27 Aug 2019 23:00:08
Well Sanchez is off, another bit of good news, hopefully this will mean Gomes may get a little more action.

1.) 28 Aug 2019
27 Aug 2019 23:31:02
Maybe we can hijack Rooneys move to derby in January and bring him in. Still had many years left in the tank when we foolishly let him leave.

2.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 00:07:59
Since turn of new year, we have seen fellaini, herrera, sanchez and lukaku leave. 4 senior players gone. You can say McT replaced Fellaini but he was already in the squad and playing when fellaini was also here. The point is debatable.

We can argue about sanchez, he really didn't work out at all.

Herrera was an industrious CM who gave it all everytime he stepped onto the pitch and Lukaku was proven goal scorer.

Whatever we think of OGS, there is absolutely not denying the fact that this board have left him hung out to dry. Yes we have seen 2 improvements made in defence but in attack, we are extremely light. An injury here and there and we are really up s*** creek without a paddle.

I can see what ole is trying to implement and whether or not he is good enough for the job, he has not been given the corrects tools to do his job.

And I hope whatever the outcome, the disappointment and anger that is frequently shown on this site be directed at the right people and not at a man that really only wants for this club to succeed.

3.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 02:13:20
If the Rumours that they’ll only be contributing around 1/ 4 of his wages are to be believed, I’d hardly call that good news.

4.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 04:56:32
Most of the things you say are true.
But necessity is the mother of all invention.
If Rashford and Martial know they don't have a lukaku on the bench they will need to step up.
Similar to what Rooney and Nani did when Ronaldo left.
What adebayor did, when Henry left.
Like higuain did when Raul was injured

I really want us to see Ole give the academy players a go.
I have been impressed by Greenwood, Gomes, Garner, Chong and Andreas Pereira.
The fact that Chong has turned loan moves to succeed here, is unusual and very good to hear.

5.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 08:09:34
The path for Chong and Greenwood is more clear now.

6.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 08:24:51
AngelRed: I disagree somewhat there. We still have 6 senior midfielders to cover two places in the team (Pogba, McTominay, Matic, Perreira, Fred, Fosu-Mensah), with one highly talented youth prospect, in Garner, knocking at the door. For years people have been talking about getting rid of the so-called deadwood, I've always seen that as mean culling the squad numbers, which we still need to do in defence (Rojo, Jones/ Smalling, Darmian) . The problem is that those midfielders in the squad are not necessarily of the level we need to succeed, but should be good for top four through a mixture of hard work and luck.

With James coming into the squad, Sanchez leaving is good. These departures are freeing up space in the squad to enable youth players to get game time. Why replace Lukaku when you can place your trust in Martial (who has an amazing record after four seasons for someone of his age, despite the hate he gets) and promote Greenwood as back-up? Martial is a better fit for the playing style Ole is trying to implement and can bag as many goals as Lukaku has over the past couple of seasons. With Sanchez gone, you suddenly see Rashford (who also has an exceptional record at his age) and James fighting for the left-spot, if Sanchez were to stay, he'd demand game time, and you'd likely see Rashford moved to the right, and James limited in game time, this is now longer an issue. Plus it allows Chong and Gomes to stake a claim, as they are more likely to get a chance.

I do think McTominay will grow over the season and would actually love to see Perreira pushed out to the right as he has a good delivery. I also believe the attacking midfield spot is the most problematic we have and should be sorted in January, or Gomes should at least be given a chance to see if he can fair better.

In terms of midfield, you'd hopefully see Matic and Fred moved on in the summer and replaced.