What do we still need? Aka The never ending story
- Thread starter Devil may care
- Start date
We need a midfielder as we hopefully sell Fellaini and need to get ready if Matic drops his level again.
More importantly, we need a new RB as well as a CB while we sell our dead wood
More importantly, we need a new RB as well as a CB while we sell our dead wood
We need to concentrate on CB the most though. We've spent millions the last few years on CBs (signings and wages) and haven't got anything to show from it.
But also a new RB. Valencia is done, Young old, Dalot not ready
I really like the way Meunier is playing football. I have scout and observed him since the first day i came over his name. He is really good with the ball, to be such a big and tall player. So i rate him really high. If I coach and manage him. I would try to develop him as a deep cm player. He has everything to play as dictate cm player. Because he is really good with the ball. Dribling and pass players and passing. Good with shielding the ball with his body. And he has decent speed in his big and tall body. So i would definitive like to have him in team if i manage a club like United.
Example of Meunier in the team, in a 4-4-2
Meunier - De Jong/Lindelof - Smalling - Shaw + Sancho - Witsel/De Jong/Kante - Pogba - Martial + Lukaku/Sanchez - Rashford.
And as deep laying dcm in 4-3-3
De Jong - Meunier/Witsel - Pogba + Sancho - Rashford - Martial
A RW is a must. A DCM replacement soon for Matic in Witsel is a must too. A CB and RB
4 new players :
RW - Sancho
DCM - Witsel
CB - De Ligt and maybe Koubaly swap for Bailly
RB - Meunier. If not Meunier, then others good and upcoming RB in Bissaka or Doherty from Wolves could be options too. But Meunier is clearly above those 2 i have mentioned here. So that are the positions i think United need most. Maybe a RB is not much needed as the 3 others positions. Those are the positions United can strenght most.
Example of Meunier in the team, in a 4-4-2
Meunier - De Jong/Lindelof - Smalling - Shaw + Sancho - Witsel/De Jong/Kante - Pogba - Martial + Lukaku/Sanchez - Rashford.
And as deep laying dcm in 4-3-3
De Jong - Meunier/Witsel - Pogba + Sancho - Rashford - Martial
A RW is a must. A DCM replacement soon for Matic in Witsel is a must too. A CB and RB
4 new players :
RW - Sancho
DCM - Witsel
CB - De Ligt and maybe Koubaly swap for Bailly
RB - Meunier. If not Meunier, then others good and upcoming RB in Bissaka or Doherty from Wolves could be options too. But Meunier is clearly above those 2 i have mentioned here. So that are the positions i think United need most. Maybe a RB is not much needed as the 3 others positions. Those are the positions United can strenght most.
I think I have finally settled on what we need. We need to do a lot and it cannot wait till the summer. It needs to start now; at least a couple in and a couple out.
Out:
Two of Rojo, Bailly and Jones
Valencia
Darmian
Mata
Fellaini
McTommy
Pereira
Lukaku
In:
A new dominant center back
A player who can play RB and CB (Primarily RB)
A new LB (Tierney?)
New central midfielder (Can play with Pogba & also depute in his position when required)
Timo Werner
Nabil Fekir
Promote Tuanzebe and some other talented youngsters.
I don't think we can challenge, or even get close, without making those changes. That's the minimum we require. We have a good 13-14 first team quality players. Rest are bog standard and need to be replaced.
Need to get going now or there will be too much left to do in the summer.
Out:
Two of Rojo, Bailly and Jones
Valencia
Darmian
Mata
Fellaini
McTommy
Pereira
Lukaku
In:
A new dominant center back
A player who can play RB and CB (Primarily RB)
A new LB (Tierney?)
New central midfielder (Can play with Pogba & also depute in his position when required)
Timo Werner
Nabil Fekir
Promote Tuanzebe and some other talented youngsters.
I don't think we can challenge, or even get close, without making those changes. That's the minimum we require. We have a good 13-14 first team quality players. Rest are bog standard and need to be replaced.
Need to get going now or there will be too much left to do in the summer.
After today's game, it was annoying to watch our backup midfielders and our fullbacks add to that CBs, Don't know but we have an awful lot to improve.
Agree 100% If one of Herrera Matic or Pogba gets injured think back up midfielder not good enough to step up. Need to get in CB, New Right back, Midfielder and right winger.
Matic's backup or replacement even. 2 CB. 1 RW
We need a lot. Starting front 4 are fine but we lack depth in many positions and defence is an absolute mess. We need a starting top level cb, a good rotation cb, a starting rb, a starting/rotation lb, a starting cm (defensive), and a starting/rotation rw.
How does it work with a interim manager? Is it harder to sign players considering the next manager isn’t confirmed.
In terms of getting out the many players most have listed- seems like those are needed for the squad till we sign more. How does that usually work? Sign new first- then sell the old?
In terms of getting out the many players most have listed- seems like those are needed for the squad till we sign more. How does that usually work? Sign new first- then sell the old?
Given the cost of quality players in today's market. I think the club will bring in 2 first team players in the summer. For me, the best positions for these would be CB and RB. Lindelof is a good CB, he just needs a good partner who can then have Smalling as back up. Valencia needs to be released and a new, experienced RB needs to be ahead of Dalot.
I'd love a new RW to come in but that would cost a lot too. I think our defence needs more work than attack if we are to prioritise positions.
Shaw and Young could get through another season at LB.
If we strengthened RB and CB, then I think we are in a really good place.
I'd love a new RW to come in but that would cost a lot too. I think our defence needs more work than attack if we are to prioritise positions.
Shaw and Young could get through another season at LB.
If we strengthened RB and CB, then I think we are in a really good place.
It's up in the air now as I think so much will have to change instantly during the Summer, but not necessarily the squad that much (at least initially). I am convinced there is a long-term strategy coming into play, which has probably already begun. Ole will not be here next season, I am going to go out on a limb and say that regardless of how well he does for the remainder of his spell. Some may disagree, but I think he could win the FA Cup, finish 4th, at least get past PSG in the Champion's League, and still not get the job because the overall rebuild is already decided. We should see the new manager come in, with a Director of Football, and possibly many changes in the higher up boardroom staff. Ed Woodward should only be involved in marketing and sponsorship deals because he is clearly one of the best at that, but in terms of footballing decisions, I'd wager he has less of a clue than your average fan. Once all of that is in place, the work begins to get us back to challenging for major honours. I am personally willing to give this some time, even if we go 2-3 years without a major trophy, as long as we can see the progress being made.
Regardless of the above and things needing to be assessed by off-the-field bodies, there are some squad changes that I think are blindingly obvious and must happen in the Summer. I've mentioned this before, but the best start in terms of transfers that I think are available is signing Toby Alderweireld from Spurs. We could probably get through next season defensively if we sell/let go Jones, Rojo, and Darmian and only sign Toby. The money we can get from those players leaving and their combined wages would basically cover his purchase and sign on fees along with his wages. Combined wages of Jones, Rojo, and Darmian is around £180k, which is around what Toby would demand (maybe up to £200k). Assuming Jones doesn't leave on a free, we can probably get close to what Toby would cost (£25m + £5-10m sign-on fee outright) from the sale of the three aforementioned players. A starting backline of Dalot/Smalling/Alderweireld/Shaw with Valencia/Bailly/Lindelof/Young in reserve seems like enough for one season where the aim should only be to get in/stay in the top four.
In the second and third year of the manager's new process, we should be looking to offload Valencia, Young, Fellaini, Matic and probably Mata. Maybe McTominay, Bailly, Sanchez, and Herrera/Fred depending on how things go for them and obviously, find replacements who are significant improvements. It's probably still going to cost over £600million over this period and if it goes smoothly enough, we should be at least close to winning a title again.
Regardless of the above and things needing to be assessed by off-the-field bodies, there are some squad changes that I think are blindingly obvious and must happen in the Summer. I've mentioned this before, but the best start in terms of transfers that I think are available is signing Toby Alderweireld from Spurs. We could probably get through next season defensively if we sell/let go Jones, Rojo, and Darmian and only sign Toby. The money we can get from those players leaving and their combined wages would basically cover his purchase and sign on fees along with his wages. Combined wages of Jones, Rojo, and Darmian is around £180k, which is around what Toby would demand (maybe up to £200k). Assuming Jones doesn't leave on a free, we can probably get close to what Toby would cost (£25m + £5-10m sign-on fee outright) from the sale of the three aforementioned players. A starting backline of Dalot/Smalling/Alderweireld/Shaw with Valencia/Bailly/Lindelof/Young in reserve seems like enough for one season where the aim should only be to get in/stay in the top four.
In the second and third year of the manager's new process, we should be looking to offload Valencia, Young, Fellaini, Matic and probably Mata. Maybe McTominay, Bailly, Sanchez, and Herrera/Fred depending on how things go for them and obviously, find replacements who are significant improvements. It's probably still going to cost over £600million over this period and if it goes smoothly enough, we should be at least close to winning a title again.
We need an dominating experienced CB like Alderweireld or Koulibaly and then more depth in the full back positions. If we fix that we've got a very good team in my opinion.
In order of priority, I’d say:
- commanding, strong in the air LCB.
- right back to take over from Young and rotate with Dalot (Wan Bissaka) or mentor him (Meunier)
- #6 to take over from Matic.
- RW to give us a more traditional option rather than false RW that Mata/Lingard offer.
- commanding, strong in the air LCB.
- right back to take over from Young and rotate with Dalot (Wan Bissaka) or mentor him (Meunier)
- #6 to take over from Matic.
- RW to give us a more traditional option rather than false RW that Mata/Lingard offer.
Ruben navas will be a great option. Send Mc tominay on loan or sell him.
I have decided 
We should go all in for Sancho in summer. He's perfect for us, young, English and most important, plays as RW.
We should go all in for Sancho in summer. He's perfect for us, young, English and most important, plays as RW.
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Meunière would be a great option. Impresses me every time I watch him
A CB and RW surely have to be signed in the summer, would be negligent not to strengthen those two positions.
I would add another full back and a midfielder to the list as well. I would like to see whoever the manager is be quite ruthless with outgoings in the summer as well.
We need to move away from quantity over quality, making do in positions or keeping players because they do a job or aren’t as bad as so and so.
I would add another full back and a midfielder to the list as well. I would like to see whoever the manager is be quite ruthless with outgoings in the summer as well.
We need to move away from quantity over quality, making do in positions or keeping players because they do a job or aren’t as bad as so and so.
Koulibally, Milenkovic Paredes this window.
DDG
Dalot/Milenkovic - Milenkovic/Smalling - Koulibally - Shaw
Herrera - Paredes - Pogba
Rashford - Lukaku - Martial
Meunière, Hernädez, Kroos and Sancho in the summer.
DDG
Meunière - Milenkovic - Koulibally - Hernädez
Kroos - Paredes - Pogba
Sancho - Rashford - Martial
Second XI
Romero
Dalot - Bailly - Linderlöf - Shaw
Fred - Herrera - Periera
Lingard - Lukaku - Chong
Plus Periera, Laird, Tuanzebe, Garner, Gomes and Greenwood
Say goodbye to Grant, Valencia, Darmian, Young, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, TFM, Mitchell, Mata, Matic, Fellaini, McTominay, Wilson and Sanchez.
DDG
Dalot/Milenkovic - Milenkovic/Smalling - Koulibally - Shaw
Herrera - Paredes - Pogba
Rashford - Lukaku - Martial
Meunière, Hernädez, Kroos and Sancho in the summer.
DDG
Meunière - Milenkovic - Koulibally - Hernädez
Kroos - Paredes - Pogba
Sancho - Rashford - Martial
Second XI
Romero
Dalot - Bailly - Linderlöf - Shaw
Fred - Herrera - Periera
Lingard - Lukaku - Chong
Plus Periera, Laird, Tuanzebe, Garner, Gomes and Greenwood
Say goodbye to Grant, Valencia, Darmian, Young, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, TFM, Mitchell, Mata, Matic, Fellaini, McTominay, Wilson and Sanchez.
Stop dreaming ...
Stop Dreaming ? No chance, eat, sleep, dream United my friend.
We should be all in for Koulibaly, Wan-Bissaka, Neves and Sancho. Those 4 in and off load all dead weight (Fellaini, Baillly, Jones, Rojo, Mata, McTominy, Young, Damien and maybe even one of Lukaku/Sanchez if the economy requires it).
Give Shaw and Fred one more season to prove they are United quality or else replace them in summer 2020. This team could win the league and CL. Of course it will be very expensive, but we have the money and selling some guys will make some extra for us. Not winning titles will be more expensive for the club in the long term, so pay up and let's get back were we belong - at the top.
DDG
Wan-Bissaka Lindelöf Koulibaly Shaw
Fred Neves Pogba
Sancho Rashford Martial
Romero
Valencia Smalling Tuanzebe Dalot
Herrera Matic Andres
Lingaard Lukaku Sanchez
Give Shaw and Fred one more season to prove they are United quality or else replace them in summer 2020. This team could win the league and CL. Of course it will be very expensive, but we have the money and selling some guys will make some extra for us. Not winning titles will be more expensive for the club in the long term, so pay up and let's get back were we belong - at the top.
DDG
Wan-Bissaka Lindelöf Koulibaly Shaw
Fred Neves Pogba
Sancho Rashford Martial
Romero
Valencia Smalling Tuanzebe Dalot
Herrera Matic Andres
Lingaard Lukaku Sanchez
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I think a DM, CB and a LB will be enough.
Matic is not all that in the defensive phase, is slow in possession, ageing and we barely have any backup nor another option for the DM position. I think a DM is a priority.
I don't think we will be in for a forward. Although it depends on who the next permanent manager will be, but we have Sanchez, Martial, Lukaku, Rashford and Lingard - 5 quality players for three positions + a host of youngsters coming through.
I'd say we are very light on the full backs, and with Darmian and Valencia likely leaving, we'd have Dalot, Shaw and Young as first teamers. I think we could do with competition for Shaw with Dalot-Young covering the right side. Maybe see how Dalot develops before going for a RB.
Matic is not all that in the defensive phase, is slow in possession, ageing and we barely have any backup nor another option for the DM position. I think a DM is a priority.
I don't think we will be in for a forward. Although it depends on who the next permanent manager will be, but we have Sanchez, Martial, Lukaku, Rashford and Lingard - 5 quality players for three positions + a host of youngsters coming through.
I'd say we are very light on the full backs, and with Darmian and Valencia likely leaving, we'd have Dalot, Shaw and Young as first teamers. I think we could do with competition for Shaw with Dalot-Young covering the right side. Maybe see how Dalot develops before going for a RB.
I don't think this is possible even on FM/FIFA/PES or any other game out there, let alone in real life
Attacking Right Back
Creative midfielder
20+ Goal scoring CF or RW
CB
Creative midfielder
20+ Goal scoring CF or RW
CB
RW - Jadon, Chiesa, Suso or Thuavin (between 40m-90m)
RB - Milenkovic (40m) or Rafael (free?)
CB - Toby (25m)
LB - Tierney (30m)
In that order
RW is a must. We lack any form of creativity from the RW. Id love to see Jadon coming to United. He's the type of winger we need. Alternatively someone like Chiesa, Suso or Thuavin will do
RB- I think Milenkovic would be a good signing. He offers more physicality to Dalot and he's comfortable both as RB and as CB. If we can't get him then maybe Rafael on free would be a good cover/competition for Dalot
CB- Toby would be a great signing. He's experienced which means we can get rid of Jones and Rojo + he's cheap which means we can spend the money somewhere else. An alternative to him would be Godin or Manolas. I'd love to see us sign De Ligt for the future. However that would cost a bomb.
LB- Tierney would be a great signing for us. He can play as RB and CB + he's got that combative nature we missed since Gaz left
DM: Its not really a must have as Herrera can easily slot in that role. However we do need someone who gives Matic some breathing space
RB - Milenkovic (40m) or Rafael (free?)
CB - Toby (25m)
LB - Tierney (30m)
In that order
RW is a must. We lack any form of creativity from the RW. Id love to see Jadon coming to United. He's the type of winger we need. Alternatively someone like Chiesa, Suso or Thuavin will do
RB- I think Milenkovic would be a good signing. He offers more physicality to Dalot and he's comfortable both as RB and as CB. If we can't get him then maybe Rafael on free would be a good cover/competition for Dalot
CB- Toby would be a great signing. He's experienced which means we can get rid of Jones and Rojo + he's cheap which means we can spend the money somewhere else. An alternative to him would be Godin or Manolas. I'd love to see us sign De Ligt for the future. However that would cost a bomb.
LB- Tierney would be a great signing for us. He can play as RB and CB + he's got that combative nature we missed since Gaz left
DM: Its not really a must have as Herrera can easily slot in that role. However we do need someone who gives Matic some breathing space
We need CB,RB,LB,CDM,RW,ST
de Gea/Romero
RB/Dalot - Lindelof/Bailly/Tuanzebe - CB/Smalling - Shaw/LB
Herrera/Fred - Matic/CDM - Pogba/CM
RW/Lingard - Rashford/Lukaku - Martial/Sanchez
RB/Dalot - Lindelof/Bailly/Tuanzebe - CB/Smalling - Shaw/LB
Herrera/Fred - Matic/CDM - Pogba/CM
RW/Lingard - Rashford/Lukaku - Martial/Sanchez
I don't think this is possible even on FM/FIFA/PES or any other game out there, let alone in real life
I know you'r right, but it would be great to see, I don't look at transfer fees etc but the whole thing would ONLY be circa £300m ?
Our attacking situation is an interesting one, on paper we have 6 players for 3 positions which is ideal, but that's just on paper, the balance isn't there and there are question marks on 4 of the 6 players.
Rashford - Making his case to be our #9, likely a United lifer.
Lingard - Long term squad player but a good one, another lifer.
Mata - Out of contract in the summer, I think he'll head off to Serie A for a team where he'll start every week.
Lukaku - Very limited player especially with the new way we are playing, but with a good goal record. Is he happy to sit on the bench? Can we recoup our money from a club like Chelsea or Juve?
Martial - I'm a fan but I know he's not everybody's cup of tea, however the real issue is that if he doesn't sign a new deal in the next few months we'll have to sell him or risk losing him for nothing.
Sanchez - It's 50/50 whether he is past his best IMO and for some reason we wont play him on the right, he'd be difficult to shift though due to his wages.
Rashford - Making his case to be our #9, likely a United lifer.
Lingard - Long term squad player but a good one, another lifer.
Mata - Out of contract in the summer, I think he'll head off to Serie A for a team where he'll start every week.
Lukaku - Very limited player especially with the new way we are playing, but with a good goal record. Is he happy to sit on the bench? Can we recoup our money from a club like Chelsea or Juve?
Martial - I'm a fan but I know he's not everybody's cup of tea, however the real issue is that if he doesn't sign a new deal in the next few months we'll have to sell him or risk losing him for nothing.
Sanchez - It's 50/50 whether he is past his best IMO and for some reason we wont play him on the right, he'd be difficult to shift though due to his wages.
A lot still..
Koulibaly (desperate)
Meunier (second most important position that needs sorting imo)
LB (Shaw just doesn't offer enough. Not a priority, and should look for value here a la Robertson, although I doubt we'll get a bargain quite that good. At least someone to offer competition/backup)
Neves (superb passer. Just what we need imo. But with Matic looking better probably not a priority)
CM (who can work at side of Pogba, and is good enough to soften the blow should he get injured)
RW (desperate, but can Sanchez make it less of a priority?)
Striker (Lukaku is shite. I'm torn what level of striker to aim for and how much we should be spending with Rashford looking good)
Koulibaly (desperate)
Meunier (second most important position that needs sorting imo)
LB (Shaw just doesn't offer enough. Not a priority, and should look for value here a la Robertson, although I doubt we'll get a bargain quite that good. At least someone to offer competition/backup)
Neves (superb passer. Just what we need imo. But with Matic looking better probably not a priority)
CM (who can work at side of Pogba, and is good enough to soften the blow should he get injured)
RW (desperate, but can Sanchez make it less of a priority?)
Striker (Lukaku is shite. I'm torn what level of striker to aim for and how much we should be spending with Rashford looking good)
A 1st choice centre back is the main priority.
A back up Right Back would be nice aswell (Valencia is probably off)
The other signings (I’d imagine) would largely depend on what the future is for Smalling, Jones, Herrera, Young and Mata.
A back up Right Back would be nice aswell (Valencia is probably off)
The other signings (I’d imagine) would largely depend on what the future is for Smalling, Jones, Herrera, Young and Mata.
Agreed.
Rashford, Lingard and Martial are the ones to keep.
Give Sanchez til the end of the season to prove this 1+ years playing bad is only a temporary dip in form. When it comes clear that he is some way past his best we should move him on if we are able to.
Lukaku should be sold. Not made to play efficient for a team wanting to play "modern" football.
Mata can be kept for a season on a lower wage as Lukaku and Sanchez should be sold/release, and he is still useful against teams not pressing and sitting low.
Give Chong and Greenwood some gametime until the end of the season and the following preseason. One of them should be able to be second string for the team.
Add a player able to play RW and CF or LW. Either splash the £££ on Sancho, or go for a cheaper option like Suso(£35m clause). Or go for Odoi.
Seing as a front 4 of Lingard, Martial, Rashford and Pogba is good enough for top 4, we should try to give some of the younger players a chance to prove themselves. Use most of the £££ we have available in the summer to improve our defense and midfieldoptions.
I think we need a lot of work but am happy to wait for young new signings to bed in if we keep Ole in charge with a view to mounting a challenge in 2 years or so. Assuming we are on a budget i love the idea of bring in wan Bissaka and Tierney to sort our full back positions out along with Shaw and Dalot.
I imagine they would cost around 30-40 mil each.
I would live for us to sign Sancho but that would likely be for a ridiculous fee. I would actually love for us to bring back Zaha for the RW. I genuinely believe he is too good for Palace now and needs a platform.... Much like when we signed Dwight Yorke when everyone wanted Batistuta / Salas or Kluivert.
And i would probably throw 150 mil at Ajax for both De Ligt and De Jong. I have only seen snippets of them both but the look a bit good and would form the nucleus of a team that would be together for 5 years or so.
Probably need about 300 mil all together but built for the future!
I imagine they would cost around 30-40 mil each.
I would live for us to sign Sancho but that would likely be for a ridiculous fee. I would actually love for us to bring back Zaha for the RW. I genuinely believe he is too good for Palace now and needs a platform.... Much like when we signed Dwight Yorke when everyone wanted Batistuta / Salas or Kluivert.
And i would probably throw 150 mil at Ajax for both De Ligt and De Jong. I have only seen snippets of them both but the look a bit good and would form the nucleus of a team that would be together for 5 years or so.
Probably need about 300 mil all together but built for the future!
I'd certainly keep Martial but we have to see if he wants to stay, if he doesn't commit by the summer we are in a difficult situation as he's in his extension year and I think we'd have to sell him as he's one of our most valuable assets.
I agree with you on Lukaku and he may force our hand there as well if he spends the rest of the season on the bench, and Sanchez rediscovering even 75% of the player he was would giuve us breathing room, but I think Mata will go, he's not a greed merchant and I can see him moving on to play week in week out somewhere.
I'm with you on giving Greenwood and Chong some game time but if at least 2 of the 6 senior forwards go this summer I feel we'll need 1 in at least.
I hope Martial stays and we actually start to create something from the right, thus creating some space and 1v1 for Martial on the left. f we are able to do this, he will be able to contribute even more. Nowadays when we play against a balanced team they push half their team over to our left side to block for Pogba and Martial, something that is stopping our two best attacking assets.
If we are lucky then Lukaku forces our hand. Can't see us trying to actively sell him. Would still sell Sanchez on 75% from his best.
Since it is highly unlikely we will challenge for the title next season regardless of which manager or what transfers we make(given the distance between us and Liverpool/city takes time to close), and we will get top 4 next season given Arsenals issues and Chelsea without Hazard(hopefully), i would be comfortable with attacking setup with Rashford, Martial, Lingard, Mata, new RW able to play either LW or CF, Greenwood and Chong.
CB and RB is a no brainer for me while a new LB would be a nice to have
Now that we're an attacking, progressive team once more, it becomes clear what's needed to take that style of play to the next level. The problem with being a progressive, pressing and fluid unit is you need a solid rotation of players who can perform in that manner otherwise, to bring players off the bench who can't do those things, is to disrupt the whole team and be forced to change your play strategically. Another issue when you have those players on the bench who aren't suited, is that the manager will rather keep those that are, on the pitch way past the point they should be because of concern about said disruption the moment the substitutions are made and these ill-suited players come in and make us look a level less than the starter did.
From this angle, our squad is quite a mess, as not only do we need the obvious in fullbacks, central defenders and a right winger, we also need central midfielders (badly) and another forward in rotation who is mobile, quick with high levels of stamina as well as the required quality to rotate in and out of the team without looking out of place.
There's so many players now who need to be moved on and replaced: Valencia, Rojo, Darmian, Jones/Smalling, Valencia, McTominay, Fellaini, Mata, Sanchez, Lukaku and possibly Pereira, too.
Some are just not good enough, others are ill-suited to the type of football we should be aiming to play and others still are just a financial burden whose wages should be going either to an actual star performer or shared between a few incoming signings
Players like: Young, Bailly, Smalling/Jones, Herrera, Matic and Lingard should ultimately be rotations off the bench, but they are not the pressing concern over the next window or even two.
It all comes down to a hell of a lot of spending in today's market even if we're not talking about replacing the first set of players with the absolute best, most expensive players out there.
One thing is for sure, we won't be able to maintain the level of intensity and zip in our game with so few suited players to the style, and the fear of a Bielsa-like burnout in the later months of this season should be a concern.
If we were still either a defensive or even neutral team, more of those players listed could be slowly eased out, but with this 180 we've done, we really do need swathes of new players to maintain it (as we've about 14 players in the squad as a whole who are suited to this new way of playing) and I just don't know how we're going to manage that with how bad we are at offloading players or in terms of the funds needed to make this overhaul.
I've not mentioned Fred because I still have no clue where he fits; if he's any good, or just a disaster of a purchase. You would hope he and Pereira can rotate with the first xi midfield over the upcoming months, otherwise we're really going to be treading water soon or having to change our play to suit the players coming into the team.
From this angle, our squad is quite a mess, as not only do we need the obvious in fullbacks, central defenders and a right winger, we also need central midfielders (badly) and another forward in rotation who is mobile, quick with high levels of stamina as well as the required quality to rotate in and out of the team without looking out of place.
There's so many players now who need to be moved on and replaced: Valencia, Rojo, Darmian, Jones/Smalling, Valencia, McTominay, Fellaini, Mata, Sanchez, Lukaku and possibly Pereira, too.
Some are just not good enough, others are ill-suited to the type of football we should be aiming to play and others still are just a financial burden whose wages should be going either to an actual star performer or shared between a few incoming signings
Players like: Young, Bailly, Smalling/Jones, Herrera, Matic and Lingard should ultimately be rotations off the bench, but they are not the pressing concern over the next window or even two.
It all comes down to a hell of a lot of spending in today's market even if we're not talking about replacing the first set of players with the absolute best, most expensive players out there.
One thing is for sure, we won't be able to maintain the level of intensity and zip in our game with so few suited players to the style, and the fear of a Bielsa-like burnout in the later months of this season should be a concern.
If we were still either a defensive or even neutral team, more of those players listed could be slowly eased out, but with this 180 we've done, we really do need swathes of new players to maintain it (as we've about 14 players in the squad as a whole who are suited to this new way of playing) and I just don't know how we're going to manage that with how bad we are at offloading players or in terms of the funds needed to make this overhaul.
I've not mentioned Fred because I still have no clue where he fits; if he's any good, or just a disaster of a purchase. You would hope he and Pereira can rotate with the first xi midfield over the upcoming months, otherwise we're really going to be treading water soon or having to change our play to suit the players coming into the team.
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Another top midfielder, who can both stop opposition, and drive us forward preferably..but there are not many of them ariund!
If Lukaku doesn't step up, then another No 9. Rashford can play across front three, if required.
I would love a wide player (either attacking full back or winger..) who can cross on the run or within two-touches, without having to cut inside all the time... almost like a natural winger who can stretch the full width of the park.
And a top, centre half (left-footed if possible...)
If Lukaku doesn't step up, then another No 9. Rashford can play across front three, if required.
I would love a wide player (either attacking full back or winger..) who can cross on the run or within two-touches, without having to cut inside all the time... almost like a natural winger who can stretch the full width of the park.
And a top, centre half (left-footed if possible...)