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19 Jul 2018 23:00:46
From reading the site, lately, it's easy to see the World Cup's over.
19 Jul 2018 23:21:13
There was a world cup? That must have snuck past quietly.
19 Jul 2018 23:58:16
Someone better tell Mourinho as he's just realized it and it is affecting his preseason plans.
19 Jul 2018 22:55:05
Hope we pull a worldie in this transfer window . Liverpool are giving us and the rest a massive wedgie so far. #Bale 😆😆.
19 Jul 2018 23:15:37
Who have they signed to be afraid of?
19 Jul 2018 23:19:00
Mort
Liverpool missed a decent GK last season they have bough a very good one for this season.
20 Jul 2018 11:51:43
Liverpool have strengthened their midfield, Keita will make a massive difference, he's like a creative Kanye. Fabinho will shield their shakey defence, which has actually looked a lot less shakey recently. Plus the big glaring weakness in their side was the lack of a quality goalkeeper. For me last season Ederson was a close second best keeper in the league behind DDG. Alisson is currently keeping Ederson out of the Brazilian national team.
If we ranked goalkeepers last season we had the best interest he league. Liverpool's was in the bottom 5. They have now jumped up from bottom five to top three. That is a massive improvement in one key area.
Fred looks decent, but will be be a massive improvement on Herrera? Dalot looks like he might become a top full back. But then so did Shaw.
I would say atm of the top six sides Liverpool have improved the most. Others might catch up on the recruitment front, but Liverpool will have 2-3 weeks extra training and acclimatising for their new players. A settled squad for the majority of pre-season will make it more likely that they can hit the ground running.
20 Jul 2018 13:45:13
Bang on jred.
Weak positions for them were midfield and they went out and got 2 top midfielders 1 box to box and 1 defencive ball player.
Goal keeper. Allison is a top 10 keeper and only improving. Epl could prove tough at first but he will adapt and is a top signing.
Vvd will be settled.
Shaqiri adds depth and decent cover for mane and salah.
Just over 250m spent since jan and 4 of those since they reached a cl final. Klopp is being backed to the hilt fair play to their board.
Pep did the exact same at the beginning of last season and strengthened his weak areas at fb cb and goalkeeper. Next thing you know sterling is banging in goals sane looks a world beater etc.
All the best clubs strengthen when they are doing well. It keeps players on their toes. Fergie was great at that before his last few seasons.
20 Jul 2018 13:53:09
The game has changed, previously you sought Brazilian forwards for their flair and kept away from Brazilian GK and defenders. Bold move for Liverpool but they are showing ambition whilst we watch.
One thing may wake Woodward up is the crowds in America, his paymasters won’t be happy with the lack of spectators over there.
19 Jul 2018 22:51:26
Nobody else a bit peeved how blind has been moved on? Covers cb and lb, of which neither has he ever really let us down when played and even defensive mid with LVG. Wicked delivery of a ball. Intelligent player. Physicality cost him really. But in my opinion, he should have been kept. Especially over smalling Jones and rojo.
19 Jul 2018 23:19:31
He hardly got a game last season.
19 Jul 2018 22:55:53
eh? no!
20 Jul 2018 11:55:39
I really liked Blind and he would have got a regular place if I was picking the side. Either on the left of a back three or rotated with Magic as our deepest midfielder in a midfield three.
I think his lack of pace and power means he is great as part of a three but can be exposed as part of a two.
But great squad player, never caused problems, intelligent, adaptable, great passer and reader of the game.
However, Jose likes a different style and want players with a different skill set. So it's probably best for him to move on as he will struggle for game time.
19 Jul 2018 22:12:29
Paul Pogba. Inspirational uplifting speeches to his French team mates, a leading role through the tournament and a a major impact throughout, offered to 4 clubs, go figure.
Jose needs to stop whining and get the best out of the very good players we have. We may need one or two more but we have huge potential that a great Manager should be able to get the best out of. Martial and Shaw at their best are great players, Rashford is ready to take a step up, Herrera was player of the year the season before last, we have a few youngsters with massive potential, a couple of good signings will strengthen us further. Hands up who thinks Jose is up for it. Anyone?
I don’t see Jose being here beyond Christmas. Shappy, you are not alone my friend, I share your view and I don’t think we are alone. He has started this season as he finished the last one, whining, negative, and needy.
tea, mantis.
19 Jul 2018 22:28:20
I don't see how he has started the season with negative vibes. I don't know how you guys come up with that sort of conclusion from one press conference.
Pogba has been offered to 4 clubs yet no has bitten so far and maybe Real Madrid will come calling b3cause he was their target before he moved to us.
I don't know how you can call Shaw or Martial great on their best day as know one has seen them peform to their potential since their first season.
Shaw only peformed for like 4 games and then he broke his leg and Martial hasn't done much since Van Gaal's first year.
I am not saying back Mourinho blindly but don't make assumptions on how negative he is just by watching one press conference and even then there wasnt much negative in his conference for you to say it was negative.
19 Jul 2018 22:46:08
Singh
You were right on the money when you said " I don't know "
19 Jul 2018 22:53:10
I forgot Jred you have been a manager before and coached a team.
19 Jul 2018 22:55:42
Are all the signs there that Jose will last 3 seasons for the first time?
I'm always amazed at the excuses . If only Jose had a lb he wanted. He has young played him even when Shaw showed promise .
Jose needs a cb, needs to get rid of smalling . He has bought bailly and linders, smalling is first pick ahead of him .
Bailly is our best defender ^^^^See above .
Jose needs a rb . He has one Tony starts every game and is captain .
The biggest Jose supporters are actually his biggest critics .
He is picking the players he wants doing what Jose does .
2 cups plus a fa cup final and second in the league. Jose doing what he does. Just accept it he keep a saying he doesn't get the respect he deserves he thinks he is doing fine.
19 Jul 2018 23:20:13
1 or 2 Singh 😉.
19 Jul 2018 22:58:14
its time he started doing the business for United, who cares what he does for France?
20 Jul 2018 09:04:07
🤣🤣🤣.
19 Jul 2018 18:23:17
Been a JM supporter since he arrived, but the combination of a non-exsistent transfer policy, and a seeming lack of growth by JM at handling his players and building a team that can compete for the PL is driving me mad. It's not only that we seem to be in for another season of Fellaini, Young, Lingard and co unable to compete for top trophies, but we don't seem to have a plan for even filling the positions we all know need reinforcements. I've given up at this point competing with the top euro clubs, its been too long under incompetent ownership, management and coaching for us to be reasonable alternatives to Real, Barcelona or PSG for world-class players, but it seems like this summer we gave up without even trying to improve the squad. Frustrating to say the least, as I'm finally starting to lose faith in the post-SAF turnaround and beginning to wonder if the Glazers are going to turn us into 90s/ 00s Liverpool. No acquisitions, no signs of changes within the squad or improvements by individual players. yeah, not how you close a twenty point gap to City.
{Ed004's Note - Tbf as long as Fellaini, Lingard and Young aren't key and fundamental players in our first 11 each of them offer great cover and a threat when utilised properly}
19 Jul 2018 20:10:07
Jose won 2 big trophies in his 1st year. Finished 2nd in in his 2nd year to a city team who broke records. And you say there has been no improvement. Most of forgot the exciting days of attack attack attack by David moyes team and the sexy football we played under van gaal. Can't wait for this season to begin. We will do better on our fronts I think.
19 Jul 2018 21:41:15
Is nobody else already bored to tears if him though? Already moaning and the season hasn’t even started. So tedious.
19 Jul 2018 22:03:39
The guy is so depressing. It's like he's making his excuses before he knows he needs them.
Other people will say it's the master communicator sending a signal to the board.
19 Jul 2018 22:05:01
Jose = Born winner 😆😆.
19 Jul 2018 22:23:20
Totally agree Ed. But Young and Lingard are first choice for JM, and Fellaini plays all the time (usually in losses and draws) . They should be end of the bench, not even making the bench most matches. They are mid-table quality, Everton at best. they cannot be counted on except in the most dire of circumstances.
{Ed004's Note - Id wait and see what happens by the end of the summer. There's still a few weeks left of the window. As long as they aren't key options by the end of the summer we will be sitting fine. We have a few very strong players in De Gea, Bailly, Matic, Pogba, Fred, Sanchez and Lukaku to build around}
19 Jul 2018 22:49:14
do you rate lingard? he's just had his best season ever.
His runs are class and with more forward thinking intent he would get lots more chances to score.
20 Jul 2018 07:06:04
Almost BFRO. It's Jose = born whinger. Lol.
19 Jul 2018 14:16:18
Looks like Sanchez is able to join up with the rest of the squad now.
Great news.
19 Jul 2018 14:03:23
That's Darmian's off to Juve then. I don't know if Sandro is coming this way just yet; Ronnie could've changed his mind.
19 Jul 2018 15:53:54
Have you seen it confirmed K?
Not surprised but good luck to the lad.
19 Jul 2018 13:12:25
Seeing as managers are starting to complain about their players being at the world cup I decided to look into just how many players from the top six sides went to the world cup.
Man City - 16
Man Utd - 12 (11 in truth as Fred has yet to play for us)
Spurs - 12
Chelsea - 12
Arsenal - 9
Liverpool - 9 (again 8 really as Alisson has only just arrived)
So what can we make of that? Well first off City had the most players at the world cup, so that may negativity effect them this season.
However, if the best players play in the world cup then these number could be a way of seeing how good each squad is. It could be argued that if you have more players going to the world cup then you have better players. That argument seems painfully childish and over simplistic though.
The real question is how long were those players away representing their countries for? Well in that respect Spurs were the most unlucky side, with 9 of their 12 players at the world cup still their at the semi finals stage, and therefore their until the last weekend of the tournament. So could that effect Spurs this season?
Maybe, maybe not.
At the end of the day many things effect a teams ability to compete, and often its how the individuals themselves think/ feel about the situation that has the biggest impact. Take England's game against Croatia. Now with Croatia having played the most minutes in the tournament upon the full time whistle at 90 minutes, while also having the older player it wouldn't be a massive jump to assume it would be the Croatians who would feel the most tired. However, at the time those players were on the up and that surge of emotion made them feel less tired than they actually probably were. Whereas, the England players had seen their lead and early dominance slip and this probably made them feel more tired than they were.
So how does this effect club football?
It highlights the mental side of the game that can have a direct effect on the physical abilities of the players.
If you have a manager constantly complaining and giving excuses for his players and generally creating a negative atmosphere then that seeps into the players and will negatively effect their mental state and their performances.
Again look at England over achieving, how much of that is down the positive atmosphere created by Southgate? England won their first ever competitive shoot-out. Shoot-outs are completely controlled by the mental state of the players, happy and confident players will always win the shoot-out against the unhappy and unconfident side.
So I don't think the world cup will negatively effect players from top six clubs, well unless their manager makes it effect them.
19 Jul 2018 13:41:11
Really good post shappy!
I have always been a jose fan BUT he's started the pre season with a whiney pissy pants press conference and its the final straw for me now.
Look at leicester and the title winning season, they battled relegation the yr b4 and yet a run of wins gave them the confidence/ invincibility (mentally) to carry it on.
A posituce mindset can turn a top 4 finish in to a league winning finish.
19 Jul 2018 14:11:37
Over achieve Shappy? England played championship level opposition most tournament and the two games they played to decent opposition, they lost. So how is that over achieving.
You also contradict yourself in the post. You say England had positive mindset and that's why they were in the semis and then you go on to say that Croats were fresher than English. So which is it?
Your post is only anti Jose agenda yet again.
Can you atleast wait for the season to start and let us lose the first 10 games on the bounce and then call for the head?
Jose is rightfully calling out the board as we haven't seen any transfer movement from the board yet. This was the time when the new players would have been bedded in to the squad but we are still struggling with the signings. Pogba is unsure and will anyways come back late. So will Lukaku and the others who went deep in the WC. doesn't that take a toll on the squad. What do you expect the manager to say?
19 Jul 2018 14:48:19
United Addict, England were not expected to make it to the quarter finals, so to make it to the semi's is clearly achieving beyond expectation. i.e over achieving.
You say England only played championship standard players, however that is subjective. If a top six EPL team beats a championship side then its no big deal, if a league two side does then its a huge deal. If a fellow championship side beats another championship side then it depends which is considered the better within their own level. England may not have beaten any great sides, but they themselves are a very average side. Harry Kane the only player who can be considered world class. The rest are either squad players at a top six side or a decent player within a mid table side. This England team overachieved, they probably won't do so again however.
I haven't contradicted myself either, Croatia should't have been fresher coming off the back of two 120 minute games. And in the first half they were off the pace and it could be considered the number of minutes had caught up with them. However, once they got out of second gear in the second half, then after they scored the equaliser they were on the up, physically more tired than England yet their improved mental state delayed the effects of that tiredness and allowed them to be the better team. England however, were better in the first half, but once Croatia got a foothold and especially after the equaliser the confidence drained out of them and made them look like the team coming off the back of two 120 games in a week.
England's improved atmosphere greatly improved their performances and carried them to the semi's even though they aren't a great team. However, at the end of the day a lack of quality and experience cost them a place in the final.
If you look at any team in world football, they play the best football when those players are happy, confident and when they don't feel pressure or tension.
When Leicester won the title, they played well right up until they realised they might actually win it, fortunately for them other results went their way and they recovered. But the tension and pressure nearly derailed their title bid.
Gerrards slip, Liverpool were playing the best football in the league that season, yet the pressure got to them and they crumbled.
Keegan's Newcastle the same thing happened. And it has happened countless times with Arsenal in the last 10 years, start the season on fire but the pressure and the atmosphere brings them down.
Players are far more sensitive than they used to be, their performances and their life style choices are under more scrutiny than ever before. Over half of the criticism Paul Pogba receives is about his hairstyle more than his football.
That is why it is harder than ever for managers to keep the players happy and playing well and why few managers finish 3 years at a club.
I don't think the way to succeed in modern football is with 1970's techniques. Managers need to adapt to the modern world and modern players. Football is an entertainment industry and fans expect entertainment. Players are over paid softies, but it is a managers job to deal with that and handle them in a way that gets the most out of them. Slating them and creating a negative atmosphere is not the best way and it won't work long term.
Jose's recent comments just highlight how unhappy he is and how this season will follow a similar trajectory to last. Jose needs to improve the players we have and he won't do that by constantly grinding them down with overly negative press conferences and by skulking about grimacing at everyone.
19 Jul 2018 15:31:20
Shappy- Sunderland had 9 registered in the WC - I hope that isn't an omen lol.
19 Jul 2018 15:31:20
Shappy- Sunderland had 9 registered in the WC - I hope that isn't an omen lol.
19 Jul 2018 15:57:29
@Shappy
I wonder if the mental side and negativity and sniping affects the players so much then why did this negative manager win the Premier League thrice? How did Conte win the league? He was hardly a bundle of positivity. Neither was Mancini.
You seem to blame the manager for everything and see faults everywhere. You do realize we finished second and were in a cup final last year?
19 Jul 2018 18:51:51
Redfaith you say he has won 3 pl titles that only tells us he was a great manager, his last 2 jobs have seen most of the players on the respective teams basically in open rebellion against him. Why do you think conte lost his job? You can't keep aggravating and annoying the people on whose performance your job depends on and expect success or even job security.
19 Jul 2018 19:29:55
Redfaith, it works in the short term. A quick kick up the arse, have a look at yourselves treatment.
However, it tend to be a short sharp response. Jose has won three EPL titles, yet he has never finished three seasons with a team. It worked with Conte for a season, then last year they dropped out of the top four and he got sacked. He didn't finished three seasons.
See a pattern here. You can't keep whipping the players and expect them to stay loyal. Eventually they turn on you. Jose has an opportunity to change the mistakes of his past and improve himself as a manager. But he needs to change the atmosphere around the club and that starts with creating a positivity around the club. Smile, joke, praise the players. Is it really that hard?
19 Jul 2018 12:59:04
We started last season playing fast attacking football scoring goals at will, we need a sustained style this year. So all the Jose's negative style comments, are not true it is in there we just need to up the speed of our play as we did at the start of last season for th season.
19 Jul 2018 13:17:52
Okay, we’ll just ignore Jose’s entire management career - king of attacking football.
19 Jul 2018 14:55:09
This season we will play negative pragmatic football. We will be narrow and deep, and hope to spring teams on the counter. In some games it will work in others it won't. The fans will slowly grow tired of boring slow football after 5 transfer windows and none of the players they want signed. Jose will struggle to compete and grow sulkier and sulkier, taking it out on his players until he loses the dressing room. At which point the club will have to sack Jose and have no one in place to replace him and make another poor appointment in a rush. We will likely finish outside the top four because of the off field commotion which puts pressure immediately on the new manager. We will likely have sold or disinterested some of our best young players so they will either have left already or will push to leave. They will have been replaced by 29-33 year olds who can't hack it anymore or are starting to wind down. The squad will still need 5-6 new players because the youth haven't been developed and the older players have got too old.
United will look back and realise like they did with Moyes and LVG that Mourinho wasn't the right fit for our club and he was a bad appointment. This is Jose's self destruct season, sit back and watch.
19 Jul 2018 15:35:51
While u are at it, Why don't you give us the winning lotto numbers for the weekend as well Shappy? :)
19 Jul 2018 16:40:53
But who takes over? And when is the person that keeps making bad appointments held accountable?
19 Jul 2018 17:11:21
Not negative. Yet I saw us set up with 6 at the back at times last season. Rashford actually playing as a full back. Two holding midfielders against the bottom clubs.
19 Jul 2018 18:45:29
Shappy. Aa much as i want the opposite to happen, i think your prediction will be fairly accurate. Mourinho has already started with a pitiful news conference that is so negative and downbeat. He's a manager of Manchester United and his mood is one of a manager who has given up before the season starts.
I've got to say that i cannot stand listenning to him. If i was a player under him, I'll be looking for the first opportunity to leave to a place where the manager is more appreciative and one that encourages a happier dressing room.
19 Jul 2018 19:34:40
If he goes, i'd do anything to get Jardmin and Monchi from Roma, IDEALLY.
19 Jul 2018 19:34:50
AAA, I've stopped listening to the manager, it just depresses me and he doesn't say anything I can't work out for myself. I don't need to know about what Jose has done in the past, I need to here what he IS doing and what he WILL do.
19 Jul 2018 21:00:35
Hear hear Shappy. What was he going on his daughter's graduation for? Its pathetic. He was hosting the first news conference and we heard was he was upset at missing his daughter's graduation and how bad preseason preparation had been.
Did the fact that WC was on just snug up on him him by surprise? What a ridiculous thing to say. Every top manager is having to cope with it, yet only Mourinho is coming up with stupid excuses and putting the wrong thoughts in players heads.
For me, its better to let him go and be miserable somewhere else because i don't think he wants to be here.
19 Jul 2018 12:14:30
What exactly do people want? Shiny new signings, or greater faith shown in youth and those players not quite youth any more returning from loan spells?
It is quite bizarre, and I have complete sympathy for Jose in this respect. Equally I think he's right to raise the alarm over a seriously disrupted preseason. Preparations would have been much easier for him had France, Belgium and England not progressed so well. Were it Germany, Argentina, Spain and Brazil things would be somewhat different. He could not have predicted such as United-heavy semi-final line-up.
At this stage I'm not convinced that anything other than a new CB is absolutely necessary. Personally I would be happier to see the likes of Smalling, Jones and Darmian gone to make the pathway for TFM and Tuan that much clearer. If small pieces of muck remain in the pond you still wouldn't swim in it, and I think that's the case with the squad - sorry for such brutal metaphor but to my mind its true.
I also expect, not hope, to see better seasons from Shaw, Pogba, Sanchez and Lindelof. That in itself would be a major step forward in the 'evolution of the players' that Jose referred to. Adding Fred and Dalot in to the mix makes for an interesting season.
Lest we also forget a major 'evolution' in the coaching staff. That in itself could have more impact that any player signing if that new signing simply fits in to last year's system.
Here's to an evolution in coaching and playing staff and a great season.
19 Jul 2018 12:57:36
That World Cup really snuck up on him 🤔.
19 Jul 2018 17:31:41
Noucamp99, I'm guessing the semi-final line-up did a bit yes. I didn't suggest that either he or I did not know it was on the horizon!
19 Jul 2018 18:55:38
Timbo, are you seriously expecting us to challenge with the addition of one more player? We need a winger, i hope mourinho promotes one of the youngsters, but i doubt it. We need another striker, but i doubt we'll get one. We need another top midfielder, but i doubt we'll get one. We need a left back and we might get one. And we desperately need another cb.
I would love to see the likes of Chong, Gomes, Tunazebe, TFM being given a chance at the big time, but do you see that happening?
Finally, we're Manchester United, if a player like Mbappe comes along, we should be top of the list to sign him, but that won't happen.
19 Jul 2018 20:09:01
I know, mate. I was being flippant.
19 Jul 2018 11:32:28
We need a right winger. We have a fast, powerful, skillful right footed player who can dribble and beat a man. Why can't we tell him to get down the line and get a cross in from the right. What am I missing? Why does it need to be anymore complicated?
19 Jul 2018 12:12:18
All of us who have watched United for a long time can plainly see we lack width. Whether that comes from the wingers/ forwards or the fullbacks/ wingbacks is down to personal preference.
However, does Jose Mourinho really want width? Has he ever truly played with width?
Historically he only like one full back to push forward at a time. He also favours hard working wingers over skillful ones.
He likes to have two banks of four who sit deep and and narrow forcing the opposition to go wide. He likes counter attacking over possession. Meaning he prefers vertical balls over horizontal balls to stretch the opposition.
Why am I saying this? Because I don't think we will see the kind of players we want to see come in. We want players who'll attack with width and stretch teams.
Jose prefers to pick full backs who'll stay narrow and deep. Which is why Luke Shaw gets so much grief from Jose as he looks to attack too often and stays too wide.
Jose prefers to play players such as Lingard, Mata or Sanchez out wide as they are naturally No.10's and as such natural gravitate in field creating a narrow team. Which is what Jose likes.
He himseld has said he doesn't expect us to sign another forward/ wide player. And apparently we are hesitant over a deal for Alex Sandro.
I don't think we will see the kind of football our fans want as it is the opposite of the kind of football Jose wants.
We either need to be happy with the kind of football Jose likes or we need to find a manager who will play as we would like.
19 Jul 2018 12:34:46
You are missing nothing . People bang on about a CB when we have 5 to choose from or a LB when we have 3 to choose from including englands number 1. I totally agree and have been saying for a number of weeks that we have nobody who can hug the right touchline get past a fullback on the outside and whip over a cross for our powerhouse of a centre forward to get on the end of.
19 Jul 2018 14:58:00
We have players who can do that, its one of the most simple commands a manager can make. Stay wide, go round the outside and whip crosses in. It's offensive play 101. However, Jose doesn't want to play that way, so it doesn't matter who we sign, it won't happen. Whoever comes in will play in the same way our current players play. If we are lucky they will do it better than our current players.
19 Jul 2018 17:30:37
Well said shappy, excellent.
19 Jul 2018 18:58:42
Spot on Shappy.
19 Jul 2018 11:01:45
I shall start by saying I don't see it happening ever, but the rumours of alcantara are interesting. He is a great player and in my opinion there is only Mata in our squad who is as intelligent a player, although Mata needs to be 10m to 15m further forward to be effective.
It would also mean our options in cm would be Matic, Herrera, Fred, Pogba, Fellaini, Alcantara and McTomminay. With the different types of player in the mix it looks like a midfield 3 is the club's goal.
Now to my main point, are the rumours of a 'tempo cm like alcantara and kroos out there as a subtle sign of how we are to play If we get the right player? Could we see ourselves moving over to a cm similar to that which Juve used with Pirlo, Vidal, and Pogba?
With the right player in cm I could see this happening. It would also be a set up to suit Jose's counter attacking style. We would 100% need to improve our defence, as also seen in media reports, but our attack would not need major surgery unless people leave, in my opinion.
Lots of negative posts as normal for this time of year, but once again I'm feeling positive about where we are going and the moves the club is making.
19 Jul 2018 13:03:12
I like the idea of that kind of center mid coming in. If Thiago leaves Bayern, he will probably go back to Barcelona. A player that can run a game, pass and move with ease wold make a huge difference. And right now we don't have one.
19 Jul 2018 10:13:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new player profile about, Aaron Mooy
19 Jul 2018 08:36:15
Unfortunately I do not think we will be able to get even second position in the league this year. City and Liverpool already had settled teams and only needed say two or three more players. Liverpool already had the German player signed up last year. City arguably only needed one player and signed up Mahrez who will be adjusted to the Premier immediately so they will hit the ground running. For the other teams playing catch up like Utd Spurs Chelsea it is so much harder to do business in a world cup year. It normally is vital for new players to bond with new teammates and to understand their roles in a new team during pre season. No other league is as competitive as ours so it does not matter as much in the French or German or Spanish or Italian leagues. I do have a lot of sympathy for Jose regarding the transfer market. He cannot control his own destiny. Also for players like Pogba who won the World Cup I fear we may expect too much of him. He just won the greatest prize in football. There has to be an anti climax for him at some stage. I hope people cut him some slack when the inevitable dip in form occurs. He is only human. We woukd all feel it.
19 Jul 2018 09:38:15
We got 2nd position in the league fairly comfortably with the squad we had last season and have added to that and will be adding more to that so no reason why we can't get that again even if other teams have improved. Surely your point about players bonding works for all teams, any new signings who played in the world cup will be behind anyway.
Seems strange and overly pessimistic to write us off 3 weeks before the end of a transfer window where we haven't really done a great deal of business yet so have plenty to go at.
19 Jul 2018 10:01:33
I hope your right GDS2.listening to Jose yesterday didn't fill me with a lot of confidence on the transfer front. Same old Jose whining already and the season hasn't even started.
I wish he would be a bit more up beat about things. he's managing the biggest club in the world.
19 Jul 2018 10:01:33
I hope your right GDS2.listening to Jose yesterday didn't fill me with a lot of confidence on the transfer front. Same old Jose whining already and the season hasn't even started.
I wish he would be a bit more up beat about things. he's managing the biggest club in the world.
19 Jul 2018 10:51:26
I haven't watched the press conference deliberately because I know most things managers say at this time of year about transfers are nonsense. Imagine he said 'yes, we have 3 deals lined up and they are all expected to be completed', what do you think this page and the back of the papers would be like today?
Read nothing from press conferences, they say what they want people to hear which is usually far from the truth.
19 Jul 2018 11:52:30
How about looking at it more positively hendonred. Jose has flown out on tour with 7-8 youngsters along with Martial, Periera and Shaw. All these players will be putting in the hard work to show Jose they can push themselves into his plans. Imagine him sitting in the press conference saying ‘we’re after 3-4 new players for x y z positions’. 4 days into the tour the players will be wondering why they bother if he’s just going to go and spend on new signings.
{Ed004's Note - I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow night. It'll be interesting to see what shape Shaw is in and Martials attitude/position he is played in. I've found the links to strikers odd this window but it could make sense if we intend to play 2 up top (Martial and Lukaku) as it only leaves Rashford as cover. If Shaw and Martial are in Jose's plans and both step up we are only really a world class cb short of having a very good team. I'm hoping Sanchez is tried on the right hand side and given a free role to roam like Mata does.}
19 Jul 2018 13:20:02
Ed004, much respect, but I disagree on your idea about the right wing. Whether it is Mata, Lingard, or Sanchez, they roam around, which ca be good, but that allows the opposing back four to stay tucked in and we have no threat in behind, nor do we stretch their back line out. I think that was MancMan's point above, as well as Shappy explaining why we don't have width. If we did keep wingers high and wide, and sent the backs forward to overlap and underlap, we actually might be fun to watch more often.
{Ed004's Note - Its good to have differing opinions. I think if Lukaku and Sanchez are tasked with pulling out to the right when the central areas get too crowded we could get away with it. We would need our full backs to offer a lot more width and certainly better crosses for it to work though}
19 Jul 2018 07:57:25
Quick thought, with alexis coming in last season and hardly setting the world alight. Would we be open to selling him this summer if somebody comes in with an offer?
19 Jul 2018 08:08:23
No way! The guy is top class, ok he’s not been at his best but 4 months of playing football for his new club, getting used to an obvs less attacking style than arsenal, I feel he will come good, if Pogba does leave it may be the best thing for Alexis also.
19 Jul 2018 11:21:23
This is where I have a problem, we all want shiny new stars (me included) and quick to drop others.
The fact we got 2nd last year yet we are criticising pogba/ sanchez/ even lukaku shows that potentially we have improvement this year already even before purchases.
433 with Pogba advanced as with Juve and Sanchez with a settled in period and rested summer and we will be okay.
19 Jul 2018 11:37:28
Brad
I agree pal Jose has also said the main aim is the evolution of players .
Get our best players playing well we will be fine.
19 Jul 2018 13:24:58
Give Alexis a chance. No need to jettison a talented player after half a season.
19 Jul 2018 13:55:00
Definitely not! i'm a big fan of sanchez, wasnt happy with signing him at xmas - wanted it to happen innthis window.
But an immense player who i would never want to see at another rival side. He will come good this season.
19 Jul 2018 07:24:49
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 19th July 2018