Manchester United Rumours

28 Nov 2023 12:45:15
Hi Ed,
Have the club approached Ancelotti?

{Ed002's Note - As coach? I would very much doubt it - he has an offer on the table from elsewhere but I suspect he will stay on at Real Madrid for prhaps a year or two more.}

29 Nov 2023 09:27:28
Will be interesting to see how the new hierachy (including some of the Glazers) view the manager position going forward past this year. Do they want a full clean house and reset with a new manager, do they view EtH position as not being fully supported and given the right structure round him so give him another couple of years.
Personally think the latter should be the case but he must be encouraged to find the identity and be provided the players for that identity.
If they make the change it will be interesting who they look towards, an older head like Ancheloti or a young up and coming manager. Aside from the Liverpool connections Alonso looks good at Leverkusen but I expect him to be a future manager for his old Liverpool/ Real/ Bayern teams.

29 Nov 2023 10:59:29
Think they’ll aim towards a Nice-style model where DoF looks after main daily duties while manager more of a coach.

29 Nov 2023 16:56:20
Loads of rumours online that Ratcliffe wants the Don Carlo Ancelloti whether hed come to utd is another matter but wow what a coup if u get him class manager similar level to Fergie.

22 Nov 2023 11:01:39
Ed002,

When the SJR deal is signed off and new people come in as expected for CEO and DOF, does that mean any planned January transfers will be scrapped?

Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - It would be a matter of timing but there will likely be changes to plans.}

22 Nov 2023 11:20:16
Will it be the same positions looked at?

Thanks for the reply.

{Ed002's Note - I would not have too high expectations for January. Much will depend on sales - Sancho and if possible van der Beek. The summer will be a more likely start of an overhaul.}

22 Nov 2023 12:09:36
Thanks Ed.

23 Nov 2023 07:55:10
i would be happy to see a serious cleaning up of the squad with a lot of exits. we could use 3 or 4 going in jan as the manager has said many times he does not like big squads. some the players are toxic by just hanging around.

23 Nov 2023 09:31:06
Huge number of players need to move on as either past their best, don’t fit modern high-energy system or just not good enough.

Can imagine it being a very busy Summer.

Please Ed002, if you have time, would you be good enough to provide info on any interest in following players: Youssef Fofana from Monaco and Kephram Thuram from Nice?

I appreciate that United’s targets will change with the new regime but, given Paul Mitchell’s links to Monaco and the obvious connection with Nice, is there any mileage in assuming United might be interested in these players please?

Thanks for any info you feel you can reveal.

{Ed002's Note - Youssouf Fofana (CM/DM) An apprach from Crystal Palace was rejected by Monaco who told them they will be negotiating a new contract. Interest of Lyon has gone. Chelsea have strong ties with Monaco and the clubs have discussed him but he is not first choice for Chelsea. Nottingham Forest interest was turned away with a bid being rejected. West Ham have now replaced Rice so their interest has likely gone unless they lose Soucek or plan to use him exclusively as a CM player. Manchester United may see him as an option but he would not be a casemiro replacement and they have made no approach. However, Juventus have declared an interest and the wages would not be an issue with local tax laws being favourable. I am not aware of Liverpool interest. Wages might be an issue for some clubs.

Khephren Thuram (DM/CM) Nice felt they were messed around by clubs in the summer and then the player picked up an injury. Interest of Spurs, Liverpool and, in particular, Juventus remains but Liverpool will focus on a preferred option. Interest of Newcastle will likely fall away. If interest further grows his price will rise and the club would sell given the emergence of Alexis Beka Beka and an impressive youngster in Reda Belahyane. Nice do not want to sell and again a move to OLd Trafford will not be welcomed by the Nice supporters. Real Madrid have him on a list of potential additions given they are facing midfield departures in the summer - and I would not rule them, or indeed Manchester City, out. Player wants PSG but they have no interest at this time - but his representative is pushing PSG as well as Real Madrid and will encourage the player to wait out the year and see what happens.}

23 Nov 2023 11:13:41
Wow, thank you so much for the detailed info Ed002!

VERY much appreciated. Thank you.

{Ed002's Note - You are welcome.}

20 Nov 2023 08:58:31
Please tell me these griezman rumours are just nonsense? I hope to god we aren't interested as we need to get away from these sorts of signings.

{Ed002's Note - Antoine Griezmann (F) Manchester United have a declared interest in taking AG but wages being demanded are very significant. Player is keen on a move to the MLS but the transfer fee could be an issue.}

20 Nov 2023 10:41:28
Smells like the Sanchez deal all over again. Thought SJR would be taking a different direction to be honest. Also, who is doing the negotiating with Murtough and Arnold on the way out?

20 Nov 2023 10:52:02
Well I'd love to see it, even if he's a little older. I'd be more interested in his perceived position, as we seem to be viewing him as a striker but he plays a lot deeper these days, particularly for France in the World Cup where he was the main man in the middle. So, pretty much in that Mount / Eriksen / Fernandes position - do we need another?

20 Nov 2023 11:53:11
Thanks for the response ed. hopefully nothing materialises as I smell another overpaid flop on the horizon.

20 Nov 2023 12:47:14
Calm down, current interest will be from the current set up.

Who the club will be interested in once the new people are in place will almost certainly change.

We don't have a CEO and our DoF will likely change between now and Christmas.

Only when those positions are filled will the club have finalised targets.

20 Nov 2023 18:29:10
Jean claude Blanc and paul Mitchell will look to find the next Griezeman.

16 Nov 2023 15:54:33
ED002,

What's your opinion on Jean-Clause Blanc as the potential new CEO for the club?

Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - I don't know him but he is a businessmen who has an excellent background in sports management. He should be fine.}

16 Nov 2023 17:04:37
Thanks ED002.

16 Nov 2023 23:00:27
Surely we can't hire him, he seems actually qualified for the role. Surely that's against company policy? 🤔😂.

17 Nov 2023 07:01:58
Agree Shappy

That and Paul Mitchell will be an improvement.

17 Nov 2023 09:59:18
Regardless of everyones preferences on the sale if Blanc and Mitchell do come in it will be the most positive move that the club has made in years.
Hopefully it will lead to a change in approach to the transfer market with a cohesive long term approach rather than short termism.
Lets hope the rumours come to fruition.

17 Nov 2023 12:41:36
The Glazers have been terrible owners, but our performances on the pitch are not about who owns the club, but how it is run.

It doesn't matter if the owners are "football" people or not, in fact its probably better if they aren't. We've seen it many times where owners want to get too involved in the day to day running of the club and that never ends well.

In my eyes a good owner wants the club to be successful on and off the pitch, but they hire the best people, with subject specific knowledge to run the club rather than get involved in every aspect. They should be enablers and not dictators. Give the club what it needs to be successful, and show authority when things aren't working, being decisive.

At Manchester United the owners have made enough funds available for us to be successful. Where the club has failed is the one of the owners wants too much say (Martial is his favourite player, and he pushed for his last contract renewal for example), and this both slows the process and means that someone who doesn't have the footballing knowledge is ultimately at times going against the advice of people who know better. The other area the club has failed is we fell into the same trap that sunk Liverpool in the early 90's. The club has become too much of a boys clubs, cronyism and people holding positions of power not based on experience and proven expertise but due to who they know. It has created a club that is too much of an echo chamber. If you want to be successful you don't surround yourself with hangers on or sycophants. You surround yourself with people who'll challenge you and question your ideas.

Not every idea you have will be a good one, in fact many will be bad. You need people around you who'll point that out, not nod and say "yes boss, great idea".

United have too many people who won't challenge things when they think something isn't right. The proof of that being the case is in the pudding. A decade of repeatedly making the same mistakes. If there was anyone of substance within the club they would challenge a decision to do something that has previously failed rather than sit by meekly and let it happen again.

There is a fine line between hiring people who you can work with and hiring people who will challenge and question things. A lot of that is based on you and your ability to be open to people questioning why a decision has been made, and being open to have a dialog when making decisions. It might ultimately be your responsibility to make a decision, but that doesn't mean others don't have valid points that you might want to consider and factor in. You want to hire confident, critical thinkers with area specific knowledge and experience.

At United we just haven't done that, off the pitch we have tended to hire people we know, regularly promoting from within, moving people up into positions they have no experience of.

I have nothing against Darren Fletcher, he's no doubt a great guy. Yet he is the best example of hiring someone for a role that for ages didn't even have a job title, and is a role that no one could quite define. While obviously Fletcher himself could have no experience or expert knowledge for a role that just didn't really exist.

I mean what was he hired for? What was he there to do? And what qualified him to be there doing that role?

I don't mind hiring ex-players for some roles at the club, but it has to be on a basis of them earning it by being the best candidate for the role. Edwin van der Sar for example went away and studied, got the qualifications needed after retiring from playing. Started off in a junior role and had to prove himself to work up at Ajax. If we were to hire him I would hope it was based on what he has done off the pitch and not because he once played for us. But at least he has done the job and proven he is capable, we tend to hire people connected with the club for roles they have never done before.

When we get told we are amateurish, this is what it is referring to. A consistent approach to bring in the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Then for some reason be surprised that it doesn't work out. So continue to do the same thing over and over again rather then question the ability of the friends we employed to make those decisions.

SJR is a self made billionaire, he has done so entirely because he doesn't surround himself with sycophants. He hires the best people and builds good, healthy working relationships with them. He wouldn't be able to be where he is today if he didn't. Everyone who knows him speaks highly of him because he's highly competent and he's personable. Able to build those good relationships and get the best out of those around him. That in itself draws the best people to him, they respect him and want to work with him.

He looks to be trying to use that same approach that has made him the success he is to our club. If he can do that then I am confident he will make a success of our club.

It all sounds promising, JCB likely to come in at CEO. A man who has held that position at Juventus and PSG and performed with distinction at both clubs. No doubt he'll shake thing up at the club and clear out those who aren't helping to progress the club. He will be a massive upgrade on Richard Arnold who proved how out of depth he was by meeting fans in the pub. It's actions like this that give credence to the rumours of his lack of professionalism. He has made a career out of being Ed Woodward's understudy. He was in no way qualified to be running the club.

While the links to Paul Mitchell also sound promising. Again hiring someone who doesn't have a connection with the club, but has proven his ability at other clubs.

These two appointments will only be the start, and what happens next will be impossible to accurately predict because until these new guys come in, assess the situation and decide what (and who) needs to change then we won't see those changes. Assessing then implementing will take months, maybe a year. While it won't be until those changes have been full implemented and refined and done over a period of time will we be able to fully see the results of that. It'll be years before we can appreciate the changes. But they are coming and they are starting now.

Finally something to truly look forward to, some real hope.

17 Nov 2023 14:37:38
We've kept replacing managers but not the execs or the players they bought.

17 Nov 2023 14:45:51
I don't know how these guys will pan out but it's been a long time since I truly felt there was anything other than blind hope that the stars aligned and it would all come good.

Getting in top level execs who are competent is a very good place to start.

17 Nov 2023 15:02:10
So you rely on journalist when it suits, like martial is Glazers favourite player and they wanted to overpay him millions only way to know that would be if they actually told you which I doubt
You know how SJR conducts business and made his millions too and what calibre of people he surrounds himself with again you’re listening to journalist, the same journalist you say talk rubbish and are lazy all the time! But you listen when it backs up your view unless he shared that information personally with you
Your making all this up as per usual and trying to pass it off as factual when in reality it’s just your view yet again and to be fair you jump on every band wagon for past 10 years and ride it out till it goes pear shape and abuse everyone else when they jump ship before you only for you to eventually jump ship and back track anyway.

17 Nov 2023 18:26:41
Rangersred, It's been said by ex-managers that Joel Glazer refused to sanction selling Martial. There are direct quotes. Could be a lie of course, but at least there is something tangible. Someone has put there name to it.

Either way someone at the club agreed to give him a new deal in 2019 after Jose wanted him gone, and Ole had come in and didn't want him either.

The point I'm making is that people are making bad decisions at the club not based on football knowledge or understanding.

I don't bother commenting on anything in the media that doesn't have a direct quote. If no one is willing to put their name and reputation on it, then its most likely b*****ks. Whenever you read "reports" or "someone close to" or "sources" then assume that its simply rubbish. It's just a way for the media to write something made up while attempting to give it some level of authority.

Even the things that are quoted you should still be sceptical and critically analyse it. Who is saying it, did they actually say it, has it been taken out of context, why are they saying it, is there an agenda or motive.

The problem is we have a tendency to lean into confirmation bias. We already have an opinion on something, so what we are looking for is proof we are right rather than gathering information to make an informed decision. We all tend to be guilt of that to varying degrees. What separates people though are the ones who acknowledge their own biases and factor that in when making decisions and forming opinions, from those who don't. The one that do tend to be the actual confident ones, the one who can accept being wrong or openly change their mind without concern of how it will make them look. The one's who ego isn't so fragile they can accepting they were wrong or misinformed.

As for who SJR surrounds himself with, no I do not know them personally. I also cannot personally vouch for their competence.

However, my point was about that how successful you are is directly correlated to who you spend time with and who is in your inner circle. That's a well known and proven fact with hundreds of articles of academic literature to support that.

if you read what I wrote with an open mind rather than with an attempt to find fault then you'd have spotted that I said:

"He wouldn't be able to be where he is today if he didn't. "

highlighting that in order for him to go from regular Joe to billionaire, that to do so he would HAVE to surround himself with the right people and hire the best. Simple you can't go from nothing to billionaire by hiring the wrong people and surrounding yourself with sycophants. It's just not possible.

So no I don't need to know these people personally or get the words right from the horses mouth. Somethings are just common sense based on the evidence before you.

I've never said what I write is anything other than my opinion. If you don't have the comprehension or intellect to read accurately what is written, rather than what you want to see or expect to. Well that's on you and there's not a lot I can do about that.

I do support managers and players when they join the club, even if I'm not personally convinced they are the right person when they join. I do that because I consider that THE fundamental aspect of being a supporter of the club. You can't be a supporter without showing support.

So I do until it gets to the point where its clear and obvious that the situation is no longer recoverable and a parting of the ways is inevitable.

I'd argue that I don't abuse anyone, I'll have a little banter, but I appreciate and respect the editors on here and anything that crosses over to being abusive will not make it through to the pages. Although I appreciate that we have some posters with a delicate disposition who can't handle people disagreeing with them, saying they are wrong, or light hearted banter. To those people I'd imagine they consider anything other than total agreement lavished with praise and compliments to be abusive towards them.

Of course not everything that makes you angry, upset, sad, feel stupid or hurt is abuse.

The abusive posters simply get banned. Their abuse doesn't get posted but their account gets blocked. Forcing them to have to create new account after new account to enable them to keep posting.

I've had the same account for more than 15 years, which tells you something. I was banned once for a week, about 10 years ago, for something I said which was called out as ignorant. On reflection it was, I apologised, learned from it, grew up and got on with my life. Which seemed the my progressive approach rather than create a new account and refuse to anything.

18 Nov 2023 19:06:25
It’s been also said my ex managers and ex players and pundits that ETH is out of his depth, but you ignoring them ones but taking note of the ones that say something you like! Normal service resumed….

18 Nov 2023 22:03:29
Ex players and ex managers who are removed from the situation and actually have no idea what is going on. Or the ones who are being paid to say things that can be clipped up and put into print?

I'd imagine if you gave your noggin a wobble it'd rattle😂.

19 Nov 2023 02:48:47
Stalker alert Shappy, it’s so embarrassing.

19 Nov 2023 07:57:08
Rangersred is entitled to his opinion is he not? After all it’s a discussion forum! Bit of digression beats the same boring monopoly…….

19 Nov 2023 11:17:24
Fireman,

Opinion is fine, trolling as different usernames, getting blocked then doing the exact same thing again isn’t fine. Do you actually think all of the negative stuff and nothing positive is his opinion or the opinion of a troll just trying to get a reaction from Shappy (that he never gets)

14 Nov 2023 13:11:43
Afternoon Ed hope all is well with you.
What is the situation with Osimhen? Are United looking to sign the player?

{Ed002's Note - Victor Osimhen (S) Napoli made it clear to Chelsea who enquired in 2021 that even €100M would not buy the player - but they do maintain an interest and he has been first choice and expect an offer to be made. Al Hilal may well offer Napoli the €200M they will look for, but that may not suit the player just yet. PSG and Real Madrid could look to him as an option but Madrid would want to offer players in exchange and have two preferred targets. There is a suggestion that Liverpool have negotiated directly with the player and his agent and not spoken to Napoli. Given Napoli registered a complaint against Liverpool over another player last year, it would seem unlikely, or particularly stupid. Napoli will seek a new contract in the first instance.}

14 Nov 2023 17:54:01
Osimhen is a good striker, bit not worth anywhere near the fee Napoli would demand for him. Inconsistent touch and a poor injury record create enough doubt to easily decide that anything over 80m is too much.

The club have spent big to bring in Hojlund so I don't see them spending another huge fee on another striker. Obviously we do need another striker, but I'd expect a move for either an older player. Or a move for a good striker whose not quite in the top tier of forwards. Ivan Toney on the face of it would be ideal, 27 years old and entering his prime, EPL proven and would fit the homegrown criteria, also capable of playing wide on occasion. The only downside is that he wouldn't be that much cheaper than Hojlund most likely as he'll be coming from another EPL club. Possibly move for someone like Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord.

14 Nov 2023 23:26:04
Crazy that people think we can't have 2 top strikers to play 1 position fergie had 5 to play 2, hojlund needs someone to challenge him not a 30-40m player to come on as a sub now and than and not really put him under pressure.

I wouldn't touch Toney he's done good for Brentford but his attitude towards his betting was awful didn't think he'd done anything wrong and in my opinion he's lucky to play again.

Giminez I'm pretty sure ed has said on the Chelsea page will cost a ridiculous amount. If we want to get serious we need top players challenging each other in every position not one comfortable player and a clear "back up" like we have at the moment.

For me we need a top striker or another young striker to get them both trying to better each other or maybe form a partnership, playing Rashford and hojlund as a 2 through the middle could be and interesting option also. We need to look to the future and building a squad to compete, all round, there aren't lots of "top" strikers out there bagging loads of goals so we should be looking to younger players like hojlund for it.

Marcos Leonardo is one linked, we were looking at sesko but he's only just moved to Leipzig, we should definitely be looking at Ferguson but he seems to have injury issues atm, I don't know enough about Giminez but I have seen he would be very expensive, Jonathan David is also a name that always pops up.

15 Nov 2023 08:17:30
Brooks, it's not about not needing/ wanting another top striker, it's about making sensible choices when rebuilding the squad.

At best we might have 200m a season to rebuild the squad. Players like Osimhen or Ferguson will cost over half of the transfer budget, seriously restricting who else we could bring in.

If we are honest we need a CB, a RB, two midfielders, and a RW for the starting first 11.

We also need a second CB, a ST, another wide player and another midfielder or two for the squad to allow rotation without a drop in quality.

A striker is in the second category, not someone needed to start, but someone needed to challenge the starter. It would be madness to spend the bulk of our budget on a player needed for squad depth thus restricting us signing one of the five players we need to actually improve our starting 11.

15 Nov 2023 08:48:18
agree with your thoughts shappy on what we need with the exception of 2 cb tbh, but i think that is what we need pdq. Factor in the next couple of windows and we could lose, maguire, lindlehof evans, varane,
midfield- eriksen, casemiro possibly even fernandes, donny
up front, martial, sancho, pellestri, antony.
Really think they could be realistic departures and soon due to form, fitting the play and age which leaves even more gaps to fill both first team and squad players.

15 Nov 2023 06:43:28
Dbrooks

David's first touch is also poor and I would think he is way down the list for us. I think the guy from forrest, Awoniyi is a good striker and maybe not as sexy as some of the guys playing in other European leagues but PL proven and you know what you are getting.

Ed002

Is there any interest in him from United or any other teams.

{Ed002's Note - ten Hag tried to sign him for Ajax butif the price can be resolved he will move to Milan.}

15 Nov 2023 12:13:53
We have to be sensible but the players your linking are stilly crazy expensive. Brentford have repeatedly said they want near 100m for Toney and he is not near worth that amount.

Marcos Leonardo is supposedly around 25-30m in Jan young and lots of potential could be a good option.

I'm not saying I have the answers but never ever should you sign "back ups" when building a team if your building your saying what you have needs improving so why would you buy someone to keep them first choice?

I agree with what we need not sure on 2 wide players we need 1 Rw with amad and pellistri. Think we definitely need 2 CBS maybe 3 Maguire and varane have to be gone for next year, Maguire's been good but playing him changes the style we play same with mctominay, varane cannot stay fit You probably keep lindelof for a year as a 4th choice so you don't have to spend silly.

15 Nov 2023 15:38:41
Thanks Ed. So no interest from United?

15 Nov 2023 16:24:15
Funky, If Martinez fully recovers and gets back to last season's form then I think we only need one starting CB to play along side him. While a second would be needed for squad depth.

If we are looking at our "best" starting 11 if everyone is fit then it'll be something like:

Onana, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Eriksen, Antony, Bruno, Rashford, Hojlund.

For me the ones that need replacing are Varane, Casemiro and Eriksen due to their age and the fact they are declining. With Dalot and Antony needing replacing due to them not being good enough to be first choice (maybe decent as squad options) .

Which is why for me it's RB, CB, CM, CM, and RW. Maybe players like Mainoo or Amad make a case for a spot at CB or RW if they can step up.

For me the issues at RB and RW while troublesome are not as impactful as the issues in the heart of the team at CM and CB. It is our soft centre and lack of ability to dominate the middle of the pitch that makes it impossible for us to play well with any sort of consistency.

This is compounded by the fact that the back up options are a massive drop off in quality. Maguire, Lindelof, Evans, McTominay, Donny, and Amrabat are just not good enough.

Maybe Lindelof could stick around as a decent 4th choice CB, but ideally would be replaced. Yet I can't see us signing 3 CB's in one or two summers.

In midfield we have a few youngsters who could step up in Mainoo, Hannibal and Gore. Yet they are the only one's I'd keep. Mason Mount for me is the longer term Bruno replacement and occasional cover deeper in midfield depending on how we set up. However, we need a minimum of two probably three midfielders if we are going to control games and be more tactically flexible.

For me the order of priority would be CDM, CB, CM, RW, RB. Then after those 5 positions are bought I'd look at ST, CB and another CM (although I'd hope Mainoo has lessened the need by this point) .

How quickly we can get these players in will dictate how quickly we start seeing a more consistent style and higher level of performance.

Brooks, I tend to agree that Toney would be too much. I'm not sure what sort of price Gimenez would command. I'd have thought playing in the Netherlands for Feyenoord would mean he'd be at the cheaper end. However, if the Ed's say differently then I'll bow to their superior knowledge.

Either way the point remains the same, we need to find a cheaper back up player, but one with enough quality to be able to make a difference and for us to not see a massive drop off when they play. That is much harder than it seems.

16 Nov 2023 00:15:19
I agree we need to look to build for me we need to look at having a 1st choice and a young player to go with that position my target age range would be 18-24 no older, younger would be longer term unless it's a crazy special player.

GK onana and bayindir with a youth player or someone like Heaton that's pretty much sorted

RB I agree dalot probably needs to be let go and improved on AWB can be very useful to see games out or for a specific man marking job

CB needs a clear out only one to keep is Martinez maybe lindelof gets a year for the budget

LB for now it's ok I've always had concerns over Shaw his tracking back isn't great and he doesn't stop crosses at all malacia is a back up you may let him go to keep Fernandez around

DM casemiro was too much and too expensive needs to go, amrabat just doesn't look good enough

CM mount needs time, McT needs to go, eriksen and casemiro were bad signings for the money/ wage/ age they provide no energy to the team, as you say mainoo Hannibal and gore offer depth options we need 1st choice I think 2 with mount and those 3 would be enough

RW Antony probably needs to be moved on and same for Sancho leaves you with pellistri/ amad you probably want a first choice or you sell pellistri use amad to back up Bruno play mount here and buy a youngster bargdhi?

AM Bruno all day every day, amad/ mount can offer back up if their other positions are correctly filled

LW Rashford and Garnacho this spot is sorted for a while

St hojlund and the new Phil Jones Anthony martial needs someone to actually challenge hojlund for his spot push him to be better.

So sell:
Dalot
Maguire
Varane
Lindelof (maybe keep 1 more year)
Malacia (maybe 1 more year)
Casemiro
Eriksen
Mctominay
Antony
Sancho
Pellistri (? )
Martial

Buy
RB
2x CBs
2xCm (maybe 3 depending on mount and rw)
1x rw (young or first team depending on mount)
ST just a top quality challenger for hojlund

With the youth in midfield you maybe get 1 slightly older midfielder but is say aged between 22-26, striker could go either way but again wouldn't go older than 26.

We have to build which means the players have to be around for a couple of years, buying younger should also help those players keep their value of they don't work out.

16 Nov 2023 10:53:08
Brooks, I think we are pretty much on the same page. The only slight difference is that I'd be considering a third midfielder depending on how the youngsters do rather Mount. I think we need 4 really good options for the deeper midfield positions (No.6 and No.8).

At the moment the only one I'm fairly convinced has a future there in our squad if Mainoo. Gore will need more time and probably a loan, and while Hannibal has the talent it's yet to be seen if he has the temperament. He needs to learn to control his emotions and channel his frustration. Otherwise the manager will have to keep subbing him off to avoid going down to 10 men. You can't be successful at the top of the game when you are a liability.

I don't think either Casemiro or Eriksen were bad signings. Both played a big role in our successes last season. We overpaid for Casemiro, but that seems pretty standard for our club. Eriksen was probably the best free agent available when we signed him. I also think both add qualities to the dressing room that this squad lacked. The only downside to both of them is that they were 5 years older than would have been ideal. They were only ever short term options. The short-term solution to not being able to sign FdJ.

I actually wouldn't be against Casemiro staying next season as an experienced squad option alongside a youthful Mainoo to act as the back up to two new signings. With a view to maybe one of Gore or Hannibal taking his place the following year or if they aren't going to be good enough sign someone else then. However, that very much depends on whether Casemiro wants to stick around that long playing more of a bit part role. If a big offer comes in from Saudi Arabia then I can see him wanting to head there for a big final pay day. I actually think the decline in Casemiro is being slightly over egged. I think the issues that are exposing him more this season are more tactical in nature as opposed to him not being fit enough or losing some pace. The defence has dropped 10 yards deeper due to having to play players like Maguire, Lindelof and Evans who all lack pace and could be exposed by a higher line. This coupled with the forward players being asked to press high has meant the midfield has to cover a much larger area of the pitch. When you ask a two man midfield to cover that much space they will struggle, especially when they are often outnumbered. That's made it look like Casemiro has declined as it looks like he's chasing shadows, as he's effectively playing Rondos every game in midfield. Unfortunately due to the imbalance of the squad it's a tactical issue without any real solutions until players return from injury. But with the right players in the squad I think Casemiro would still be a very good player for us.

I tend to agree with the age profile your suggesting. I'd probably say we should be looking at players between 21-25, this rebuild will take 2-3 season's so you want your team to be hitting their peaks around that time. There is little to be gained from adding older players to this squad. They would only eat away at the budget and become another player who needs replacing before the team is ready to challenge. While signing players under 21 means they come with very little experience and while they might be an asset in 3 years time, they can't be relied on to perform right now. We still need players to be able to perform over the next couple of seasons, to be able to play most games in order to grow as part of the team. So I'd steer clear of players with less than 2 full seasons of top level football under their belt, as a minimum.

I'm on the fence between Dalot and AWB. One needs to go and create space for a genuine first choice option. With the other staying as back up. On one hand I can see the advantage of having a more defensive option like AWB as back up. On the other hand do you really want you back up player to be at the opposite extreme to your first choice option. That means having to make fundemental changes to how your team plays when you have to play AWB. Is being a good defensive option a little to niche?
Dalot on the other hand while not specialising in any particular area is much more technically sound and tactically flexible. He can play as a third CB, a fullback, a wingback and as an inverted fullback, as well as being able to cover both right and left hand sides.
Purely as a back up/ squad player Dalot is the much better option. He'd be able to fill in any role to a decent standard, which is what you need from your squad players. For example he'd enable us to have just one fullback on the bench as he can cover both sides. Meaning the manager could put another option on the bench to allow for greater flexibility and more tactical options to influence the game. Typically your bench is made up of only two types of players, the ones needed to act as cover in case of injuries of sending offs, and the ones who you want to be able to put on to change/ influence the game. Back up keeper and defenders tend to be in the first category, forwards or midfielders with a different profile to their on pitch counterparts tend to be in the second category.

If it were me I'd be far more inclined to keep Dalot over AWB even though currently I think AWB is performing better than Dalot. I just think for the role as a backup/ squad player Dalot offers more. Also typically a defence doesn't change how they play. Defending is far more dependent on consistency and reliability. I'm not sure the niche tactical option of a player like AWB will really be of any huge benefit to us.

You have a question mark over Pellistri, I haven't. Sell him. Talented enough young player but a little too lightweight and one dimensional to be anything more than a sub at the top end of the EPL. He also needs to be playing 90 minutes every week to develop any further, he won't get that at United.

Sell him and let him develop. I also think Hannibal might end up needing to leave to develop. Although it's his temperament that holds him back. Both are talented players, but maybe lacking a little something needed to play at the highest level, especially at their ages. And if they don't play regularly then they won't develop. Both might need to leave to have any chance of reaching their potential.

Very few players under the age of 21 have the talent, physical and mental resilience to play regularly for a top side. It's easy to think of the exceptions, but literally every other player probably didn't have what it took to play at those clubs at that age.

Some players at 18 have the talent and mentality, but haven't grown into their man's body yet. Others might have the physique and the mentality but not the level of talent, while the ones that always leave us most disappointed are the ones who have the talent and physique but lack the mentality. That's are the ones who tend to get a shot, they get chances and look like they might become future stars only for it to fizzle out due to them not being mentally ready. Either they get crushed by the expectations or they get an inflated ego and stop doing the work that is needed.

That's why I wouldn't sign a young player without at least two full seasons of experience under their belt. That normally means they have proven they have all three.