That's fair, i just think our transfer model is awful and the dealing of contracts and anything on the football side of things is rotten from the top.
What do we still need? Aka The never ending story
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That's fair, i just think our transfer model is awful and the dealing of contracts and anything on the football side of things is rotten from the top.
It’s been appalling. Both in terms of who we have been buying, Lukaku, Sanchez, Di Maria, Schweinsteiger etc. Then the contract extensions of Rojo, and Jones in particular have been inexcusable.
I do think we’ve turned a corner under OGS, but we do need a Dir of Football, or someone overseeing what we are doing, otherwise when OGS leaves at some point, we are at the whim of a new manager - it can’t continue like that.
RW (Sancho)
LB with attacking qualities (I really like the looks of Regulion)
CB
Attacking options as depth - with signing Sancho you already add natural depth with Greenwood/Rashford dropping to the bench. I'd also add somebody like Brooks.
We also need a starting quality DM but that will probably wait.
Wishful thinking from all of us to think this will be done though.
LB with attacking qualities (I really like the looks of Regulion)
CB
Attacking options as depth - with signing Sancho you already add natural depth with Greenwood/Rashford dropping to the bench. I'd also add somebody like Brooks.
We also need a starting quality DM but that will probably wait.
Wishful thinking from all of us to think this will be done though.
Yeah we would definitely be more effective with sorting transfers if we ever appointed one but you get the distinct impression that Woody & Judge (god sounds like an awful double act doesn't it) aren't willing to relinquish any control over that side of things
I agree an attacking LB & DM should be higher up the priority list than it is, however reckon Utd see it as fourth and fifth right now behind RW, CB & AM
For CB look no further than Thiago Silva. He is available for free and still head and shoulder above most of the defender out there. just like maldini I believe he can play till 40. I am happy to have him in arsenal as our defense is a mess too, only if we can satisfy his salary demand.
GK - De gea/Henderson
CB - Maguire/Bailly/Lindelof/Axel
FB - Shaw/AWB/Williams
CM - Pogba/Fred/Matic/McTominay
FW - Martial/Rashford/Greenwood/BrunoMata/Lingard/Pereira/James
If you go by the 2 for each position way of squad building and apply the system we use in at least 90% of our games, then it's easy to see the issues. The 4 CB options aren't bad as Axel and Bailly have the attributes to work with Maguire, problem is neither can stay fit for 5 minutes to see if they could cement the position. We need a fullback addition unless Ole has plans for Laird as I think Dalot will be sold.
Midfield quality is good to decent, but it's unbalanced, we have a majestic but at times frustrating enigma in Pogba, 2 workhorse box to box CM's and an aging holder with poor mobility and stamina, someone who should be a squad player next season with a younger, fitter and more mobile upgrade brought in.
In attack we have Martial and Rashford coming off good seasons where they have played in a settled position most of the time after years of chopping and changing, Bruno has started very well and hopefully will build on that form next season, and then we have a very special talent in Mason. I didn't include Igalho in the attacking competition options as Ole barely uses him and I think he'll be off back to China in January. The other 4? None of them are good enough, you could argue that Mata could play a few CL group games against poorer teams but that's about it, the other 3 offer pretty much nothing bar energy.
Obviously this board wont sort all of these issues out in one window, but if Ole doesn't get a top attacker and a top CB or DM at least, then expectations should be no more than 4th for him next season.
CB - Maguire/Bailly/Lindelof/Axel
FB - Shaw/AWB/Williams
CM - Pogba/Fred/Matic/McTominay
FW - Martial/Rashford/Greenwood/Bruno
If you go by the 2 for each position way of squad building and apply the system we use in at least 90% of our games, then it's easy to see the issues. The 4 CB options aren't bad as Axel and Bailly have the attributes to work with Maguire, problem is neither can stay fit for 5 minutes to see if they could cement the position. We need a fullback addition unless Ole has plans for Laird as I think Dalot will be sold.
Midfield quality is good to decent, but it's unbalanced, we have a majestic but at times frustrating enigma in Pogba, 2 workhorse box to box CM's and an aging holder with poor mobility and stamina, someone who should be a squad player next season with a younger, fitter and more mobile upgrade brought in.
In attack we have Martial and Rashford coming off good seasons where they have played in a settled position most of the time after years of chopping and changing, Bruno has started very well and hopefully will build on that form next season, and then we have a very special talent in Mason. I didn't include Igalho in the attacking competition options as Ole barely uses him and I think he'll be off back to China in January. The other 4? None of them are good enough, you could argue that Mata could play a few CL group games against poorer teams but that's about it, the other 3 offer pretty much nothing bar energy.
Obviously this board wont sort all of these issues out in one window, but if Ole doesn't get a top attacker and a top CB or DM at least, then expectations should be no more than 4th for him next season.
Would say it's more likely we go for a CB than a DM this summer, honestly think if we were looking at one then would have heard us linked to some and there hasn't been anything at all
Can't deny that but i keep bringing it up as it's insane how it's being ignored, Maguire and Lindelof isn't a great partnership but they often have very little protection from midfield.
I totally agree with you especially when someone like Partey is still on the market for a very decent release clause
With the signing of VDB imo we only need a good RW. If we manage to do that I'm happy with this windows. And if the reports are true we'll sign some very potential youngsters as well.
Of course we still have many positions to improve but imo it's not as urgent as a RW. And we can't sign like 4-5 good players a windows. A good player now is min 40-50m. 2 may be 3 is ok for me. Especially considering the current climate.
Of course we still have many positions to improve but imo it's not as urgent as a RW. And we can't sign like 4-5 good players a windows. A good player now is min 40-50m. 2 may be 3 is ok for me. Especially considering the current climate.
Would be great to see us that Reguillon to give Shaw competition at LB and looks a decent price too
Of course, the more we can strengthen the better for sure.
But I'm still happy if we only get VDB and a good RW this windows.
Not going to happen this window. Think OGS will promote Laird asap for cup games/rotation at RB and allow Williams to cover for LB.
Resouces better spent at RW and/or CB, with RW as the priority. I'm happy with DeBeek and Sancho this summer.
We can focus on CB, LB and DCM next summer, by which time Upamecano will have better experience and stats to judge.
Still reckon we will get Jadon then?
Funny, I saw that Gouiri scored on his debut for Nice the other day. Was a player I really wanted us to sign before he got a serious injury. Searched him on an old thread I started on Aug 23rd 2018 and sad to see, although I wouldnt do the exact ins and outs as I mentioned (and got absolutely battered for) then, just shows how slow we are moving players on as some still here should have been moved on then and how at the time we have been so slow monitoring young players, as a fair few of those we are getting linke dwith now, this is the ins and outs i mentioned at th etime:
Out
Lee Grant (age)
Young (age)
Darmian (not good enough)
Valencia (age)
Rojo (not good enough)
Lindelof (not good enough)
JOnes (injury prone)
McTominay (not good enough)
Fellaini (doesnt suit style of play)
Pogba (consistency and unrest)
Martial (performances and unrest)
Sanchez (performances, age, salary)
Mata (age, not right for style of play)
In
Upemecano £70m
DeLight £40m
Wan Bissaka £40m
Ascacibar £30m
NDOmbele £50m
Guimaraes £40m
Gouiri £35m
Jadon Sancho £40m
Chiesa £70m
Out
Lee Grant (age)
Young (age)
Darmian (not good enough)
Valencia (age)
Rojo (not good enough)
Lindelof (not good enough)
JOnes (injury prone)
McTominay (not good enough)
Fellaini (doesnt suit style of play)
Pogba (consistency and unrest)
Martial (performances and unrest)
Sanchez (performances, age, salary)
Mata (age, not right for style of play)
In
Upemecano £70m
DeLight £40m
Wan Bissaka £40m
Ascacibar £30m
NDOmbele £50m
Guimaraes £40m
Gouiri £35m
Jadon Sancho £40m
Chiesa £70m
Donny is a good first signing but we have a lot left to do this summer if we want to significantly improve and close the gap as much as possible
Oh yeah there is no doubt about that but at least it sounds like we are making moves though which is a positive
Wow... one transfer and the excitement is back !!
So *IF* we can land Sancho I see all our attack and Mid options sorted for this year. This gives us Matic, Pogba, Bruno, DvdB, Fred, McT nd Garner out on loan. That is some solid talent and lots of versatility on how we can line-up. Honestly I am excited to see how this all comes together and I would not be surprised if Pogba decided to stay, *IF*...
We get Sanco. Because if we get Sancho our attack will be loaded with class and many players would love watching that talent play and to play with that talent.
So at least I am hoping for that one statement signing
!
So *IF* we can land Sancho I see all our attack and Mid options sorted for this year. This gives us Matic, Pogba, Bruno, DvdB, Fred, McT nd Garner out on loan. That is some solid talent and lots of versatility on how we can line-up. Honestly I am excited to see how this all comes together and I would not be surprised if Pogba decided to stay, *IF*...
We get Sanco. Because if we get Sancho our attack will be loaded with class and many players would love watching that talent play and to play with that talent.
So at least I am hoping for that one statement signing
!We just need depth. Easier said than done but I would have the below:
GK: De Gea/Henderson
RB: AWB/Laird/Williams
CB: Maguire/Upamecano/Lindelof/Bailly/Mengi/Tuanzebe
LB: Reguilón/Shaw/Williams
CM: Pogba/Matic/Fred/McTominay/Garner/New DM possibly?
CAM: Bruno/Van De Beek
LW: Rashford/James
ST: Martial/Greenwood/Ighalo
RW: Sancho/Greenwood
GK: De Gea/Henderson
RB: AWB/Laird/Williams
CB: Maguire/Upamecano/Lindelof/Bailly/Mengi/Tuanzebe
LB: Reguilón/Shaw/Williams
CM: Pogba/Matic/Fred/McTominay/Garner/New DM possibly?
CAM: Bruno/Van De Beek
LW: Rashford/James
ST: Martial/Greenwood/Ighalo
RW: Sancho/Greenwood
As well as being average, Donny doesn't solve any of our current midfielder problems either. We still only have Matic as a DM, and he should not be starting regardless of being a big fan of his myself, and we have no creative back-up for Pogba and Bruno. We've just signed another workhorse when we've already got Fred and McTominay. Just strange from the club.
Wish we could get RW, AM, LB & CB this window but one of the last two will have to be sacrificed
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Ideally between this summer and next summer we'd get:
- Right wing starting - Sancho
- Left back starting - Reguillon
- Center back starting - Upamecano
- Deep lying playmaker starting - not sure
- Attack depth - not sure (brooks or king?)
- Romero
- Smalling
- Jones
- Rojo
- Matic
- Pereira
- Mata
- Lingard
- Ighalo
Keep changing my mind out of which is more important this summer out of a CB/LB. On the one hand Shaw could definitely do with some competition at LB but on the other I also worry about going into next season with just Bailly/Axel as the backup CB options too.
I think it really depends on the players leaving. If Dalot leaves, it makes sense to shift Williams to RB and sign a new LB ... personally I hope we don't give up on Dalot yet, but if we do, signing a LB this summer is smart. There's solid LBs on the market for 20-30m like Reguilon and Telles, might be well worth it. At CB, I think we need to get rid of two in order to sign one ... room is crowded as it is (not in terms of quality, obviously). Hopefully we can agree a deal with Roma for Smalling, and then let's pray someone takes Jones off our hands ...
If I had to choose, I'd probably sign a LB this summer and leave the CB until next summer because I want to go "big" there. I'd rather wait until next year and sign someone like Upamecano than just sign another body this summer that doesn't really give us an upgrade.
Yeah ideally I would like for us to be able to wait until next year and sign someone big at CB too,however can we afford to take the risk on either Eric/Axel not breaking down with injury again for a sustained period of time
Who will take Jones given his wage and injury record? Ditto Rojo. I genuinely think we are stuck with them until their contracts end. Its idiotic that we've allowed this to happen. The Lingaard / Perreira (and to extent Mata) situation is similar. Get rid of those and we would have space to add some more quality and continue Ole's project. But at the moment I cannot for the life of me see anyone taking any of them.
yeah I doubt we'll be able to get rid of Rojo. He's been taking the piss last season and he will happily do that again next season, no doubt about it. But with Jones, I still hold faith that he actually cares about his career and understands that he has no future here. Here's hoping ...
Do you reckon that Ole is going to be targeting a rotation/starter CB next summer
Reguilon, Sancho and a centreback.
Then we have a quality 15 players who can start.
Then we have a quality 15 players who can start.
I wonder how many more players we’ll get in. I think 2 more.
Two weeks away from our first game and we have one signing. Bit underwhelming, the window might not close for some time yet, but the games at the start of the season give as many points as any other.
At the start of the window I felt the priorities were Sancho, a holding midfielder and a CB, then I saw Van der Beek, Grealish or some other versatile creative midfielder as a depth option if we had anything left. So far we've only done the latter. Now it's clear Sancho has always been the only "marquee" attacker we are interested in, it'll be him or nobody feel.
The other 2 positions are harder to read, like it felt we were ignoring the holding midfielder role and it feels that Thiago is our only hope there, I figure we'll know one way or another over the next week. The CB situation seems dead in the water, Upamecano and Badiashile aren't happening and we passed on Gabriel, so it looks instead like we've switched to a LB in Reguilón which means we've got to hope Axel or Bailly can step up as I don't see any future in the Maglof partnership.
The other 2 positions are harder to read, like it felt we were ignoring the holding midfielder role and it feels that Thiago is our only hope there, I figure we'll know one way or another over the next week. The CB situation seems dead in the water, Upamecano and Badiashile aren't happening and we passed on Gabriel, so it looks instead like we've switched to a LB in Reguilón which means we've got to hope Axel or Bailly can step up as I don't see any future in the Maglof partnership.
A week and a bit left for the club to get Ole in some players in time for the season. So far we haven't even improved our first 11 and haven't gotten his top target. Clock is ticking.
At a push Shaw could play CB which i feel would be his long term position anyways
I'm pretty sure Rojo, Mata and Lingard only have 1 year left, so they'll either leave now or next summer, jones we are stuck with thou,
I think it would be brilliant window if we can get Sancho, VDB & Reguilon,turns into a unbelievable one if a certain other player could be landed.
I am absolutely certain we aren't signing a CB this summer unless Leipzig have a miracle change of stance on him.
I am absolutely certain we aren't signing a CB this summer unless Leipzig have a miracle change of stance on him.
They could hold the fort for the next season like they did the previous one. And next season hopefully we could get our preferred CB target. While sorting out the LB position, which is equally important IMO.
It looks like this summer we’ll hopefully have sorted the following
RW - Sancho
CAM backup - VDB
LB - Reguilon
Next summer I assume we’ll go for the following:
CDM - Zakaria, Rice, etc
CB - it seems like Upamecano would be the first choice with Badiashile the potential second choice.
ST - we’ll need a backup striker for Martial, but I don’t think we’ll spend big, possibly a Josh King or maybe even that young Brugge player Dennis would be a good signing.
RW - Sancho
CAM backup - VDB
LB - Reguilon
Next summer I assume we’ll go for the following:
CDM - Zakaria, Rice, etc
CB - it seems like Upamecano would be the first choice with Badiashile the potential second choice.
ST - we’ll need a backup striker for Martial, but I don’t think we’ll spend big, possibly a Josh King or maybe even that young Brugge player Dennis would be a good signing.
We probably need a few more players with brain cells.