Zlatan being a quick fix is essentially the point. We need a short term solution until the likes of Martial, Rashford & maybe Wilson are ready to take the mantle of taking over the attack in a couple of years.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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Zlatan IS still in his prime right now. The numbers prove that. You can downplay the French league as much as you want but most of the football world regards Zlatan as a top class forward right now. His international numbers back that up too, despite playing for a mediocre Sweden team. "Our" league actually has a lot of successful imports from the French league so it's ironic to bash the quality of the French league and say that its trash in comparison to EPL.
How many players of Ibrahimovic's caliber and reputation have to the EPL lately? And don't say Falcao, because he was recovering from a torn ACL and didn't play very well for Monaco in the first place. It's very possible that Zlatan can be the top scorer in the EPL if he came here, so no, it's not outlandish at all to say that.
No doubt about it. He would almost certainly challenge for league's top scorer if he came here, and would give us a hell of a lot more goals than we are getting now.
I agree but I don't see it working if Rooney is still here.
I think this is Rooney's last year as a privileged player at United.
He'd be a RVP type of signing. A player that might win us a title and then rapidly decline the following season. I'd take that right now though, we desperately need a winner.
I'd love to believe that mate, but I only think that would be the case if Pochettino came in, with Jose or LvG I still see him being Captain.
I think he'll bully and score against the small teams while struggle against the top sides if he comes. That's good enough for me though. Rashford can turn it on against the top sides himself
I'm pretty certain that Zlatan has a good record in big league matches. His reputation of struggling against top sides comes from his CL performances, not league performances.
Hopefully but with Mourinho, I wouldn't be sure. We know that he has been a fan of Rooney in the past, and I could see him trying to insist on playing Rooney.
This. He will also not stand in the way of Rashford's development. To me it makes a lot of sense.
I recognise this point, it has its advantages. However, I'm afraid that if this short fix doesn't work, and my gut feeling is that it won't work because the situation is completely different to PSG and Zlatan turns 35 soon, then we'd be a further step closer to being liverpool'd.
The notion that Zlatan comes in and transformes a team that struggles to make top 4 into a powerhouse capable to beat to the title Guardiola's City and the other teams, including Klopp's Liverpool, is naive, IMO. But I may be wrong. Zlatan has won the title in any country he's played. Would be amaizing if he does the same with United. I'm sceptical but it's not my decision to make. If the next manager wants Zlatan, then so be it. I'll hope that it will work out fantastically well.
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If Zlatan is so important to PSG, why are they willing to let him go? Or it is his wish to leave and try his luck in England?
There's nothing wrong with a short term solution, our squad lacks experience and really short on quality, zlatan would make sense in that regard, specially when he's a free agent.
His wish is to leave for a new challenge. Nothing has been said about specifically England.
He said the only thing that would make him stay at PSG is if they change the Eiffel Tower to a statue of him.
He is probably bored playing in the French League.
I don't think he's at the level RvP was when we signed him. That was a world class striker at his peak.
No matter what anybody says the French league is a walkover for him and PSG. It's difficult if not impossible to tell how he'd cope with the EPL at this stage in his career. Personally I'm not a fan of footballers who think they're too good to run.
We should steer clear. So I think we'll sign him.
I'm totally for bringing Zlatan here, i have been since last summer. Putting together a new team without bringing in 'old established overpriced players' might have worked while Fergie was here, but times are different now. We have the basis of a great squad going forward, but the one thing we're really not doing is taking chances and destroying lesser teams. I think he'd give us that.
What will we do with Rooney then?
The strategy to bring in a short fix in order not to impede Rashford's development is very risky. Imagine that the short fix doesn't work and it turns out that Rashford has a looong way to go before being good enough to lead United's attack week in, week out.
The best option is to buy someone like Aubameyang who is entering his prime years now. If Rashford is talented enough, he'll make it at United anyway.
The strategy to bring in a short fix in order not to impede Rashford's development is very risky. Imagine that the short fix doesn't work and it turns out that Rashford has a looong way to go before being good enough to lead United's attack week in, week out.
The best option is to buy someone like Aubameyang who is entering his prime years now. If Rashford is talented enough, he'll make it at United anyway.
We possibly could have gotten Aubameyang last year, this year he is on the radar of clubs like Madrid. As much as I like Aubameyang, I think we missed the boat on him.
As for Rooney, I hope he is sold as I feel his time is over playing for a top tier club.
As much as i rate Aubameyang, he feels like another young striker who'll need time to settle here. We need someone with the experience and arrogance to rip the lower teams apart now.
And as for Rooney, whether it's Champs League or Europa, we'll be in four competitions again. That's more than enough to let four out and out strikers get game time.
It's probably discussed all the time, but I can't see the point of bringing him here while we have Rooney and don't sign right winger. Even if Rooney becomes squad player(which he won't) or we sell him(which we won't), we still have no right winger because playing Mata there with Ibrahimovic up front would be a terrible idea IMO, two very slow players in 2 our of 3 positions up front. If we sign right winger, I can see somehow Mata working behind Ibrahimovic as a number 10, but that's still questionable, and even if it works we first have to get rid off Rooney and buy new right winger. Basically, lot of things need to happen to make this work, IMO, and starting with Rooney it will never happen.
In general, signing Ibrahimovic for a year or two is a good idea for me but we have too much problems to make him work here.
Saying that, we will probably do the most stupid thing and sign him and try to make it work with all three of Mata, Rooney and Ibrahimovic in the starting XI.
In general, signing Ibrahimovic for a year or two is a good idea for me but we have too much problems to make him work here.
Saying that, we will probably do the most stupid thing and sign him and try to make it work with all three of Mata, Rooney and Ibrahimovic in the starting XI.
Maybe don't try to worry too much about squeezing them all in the first eleven. It's a long season with lots of games, and knowing us, lots of injuries. We'd just be going back to the four strikers we always had in our squad and rotating.
Look at our bench recently... who have we had to come on to change a game? Nobody (well Memphis if you can count him). Now imagine we had two of Rooney/Martial/Rashford/Ibrahimovic to come on from the bench every match... that's more like it for me!
Oh, and as for the right winger, grabbing Zlatan doesn't mean we can't sign one too
I'd say Rooney will still have his uses playing behind the striker. It's not like anyone has truly owned that position out of Mata(who I wouldn't mind us selling) and Herrera who's also been tried there.
If people believe that having both Zlatan and Rooney is no problem or that it is better to sign Zlatan than Aubameyang, then I'm wasting my time in this thread.
It might be academic anyway if we don't finish fourth. I can't see Ibrahimovic or Aubameyang choosing a club with no champions league.
We've already had some experience with signing oldish stars like Falcao and Schweinsteiger. Remember how happy people were and how it ended up.
RVP came here in his prime (29), after having two excellent seasons in the same league.
Signing oldish stars from abroad may be good for their bank accounts but it won't do much good to United.
The notion that Zlatan will ripped the EPL apart even though he will turn this year 35 is very dubious. Football Manager is one thing, real life quite another. But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Time will tell etc.
Yeah he's maybe not at the level of RVP that season, who was fresh from a terrific previous season with Arsenal. However in terms of hunger, Zlatan could rival him. I'm sure he'd definitely not want to fail in England seeing as he's won titles everywhere else.
Very different situations though. Falcao always seemed like a risk because of the injury he'd just had, but worth the risk because it was only a loan. And i don't think Schweinsteiger has done much wrong other than being injury prone. I wouldn't judge him on his general play too much in a team that's restricted by Van Gaal's insane tactics. In the early half of this season, it didn't matter who we put in the two midfield slots, they were all equally ineffective.
At the end of the day nobody can know if Ibrahimovic would actually work. But how many strikers of his calibre could we get now, for free, with a low risk of injury, and going off record, a player who's scored wherever he's been. (especially if we finish 5th).
We just don't need him. Martial can play up front. Rashford, Rooney and Wilson being the other options. I think even Depay will ultimately play through the middle if he's to make it here. Ibrahimovic just clogs it up and I don't see the point given we'll only get a season out of him.
It's the wide positions that need sorting.
It's the wide positions that need sorting.
Matrial and Rashford are too raw, Rooney isn't a number 9 anymore and Depay is far fetched to make any form of an impact next season. To get back into the mix we definitely need an established striker.
Maybe don't try to worry too much about squeezing them all in the first eleven. It's a long season with lots of games, and knowing us, lots of injuries. We'd just be going back to the four strikers we always had in our squad and rotating.
Look at our bench recently... who have we had to come on to change a game? Nobody (well Memphis if you can count him). Now imagine we had two of Rooney/Martial/Rashford/Ibrahimovic to come on from the bench every match... that's more like it for me!
Oh, and as for the right winger, grabbing Zlatan doesn't mean we can't sign one too
As I said, I doubt even two of them would work in the same side, and anyway only Fergie could rotate like that and give everyone game time, plus Rooney won't accept being rotation option.
Agree with this. As exciting as Martial and Rashford are, they aren't the answer right now. Martial hasn't shown he's clinical enough just yet, and we really can't put all the expectations on Rashford, as stupidly good as he's looking. Rooney has never been a clinical regular goal scorer. And Memphis, i truly hope will come good, but is nowhere near atm.
To be fair, there are plenty of managers who make rotation work in modern football. And the team comes first, if Rooney's attitute doesn't fit into whatever the plan is from our next manager, he's replaceable.
I hope he does stay though, our squad with Rooney is better than without him.
This is when you realize that things have come the full circle, and folks are again underestimating the task as hand - as far as squad rebuilding goes. Yes, a change in the manager's position will go a long way - and the wider areas need some attention, but we're far off where we need to be in forward areas too. Might be ok in terms of numbers, but there's a distinct lack of quality - especially consistent quality wherein you can rely on someone who can score on a regular basis, in a way that allows you to make a push for the title.
None of our forwards have evidenced that - Martial is still developing, and it's arguable that his best position right now is as the left forward because it takes him out of the firing line. Rashford is similarly green, and might even be going through a purple patch (the media and fans are quick to build them up, only to later tear them down when their adrenaline base form eventually subsides). Rooney is done at the top level, and Wilson is probably behind Martial and Rashford in terms of end product. These are kids, and it's extremely risky to place such a heavy burden on them - even Messi had Eto'o and Ronaldinho and Henry around him when he was young, Ronaldo and Rooney had Scholes, van Nistelrooy, Giggs in attacking positions - to guide them, and currently we don't have those players to similarly shepherd Martial and co.
Of course, you don't need to have that caliber of support structure, but having someone who's a bridge (like Davids was for Barcelona - which allowed Xavi to blossom) might actually be quite beneficial for them - in terms of that player being a reference point of sorts, but somehow people want to fast-track the kids instead of developing them properly. There's a risk of going over the top and shattering them psychologically because of the expectations that will be placed on them - because inconsistency is the most consistent trait of young footballers, and then you risk falling behind. And that's not comforting in the slightest.
Martial will end up with about 15 this season, playing mostly on the left in a team that can't attack. Is it unfeasible that with a year's experience under his belt, up front all season, in a better team that he'll break 20? Or even reach 25? He's not the ideal age but nobody can say Ibra is either.
In no way am I saying just a change of manager is all that's needed. I'm firmly in the camp of us needing a handful of quality players.
My point is specific to Ibrahimovic. 35 years old, first season in physically the hardest league in the world. At a club where every match is going to be a big challenge. Having spent the last few seasons waltzing through lots of games.
Yes there are doubts over Martial in terms of age and experience but there should also be huge doubts about Ibra. If Ibra doesn't work out we've gained nothing. If Martial up front doesn't work at least he's got another year under his belt and is 12 months closer to becoming the player we all think he can be.
Oh, and as for the right winger, grabbing Zlatan doesn't mean we can't sign one too
Exactly! On the contrary getting Zlatan means that we won't have to divide our efforts worrying about the strikers position and instead focus on getting in our first choice winger/attacker instead.
If we do get him, he works out for 1-2 years until Martial (or another of our young prospects at the club) is ready to step into that CF role we might have saved ourselves alot of money that in this market would probably be used at great risk if we opt to bring in another striker.
Then we'd need a Left Winger to fill the gap Martial vacated. Moreover I feel he looks better as a LW for the moment than an out and out striker.
We are paying the price for an unproven striker up top (our goals scored this season is horrible), it would be ridiculous if we made the same mistake again.
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