Presumably they're using that angle because there's very little substance in it. Just like all those stories about players/managers Ratcliffe favoured, which was even more transparent.
Transfer Tweets - Manchester United - 2023/24
- Thread starter mazhar13
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Presumably they're using that angle because there's very little substance in it. Just like all those stories about players/managers Ratcliffe favoured, which was even more transparent.
It's a way for newspapers to still sell their papers. They have no evidence, so they can fabricate a story and say it's Ashworths fault it never happened. If challenged they can say their source must have been wrong.
My guess is, at this time, they're assuming that the club will go through a ton of turnover as part of Ratcliffe's revamp, and Ashworth's the man who'll fulfill Ratcliffe's vision. They're also assuming that no one else who's currently in United will execute said vision.
More info on Dougie Freedman (Tier 2):
Palace's successful signings have mostly been players who were doing well statistically in the championship although some were on loan there from bigger teams
They've mostly worked out and been worth the money so hey I'm sure its better than what we've been doing but he's hardly unearthing players from nowhere or something like that. He's just been paying attention to who is doing well in the championship
Players who were signed for decent money that werent in the championship :
Check Doucoure yep he's probably worth the £19.3 million they paid for him, Joaquim Anderson yes he's worth a lot more than the just under £15 million they paid for him so a huge win there. Edouard for £14 million was fine although he doesnt always keep his place in the team. Franca is 19 and too early to say but he probably hasnt looked a £17 million player in his 225 mins so far since his summer signing
Several signings from the French league which have gone pretty well and a French player from a Scottish club who has done okay. So players doing well in the Championship and France for the most part
With United he'd have more resources and we've been terrible with recruitment so at least Palace are mostly getting it right with known players assuming you take time to see whats going on in France or the Championship. I think realistically if he wanted to sign those same players at United we'd have been asked for £5-15 million more on each and at that point most of them dont look like big successes for how they have performed. That would be one of the issues of maintaining a good record of recruitment
Ah yes, overrated English defenders from Palace who cost double their value is very like us.
You could dress it as he's found astute signings for the level required though. Anderson could undoubtedly play at a top 4 side, in fact I'm surprised more big clubs haven't been linked with him given how well he plays out of the back.
Besides him they are mainly aiming to stay in the league, and I'd say they've built a pretty young side that should be able to maintain that for a good while.
His big test will be can he spot players with an even higher bracket of potential that Palace wouldn't have been able to afford.
Well at least Dougie is an actual football guy. So his CV is better than the lads before him 
For sure they've had little money to spend and they havent wasted it. And in fact I think you're doing the players hes signed a disservice because plenty of them are better than some players we have in our squad in the same positions, or would be a good improvement on what we have starting.
I just think that as soon as he makes the call to a championship club etc coming from United instead of Palace the fees double so it'll be harder to get them right.
I think most of the players I talked about would be fine in our squad if not strong first team starters, its just whether they are worth significantly more money than Palace paid for them.
Olise for example was the best young midfielder in the championship after Bellingham left. Palace are able to sign him for just under £8 million. Dan James was never one of the best wingers in the championship and he cost United £15.2 million
Olise would have been well worth £20 million or more that we'd likely have been asked to pay instead of Palace. Several of the signings they made would have been worth the extra money. But not all of them
Guehe, Olise, Eze and Anderson were all signed for under £20 million each and if a top club wanted to sign any of them now they'd likely be asked to at least double what was paid for them.
But then you have a few others where I dont think thats the case. Odouard and Doucoure for example might have been worth what they paid but not the extra we'd have had to pay signing them with the clubs knowing we have more money than Palace and we tend to spend a lot. And discerning which ones are worth the extra and which ones arent would be key.
Oh they certainly have a select few that would start for us, but then we're not at the level I'd argue of a top 4 side. How many of them get into Arsenal, City or Pool side?
Also, I'm not actually criticising them, I just think we'd be looking to spend in the next bracket up for our up and coming players. When was the last time a big club, signed a young exciting player, ready for the first team for less than 40m?
Rather than signing players that are performing in the championship I'd more expect us to sign the exciting talents performing in Europe's top 5 leagues.
It's where I believe scouting differs at top clubs, rather than unearthing gems no one has heard of, you need to analyse which players have the skills you are missng and would fit in. It's where we've gone wrong for a good while now. Players such as Wirtz, Caqareut etc are performing well and could be ready for the step up, but they aren't exactly unknown, and would be out of Palace's budget.
City - Alvarez. 14m
As I pressed post, I thought ah shit Alvarez, but he was still widely known about, and there were a host of clubs interested so he fits the theme, even if he was significantly cheaper than usual
Freedman can bring Eze and Olise with him.
To those saying Freedman should bring along players from Palace, would you not be more interested in him bringing along the players Palace would be replacing them with?
I mean it's obviously not quite as simple as that, but you stand to get a much better upside out of signing Ronnie Edwards than Marc Guehi, for example.
I mean it's obviously not quite as simple as that, but you stand to get a much better upside out of signing Ronnie Edwards than Marc Guehi, for example.
Who's doing that?
We're not bringing this guy in so that we can poach players from Palace.
From what I've seen people are discussing whether any of the players brought in at Palace under his watch would be of the required standard for us. That isn't to suggest we should go out and buy them now because we've got him. Obviously, if he's good at his job then he should be able to recruit players who are a good fit for United, within our budget and ambitions, as he was at Palace, which had a different set of criteria.
The dude above me for one
Why would you get a much better upside?
Oh I don't see everyone's posts. You probably should have just replied to that one person then. I'd interpret that more if a throwaway 'these two are good players' line than anything else.
I assume the point is that you get them cheaper, as Palace do, before they then sell them on for a much bigger fee (to us in this scenario).
Of course, one of the reasons why the fee is higher is because they're now more experienced, proven PL players - rather than the rawer gambles when they arrive at the likes of Brighton and Palace.
So both scenarios are fine for me, it's just about how often you get the decisions right about which to gamble on early, at a cheaper price, and which you sign for a bigger fee because you've seen enough to convince you they could step up a level in club to justify paying the more inflated fee for them.
Probably, yeah. I've heard that line of thinking quite a lot and seemed to have thought there were a few posts aligned to it in this thread.
As in if you cut out the middle man (the financially healthy PL club) then the money goes a lot further and you can potentially end up with a player just as good anyway. As I type, @Bertie Wooster covers both sides of it well.
Tier 2:
Tier 2:
- All parties are relaxed over the new contract talks. Mainoo's focused on his football at this time.
- Mainoo's performance-related bonuses have been triggered.
Source (Tier 2):
Why does anyone think de Zerbi is an upgrade?
He's got Brighton playing some of the best football I've seen in the league for a good amount of years.. one thing ETH has struggled to do so far in the Prem.
He wouldn't be my first choice but definitely in the top 5 without a doubt. Mine would be
Alonso (no chance)
Nagelsmann
Inzaghi
Tuchel
De Zerbi
My worry about looking at how well de Zerbi has done at Brighton is that there's plenty of examples over the years of managers doing well at well run or nouveau riche clubs and not really kicking on elsewhere - as it was more a reflection that the club is a well functioning machine, or at the start of 'buying' success, rather than the manager being exceptional.
Not saying that automatically applies to De Zerbi as well. But his CV isn't really all that in terms of calibre of club, or honours won, and I definitely think he'd be a huge gamble. Though in the absence of many elite options, I think we are likely to go down the 'gamble' route in terms of a younger manager not used to big clubs, rather than those on the 'big club merry-go-round' like Mourinho and Tuchel.
We're going to be seeing this alot over the coming weeks now. I'd be shocked if ETH is here next season.
Pretty much agree with apart from Tuchel.. the comments from Muller worry me a tad at how strict he is with tactics and instructions. Would love Alonso but as you say there is no chance with so many teams needing managers in the summer.
Perfect comparison would be Potter.. was doing a brilliant job until he made the step up with Chelsea. De Zerbi does have some Champions League experience under his belt which helps and like I say his football is just
.This is just tenHag all over again. The latest flash in the pan hipster manager. What has deZerbi actually won? Oh, the Ukrainian super cup. Whoop de doo, Basil! He won less than Ole has!
He’ll come in, we’ll be decent for 12 months, might pick up a cup and a top 4 and then we’ll be back here pining after the new flavour of the month in 2 years time. Rinse and repeat.
Meanwhile Brighton will continue to impress as they do with a replacement manager because they have structure, planning and vision.
Pretty much agree with apart from Tuchel.. the comments from Muller worry me a tad at how strict he is with tactics and instructions. Would love Alonso but as you say there is no chance with so many teams needing managers in the summer.
Perfect comparison would be Potter.. was doing a brilliant job until he made the step up with Chelsea. De Zerbi does have some Champions League experience under his belt which helps and like I say his football is just
Who would you swap Tuchel for?
Flick
Yeah another good shout,maybe I'm a bit blinded with Tuchel due to Champions League win
I don't think INEOS are that stupid as to consider DeZerbi an upgrade on Ten Hag.
He is the worst on the list. Except for Alonso, the other 3 are gettable in the summer.
Possibly Zidane but is he an upgrade on ETH? I'm not sure, I feel like he needs to prove himself somewhere that isn't Madrid first and develop a proper style of play.
God knows what we're going to do if we get rid.. more confident of us making a correct call with INEOS here now.
Yeah I mean he's done feck all really. They finished 9th under Potter the season before he took over. He had one season where they played above themselves and they're 9th again.
I don't see it being an issue, everyone and his dog wanted Erik provisionally on the basis of what he displayed at Ajax but he lacked the conviction (and ability) to transition those successive elements in a more demanding league with a different subset of players. The club is on the right track conceptually to demand a front foot approached manager.
In any profession especially management poor performance is always the factor of dismissal, the lack of structure at the club isn't evident in the events of a manager merry go round, but rather the mismatched approach of targeting various profile of managers that demonstrates the hierarchy's lack of a cohesive strategy. If United are subsequently looking at the same sphere of intentions prior to when Erik was hired, then that is the proverbial indication of falling forward.
Does De Zerbi have the personality to manage Man Utd everyone says EtH has no charisma and is a bit boring, but I haven’t seen much from De Zerbi either
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