What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

I don’t think we need much except good tactics and the players to play like the should and can. It’s the players attitudes not their abilities.
I think there was an interview about a year ago where someone inside the club basically said that ETH isn't a players manager. The warmth that comes across in his interviews (or lack of it) is how he is with the players as well.

How many players would be sad to see him go?
 
To stop signing players with so many handicaps. Antony, Casemiro, Ugarte, Onana, Martinez, AWB, Fernandez etc. One thing you note with all the big teams is that they hardly sign one dimensional players.

You can’t build a midfield when all your players cannot do all the basics of midfield to a mid table level.
Fernandez is terrible at ball retention
Cassemiro is terrible at all retention and passing and running with the ball.
Ugarte based on my limited knowledge seems to be the AWB of midfielders.

Barcelona have Pedri, FDG and Olmo . Guys seem to be good at everything you want your midfielders to be good at .
City Rodri, Gundogan, Kovacic. The odd one is KDB is more like Fernandez but not as bad with ball retention.
Arsenal , Liverpool, Bayern etc use the same formula.
Hell if you look at Anderson and Cleverly, Fletcher and Carrick, etc offered more in terms of midfield play than any combination we can field now. None of those players were world class.
 
The one thing that could save us is signing or developing a great attacking talent. Our attack is pathetic and although we do have young players with potential we don't have a great attacker. I don't count Bruno as one. Whenever a generational attacker comes on the market we have to make an attempt to get them in.
 
I think we need to reconfigure our midfield because its poorly designed. We need a playmaking CM to partner Ugarte, if he settles into his role and then maybe use Kobbie further forward as attacking 8. The 4-2-3-1 is just killing us in big games, atm I'd take Rabiot to come and partner Ugarte/Casemiro at the base of midfield just to stabilize things and build a platform off which the whole team will play.

Rabiot is not gonna happen unfortunately but yeah I would definitely have taken him as well
 
Given up hoping for possession based CM under Erik who clearly doesn't value it whatsoever. Ideally would love to sign Williams/Kvaratskhelia but not without Champions League
Is it not more that to do that you need to get rid of Bruno and we aren’t ready to do that. Cas would need to go also of course but that is a lot of midfielders to bring in to start to add some control.

I do think it’s something we need to do but it’s going to take time. We need at least 2 more midfielders never mind what happens if we get rid of Bruno and Cas.

Do think the Rashford thing has to come to a head soon especially if Amad keeps improving and Garnacho does as well. There will be no reasoning for continuing to play Rashford soon.
 
The one thing that could save us is signing or developing a great attacking talent. Our attack is pathetic and although we do have young players with potential we don't have a great attacker. I don't count Bruno as one. Whenever a generational attacker comes on the market we have to make an attempt to get them in.

Annoyingly Chelsea have snapped up Estevao. He looks like the next big thing. Below are the others I’d like us to go for, or in Guler’s case, be keeping an eye on in case an opportunity arises.

Arda Guler
Roony Bardghji
Sverre Halseth Nypan
 
Annoyingly Chelsea have snapped up Estevao. He looks like the next big thing. Below are the others I’d like us to go for, or in Guler’s case, be keeping an eye on in case an opportunity arises.

Arda Guler
Roony Bardghji
Sverre Halseth Nypan

Which of those do you think fits our biggest issue
 
Which of those do you think fits our biggest issue

Guler would obviously come in and be able to have an impact immediately either as someone to swap Bruno out for without losing his creativity, or as someone who could play as a wide playmaker on the right. So if he was interested due to limited minutes at Real, he’d be the more guaranteed success.

Bardghji did his ACL I believe near the end of the last season so we’ll have to see how he recovers when he’s back hopefully later this year. He’d be a no-brainer as an Antony replacement on the right and would be cheap come the summer as his contract expires Dec 2025.

Nypan is super interesting. Reminds me a lot of Florian Wirtz with his ball control or a young De Bruyne with his ball carrying and progression. For the price he’d cost <€20m he’d be another no brainer.

None of the really solve our current problem though as they are all either attacking 8s or 10s or RWs, as I was responding to the guy saying we need a top quality attacking talent. We’ll have to wait and see how Ugarte fits in and impacts the team, but I still think our deeper midfield area is the biggest problem. Who knows, maybe this Kone will surprise us and solve all our problems…
 
Is it not more that to do that you need to get rid of Bruno and we aren’t ready to do that. Cas would need to go also of course but that is a lot of midfielders to bring in to start to add some control.

I do think it’s something we need to do but it’s going to take time. We need at least 2 more midfielders never mind what happens if we get rid of Bruno and Cas.

Do think the Rashford thing has to come to a head soon especially if Amad keeps improving and Garnacho does as well. There will be no reasoning for continuing to play Rashford soon.

Yeah mad as it might sound there will come a time we need to sell Bruno in order to rebuild midfield
 
Guler would obviously come in and be able to have an impact immediately either as someone to swap Bruno out for without losing his creativity, or as someone who could play as a wide playmaker on the right. So if he was interested due to limited minutes at Real, he’d be the more guaranteed success.

Bardghji did his ACL I believe near the end of the last season so we’ll have to see how he recovers when he’s back hopefully later this year. He’d be a no-brainer as an Antony replacement on the right and would be cheap come the summer as his contract expires Dec 2025.

Nypan is super interesting. Reminds me a lot of Florian Wirtz with his ball control or a young De Bruyne with his ball carrying and progression. For the price he’d cost <€20m he’d be another no brainer.

None of the really solve our current problem though as they are all either attacking 8s or 10s or RWs, as I was responding to the guy saying we need a top quality attacking talent. We’ll have to wait and see how Ugarte fits in and impacts the team, but I still think our deeper midfield area is the biggest problem. Who knows, maybe this Kone will surprise us and solve all our problems…

Nypan more likely to be a January or summer move?
 
I am already thinking of next summer :

Outs
Casemiro
Maguire
Rashford
Mount
Onana

Ins
Wharton
Williams or Mitoma (Williams likely to go Barcelona)
Branthwaite
Diogo Costa
Nypan
 
I am already thinking of next summer :

Outs
Casemiro
Maguire
Rashford
Mount
Onana

Ins
Wharton
Williams or Mitoma (Williams likely to go Barcelona)
Branthwaite
Diogo Costa
Nypan
Mhh

I would like to See this:

Out :

Antony
Casemiro
Eriksen
Lindelöf
Mount
Malacia

In :

Backup IV ( issa diop, Skriniar…)
Nypan
Zubimendi
Bakayoko
Locko (Brest)
Eze (Palace)

Would be nice ☀️
 
We need to add a few youngsters who can be developed either into first team players or sold on for a profit. It’s very important to help with PSR and it’s something we haven’t done enough of. Someone like Pellistri wasn’t a success but even despite poor loan spell choices he still ended up as a profit in the books.

Next summer Maguire, Lindelof and Evans will all leave and I’m guessing replaced with just one signing. Erisken will leave and need replacing as well.

I think we also need a new keeper, a left back, another midfielder and a winger and that’s assuming we see big improvements from at least three of the attacking players we currently have. Going to be difficult to move on likes of Onana, Casemiro, Antony and Rashford but did manage to do it with Sancho so who knows.
 
Mhh

I would like to See this:

Out :

Antony
Casemiro
Eriksen
Lindelöf
Mount
Malacia

In :

Backup IV ( issa diop, Skriniar…)
Nypan
Zubimendi
Bakayoko
Locko (Brest)
Eze (Palace)

Would be nice ☀️

Outs (€120m)

Casemiro €20m
Antony €25m
Lindelof €0m
Malacia €15m
Eriksen €0m
Collyer €25m
Mount €35m

Ins (€250m)

Nypan €15m
Jorrel Hato €50m
Angel Gomes €0m
Baleba €60m
Adingra €60m
Guler €65m
 
I'd guess something like this is the way forward:

------------------Hojlund/Zirkzee
LW(Garnacho)------------Amad(Garnacho)
---------Mainoo(#8)--Bruno(Mount)
--------------------Ugarte(DM)--------
LB(Shaw)-------------------------Dalot/Mazraoui
-------Lisandro(Yoro)-DeLigt(Yoro)--------
---------------------Onana(GK2)-------------------

-The best winger we can sign, ideally an LW. Rashford probably sticks around and Antony leaves as the 4th winger, but wouldn't rule out a Rashford exit. Hopefully one of the young academy wingers breaks out in say 2 years (Lacey will be 19, Mantato will be 18, but wingers do sometimes become first teamers at that age) to replace Rashford, barring some great renaissance from him.

-Need a 3rd proper midfielder to go with Ugarte and Mainoo, even if Kone and Collyer are fighting for the 4th spot, which seems about right.

-Obviously need an LB. Amass' timeline seems like it will coincide well with Shaw aging out of the team, so might as well sign a 25 year old first team player there to compete with Shaw for now and if he's just okay, hopefully Amass can take his job in a couple years.

-We should probably sign a young keeper, even if we loan him out to play somewhere.

-Punt on an LCB as 4th CB.

That seems doable next summer.

Absurd money on a winger, Zirkzee/DeLigt level money on a midfielder, best LB we can find (assuming Davies goes to Madrid and Theo isn't interested that's probably not going to be more than 30-40M) and 15-20M each on a keeper punt and a young LCB.

If we need to sell, it's probably Mount to a mid-table side for big money and finding a backup #10 isn't the end of the world, we could play Mainoo there some, probably a bit of Zirkzee or Amad if need.
 
We still need a midfield, and nothing will change until that happens. Nauseating how Liverpol got a 21 year old Gravenberch and 24 year old MacAllister for the same amount that we paid for Casemiro alone.
 
We still need a midfield, and nothing will change until that happens. Nauseating how Liverpol got a 21 year old Gravenberch and 24 year old MacAllister for the same amount that we paid for Casemiro alone.
On lower wages too
 
We still need a midfield, and nothing will change until that happens. Nauseating how Liverpol got a 21 year old Gravenberch and 24 year old MacAllister for the same amount that we paid for Casemiro alone.

INEOS would have found those kind of deals, unfortunately Toy Story puppet, Arnold and Murtough hadn't a clue with negotiating transfers. Next summer would love to see

Costa
cheap LCB (can play LB too)
Zubimendi (just to feck off scousers)
Backup CM
Williams

Problem is that still leaves us short of an experienced goalscorer, got my doubts we will just discard Onana too. So maybe we prioritise the former over the latter.
 
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For next summer, let's go British again:
- LB Leif Davies
- backup LCB Branthwaite?
- backup DM Hayden Hackney
- backup CM Angel Gomes

Alongside international starters:
- GK Diogo Costa
- LW Kvaratshelia?
 
I am already thinking of next summer :

Outs
Casemiro
Maguire
Rashford
Mount
Onana

Ins
Wharton
Williams or Mitoma (Williams likely to go Barcelona)
Branthwaite
Diogo Costa
Nypan

Mitoma? Not only do I think he's very overrated, and would be our 3rd best winger at best behind Rashford and Garnacho, but do you think Brighton would sell for a reasonable fee considering the player's going to be 28 years old, and still have 2 years left on his contract?

He's one of those players that won't get their big move in their careers IMO. The top clubs know he's not worth big money, and Brighton probably wouldn't sell for £20-30m.

Also, if we sell Rashford, we need to get an inside forward in who can get you at least 30 G/A a season, or set up our front three and Bruno in a way that allows Hojlund to score 40 goals per season. Rashford to Mitoma is an astronomical downgrade. The level of player we should target in the case of a sale is Vini, Rodrygo, Leao, or someone like Anthony Gordon.
 
Mitoma? Not only do I think he's very overrated, and would be our 3rd best winger at best behind Rashford and Garnacho, but do you think Brighton would sell for a reasonable fee considering the player's going to be 28 years old, and still have 2 years left on his contract?

He's one of those players that won't get their big move in their careers IMO. The top clubs know he's not worth big money, and Brighton probably wouldn't sell for £20-30m.

Also, if we sell Rashford, we need to get an inside forward in who can get you at least 30 G/A a season, or set up our front three and Bruno in a way that allows Hojlund to score 40 goals per season. Rashford to Mitoma is an astronomical downgrade. The level of player we should target in the case of a sale is Vini, Rodrygo, Leao, or someone like Anthony Gordon.
Astronomical downgrade, fecking hell :lol:
Tell me what has Rashford done recently to have earned this honour. I don't think Mitoma ultimately is good enough for where we should be, but he is much better than Rashford at almost everything other than long shots. And why does Rashford's replacement need to get us at least 30 G/A season? So many questions.

It doesn't stop there, you go on to compare Vini and Anthony Gordon as similar quality.
 
Astronomical downgrade, fecking hell :lol:
Tell me what has Rashford done recently to have earned this honour. I don't think Mitoma ultimately is good enough for where we should be, but he is much better than Rashford at almost everything other than long shots. And why does Rashford's replacement need to get us at least 30 G/A season? So many questions.

It doesn't stop there, you go on to compare Vini and Anthony Gordon as similar quality.

I didn't compare Vini and Gordon, and they're obviously not similar quality. But even that wouldn't be as bad as saying Mitoma is "much better" than Rashford. That's literally an all-timer awful take.
 
1- manager
2- LB
3- CM (dlp who can defend)
4- DM
5 - RW
 
I didn't compare Vini and Gordon, and they're obviously not similar quality. But even that wouldn't be as bad as saying Mitoma is "much better" than Rashford. That's literally an all-timer awful take.
Why is it that in almost every thread and subject, you're able to argue your case with good arguments and well thought out posts, but anything related to Rashford, your posts are just completely devoid of any argument and directly attack the post criticising him? What do you see with Rashford, that almost every United fan don't? Something tells me you've realised he isn't that good, but you've been "arguing" your case for so long, that you think you can't back down now and accept defeat. That, or you are related to him somehow.

Now, to compare Mitoma and Rashford, let's take a look at their actual skill set and go through it. Dribbling it's not even close, Mitoma is able to take on players successfully with varying methods, while Rashford (current, not in his prime) runs into defenders.
As for ball carrying, Mitoma is streets ahead and the statistics will back that up easily.
Decision making. Do I really need to go through this? Rashford is possibly one of the worst attackers in the league for decision making.
Passing. Mitoma is a better short passer and linking up with team mates, while Rashford is better at long passing and got a greater range of pass.
Creativity. Mitoma is far ahead. Rashford, other than surprising fans with a nice long pass on occasion, is extremely lacking creatively. It is either a back or sideways pass or running into defenders, which is one of the reasons we struggle to break teams down. It also boils down to decision making.
Finishing and goal scoring. Rashford wins here, but not by much as we can see on the statistics. One thing is prime Rashford and the other is the Rashford we've seen in his last two years. He scored a lot of goals in the first half of 22/23 season, then been abysmal since.
Press resistance and tight spaces. Mitoma. Does not need to be discussed, really.
Work rate. Mitoma so, so far ahead.
Playmaking. Mitoma. Rashford is extremely selfish and doesn't understand the power of playmaking.

So again, I ask, what is it that you see with current Rashford? What makes him this irreplaceable star winger? Your last comment doesn't bother me. I find it funny when numerous posters have called you out several times precisely for your awful takes on Rashford.
 
Mitoma? Not only do I think he's very overrated, and would be our 3rd best winger at best behind Rashford and Garnacho, but do you think Brighton would sell for a reasonable fee considering the player's going to be 28 years old, and still have 2 years left on his contract?

He's one of those players that won't get their big move in their careers IMO. The top clubs know he's not worth big money, and Brighton probably wouldn't sell for £20-30m.

Also, if we sell Rashford, we need to get an inside forward in who can get you at least 30 G/A a season, or set up our front three and Bruno in a way that allows Hojlund to score 40 goals per season. Rashford to Mitoma is an astronomical downgrade. The level of player we should target in the case of a sale is Vini, Rodrygo, Leao, or someone like Anthony Gordon.
[/QUOTE]

I didn’t realise Mitoma was 27. For some reason I thought 24/25. So maybe you’re correct there. I disagree on players for so called mid table sides not being able to step up. Look how well Mane did at Liverpool. Maybe Mbeumo? Or Lookman. I would like us to sign a good established premier league player mid twenties to help take the load of Amad and Garnacho as still both so young. One of the reasons I think Rashford has fallen off as he played so much so young. Fergie protected Giggs, Ronaldo, Nani , Becks etc.


Ok lets get this straight you genuinely think we have any chance of getting Vini or Rodrygo? We never signed Madrids key players when we were good. Let alone now? More chance of any of us having a one night stand with Michelle Keegan.

Leao very good player. But high wages, risk of not adapting to new league. But he is probably the best winger on his day in Serie A .
 
Why is it that in almost every thread and subject, you're able to argue your case with good arguments and well thought out posts, but anything related to Rashford, your posts are just completely devoid of any argument and directly attack the post criticising him? What do you see with Rashford, that almost every United fan don't? Something tells me you've realised he isn't that good, but you've been "arguing" your case for so long, that you think you can't back down now and accept defeat. That, or you are related to him somehow.

Now, to compare Mitoma and Rashford, let's take a look at their actual skill set and go through it. Dribbling it's not even close, Mitoma is able to take on players successfully with varying methods, while Rashford (current, not in his prime) runs into defenders.
As for ball carrying, Mitoma is streets ahead and the statistics will back that up easily.
Decision making. Do I really need to go through this? Rashford is possibly one of the worst attackers in the league for decision making.
Passing. Mitoma is a better short passer and linking up with team mates, while Rashford is better at long passing and got a greater range of pass.
Creativity. Mitoma is far ahead. Rashford, other than surprising fans with a nice long pass on occasion, is extremely lacking creatively. It is either a back or sideways pass or running into defenders, which is one of the reasons we struggle to break teams down. It also boils down to decision making.
Finishing and goal scoring. Rashford wins here, but not by much as we can see on the statistics. One thing is prime Rashford and the other is the Rashford we've seen in his last two years. He scored a lot of goals in the first half of 22/23 season, then been abysmal since.
Press resistance and tight spaces. Mitoma. Does not need to be discussed, really.
Work rate. Mitoma so, so far ahead.
Playmaking. Mitoma. Rashford is extremely selfish and doesn't understand the power of playmaking.

So again, I ask, what is it that you see with current Rashford? What makes him this irreplaceable star winger? Your last comment doesn't bother me. I find it funny when numerous posters have called you out several times precisely for your awful takes on Rashford.

In a nutshell: Because I firmly believe Rashford is one of the best left wingers on the planet, and there are very few better PnP inside forwards around. I also don't buy this bad attitude talk, it's as if people want to make him out as another Lingard or Sancho, just because they're friends, but in reality it's far from the truth.

His two bad seasons out of the last 5 came in horrible teams (21/22, 23/24), and last season he was also shoehorned into a touchline winger-esque role which doesn't suit him at all, and he's unable to maximize his strengths in that position.

I also don't agree at all with your comparison between Rashford and Mitoma. Also, one of Rashford's worst seasons in his career was last season, and that's still on par with Mitoma's best ever seasons. Rashford is in a different stratosphere to him and I'll maintain that opinion.

Most managers would be sensible enough to first, create a better tactical environment where every player, including Rashford, can do a better job, and secondly, deploy him as an inside forward where he will rack up 30 G/A in any semi-decent top 4 contender side, as we've seen in 19/20, 20/21, and 22/23. It seems like ten Hag isn't able or willing to do that, and Rashford is one of the casualties of this.

So to me, we have a world class Carrington youth product with no attitude issues, that gets labelled as a mid-table player with a stinking attitude by 80% of the fan base, and I find that really infuriating. Same goes for Maguire. He's been one of the best CCBs in the world for the last 6-7 years, but a large chunk of football fans are laughing at him every week, thinking he's some bum that belongs in the Championship.
 
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In a nutshell: Because I firmly believe Rashford is one of the best left wingers on the planet, and there are very few better PnP inside forwards around. I also don't buy this bad attitude talk, it's as if people want to make him out as another Lingard or Sancho, just because they're friends, but in reality it's far from the truth.

His two bad seasons out of the last 5 came in horrible teams (21/22, 23/24), and last season he was also shoehorned into a touchline winger-esque role which doesn't suit him at all, and he's unable to maximize his strengths in that position.

I also don't agree at all with your comparison between Rashford and Mitoma. Also, one of Rashford's worst seasons in his career was last season, and that's still on par with Mitoma's best ever seasons. Rashford is in a different stratosphere to him and I'll maintain that opinion.

Most managers would be sensible enough to first, create a better tactical environment where every player, including Rashford, can do a better job, and secondly, deploy him as an inside forward where he will rack up 30 G/A in any semi-decent top 4 contender side, as we've seen in 19/20, 20/21, and 22/23. It seems like ten Hag isn't able or willing to do that, and Rashford is one of the casualties of this.

So to me, we have a world class Carrington youth product with no attitude issues, that gets labelled as a mid-table player with a stinking attitude by 80% of the fan base, and I find that really infuriating. Same goes for Maguire. He's been one of the best CCBs in the world for the last 6-7 years, but a large chunk of football fans are laughing at him every week, thinking he's some bum that belongs in the Championship.
Your red tinted glasses are a strong prescription!

Curious what it takes for realisation to set in?
 
@The-Mezzala

There are many players in the Premier League at mid-table clubs, who are ready to make the step up to a better club. I just don't think Mitoma will get that opportunity, due to his age, and the price Brighton would likely demand for him. Maybe I worded my post badly or you misread it.

Regarding the availability of other players: I don't know what's going to happen in 12 months' time, 24 months' time, and so on. No one does. This will obviously depend on several things.

Are we going to be in a promising position to attract big talents? By that, I mean are we going to have a decent squad, playing good football, have a manager with a secure short-term future leading the club, etc.

Are we going to be in a good situation with PSR?

Will AC Milan need to sell, or will they be in a position where they can refuse big money for one of their best players? Is the player interested in leaving? If yes, would he want to go to Manchester United? What are his salary demands? Which other clubs are in the race for him? etc.

Same question can be applied for the two Madrid players.

No one can predict these things, but I'm pretty sure this attacking trio of three left wingers where two of them have to be shoehorned into a position where they don't feel that comfortable, will not last long. So I'm expecting one of Vini or Rodrygo to leave Madrid in the next few years.

Not many would've predicted 12 months ago that De Ligt would be available for 38 million and that he would prioritize United over every other interested club. Not many would've guessed that Yoro can be swayed from Madrid either.

There are big surprises happening in the market every season, and even a half-decent United side can attract the biggest names in football, so if an elite option appears on the market for a position we need, I think there's reason to fancy our chances. Whether that will be the case or not, we don't know yet, but I'm sure as hell not giving up on Rashford, because I know how good he is.
 
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Your red tinted glasses are a strong prescription!

Curious what it takes for realisation to set in?

It's called player profiling, and realizing that when a player doesn't perform, it's often not because he's shit, but due to other factors, especially when they've shown how great they are before.

And in some teams' case, it's even more evident, because 90% of their squad doesn't just forget how to play football overnight. Instead, it's usually the tactical system and team environment that's not up to par. See United last season, or Chelsea in the last two seasons.
 
It's called player profiling, and realizing that when a player doesn't perform, it's often not because he's shit, but due to other factors, especially when they've shown how great they are before.

And in some teams' case, it's even more evident, because 90% of their squad doesn't just forget how to play football overnight. Instead, it's usually the tactical system and team environment that's not up to par. See United last season, or Chelsea in the last two seasons.
You make it sound like a player can always be turned around and be the same or better

If only life were that simple
 
Why another DM when we have just purchased Ugarte and Kone? Are you writing them off before kicking a ball?

Yeah should give him Kone a chance and sign better GK instead whether Costa/Maignan, still worry about the lack of a proven goalscorer as well
 
Why another DM when we have just purchased Ugarte and Kone? Are you writing them off before kicking a ball?

He is too young for regular football (as cover/competition for ugarte) especially when one take into account what eth expects out of his dm
 
Agreed. Maybe Collyer can be the backup DM, but we might up also needing a new GK and CF.

I think United's biggest issue at the moment is managerial. We've known for years (Mou, Ole, Rangnick and ETH) that our forward line isn't up for grabs. Yes its lethal in quick counters but it can't break a low block. ETH's approach to that is to triple down on that tactic by committing as many people upfront as possible and raise the tempo to a ridiculous level. That doesn't really cut it for 2 main reasons

a- such tempo won't make us effective. The ball is delivered too quickly, our players aren't intelligent/technical enough to exploit the situation and defenses in England can usually handle them even en masse
b- With our wingbacks + wingers + Bruno playing so high, it leaves us ridiculously exposed to counter attack. The CBs + DM can't cover for that.

I think that we need to lower the tempo and give the team time to built its attack. If they can't crack a low block then its evident that they aren't good enough and they need replacing. There's no beating around the bush around that anymore
 
I do agree that ETH's tactics are the main problem, and we have to change the man if we really want change.

But god do we need a midfielder like this. How some United fans dont see this is beyond me.