David Moyes was our 5th choice manager, behind the likes of Pep, Ancelotti, Jose and Klopp. Can't blame him for it considering everyone else refused to take up the job.
 
ArmaDino said:
Blame the Glazers who didn't give him any funds to refresh our squad. Evra floated the theory that the reason he retired on a whim is because he wanted 200 million to sign Ronaldo and Bale, and got turned down.
Click to expand...
That wouldn’t have fixed our ageing defense and even worse midfield.
 
The root of all our issues has been employing people who aren't competent at the role they're in. From Woodward to managers who have too much control, all the way to overpaid players. Our recruitment is the sole reason for everything that has gone wrong. The worst thing is we don't quickly rectify it, we double down and hand out long term contracts and live in this fairytale world where time will magically make everything better.
 
ayushreddevil9 said:
That wouldn’t have fixed our ageing defense and even worse midfield.
Click to expand...
You do realize that you need money to do that, right? Money which we didn't have because of the Glazers. Just look at how we "replaced" Ronaldo or the signings we made at time. Or are you trying to tell me that the man who spent a fortune on Stam, Ferdinand and Veron, all of the sudden decided against spending to sign world class talent?

At the time we had Smalling who was viewed as one of the best prospects in the country, Jones who SAF compared to Duncan Ferguson and Evans who was slowly becoming a mainstay in our side. Couple them with an ageing Ferdinand and Vidic who could still give us one good match a week and the defense didn't look too bad.

The midfield had been neglected for years. However I do remember SAF having Thiago all but wrapped up only for Moyes to pull out at the last second.
 
Woziak said:
Interesting listening to Wayne Rooney today on Talk Sport Stating that United need a British core and right now they don’t have enough PL proven players and British players who understand the club and understand the league.

Maybe an emphasis on a British spine might help in the short term to improve, however we should only be buying absolutely Elite British players.

We need a left footed CB, a Left back, at least two midfield players, one CM and one BTB goal scoring midfielder, a new experienced right winger and a new CF.

The real question here is would
J Branthwaite, A Robinson(yes he’s a US international but he’s born in MK),
C Rigg or A Wharton, M Roger’s or M Gibbs white, J Bowen or T Dibbling, Ollie Watkins or Evan Ferguson would any 5 player combination of those players really improve our squad plus add D Wellbeck on a 2 year contract to give us experience up front.

Obviously 5 or 6 of them would cost £250-300m and I’m not sure how the club would generate the cash, even if we sold Casemiro, Bruno, Malacia, Lindelof and Antony for £100m, would SJR want to add another £100-150m to become a very definite Brexit FC.
Click to expand...
I love Rooney but I don't agree at all on that. We just need better players (perhaps he has a point with the PL proven part.) But this whole understanding the club bit is just stupid. I doubt Rodri really 'understood' the club (whatever that really means) when he arrived at City. Same with Dias, Bernardo Silva, and all the other quality players who have helped City dominate.
 
jem said:
I love Rooney but I don't agree at all on that. We just need better players (perhaps he has a point with the PL proven part.) But this whole understanding the club bit is just stupid. I doubt Rodri really 'understood' the club (whatever that really means) when he arrived at City. Same with Dias, Bernardo Silva, and all the other quality players who have helped City dominate.
Click to expand...
No but they all understood a Latin manager and his style of play, if they didn’t Pep moved them out very quickly?
 
Woziak said:
No but they all understood a Latin manager and his style of play, if they didn’t Pep moved them out very quickly?
Click to expand...
So the secret is to get players who will be receptive to a managers ideas (as well as very skilled), regardless of their passports, no?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.