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Manchester United Rumours Member Posts
Phil_C's Profile
Phil_C's Posts and Other Poster's Replies To Phil_C's Posts
To Phil_C's last 5 rumour replies
22 Aug 2024 11:08:51
@Danny you're right, the money we get for some players is very little, but I don't think it's because of incompetence with Ashforth etc. I think it reflects the prices we paid for some individuals and the high salaries we pay even relatively junior players. When e. g. Pellistri goes to Greece, even on his earnings as a junior player at Utd he would be in top 10% in the league so hard to find teams who will take him, and harder still to find a team who can afford him. Pity, as he's a decent player - just a little but physically lightweight for EPL (and I've heard he doesn't always apply himself in training) . I think the same problem is magnified for e. g. Sancho for whom we paid a high fee, and is a big earner. When he is in the mood and in form he is a very good player indeed, but not many clubs would want to match his salary so we need to discount that a little to secure a sale. It will take a year or so to clear all of those issues from the squad (Sancho, Antony and to a lesser extent Casemiro and Eriksen who are excellent professionals, but were given overlong contracts at high salaries given their ages and stage in their career) .
21 Aug 2024 11:39:29
RJmanutd interested you would stick with Shaw and Malacia - I agree Shaw when fit is still quality, but he's not been consistently fit for a log while now, so my sense is that we need to look to the future with a young player who can develop. Amass looks a good prospect but we can't expect him never to lose form or fitness as he develops physically and tactically in next few years, so another young player (like Kerkez at Bournemouth) would be a sensible way to balance risk. If Shaw gets fit consistently he can take his place back, if not he hs to work for it same as everyone should. Last season I think LB was a major weakness for us (although lack of left sided CB with Lisandro injured did not help) and we were targeted. Amrabat is not a bad player, but chopping and changing where he played didn't help him or the team - trying to use him at LB was insanity! I agree that Reguilon and Weghorst weren't great, but I actually thought Sabitzer was a good player and he's looked good for Austria, and in the upper levels of German league (Bayern, RBL and Dortmund - although I can agree their levels are a little lower than EPL overall, Bayern don't buy too many complete mugs) . Biggest problem has been we have brought in some players who look good in other teams and systems, but we haven't coached them well and we haven't had a consistent style of play, so each match we have lurched from system to system. Hopefully this is something Wilcox and Ashforth will address together with Ten Hag but it's not an instant fix and I suspect it will take at least 2 seasons to sort properly. But if we can settle on a style of play, buy players who fit that system and coach players to work in that way, we should see progress. although some players are not very adaptable (either too thick or too ego driven to do so) . Even a team like City - with a huge amount of money and some serious talent available to them, and a well defined system of play by now - buy players and then it takes months for them to really fit the system and settle in - and some (e. g. Phillips, Grealish) don't ever really convince. This season I expect progress, but breaking top 4 will be a big achievement and we shouldn't expect a lasting challenge at top end of the table. I am pretty sure most of us don't expect that, even if we would love to see it.
21 Aug 2024 09:59:42
I'd be delighted to keep Scott McTominay - he always gives 100% and never let's you down. He isn't a technical midfielder the way e. g. Eriksen is, but he offers other things. I'd happily say goodbye to Eriksen and Casemiro - both have been fantastic players but their age is catching up and slowing them down. At their peak they would have graced any team but their best days are behind them. I think both still have a lot to offer going forward, but defensively they are too exposed and that makes it very hard to Mainoo etc. However, it's not their fault that Utd paid too much, and both deserve respect for their achievements in the game - at his peak Casemiro was world class in his role, and Eriksen has always been a joy to watch and a model pro.
Sancho I am not convinced has the heart to be a Utd player - wonderful skill but also not a fighter for the cause: if we can get a good price I would sell and move on just to clear the decks.
So, my ideal purchases in last days of window would be Ugarte, a young and hungry left back (Shaw and Malacia just too unreliable with injury: the Turkish guy looks good but I think the Hungarian guy at Bournemouth is more PL proven - but what do I know? ) and if possible another effort for Branthwaite. Unlikely to get them all, but it would be a truly fantastic window if we could achieve this.
14 Aug 2024 15:20:16
I think Maguire is not well suited to our style of play, and nor would he work in any other team playing that way, but he is not a bad player, just wrong for us. He also showed character in facing up to loss of captaincy and never dropped his effort and didn't hide - he's simply the wrong player for us. Like AWB I think he was a bad investment but they've both been professional and I wish them both well - elsewhere.
I wish Rashford who is very talented showed similar levels of application.