I would take Maz, as he reminds me a lot of Tomiyasu. Good, solid and versatile with a good work ethic and you know you'd get a solid performance with no issues. And I would take De Ligt as back up, as he's a step above Kiwior. And I would take Amad off the bench, I genuinely believe the boy can be a star if he doesn't go the Rashford way. That's about it. Bruno is not good enough at all for a high pressing possession system and his attitude stinks.
We've got a Top 4 squad...
- Thread starter M Bison
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A top 4 squad? Far off
No way do we have a top 4 squad. All but a handful of our players wouldn't be out of place at a West Ham or a Fulham... And actually a few of them aren't even good enough for them.
It isn't a top four squad for the simple reason that we don't have an elite attacker.
Chelsea have Palmer, Arsenal have Saka, Liverpool have Salah, City have Haaland
Our best attacker is Bruno, and he's the most frustrating, wildly inconsistent footballer on the planet. The rest are kids or not good enough.
Chelsea have Palmer, Arsenal have Saka, Liverpool have Salah, City have Haaland
Our best attacker is Bruno, and he's the most frustrating, wildly inconsistent footballer on the planet. The rest are kids or not good enough.
'Tis true. And when everything isn't going as we want it to go, the lack of work-rate to compensate for the lack of genuine quality drags us even further down and makes us look worse than several truly midtable (on paper) squads. Something that Amorim, a month into the job, has also hinted at.
We’re too close to a bottom 4 squad for my liking.
Theoretically, how much money could our owners inject for transfers if they decided a one-time overhaul was needed?
How many years of higher league finishes and Champions League would it take to earn most of it back? Like 3-4 years?
Gyokores
Hojlund
Son / Palmer --- Bruno
Mount --- Kulusevski / Trincao
Kerkez / Mendes --- Baleba --- Ugarte --- Amad
Carreras --- Mainoo --- Palhinha / Hjulmand --- Quenda / Mazraoui
Martinez --- De Ligt --- Yoro
Shaw --- Zabarnyi / Diomande --- Huijsen / Mazraoui
Verbruggen / Trubin
Onana
How many years of higher league finishes and Champions League would it take to earn most of it back? Like 3-4 years?
Gyokores
Hojlund
Son / Palmer --- Bruno
Mount --- Kulusevski / Trincao
Kerkez / Mendes --- Baleba --- Ugarte --- Amad
Carreras --- Mainoo --- Palhinha / Hjulmand --- Quenda / Mazraoui
Martinez --- De Ligt --- Yoro
Shaw --- Zabarnyi / Diomande --- Huijsen / Mazraoui
Verbruggen / Trubin
Onana
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De Ligt, Mazraoui, Ugarte, Bruno and Amad are the only players in the squad who are good enough to be starters for a top 4 side right now. We are nowhere near good enough to be considered a top 4 team.
Definitely not a top 4 squad.
Forrest are top 4, I reckon Nuno would take our squad over theirs. Bournemouth are 5th, Villa are 6th. There’s no way those squads are better than ours.
I watched Spurs vs Scousers earlier, Liverpool are a well oiled machine but man for man, I just don’t think there’s that many who aren’t similar ability, ignoring the obvious ones in Salah and VVD which is why they’re top of the league.
My point is, the players are massively underperforming and are far better than they’re showing, we don’t need a mass overhaul imo, we just need our players to raise their games 10% and we’ll be there or thereabouts.
The easiest one to point to is Licha for me, he’s woeful at the moment, but he looked one of the best defenders in the league when he first came in. Mainoo is another one, looked like a world beater and the whole nation was asking for him to play in the euros and we were crying out for a partner for him. I could reference others, but fundamentally the point is the same, just raise our bloody game!
I watched Spurs vs Scousers earlier, Liverpool are a well oiled machine but man for man, I just don’t think there’s that many who aren’t similar ability, ignoring the obvious ones in Salah and VVD which is why they’re top of the league.
My point is, the players are massively underperforming and are far better than they’re showing, we don’t need a mass overhaul imo, we just need our players to raise their games 10% and we’ll be there or thereabouts.
The easiest one to point to is Licha for me, he’s woeful at the moment, but he looked one of the best defenders in the league when he first came in. Mainoo is another one, looked like a world beater and the whole nation was asking for him to play in the euros and we were crying out for a partner for him. I could reference others, but fundamentally the point is the same, just raise our bloody game!
You wouldn’t take Mainoo ?
You’ve been watching a very different Man Utd team to me for the last two years if that’s the case
We would be top 4 with a proper left wing back, a striker and probably a midfielder.
To win the league and champions league, like we should, we would need to be looking at more changes like my previous post for additional quality and depth.
Players like Antony and Zirkzee should leave in january. They are not good enough.
To win the league and champions league, like we should, we would need to be looking at more changes like my previous post for additional quality and depth.
Players like Antony and Zirkzee should leave in january. They are not good enough.
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You must massively overrate a lot of our players.
On players like Martinez, Forest for example have better PL CBs in Murillo and Milenkovic.
We need a huge overhaul. Need to get rid off Lindelöf, Dalot, Evans, Malacia, Zirkzee, Antony, and probably Rashford, Eriksen, Mount and Case. That's massive
Our forwards are worse than Bournemouths which says a lot
Aston Villa have a better starting 11 than us. We don’t have a single player that gets into Liverpool’s current starting 11. There isn’t a top 10 side who would swap our attack for theirs - West Ham are 14th and they have Kudus and Bowen who would both get games here. We are a very average football team - I don’t know much much longer we have to be bottom half for before that starts dawning on people. We’re bobbins and have been for some time.
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Name one attacker we have who is unquestionably one of the best in the league. Therein lies our problem.
We don't, City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have definitely better squads than ours. Then there's Spurs, Villa, Newcastle, Brighton who I would say have similar quality to ours.
Our problem is were missing key players in key positions. A good striker and competent wingbacks would do wonders for us.
This players aren't ideal to Amorim system so we look worse than we could be with this players under another set up. But we hired Amorim to implement his set up, so players must and will be changed the set up won't.
Our problem is were missing key players in key positions. A good striker and competent wingbacks would do wonders for us.
This players aren't ideal to Amorim system so we look worse than we could be with this players under another set up. But we hired Amorim to implement his set up, so players must and will be changed the set up won't.
Three quality signings will make this a top 4 squad. Striker as a priority, left wing back and left centre back.
Proper CM is needed who can control the tempo of the game. A younger version of Eriksen
Liverpool signed Alexis Mac and Jota for less than 80m I think. Mbuemo and Semenyo are good ages with 2-3 years of good premier league experience so people shouldn't be surprised at having to pay 50m +. Those types feel better fits for where Man. United are currently than taking more punts on players from Holland or other leagues.
You could do worse than enquire about Douglas Luiz given his lack of impact at Juventus.
I would take Maz and sell Tomiyasu (as he's always injured). I'd take De Ligt as Kiwior is many levels below than him. I'd take Amad as we only have Saka, Martinelli and Trossard right now. I'd take Mainoo if we were selling Partey as it'd be a dream to have a young talent with 15 years ahead of him. But only if we were selling Partey as we have too many defensive midfielders who do a great job. In midfield we severely lack Odegaard's replacement, someone who creates, runs and presses non-stop from 0 to 90 minutes.
The fact that we've spent more or less a billion on this squad does not mean it's top 4. We are too far from the top 4 even to consider this comparison. I wonder if we are top 8 right now.
Agree. We have a lot of expensive players, but most of them are far as good as their price label indicates.
No we do not have. Look at our attack and that is not even good to be in top 8. Stop deluding ourselves
We have a bunch of very meek men with no bite whatsoever, which is why we concede a lot from setpieces.
Our team is definitely underperforming relative to some of the teams above us in the league but the basic errors we're seeing on a regular basis aren't close to the standards of a top 4 team.
We're starting to see shoots of a good team with Amorim's system but it's also really exposing those who aren't good enough for what they are. That might be a good thing longer term if we're as ruthless as we need to be in the next couple of transfer windows, but it doesn't make it any less painful to watch us being shown up by the likes of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
We're starting to see shoots of a good team with Amorim's system but it's also really exposing those who aren't good enough for what they are. That might be a good thing longer term if we're as ruthless as we need to be in the next couple of transfer windows, but it doesn't make it any less painful to watch us being shown up by the likes of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Engagement bait thread
Players so good that many of them have now failed under a string of different managers. Players so good that nobody wants to touch them or their grossly inflated salaries with a barge pole when they're made available for sale. Players so good that they've guided the club to 13th with a negative goal difference, after finishing 8th last year with a negative goal difference.
Top four though, deffo. Amorim out. Big Sam in.
Top four though, deffo. Amorim out. Big Sam in.
That will make us challengers.
Liverpool signed Robertson from a relegated Hull for about £8m, and look at the career he had at Liverpool
We need a lot of work to get a top 4 squad. Shortlist of realistic players:
Semayno
Joao Pedro
Cunha
Ait-Nouri
Antonee Robinson
Murillo
Baleba
Semayno
Joao Pedro
Cunha
Ait-Nouri
Antonee Robinson
Murillo
Baleba
When I opened up this thread I thought it was created a few seasons ago.
A top 4 squad doesn't allow themselves to get knocked out of the cup midweek and conceded 4 goals to average Tottenham side and followed it up by losing 3-0 at home to average Bournemouth.
A top 4 squad doesn't allow themselves to get knocked out of the cup midweek and conceded 4 goals to average Tottenham side and followed it up by losing 3-0 at home to average Bournemouth.
We don't, wake the F up. I would only want about 3 players in this team starting next season on matchday 1. The rest should be new transfers.
Maino, decent prospect but starting over Partey or Rice?
I couldn't disagree more with the OP. Maybe Bruno on his day and potentially Amad and Mainoo if they develop well this season would get into top 4 squads. Mazraoui possibly at a push. Not seen enough of Ugarte and De Ligt. The rest are mid table quality. We were lucky to finish 8th last season, and we are exactly where we deserve to be this season.
Not in this league. Maybe the Championship. This team is saddled with players that are not up to standard. Today they couldn’t string two passes together. If Ruben had a magic wand he would keep maybe 4 of this lot and start over.
Impossible mission. I think we have only Bruno, well not in his current form but with better teammates, in a better team he could shine again. The rest never. If i have a look at 12 teams above us on the table, maybe Fulham and Brentford have weaker squads. The other 10 are definitely stronger. Having said that, Fulham is unbeaten in the last 5 rounds, while we have 3 losses... Stating that we have a top4 squad is absolutely mad, sorry. Not sure if we have a top10 squad.