03 Jan 2025 07:39:32
{Ed's Note - Ork has posted a new article entitled, Moves I Would Make As Manchester United Manager

1.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 10:12:25
Martinez didn't seem one who'd be discussed as a potential departure a few months ago. In fact he seems our most likely captain as he was last game. But, his performances since RA came in have been dreadful. He's not alone in that regard, they're all really struggling.

2.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 11:00:20
His performances haven’t been great since he spent a month partying after the World Cup win. The aggression which was a big part of his game seems to have gone, maybe it is psychological after spending most of last season injured,
For me the only ones worth keeping in defence beyond the summer are Yoro, DeLigt, Mazroui and maybe Maguire with the optional 1 year if money is really that tight.

3.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 11:19:26
He is on a downward spiral hard to see if he will ever be as good as he was in first season- definately listen to offers for him.

4.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 11:49:08
It does seem like Lindelof and Evans will be off, and if we're going to be playing this formation maybe 6 CBs will be required including Maguire for the extra year.

5.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 12:38:51
I really don’t see the Love in with DeLigt to me he is slow and ponderous and nowhere near top level, I guess you can say United is nowhere near top level, but to get there we need better than DeLigt Martinez, Onana, I’m not even convinced by Mazzouri ok for 15 million and he tries but really not good enough in this system!
But it’s hard to know where to start so guess a Striker and LWB be good in January than a GK some CBs midfielder with legs be good in the summer along with another striker.

6.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 15:13:41
The most laughable thing about De Ligt is that, when we spaffed far too many quids on Maguire, there were sighs everywhere from people who thought United should have pushed harder to beat Juve to his signature.
That feeling may well have been justified, but since coming to United, his actual ability has presented the reality that he's actually no better than Maguire and that we've essentially brought in Maguire 2.0.

So, with that in mind, both Maguire and De Ligt should be considered the two primary options for the central CB position.
Now for a PL CB to succeed at the levels we aspire to, they need to tick at least 2 of these 3 boxes - strength, recovery speed and ability on the ball.
Maguire and De Ligt only really fail badly on speed.
With the RCB options, Yoro fails on nothing and Maz might just lack that bit of physical edge, but they should be the two primary options for that role.
Now we get to LCB. Martinez is great on the ball, but what he lacks physically presents a real problem - he's not quick or mobile enough to cover the wide areas adequately and, regarding the physicality and aggression that were his tools to help mitigate for his smaller stature, he's been found out.
Shaw, in terms of box ticking, would be a better option for the role, but he's as robust as a Faberge Egg.

Of all the CBs United should look to move on, Martinez is the only one who could raise a decent fee, but his value might start to drop significantly in the Amorim system, whereas there are younger players like Gasiorowski who would thrive in this system and offer Yoro-like game to the left side.

If we are to lose Lindelof and Evans (more likely by the day) then we'll be left with 6 senior options for the CB positions, with the left side covered by two players who cannot be relied upon to do the do.

Maybe we could instead sell Dalot to Real and then bring in Gasiorowski, but one way or another we need to start being astute.

7.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 15:49:18
Probably unattainable, but Murillo would be a great addition for our defence.

8.) 03 Jan 2025
03 Jan 2025 15:52:01
He's not had the best few games in recent weeks but I find it bizarre that anyone would question £15m for Mazraoui in today's climate. Probably our most consistent player I'd say.