When can we realistically expect to challenge/win the league again?

[Mike Smalling]

Things can change fast with the right manager in place. Although I don’t have any expectation of ever seeing us win the league again.

Agree with this. The squad is not as bad as the league table would suggest. The right manager and 2-3 really good signings, and we could be an +80 point team within a couple of years. It's more if you believe those things will happen. Increasingly I don't.

 

[AneRu]

Agree with this. The squad is not as bad as the league table would suggest. The right manager and 2-3 really good signings, and we could be an +80 point team within a couple of years. It's more if you believe those things will happen. Increasingly I don't.

This is why it's so frustrating, even during the Woodward fiasco we were never really close to actually winning but we were always a couple of good summers and a top manager away.

I believe, looking at our recent history, we got it wrong in 2019 when we looked set to bring in a DOF and then appoint a manager. Then Ole started well and the euphoria overtook all common sense then a couple of expensive mistakes later we regressed badly as a competitive force.

Same thing happened in 2022, we had Rangnick set to stay as a consultant and help plot our rebuild. Powerbrokers within the club hated his outspokenness and tore up his contract to hand all the power to ETH who is poor in the market. Now we are struggling, with little to show for the half a billion we pissed away on this project and we are dithering.

All clubs make mistake but none jump from mistake to mistake like we do. Even Chelsea look like they have learned from theirs whilst we have people putting their pride ahead of rectifying a mistake they made. Ten Hag costing us another season will delay our rebuild cause no way we are attracting the calibre of player we need when we can't make the CL.

Serious players we look at our progress or lack thereof. The next batch of big talents will look at Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle. We will waste another season on Ten Hag, a couple more on banking on Bruno+Rashford to show their yesteryear form and it will be another decade in the wilderness before you know it.

 

[Bole Top]

provided City is thrown out of the league, sooner than most would expect I'd say.

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

provided City is thrown out of the league, sooner than most would expect I'd say.

Even if City are thrown out of the league, we still need to compete with Arsenal & Liverpool over the course of a season and so far, I don’t see anything that gives me belief in this current manager & squad that they have the stomach & mentality to compete for a title against those two.

 

[njred]

You will challenge in 26/27

It must nice not having any worries at all when it come to football. Sit back, watch the chaos in the PL and get ready for another run at a European Cup. I get that once in awhile and a lot a long time ago.

 

[giorno]

It must nice not having any worries at all when it come to football. Sit back, watch the chaos in the PL and get ready for another run at a European Cup. I get that once in awhile and a lot a long time ago.

I mean they still have loads of money, the new people in charge should be competent, they've got a good CBs core in place, a couple youngsters that should be ready in a 2 years - Mainoo, Garnacho - and 2 summers to sort out the midfield and attack. It would be a failure if they don't

 

[Top_Bins]

I mean they still have loads of money, the new people in charge should be competent, they've got a good CBs core in place, a couple youngsters that should be ready in a 2 years - Mainoo, Garnacho - and 2 summers to sort out the midfield and attack. It would be a failure if they don't

I agree with your assessment. We have a decent amount of young talent to build with.
Our problem is goals, so I feel we should now be poaching the most promising young(<21) strikers out there. Looks like we are by pinching young Obi-Martin from arsenal. Hojlund may come good if he can stay fit and then we should maybe take a punt on another, maybe even a few.

 

[GoonerBear]

It needed ripped up and started again, and INEOS have started doing that off the field, it now needs to be done on the field.

I say this with the greatest of respect, but there seems to be a bit of arrogance that because it's Utd and they are the biggest club in the country etc that with a click of INEOS fingers they will be great again.

United have a fantastic history of success, but most of the major trophies won were under the guise of 2 of the best managers the world has seen in Sir Matt and Sir Alex. I'm just about old enough to remember the pre '93 Utd, the 26 years without a league title.

I don't think the fans, and the Rio's, Neville's and Scholes in the media help comparing everything to the Sir Alex era. For me, INEOS almost need to try and ignore that era, and concentrate on building with humility a club for for the modern era. I don't think all the sound bites about being the biggest and best help just now to be honest.

 

[ArtetasHair]

I mean they still have loads of money, the new people in charge should be competent, they've got a good CBs core in place, a couple youngsters that should be ready in a 2 years - Mainoo, Garnacho - and 2 summers to sort out the midfield and attack. It would be a failure if they don't

I don't think United's defence is really title challenger capable. De Ligt is too slow (in my opinion) and Martinez is not a centre back, he's much better as a LB. However there is also no way this team should be finishing 8th, 7th or 6th. There's enough in there for a Top 4 challenge.

Someone like Rice would have been great for United, covers a lot of ground to compensate for ETH's questionable gaping midfield tactics. Someone like that, a top CM who presses, covers ground would also go a long way.

Right now they have:

1 DM who can tackle but barely pass (Ugarte)
1 CAM who's passing is excellent but legs are gone (Eriksen)
1 CAM with a horrible attitude who SAF would have binned by now.
1 kid who's clearly very talented and under massive pressure and unfairly (Mainoo)

This combination can never work.

You improve this and I guarantee you the defence automatically improves. There is no defence in the world who can thrive if they know the opponent just needs 4 passes (even if that) to bypass the midfield and they're through to them.

It needed ripped up and started again, and INEOS have started doing that off the field, it now needs to be done on the field.

I say this with the greatest of respect, but there seems to be a bit of arrogance that because it's Utd and they are the biggest club in the country etc that with a click of INEOS fingers they will be great again.

United have a fantastic history of success, but most of the major trophies won were under the guise of 2 of the best managers the world has seen in Sir Matt and Sir Alex. I'm just about old enough to remember the pre '93 Utd, the 26 years without a league title.

I don't think the fans, and the Rio's, Neville's and Scholes in the media help comparing everything to the Sir Alex era. For me, INEOS almost need to try and ignore that era, and concentrate on building with humility a club for for the modern era. I don't think all the sound bites about being the biggest and best help just now to be honest.

Yes the last bit especially. I really feel any incoming United manager feels immense pressure from the word go as every ex United player turned pundit compares it to SAF's era. The massive expectations then start and let's be honest, very few managers are capable of not wilting, so predictably most crumble. This is not the ONLY reason but a contributing factor.