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Shappy's rumours posts with other poster's replies to Shappy's rumours posts

19 Jan 2021 13:41:29
Ed002, I'm hearing quite a lot of chatter about United holding an interest in the young Argentine defender Facundo Medina currently of RC Lens.

With rumours of even a possible move in January for him. Personally I find that unlikely as he only moved to France from South America last July.

Do you know if United hold an interest in him, and what the view of him is in France. He's supposedly caught the eye of several well thought of French pundits and coaches.

{Ed002's Note - I am not aware of Manchester United making an approach but ironically there is very significant interest from a number of clubs in his centre back partner, Loic Bade.}

1.) 19 Jan 2021 14:37:24
Ed002
Any truth to the rumours linking us to Robin Le Normand of Real Sociedad? Or is it just the random names linked for click bait purpose? Also is he any good? Not seen much him play.

Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - Robin Le Normand (CB) I am not aware of any approach to Real Sociedad by Manchester United but told another interested side that he was not for sale meaning that a club would need to agree to his buy out clause to effectively make an offer. But they do money and want to keep their "prized assets" so may be open to a good offer.}

2.) 20 Jan 2021 11:27:50
Is sign him just for the name alone. Bobby the Norman!

20 Dec 2020 13:24:21
Ed002, do you know if Manchester United have a serious interest in 19 year old Ecuadorian Moises Caicedo who has been linked to United in the past couple of days.

From what I've read without watching him he sounds like a promising, talented young CDM/ CM. But I would doubt he would be coming to United to be first choice anytime soon.

{Ed002's Note - My understanding is that he impressed when Manchester United were following up on looking at another player who they had first seen in the Real Sociedad reserves. There has been interest in Caicedo from a couple of other sides.}

1.) 21 Dec 2020 11:05:20
I can see him going straight into the first team squad, he's a full international, he's 19 so he's old enough. From his highlights package which is quite lengthy for someone that's not played for the last 6 months he looks a beast at tackling and breaking up play, chips in with a couple of goals. I think he's an ideal replacement for Matic over time, get used to the Premier League and get him ready for next season.

2.) 21 Dec 2020 12:25:08
Kidder, Pellistri looked the business in South America and is a similar age and has a similar amount of first team experience.

It's a huge step up in level of competition to the EPL, while they are young lads moving halfway around the world to a very different culture.

There will be a period of adjustment and I wouldn't expect him to be thrown into the first team immediately.

3.) 22 Dec 2020 20:01:28
A lot of talk in Ecuador (social media so pinch of salt lads) that something has been agreed.

13 Nov 2020 17:14:16
I've heard a rumour that United and Juventus have/ are exploring the idea of a Pogba/ Dybala swap either in January or next summer.

Dybala's wage demands are beyond what Juventus are prepared/ able to pay him and the stalemate over a possible new deal means they will have to sell by next summer at the latest to avoid possibly losing him on a free in 2022.

While Pogba's position at United has been clear for a long time. He wants to leave, but the club have blocked a move as they would need to sell for less than they paid and they don't want to lose face. However, the club have now got themselves in the stupid position of not being able to sell him due to the activation on the one year extension and they cannot "profitieer" from that extension. Meaning they keep an unhappy player for the next 18 months then lose him for nothing, they offer him a new massive deal and pay a player far more than he's worth and throw the wage structure into disarray, or they find a solution where he leaves and the club save face.

So, I was wondering is a Pogba/ Dybala swap even possible?

1.) 13 Nov 2020 17:39:25
Shappy they can sell him next summer or in Jan.

2.) 13 Nov 2020 17:58:53
Dybala is a good player for sure but plays mainly as a second striker. Is that the position we really need to reinforce the most? Feels like we'd go for him due to convenience rather than extensively scouted him etc and he be right for the team. Mishandling Pogba will lose us some serious cash ultimately. If we were going to swap Pogba for anyone at Juventus though I'd be targeting Matthijs de Ligt. At least then that's moving on a known problem for a potential solution (to our CB issue) .

3.) 13 Nov 2020 19:06:14
We already have too many Ams in Vdb, Bruno and Pogba why would we swap Pogba for Dybala. It would be like the dumbest thing to do.

4.) 14 Nov 2020 07:30:07
I think dybala could suit an interchanging front 3 system but yeah I would worry about him wanting to play the Bruno role. In an ideal world we’d just sell pogba, we have no use for him. He cannot play in a team with Bruno in my eyes as they occupy the same spaces and Bruno is much more reliable and had shown more in less than a year than pogba has since he returned. For me I would sell him and bring in a quality DM. Ideal would be Saul as he can play the deeper role but I think if we were to go down the purely defensive minded midfielder we couldn’t go wrong with Zakaria. Saying that Partey certainly looks the real deal atm.

5.) 14 Nov 2020 07:41:57
He isn't AM Singh, he is, as Halesini said, a second striker. It could mean a change of formation, and playing with two forwards.

6.) 14 Nov 2020 13:44:26
Always thought he’d be a great option at RF.

7.) 14 Nov 2020 14:10:14
Ken, my understanding is that as United triggered the one year extension in Pogba's contact (which would have been up next summer 2021) to last until 2022. That means any money from any sale would go to Pogba unless some sort of agreement can be reached between United and Pogba to circumvent the "profiteering" regulations.
i. e. the club can't activate the one year extension just to make money from his sale.

While Dybala wouldn't be my first choice option, I could see him working well in a two man front line if the management decided to go with a 41212 or 3512 shape full time with the squad.

I've heard that it is an option both club's are exploring to save face/ get a player they want/ avoid losing key players for free.

Personally I'd have sold Pogba last summer, and brought in Bruno a few months earlier.

Ideally I think we need a left sided CB partner for Maguire (as we are unlikely to drop a 80m player who is the club captain) . Getting a left sided CB means Maguire can be pushed over to the right hand side and get a little more protection from AWB.

A CDM to replace Matic long term, who struggles to play 2 games a week over a whole season. I really like McTominay, but I don't think he is a natural holding player. He best attribute is his running power and ability to move box to box, neither of which is used as a holding midfielder. While his passing range is limited, especially his long range passing accuracy, and his defensive reading of the game is average. Although he is strong in defensive duels. While Fred I'm not sure what his best role is. He isn't great creatively, his passing and first touch are erratic, he is terrible in the holding role. He is at his best as an annoying buzzing player, getting in the face of the opposition and winning the ball back then playing short, simple passes. However, I feel to really get the best out of him you would need BOTH a deeplying playmaker AND a No.10. either way, we seriously lack a natural holding CDM to cover/ replace Matic.

Then obviously we need a RW, it was meant to be Sancho. Whether that ship has sailed remains to be seen. Yet next summer we will likely have to compete with at least one of Liverpool, Chelsea, City, PSG, Real Madrid or even Barcelona for his signature. Meaning that he will likely cost more than what we weren't willing to pay this summer.

8.) 14 Nov 2020 16:32:08
People keep saying that, but is that really the case Shappy? Sancho wants to go to England, which would leave 4 teams in the race. Chelsea already has a lot of atackers, and if he choose Liverpool, he would be 2nd choice. He won't go back to City. PSG might be an option, but I think that's highly unlikely. Real has different targets in Mbappe, Haaland and the player from Ren (forgot his name) . Barcelona has no money, unless they sell some of their expensive players. Back to Liverpool, as I think they could be an option, if Salah leaves.

9.) 14 Nov 2020 17:18:28
Trololo, Salah might leave Liverpool next summer so Sancho could be the replacement.
City might have a new manager and could look for a big name signing for the manager and could look to Sancho.
PSG might lose either Mbappe or Neymar and would look for a top signing to replace either of them.
Real Madrid have been approached by his agent and could easily switch their focus to him if they can't get other targets.
Barcelona might be looking for a replacement for Messi and Sancho could be the ideal player.
Chelsea are less likely to get involved, but do have a previous interest.

I doubt ALL of those sides would be interested, but if even ONE of them are then we immediately face competition for him which we didn't have this year. While the likelihood that NONE of them would show an interest is slim at best.

10.) 14 Nov 2020 20:39:32
Considering we keep playing juan mata right wing and let him drift infield and link up with other attackers, it isn't outside the realm of possibilities that dybala could do a similar sort of role.

11.) 15 Nov 2020 01:07:46
We might as well swap him with cash. The guys is the modern day Carlton Palmer.

12.) 15 Nov 2020 01:16:40
Sure Shappy, we both got our opinions about that possible transfer, but you made it look like every club out there is going to fight for Sancho. There is no chance that every club you mentioned will be interested in him. Liverpool could easily be the only contender.

13.) 15 Nov 2020 05:42:41
Dybala has a fantastic left foot and can easily play on the right side of a front three.

14.) 15 Nov 2020 10:31:27
Trololo, I'm not sure I did.

"Yet next summer we will likely have to compete with at least one of Liverpool, Chelsea, City, PSG, Real Madrid or even Barcelona for his signature. "

That's what Is said in my post. Where I clearly say "likely" and "at least one of".

I haven't said anyone would definitely be in for him, just that several other clubs are likely to hold an interest.

Personally I think the deal is dead. If we weren't prepared to pay what Dortmund wanted this year then why would we pay it next year?

{Ed002's Note - Juventus are already in discussions with another side over Dybala as clubs are making an effort to agree transfers as early as possible. An exchange for Pogba is not something that has been discussed and there remains the issue of a renewed contract if Dybala were to drop his insistance on a particular clause in his contract.}

15.) 15 Nov 2020 11:35:57
Cheers Ed002, that puts that to bed.

16.) 15 Nov 2020 22:42:19
Sorry, I read it in that manner. Yes, we wouldn't pay that amount, but neither did anyone else. Obviously the price was too high. As much as I'd like to see Sancho playing for United, it shouldn't happen at that price.
And virus is still active, I doubt much will change until summer, concerning other clubs (and Uniteds) budget.

16 Oct 2020 10:38:29
"Paul's our player, he's going to be here for another two years and I'm sure Paul is focused on doing his best for us and we want to see the best of Paul. I'm sure in the next couple of years we'll get the best out of him. "

Solskjaer's most recent comments about Paul Pogba. So I doubt he'll be dropped for the Newcastle game, and it looks like the club intend to activate the one year extension and let him leave on a free in 2022. Poor decision in my opinion, and just shows the lack of leadership, direction and basic understanding of football from the top brass at the club.

1.) 16 Oct 2020 11:19:35
“Pauls head is elsewhere, he has wanted to leave for the past 3 summers, didn't see eye to eye with previous manager like a lot of the squad. Paul is not focused on doing his best for us, i'm sure hell excel elsewhere in the next couple of years”.

Probably closer to the truth but ole is hardly gonma say that in his press conference.

2.) 16 Oct 2020 11:37:01
What about the poor decision making from Old to keep shoe-horning him in the midfield, playing deep when it clearly isn't working?

3.) 16 Oct 2020 12:16:03
It worked pretty well last season post lockdown.

I can't think of a single player who has played well in the league for us this season.

4.) 16 Oct 2020 12:57:35
Just don't play him. Should be easy enough for the manager.

5.) 16 Oct 2020 13:08:01
Maybe Paul Scholes?

6.) 16 Oct 2020 13:15:08
Did it dsg? 2 cup semi finals and a dismal few games before that.
Our best run was when pogba was injured.

7.) 16 Oct 2020 13:17:04
so we will be playing with ten men for the next two seasons then.

8.) 16 Oct 2020 13:20:00
DarkKnight, With Pogba there are three options with him in the squad.

1. Don't play him at all. but the draw back is every time you drop points that decision will be questioned. While if the club weren't going to play him they might have well sold him this summer even if it was for 10m.

2. Play him in a position that will get the best out of Pogba even if that is to the detriment to other players such as Bruno, Rashford or whoever. The plus side is pogba plays well, the downside is others might not. Plus if Pogba doesn't sign a new deal then he leaves after we have built the team around him.

3. Try and crowbar him in at his detriment and not that of other players who are committed to the side. That way if he leaves then he isn't a key player in our squad. While other players haven't had their form impacted by Pogba. While win, lose or draw you can't be questioned for leaving out "potentially" one of our best players.

None are good options, we have an unbalanced squad and a key player who wants to leave. Ideally the club would have moved him on this summer and Donny would have been his replacement in the first team. While Lingard or Pereira could have added depth until next season when hopefully one or two of Garner, Levitt and Mejbri might be ready to push for a first team spot depending on how they develop this season.

9.) 16 Oct 2020 15:02:48
I agree with Ken. Our best run was with Fred-Mactominay double pivot.

10.) 16 Oct 2020 17:38:49
2 guys with limited talent giving it everything are better than a player with lots of talent but not giving it his all.

11.) 16 Oct 2020 17:52:22
Ken, Pogba featured in every unbeaten game since project restart.
His first appearance post lockdown was against Spurs in which he won us the penalty after coming on as a substitute.
Apart from that he started all other matches.

I just feel he is not motivated to play for us. It shows in the lack of effort.
There are times when Bruno busts his guts and tracks back when he loses the ball, but I've yet to see that attitude from Pogba.

12.) 16 Oct 2020 17:55:05
Ken i wouldn't say that the only problem is he doesn't give everything. The 2 limited guys you refer to are simply better than Pogba in this role, they are better defencive 8 in this double pivot role.

13.) 16 Oct 2020 18:27:15
Pogba should be playing as understudy to Bruno, with Fred and VdB and Matic and McTominey fighting for the other two positions.

14.) 16 Oct 2020 18:53:36
Trd read the post.
We have been poor since he came back in the team. I think since project restart we played well twice. Before restart we played well in 7 or 8 games while he was injured. Our form has deteriorated since the restart game by game until now.
Its not just him ole has them all playing badly especially his own signings.

15.) 16 Oct 2020 18:59:08
Given how Pogba has played for the last year he doesn’t even merit a place in the starting 11. If it wasn’t for his commercial/ social media value the club would be working much harder to shift him out. Also, our relationship with Real Madrid is horrendous and I can’t see us ever selling anyone to them under the current environment. I saw Spanish reports that Barcelona were interested and perhaps we could get some players from them in exchange. De Jong would be my top choice, he’s come into some criticism from the Catalan media recently and when that happens then 90% of the time it doesn’t work out well for the player.

16.) 17 Oct 2020 08:07:26
Not sure Real will be Pogba's next destination, aren't they prioritising Mbappe, a right winger and Camavinga next summer?

17.) 18 Oct 2020 06:50:00
He wouldn’t excel anywhere dsg he’s a no good drama queen.

07 Oct 2020 17:41:33
So according to Fabrizio Romano United intended to sell Pogba to Juventus and bring in Sancho as the big name player to replace him. That would fit with the club signing DvdB who is more of a Pogba replacement.

However, Juventus couldn't raise the funds and as such never followed through with their interest.

Which may have had a bearing on the Sancho deal.

1.) 07 Oct 2020 18:28:32
That makes so much sense - gutted we couldn’t get it done. At least it’s reassuring knowing pogba was intendeded to be sold.

2.) 07 Oct 2020 18:41:25
From January he's free to sign a pre nup with any foreign team. The chance to sell him was this summer. Would be mad if Juventus signed him on a free 2and time.

3.) 07 Oct 2020 19:35:19
Think United can trigger an extra year I am sure Ed002 may have mentioned it but I could be wrong.

4.) 07 Oct 2020 19:42:03
Should have gone last summer. Hopefully we don’t give him another deal just so that we don’t lose him for free.

5.) 07 Oct 2020 20:09:45
Didnt Juve spend over €100million on two midfielders, Artur and Kulusevski in the last window. Sounds like the cash was there if they really wanted Pogba.

{Ed002's Note - No, Arthur was offset by Pjanic. Kulusevski was purchased prior to the pandemic.}

6.) 07 Oct 2020 20:15:11
surley the juve staff could have a whip round for 20 quid.

7.) 07 Oct 2020 20:21:54
Would triggering the extra year with the intention of selling him be classed as profiteering as Ed002 has mentioned before? I don't understand and try to stay clear of the complicated stuff maybe someone could educate me.

{Ed002's Note - Clubs are not allowed to profiteer. They can extend contracts and strike a deal.}

8.) 07 Oct 2020 20:30:08
Thanks Ed, is Fabrizio is basically correct?

{Ed002's Note - I have no idea what he has said but if he told you this he does not understand the situation with these players.}

9.) 07 Oct 2020 20:34:06
That does make sense. But be careful guys, doesn't that suggest our board and manager are not as stupid or inept as they are painted in the media?

Planning for the future and repairing bad decisions? Whatever next, if we aren't careful we might just see plans to source the worlds beat prospects, loan out our talent and not lose them at the end of their deals, reintegrate the ones who shine, and get the ones who don't off our books for a nice little earner we can put into prooer investment in the stadium surrlunding infrastructure, scouting, player acquisitions and uograded training facilities.

Increasing the value of the asset? Having a plan staribg us inbthe fce but we are so busy whining we havebt won the keague we dobt notice?

What a ridiculous thought.

I wish the manager would come out and say whether he believes we should expect to win the league this year, or for the Board to say in advance of the transfer window what we should expect given there is a C.V. so we could show some faith rather than negativity and let the media turn us toxic again! OH, wait a minute.

10.) 07 Oct 2020 20:45:22
I really don't understand the profiteering thing.

I assume it means that the club can't extend the contract by the additional year just so they can sell the player and make a profit.

But if we did extend it and an offer came it, I assume we could still accept it.

Ed02, can you explain the concept in a bit more detail or perhaps point to another source worth reading?

{Ed002's Note - The concept is that you cannot extend to make money but if the player is sold the profit, or a negotiated profit, would go to him.}

11.) 07 Oct 2020 23:48:31
Surely nobody is going to pay £89m for Pogba?

12.) 08 Oct 2020 08:13:27
My understanding of profiteering is that if you have a player like Pogba say, who has a year left on his contract but the club has an option to activate for a further year. Now in theory Pogba could leave for free next summer and receive a large signing on bonus as he is moving on a Bosman. However, if the club activate his year extension only to sell him and make some money thus negating the signing on fee Pogba would receive that is considered profiteering.

Only activating the contract extension to make a profit.

With Pogba United only have three options left.

1. Let him leave for free next summer.

2. Offer him a new deal, either with the intention of him staying here long term or with an agreement to sell him for a fixed fee.

3. activate the one year extension and keep an unhappy player for a further year before losing them on a free.

Ideally the best option for the club now would be to give him an extension and agree to sell him for a set price. He would need to be compensated for that, probably with very high wages, or an agreement that he receives a larger percentage of the transfer fee.

13.) 08 Oct 2020 09:32:55
Don't know if this kind of post is kosher but maybe this is worth a read for those of us who have a genuine interest in how things work.


Transfers report

14.) 08 Oct 2020 11:35:21
Juventus probably ran a mile after seeing his pathetic performances over the last 2 season. I wouldn't pay a million for him, he is sh*t!

15.) 08 Oct 2020 12:15:21
Sim, the sad thing is he isn't. He just isn't suited to being the player you build your team around.

Pogba is better suited to being the luxury player you add to an already great team, the player who can add a touch of magic and win those tight games. But he will make mistakes and be defensively lax.

If he goes to Juventus he will be a success there.

16.) 08 Oct 2020 14:03:25
Shappy he is rubbish. nothing you can tell me will change my mind so stop wasting your time. He's been absolute garbage for 2-3 seasons now. Get a grip!

17.) 08 Oct 2020 14:33:28
This is odd considering Romano spent the whole summer insisting Pogba was happy at United and contract talks would begin after the window closes.

18.) 08 Oct 2020 15:28:15
Romano is full of crap. gets the odd bit tight but even a broken clock is right twice a day.
He makes a fortune through social media. fair play to him he is a bigger con merchant that ole.

19.) 08 Oct 2020 16:27:46
ken, I strongly disagree.
FR is one of the very best and reliable.
Each and every one of his update this transfer window has been absolutely spot on.

20.) 08 Oct 2020 16:23:15
Sim, no player has scored and assisted more goals than Pogba since he joined the club. If he is rubbish then every other member of the squad is more rubbish than him.

If you were to say he doesn't live up to the hype, or that there are clear faults in his game then fair enough. If you want to question whether the club should be holding on to player who doesn't want to be here, or a player who played an active role in getting a manager sacked then celebrated it. Then I'm with you 100%.

But to say he isn't a talented footballer, despite all his managers, coaches, pundits and fellow players all appreciating his ability. Just makes you seem like you know very little about football.

Pogba hasn't lived up to the hype, and he isn't interested in being here and the time for the club to cut their losses has long since past. But the guy has more natural talent in his left leg than pretty much everyone else in our squad.

Pogba is a very good player, potentially great. We as a club just haven't been able to give him the platform he needs to get the best out of him. That's partially his fault for not working hard enough on eliminating the weaknesses in his game, that's partially the managers fault for not getting the best out of him and that's partially the club's fault for not creating a team in which he can thrive.

21.) 08 Oct 2020 18:18:45
Snappy I think it’s fair to say that Pogba was decent. But for the past 18 months to two years he’s been a terrible footballer. Actually he’s consistently put in some of the worse performances I’ve seen in a United shirt. If that means I know nothing about football than fair enough, but I can’t understand how anyone can defend him.

22.) 08 Oct 2020 18:37:18
Shappy what more could we do to create an environment for pogba? Near enough every signing has been to “unlock” him. He’s got all the ability in the world, there’s not much he can’t do with a ball. The frustrating thing is he doesn’t do it for 90mins. His best moments in the United shirt was the city game. Where he was god awful first half.

I don’t think he’s a bad fella at all, but he’s not someone I want Hannibal mejbri for example to be looking up too. He throws his arms about when he loses the ball, doesn’t work hard enough without it either. If he played simple and released the ball early he’d be fantastic, but he’s more interested in looking good. His start to this season has been nothing short of a disgrace. The sooner he’s gone the better for him and for us as a club.

23.) 08 Oct 2020 19:27:39
Pogba is similar to Mesut Ozil for me. Ridiculous amount of talent but lacking the desire to be the best.
Ironically, they are both World Cup winners. I honestly think the problem is players now are so rich that some just lose focus on football.
These guys have hit the very pinnacle of football and have money we could only dream of.
Both seem like decent enough guys who could’ve been up there with the best of their generation but neither will really be remembered as such.

24.) 08 Oct 2020 19:51:41
Ozil has achieved a lot more then Pogba has ever done.

Comparing Ozil and Pogba is laughable.

In regards to the original post, we need to just get rid of Pogba and build the team around a new CM like Niguez if we can get him and move forwqrd as a club once and for all.

25.) 08 Oct 2020 20:20:10
Why’s it laughable Singh?
Both players have bags of talent but have flattered to deceive.
What has Ozil achieved? 3 FA cups? La Liga?
Pogba has a few Scudetto’s and a Europa League medal.
This wasn’t my point though. I used Ozil as an example of another player who has the talent but won’t really be remembered for being a great player.

26.) 09 Oct 2020 00:19:32
Singh I think means Ozil played top level football for more years. Its not only about trophies. Ozil was top class for several years and Pogba is only about potential. Even at Juventus it was more about potential and some flashes more than a top player playing 90 minutes good football every week.

27.) 10 Oct 2020 15:35:48
I think it’s simple really. Pogba has lots of talent but only produces flashes of it because he just ain’t suited to the premier league. He needs a league such as serie a which is less intense/ fast so he has the time to shine. Would do well in the Spanish league too.

Shappy's banter posts with other poster's replies to Shappy's banter posts

26 Feb 2021 12:21:02
AC Milan in the next round of the Europa League. Great game.

1.) 26 Feb 2021 12:28:20
Battle of the fallen giants.
Zlatan vs Cavani, Interesting draw.

{Ed077's Note - Cavani is certainly not a fallen giant yet. And Zlatan is still one of the top scores in Serie A. But an interesting draw none the less.}

2.) 26 Feb 2021 13:05:45
I think he means the clubs not necessarily the players 🤔.

3.) 26 Feb 2021 12:47:31
Ed077, I meant United and Milan as the fallen giants :)
Zlatan is proving age is just a number to him.
And definitely this will be the fixture most around the world would be eagerly watching.

{Ed077's Note - my bad then😩}

4.) 26 Feb 2021 12:48:25
I've said before that I would bin the EL, I certainly wouldn't be trying hard to win it. 2 games versus AC Milan, then another 2 in the quarter final, then another 2 for the semi final before the final. Another potential 7 games is a lot especially in an already congested season.

In my opinion I'd rather face the toughest opponent in each round. That way we either take out a serious contender or if we lose then it's against the best side left in the competition.

In that regard AC Milan is the perfect draw. Plus it means we don't have to travel to a far flung corner of Europe.

Will be good to welcome Zlatan back as well.

{Ed077's Note - Shappy we know how the competition works, even Man Utd won it 4_5 yrs ago😜}

5.) 26 Feb 2021 12:55:19
Fallen giant, yet our best striker by a distance.

6.) 26 Feb 2021 15:30:06
Our manager is soley looking to get top 4 this year again so he can stay in a job. He will certainly be looking over his shoulder in the league instead of at City. And the Europa League might be a saving grace if the wheels come off in the league.

He couldn't even rest our best players in a dead rubber.

I'd agree with you Shappy if we weren't 10 point behind City I would bin it too. But we aren't in a title race and I would love to see us lift a trophy at the end of the season.

7.) 26 Feb 2021 15:46:39
Mumbles, my view is if either Bruno or Rashford get a long term injury then finishing in the top 4 becomes seriously in doubt. I'm not sure if trying to win the European consolation cup is worth it risking it.

{Ed077's Note - Just Finishing in the top 4 but not 1st gives you CL footy for next season but no trophy. Winning the EL also gives you CL footy next season but also a trophy to go along with it. And I prefer winning real trophies over the fictional good cup that Arsenal invented.}

22 Feb 2021 13:09:25
So the stories circulating currently is that the club have gone cold on the Sancho deal. Possibly due to the numbers involved and the need to spend on other parts of the squad.

This coincides with the stories that "many" people at the club have been hugely Impressed with Amad Diallo and feel he could make an impact next season.
Couple this with Greenwood finding some form again and a general improvement in his all round game. The question is does the club need to spend 70m+ minimum to sign a 20 year old RW when we have two talented young players who are 18 and 19 pushing for minutes on the RW?

I think this summer will see a tightening of the belt around Europe with far less business than usual. Its unlikely teams will sign 4 or 5 players, probably only 2 or 3 at most.
Clubs like ours that have several players they need to offload might find it hard to find buyers, certainly buyers who'll pay anything close to asking price.

We might have to pick which areas of the squad are most important to improve and which will have to make do until 2022. Have we got young players in that position who could step in and do a job for a year? Maybe even claim a spot long term.

There are rumours of us looking at RB's, but with AWB, Dalot, Williams and Laird does it make sense to sign a squad player there or is a key first teamer a better option in another position?

The general consensus is that we need a CB, CDM, RW, ST and RB. If we can only sign 3 players for which 3 positions do you think are most important?

1.) 22 Feb 2021 13:45:09
CB, CDM and a Striker would be my picks mate. I agree with you in that we could be ok in the right back position with our current players and Dalot on loan. Also Diallo we arw hoping will play a lot more next season. I've watched a lot of Declan Rice this season and would love him as our CDM. In the striker position then obviously Haaland would be the dream I also love Lautaro Martinez but wouldn't hold my breath on either of them to be honest. In terms of a CB there isn't anyone screaming out at me right now. Maybe you can throw a name at me and I'll give you my opinion on that particular player.

2.) 22 Feb 2021 13:57:54
I think 2-3 signings is about right for a major club each year, they never have the massive clear-outs everybody wants. Unless they have Russian billionaires.
With this in mind.
CB - The priority. With Jones likely to move on, and none of the current players exactly excelling, someone who can walk in to the position is crucial.
CDM - I suspect this is one area where Utd have options as McT, Matic and Fred have all played here. All can be very good on their day and until Matic (or one of the other) leaves I don't see this as an immediate issue, despite the constant links with Soumane/ Rice et al.
RW - I hope we don't get too carried away with Diallo just yet, even if he is outstanding he is still inexperienced and not physically suited to the Prem. Sancho is proven and able to play on both flanks which makes him very desirable but obviously the value needs to drop considerably.
ST - If Cavani wasn't at the club I would suggest this is up there with CB in terms of priority. Martial is not consistent, motivated or prolific enough to be Manchester United's main striker. Utd will I assume trigger the season extension on Cavani's contract but clearly need to be looking further ahead.
RB - Doesn't seem an immediate concern, AWB has hardly set the world alight but has had a good month and we've seen what a little competition did to Shaw. I assume Dalot will leave. Quite like the thought of Aarons or Tripper.
So to cut a lot of waffle short - Kounde (CB), Camavinga (CDM), Sancho (R/ LW) .

3.) 22 Feb 2021 14:09:12
Shappy you obviously have more confidence than me in our inept negotiators/ investment bankers if you think we’re capable of doing any decent business this summer! I fully expect yet another excruciating calamity.

4.) 22 Feb 2021 14:15:36
CB, CDM and a Striker for me. Got to break the bank for Haaland, get one of Saul or Declan Rice to sit in front of the defence, and add a good CB - Konate, Pau Torres or Kounde. That will give us a good spine across the team and will make us less fragile. This does leave a massive gap at RW, hence the Kingsley coman rumours, but we have to hope that Amad adn greenwood can make a difference on RW and james can give Rashford some cover for LW.
A starting ll of DDG, Shaw, CB, McGuire, AWB, Rice, DvDB, Bruno, Rashford, Haaland, Greenwood will get us further and may even push for the title if we are lucky with injuries.
Problem is with Pogba and mata possibly leaving, our bench again looks mediocre with Cavani the only stand out.

5.) 22 Feb 2021 14:17:43
I think we need to sign a right sided attacker for the sake of balance in our squad but if the club are confident that Diallo will step up I think we should look for a centre forward instead. Martial is miles off it, Greenwood still young and as good as Cavani has looked he isn't a long term solution.

As Damon has pointed out above, CB, DM and CF should be our priorities.

Centre Back - Not seen enough of Pau Torres who is our number one target but I'd go for Ibrahima Konate.

Defensive Midfield - Wilfried Ndidi, Declan Rice or Denis Zakaria. All would be excellent signings

Centre Forward - Ideally Haaland but we have no chance of signing him and Kane would cost a massive amount so not viable. Lautaro Martinez is a good shout, as is Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Darwin Nunez is one to watch as well.

6.) 22 Feb 2021 14:31:19
Rice seems to be the player everyone wants, but I thought it had been reported that he has no interest in Manchester United? Until 200k pw is shoved into his face anyway.

7.) 22 Feb 2021 14:45:32
Haaland is such an exciting prospect. But look at the dodgy defending for that bicycle kick and Sancho's opener. They wouldn't be given the time to think in the Prem let alone stroll around and do what they wanted like that, it was like a training session.

8.) 22 Feb 2021 14:50:45
Good shout about DCL rj. forgto about him. apparently we were in for him in the summer and he would be really good for us. But i think we need a world class striker to make up for the deficiencies in the rest of the squad and don't see DCL as that player.

9.) 22 Feb 2021 17:05:18
All interesting replies, the general consensus seems to be CB and CDM, which makes sense as our biggest weakness is our weak core.

Then there seems to be a split between ST and RW, with the obvious names of Haaland and Sancho top of peoples wish lists.

RB as most people point out isn't that desperate and is the kind of position we strengthen when we are already really strong everywhere else.

I'm really split if I'm honest. While I fully agree that Martial just isn't up to being first choice mentally and we could do with a true first choice striker. I'm left wondering that with Cavani, Rashford and Greenwood at the club it might be a position we could delay a season to see how Greenwood progresses. While strikers are notoriously difficult and expensive signings to make.

While we have two young players who need game time in Diallo and Greenwood my real concern is that in the event of an injury to Bruno where will our creativity come from? Giving young players game time is great for their development, but if you are relying on them for you creativity then you run the risk of being very inconsistent as young players tend to be.

We don't have a creative deep midfielder, while we don't have a creative wide player on the left. While only Shaw offers creativity from full back. An injury to Bruno would put a lot of pressure to perform on Diallo and Greenwood. From that perspective a creative wide player who can play RW, LW and CAM/ No.10 would be ideal. In that regard I can see the appeal of a player like Sancho as he does tick all the boxes. The issue is if you sign Sancho then he has to start 99% of the time if fit. You don't spend over 70m for a bit part player. While I also have minor concerns that the levels he is achieving in the Bundesliga won't translate as well into the EPL.

We could shuffle the front line around and have Sancho left, Rashford through the middle and either Greenwood or Diallo right.

I wonder whether its better to sign a player who has the potential to be first choice but won't necessarily demand to start every game. Maybe someone like Pedro Neto at Wolves, who can play anywhere across the front line, is EPL proven and wouldn't be an instant starter but has more than enough quality to be one.

Either way for me we need a CB a CDM and a creative player to take the burden off of Bruno and give us some variability.

10.) 22 Feb 2021 17:06:27
We've needed a RW for so long that other positions have now become more important. You couldn't write it.

The best teams have a strong spine yet ours is weak in comparison, so I'd look to sort that out as a priority.

CB - Literally anyone. We need to break up our current pairing of Vic and Bob if we have any aspirations to win the league. I'm fed up of their comical defending it really is embarrassing. Pau Torres and Ben White are our top choices. I'd take either, and ideally both.

DM - Declan Rice
Wasn't sure on him 6 months ago but he's really impressed me this season. His passing has come on a lot and he's comfortable on the ball. If he was a little more disciplined he has all the attributes to become a top DM. If the English premium is too much I'd look at Ndidi as an alternative.

ST - Calvert-Lewin
He's really impressed me this season. I'd wait until next year before making a decision to see if he can do it for two seasons running. We've seen many strikers have a great season and get a move to a big club, only for the to turn out to be a one season wonder. I think he's improved every aspect of his game under Ancelotti and he has the physical presence to match, so I think he'd be a good fit.

11.) 22 Feb 2021 18:43:50
Midfield saul
Cb milinkovic
Rw sancho

Sell ddg martial pogba pierera Jones dalot Williams.

12.) 22 Feb 2021 20:10:13
Ken, Williams? why?

13.) 22 Feb 2021 21:07:19
I would get a couple of CB's for starters.
Pau Torres and Jules Kounde, both are attainable.
Then Rice for CDM.

Getting these 3 players will allow the whole team to get up the pitch more. Also, with Rice we can afford to play another attacking midfielder alongside Bruno.

14.) 22 Feb 2021 22:01:10
I think we need to be realistic this summer and I can't see us going for a striker or RW for a number of reasons, priority lies elsewhere (and it will not be cheap to fill those positions) and i genuinely believe that OGS thinks he has somnething in Dialo/ Greenwood that will bear fruit over the coming year.
For me we need to pay what it takes to get the CB of choice as our number one concern which is likely to be in the £40-60m bracket. Follow this up with a CDM that has mobility and an eye for a pass (again you are looking at £60m+) which will allow for a more cohesive link between defence and the midfield.
If both these positions are filled with the right player I think we will be done, other than some periffery movement depending on departures.
Impact of C.V. will hit all clubs finances for a while yet.

15.) 23 Feb 2021 00:00:43
A cb, sancho and a pogba replacement if he goes for me .
If a cb is added try to move one on so we don't end up with loads of cbs who never play as that's happened before
Cavani, greenwood and Rashford to cover the striker slot and amad to cover either wing if he's ready for it next season.

16.) 23 Feb 2021 09:00:32
I'd love to see someone who plays off the right as a speciality. I don't even think they would need to world class to make a massive improvement to our side.
When we recover possession we try to play into our playmaker or winger quickly (usually Bruno), but generally there is not an option on the right. Someone who played there and didn't dream of being on the left or central (Rashford/ Martial/ Greenwood/ James/ Diallo/ Chong) could mean the development of a proper relationship with AWB. Wan-Bissaka isn't the best going forward but he plays with a different player in front of him nearly every game. Shaw/ Rashford/ Bruno have a really good dynamic on the left, and that consistency will be a big contributing factor to Shaws form this year.
I just think it would give so much more balance to our side. Jarrod Bowen starts nearly every game for West Ham and didn't cost loads from the Champo, but isn't a player that drifts around the front line. He plays right wing only - I'd love to see someone make the spot their own.

After that I would focus on a centre forward to fill Cavani's role in the squad. We may get another year out of him but its made such a difference to us having a CF who can be a focal point and isn't determined to drift. A striker who can score headers gives us another essential option when attacking; especially when we are failing to break a team down who play a low block.

I like the idea of Rice to replace Fred. I love Fred's attitude and work rate, but he is truly dreadful on the ball (although a nice assist against Sociedad - credit where its due) . He's probably a better back-up CB than Jones too. Liverpool have shown how crucial depth is in that position.

17.) 23 Feb 2021 12:27:23
Get rid of Pogba and Martial and a few other fringe players like Jones and Lingard to bring in some cash.
Then i would be going all out to get Haaland.
A decent central midfielder and a central defender.
As well as conceding to many goals we are missing far to many chances to put games to bed.

{Ed077's Note - Haaland's agent is Mino. How difficult will our relation with him is well known.

18.) 23 Feb 2021 12:37:36
Hi Ed. to be honest i couldn't care less about the agent as long as he they sign him and he scores 25 plus goals a season.
Haaland would be perfect for us and he already knows Ole and has a relationship with him.

{Ed077's Note - But we can ignore the circus and distractions caused around Pogba through Mino. I know the club hasn't gone about in best way to handle the situation around him but the marriage between Man Utd/Ole and Mino looks likely to end up in tears only.

19.) 23 Feb 2021 13:23:52
I would make a Chelsea and take 4-5 players at once. If we want Sancho that means we are happy to pay up to 150 millions and huge wages. So o wouldn't touch him and i would go with a top cb, two midfielders because Pogba will leave Matic is old and Donny isn't trusted and a winger like Pedro Neto. 60 millions for each transfer is Sanchos money plus some sales and these 4 players will make a hell lot of difference.

{Ed077's Note - And will we do a Chelsea and struggle to perform consistently leading to a topsy turvy season?

Also in the above reply I meant we cant ignore the circus around Pogba and Mino.

20.) 23 Feb 2021 13:31:56
Very true Ed but i think it's a chance worth taking. In my opinion signing Haaland and getting a few more through the door would give us a genuine tile at the premier league next season. Only a handful of clubs have the funds to buy him, us, City and Chelsea. Madrid and Barcelona are crippled with debt and i don't think Juve have 100 million plus going spare. The only other side would be PSG but would Haaland want to play in a tin pot league?

{Ed077's Note - I am not against signing Haaland, I am merely pointing out the obvious. I also don't think Haaland will actually come to United anytime soon. So I think we might be better off looking at other younger strikers/attackers instead of chasing a pipedream. Maybe the likes of Calvert-Lewin, Ollie Watkins, Patson Daka, etc..

21.) 23 Feb 2021 13:46:41
Ofcourse not 077. Not evert team who buys 4-5 players is struggling.
I didn't refer to Raiola at all. We can take 4-5 players which are not clients of Mino Raiola. I know we have a problem with him.

{Ed077's Note - Herrera I clearly mentioned I meant in the reply above your post that we can't ignore the soured relationship we have with Mino when talking about Haaland.

You cited Chelsea as an example to say you want us to sign 4-5 relatively big players ala Chelsea and I merely pointed out the fact they are struggling to perform to their expectations prior to the beginning of this season. Don't overlook the facts that don't suit your points and then try and argue when someone is merely pointing them out 😀

22.) 23 Feb 2021 14:36:03
I simply don't see the point. I said i want to do a Chelsea and sighn 4-5 players and you said that they don't perform like it is a case of every team making a lot of sighning doesn't pay off. I know they are struggling but because they are struggling doesn't mean if we make 5 sighnings they will also struggle.
Unless there is something i don't understand (because of my English) i don't see where is the problem.

{Ed077's Note - And I said Chelsea "did a Chelsea" and now are struggling to find consistency in form and team selection. I didn't say every team who buys 4_5 players struggle but merely pointed out the "fault" in your example of Chelsea.

23.) 23 Feb 2021 15:07:29
In my example i don't see a "fault". I did say I want to make a lot of transfers in once like them.
Not to struggle like them. That is what you said, not me.

{Ed077's Note - You said make lots of signings like Chelsea. I pointed out that has led to them struggling. You could have picked many teams who had relative success bringing in huge number of players in a single window but you chose a team that underperformed so much that they changed the manager mid season. Chelsea aren't a great 3xampl3 to follow judging by their subsequent performance after the huge influx of signings.

24.) 23 Feb 2021 22:15:01
Chelsea are a poor example.

21 Feb 2021 21:25:03
Was it scintillating football? No, at times we are hard to watch.

Yet we keep grinding out results, we find a way to win.

Rashford and Bruno are the ones who possess world class ability and can unlock a defence in moment. We need someone else who can do that to add real balance to our forward play.

I'm still not sold on Maguire, he is as likely to head the ball into a dangerous area or tackle his own player than he is to make a great tackle, block, clearance or play a defence splitting ball forward.

Also great to see Shola Shoretire come on for his debut against his hometown club. With Steve Bruce on the touchline tonight and Carrick normally in United's I'm reminded that we have had a couple of top class Geordies play for us down the years. Hopefully Shola will be able to be mentioned alongside those two as their equal in years to come.

Love seeing academy lads make their debut, and seeing them become top players like Rashford.

A good weekend of football for us.

1.) 21 Feb 2021 21:38:18
Shappy

I love seeing the young players come on, I always remember the start of Sammy McIlroys career. Maybe Shoretire should have had a little longer.

2.) 22 Feb 2021 12:00:38
I think most of the times we are a hard watch.

Hope Amad starts on Thursday as the tie is almost done.

15 Feb 2021 14:54:34
I've seen a few comments about how it was our attack that let us down against West Brom and that the issues in defence are a miss direction.

While in that isolated case there is definitely an argument to say we should be able to create more goals against a side like West Brom. Overall it is obviously our defence that is the problem.

So far this season we are actually the top goalscorers. We have 50 league goals with City second best in the goals scored collum with 46.

Even if you knock 5 goals off from the freak 9-0 battering of Southampton we are still joint second for goals scored.

However, only Liverpool (who have had every first team CB out for large parts of the season) have conceded more goals than us in the top 10 of the EPL. With us conceding 31 goals to Liverpool's 32. Leeds United down in 11th are the first team other than Liverpool to have conceded more than us.

While both Burnley and Brighton sitting in 15th and 16th have conceded fewer goals than us. With Fulham in 18th place and one of the favourites to be relegated having conceded 31 goals the same number as us.

So while we still clearly on occasion have trouble breaking down low blocks and tough defences. It is our porous defence that is letting us down and will cost us.

After spending 162m on CB's (Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly, Rojo) and a further 136m on full backs (Shaw, AWB, Blind, Dalot and Telles) . We still look an absolute shambles, and under no manager have we looked defensively sound, plagued by individual mistakes which is down to the poor quality of the individuals more than the system played.

Until we have at least one world class CB and someone to organise our defence we will struggle for consistency.

1.) 15 Feb 2021 15:09:19
I agree defence is an issue Shaps, I’ve just posted about it myself. But our front players are all over the place. I have no issue conceding 2 if we score 4 and that is how we got to be top, but right now we can’t score and look like we have no idea.

If we had created a few more chances and converted 1 of them, we would have beaten West Brom, Liverpool, Arsenal, and certainly wouldn’t have lost to Sheffield United.

2.) 15 Feb 2021 15:32:02
the defense is a shambles if teams took there chances we wouldn't be 2nd, lucky for us they didn't. something needs to change we are conceding easy goals and if city win they go 10 clear.


martial is hindering the front 4

greenwood should be starting rw every game and rashford cannot play on the right he has no left foot.

3.) 15 Feb 2021 15:53:02
shappy i think one of the main reasons we are struggling to break teams down is because we are tooooooo slow with the ball.

we don't play fast. its all static and sideways.

4.) 15 Feb 2021 16:01:42
The issue with the goal we conceded yesterday is that we gave West Brom something to hang on to.

You don't let a Big Sam team take the lead. They went 1-0 win their cup final and then put 11 men behind the ball for the majority of the game.

The irony then is that they actually had the better chances to score again afterwards, despite having about minus 4 percent possession.

Shappy you rightly highlight how many league goals we've scored and I think it shows that our forwards have been burdened by our defence. We continue to concede first over and over again, and it's then down to our forwards to create something. When the forwards don't deliver there's a good chance we drop points because you know full well we're going to concede.

5.) 15 Feb 2021 16:04:40
Tony, in the West Brom game I agree we needed to create more. But it was a typical Big Sam set up and we gave away a soft goal in the second minute. They were always going to play with 10 men behind the ball from then on. While i actually think we missed Pogba in that game as he is one of the few midfielders we have with the passing range to mix it up, or the dribbling ability to beat a man and open things up.

I agree the attack looks out of sorts, Martial particularly looks all at sea atm. He just doesn't have the mentality to deal with competition for his place. Rashford has been shunted to the right to make space for Cavani centrally with Martial displaced to the left.

Bruno also looks tired and he needs help, it can't always be on his shoulders to do something.

6.) 15 Feb 2021 17:14:54
Remember the van Gaal era? Now that was sloooooowwww sideways passing.

7.) 15 Feb 2021 19:00:50
Shappy. The manager and the coaches have had investment and time to sort out the defence. The book stops with them. We're poor coached all over the pitch.

8.) 15 Feb 2021 20:41:08
Mumbles, do you honestly believe Pep or Klopp could turn Maguire in to Beckenbauer? If so can I have a glass of what your drinking?

9.) 15 Feb 2021 21:08:03
Shappy

What Pep and Klopp would do is have a defined pattern, the defence would know what was expected and would be highly coached, they would coordinate with midfield, full backs would know their positions, I highly doubt either would play Lindelof alongside Maguire.

Looks to me like we only conceded one goal, yet it sounds like everything is down to the defence, a defence the club spent vast amounts on for Ole. Yes there are problems at the back yet it wasn’t the defence at WBA, the team further up looked clueless, endless passing across the pitch, watching Martial do nothing. The lack of pattern, clueless tactics not creating anything, the CB isn’t there to create goals, but loudly blaming the defence deflects from the obvious issues in the game.

10.) 15 Feb 2021 21:17:41
shappy what system are we plaing. apart from i hope bruno scores.

11.) 15 Feb 2021 21:30:18
Who said he has to be Beckenbauer? You're making excuses for the manager. You're giving him a complete free pass and absolving him of all responsibility.

He had 6 months to evaluate the squad before the first summer window. I don't think Maguire is that bad I just think we were rinsed in terms of value. So the manager spends 6 months and is happy to sign Maguire and AWB. He's then happy to get Telles in. Why sign the players if "no manager could improve them"?

He already had a group of defenders there that finished 2nd with Jose and won some cups. There's a player there with Bailey albeit with his downsides. Lindelof done well under Jose. Smalling was let go while Jones was given a 5 year contract.

I know all this isn't the managers remit, but he must have some say in it.

Right now our defence is woeful. The worst it's been since Fergie left. The manager decides to play two DMs to make up for it, sidelining our more technical players.

You said last year "Pep and Klopp are the two best managers in the world. So no manager could have done better than 3rd" now in a long winded way "no manager could make this defence better" it's all absolute nonsense!

Tuanzebe plays extremely well against PSG and then never sees the light if day again. Bailey does well when he plays only to be dropped. The manager has a really bad habit of sticking with his favourites even though they're not playing well.

I bet you there are countless managers who have the skill set to improve the defenders at our club. Making excuses like "no manager can improve us" as a backwards way to back Ole is a joke.

12.) 15 Feb 2021 22:16:44
I think there is a defined pattern of play the issue is that we make too many individual mistakes and we lack creative players in the final third.

Our style is clear, defensively we stay narrow and compact, our full backs tuck in to provide cover for our slow CB's.

Our midfield is workman like, McFred close space and work as stoppers and shuttlers. They close off space then carry the ball to break the lines and make space as they don't have the technical passing skills to do so by passing.

We don't have any creative wide players, just wide forwards who tend to look to cut in and shoot. Martial when played as a striker tends to drop deep to collect the ball then turn and run at the defenders. This actually vacates space for either wide player to run into.

The issue is that Bruno is the only creative outlet to pass the ball to our runners.

Our pattern of play leans too heavily to the left hand side as we don't have a top class right sides player. While Shaw is the only creative option from wide when he overlaps but to do so Fred drops in to offer cover.

Stopping us is fairly simple, block off Shaw on the overlap and man mark Bruno. From that point onward we have no creativity. None really on the bench which to changes things with. Just more players who offer the same but with less quality.

13.) 16 Feb 2021 00:13:41
Imagine being in Charge of Man Utd going into the 3rd year, spending over £300 million quid and all you need to do to stop us is to stop our left back getting forward and man marking our best player?

Do you think that's acceptable for a manager to be easily figured out Shappy?

14.) 16 Feb 2021 00:24:15
Red Man spot on. Its a diflection from the real problem.
We played second from the bottom team, our striker not for once was in a goal scoring position, their keeper only made 1-2 decent saves and the quality of our chances were equal to less than 0.5 expected goals. 0.42 i think.
We were crap, its unbelievable that we are hearing the same excuses over and over.

15.) 16 Feb 2021 09:40:59
Mumbles, if it was that easy to make any player great then why has Pep and Klopp made wholesale changes to the squad they inherited. Why did Pep bother spending 60m on Dias in the summer when he had other CB's, surely as the greatest manager currently in the game he should be able to turn players the club have spent millions to sign into the top players he needs rather than going and spending more money.

Simply put some players work out others don't. We have had more misses than hits, which is why 99% of fans want us to sign a new CB because the players we have aren't good enough.

You're right the club have spent over 1bn since Sir Alex left, and at least 90% of that has been poorly spent, maybe even wasted.

That isn't one managers fault, but a clear club sized issue that has predated the current manager and will still be the major issue once he has gone.

We have been told we are run by rank amateurs, and the evidence in front of us proves this to be true.

As for the question of whether Ole's tactics and should they be so easily figured out. Well again that is simple Jose was easily worked out, so was LvG so was Moyes. Managers tactics are difficult to work out, especially for clubs that spend maybe as much as a million pounds every year on analysts whose job it is to just analyse the opposition.

The difference is the most successful managers have the best players who are so good at their job it doesn't matter that you know what they are going to do, you can't stop it because they are the best at it.

Ultimately they are better at doing their job than you are at doing yours.

16.) 16 Feb 2021 09:59:39
Herrera, Red Man says it's a deflection because it suits his agenda. He has spent nearly 20 years coming on here telling us that the Glazers are the problem, a cancer to our club. Then when Sir left he has said the Glazers are the problem, them and their "stooges" who they have put in place to run the club.

He said that under Moyes, he said that under LvG, he placed the entire blame of how Jose left at the owners and the boards door.

Since Ole has been manager, nothing about the owners, nothing about the board. Suddenly every issue at the club is Oles fault.

It's as plain as day that Red Man has a real issue with Ole and is prepared to ignore what he himself has been saying for over a decade just to put the boot into Ole.

When Ole has done well, he has spent hours researching articles from when Ole was Cardiff manager to find the tiniest snippet to write a post bashing the manager during a time the club was playing well and winning games.

I don't know if Ole refused to sign a shirt for Red Man or whether he's done something to upset him.
Or if it's a simple as displaced anger. Like a child who hates their new stepdad even though he's a nice guy, but the problem is he just isn't their dad.

Red Man praises the ground Jose walks on and maybe he's just bitter about how things ended and Jose left. So he feels displaced anger at the man who replaced him.

I don't know, what I do know is Red Man posts on here like it's a personal vendetta against Ole, while whenever this is brought up and he deflects.

While Ole might not be the right manager for us, he is not the root cause of our problems. Sacking the manager is just filling the cracks in the wall when your house is suffering from subsidence. Yeah the cracks are gone for a while but they will continue to open up.

17.) 16 Feb 2021 13:27:39
I didn't agree with Red Man in the Zose debate but i can't blame him for this Shappy.
Win lose or draw i too don't see a progressive style and patterns. I see it at Braighton or City or Liverpool or Southampton or Leipzig Glandbax
I never said that "we will win nothing with Ole" because win or lose is depending not only on us but the others too. But in current circumstances we will never be as good as we could be. We won't see a team that plays without fear dominating all matches and be favourites.
For me winning something this year makes little to no difference. I can see Liverpool with 1000 problems and a hell a lot of bad fortune playing better and dominating . You can see the pattern, faces can change (because of injuries) but you can see the progressive style and patterns. The only difference is they are not so effective. I would be over the moon if that was the case with us and played well but individual mistakes costs us but that's not the case.

10 Feb 2021 12:27:14
So last night was another example of the issues we are having as a team, we just lack creativity and invention. West Ham came with an aim to be tight and sit deep in the dreaded low block and we struggled to break it down. On the whole the performance wasn't awful, but neither was it a joy to watch or particularly entertaining.

In goal I thought Henderson was good, he wasn't really tested by an uninspiring West Ham. Yet he kept his concentration levels up and didn't make any errors. It was also nice to hear a keeper being more vocal and authoritative. All that said if he is to be United's long-term goalkeeper then surely much tougher nights will lay ahead.

Defensively we were sound enough, although we did show at times our propensity to be our own downfall. Particularly when Lindelof passed the ball straight to a West Ham player on the halfway line creating a 3v2 situation that West Ham really should have made more of. Telles was creative and pushed forward, but he doesn't quite seem on the right wavelength with our attacking players, often crossing into good areas but no one attacked them.

Donny van de Beek continues to struggle, personally I think there are two main problems with Donny at United. First off if you just watched him all game you would see he has excellent movement, little runs on players blind side etc. Absolutely brilliant, the problem is none of our players are on the same wavelength as him. Either not seeing or ignoring the run or seeing it too late and making the pass only once Donny was offside. I'm not sure I prescribe to the idea that he is best played deep. His best attribute is his movement constantly finding space for himself or for other people. He should be the ideal player to break down a low block, but he needs a player behind him to be able to find him and make use of that movement. With Fred and Matic behind him there was no one to make those passes.

Playing with a front three all of which are natural strikers who will look to score first and only pass if their route to goal is blocked is extremely limiting to us. It means that by the time they realise they can't score and they lift their head to pass the opposition are back in their defensive shape and any chance that might have been is gone. Having three strikers who are mostly looking for a pathway to goal for themselves, midfielders who are more concerned with making tackles than playing passes along with a No.10 in Donny who is best at finding space rather than playing those killer passes means that the team had a severe lack of creativity, especially when you look at our full backs and see AWB on one side, a player who doesn't offer a great amount going forward currently. It means that most of our creativity is coming from LB with either Shaw or Telles.

This bares out in the stats when we see only Bruno (3), Shaw (1.9), Telles (1.4) and Mata (1.3) are the only players to make MORE than 1 key pass per game. Which when you consider that Shaw and Telles play in the same position so you won't have both in the team at the same time and Mata is a squad player who has only played 336 from a possible 2000+ minutes this season, highlights the lack of creativity in our squad. Why do we struggle to break down low blocks? Simple, we don't have anyone making the creative passes we need to pull them apart.

That lead me on to the other player I want to talk about which is Martial. It seems that the moment there is a little pressure on him his game goes to pieces. Last night he was obsessed with trying to score. Every time he got the ball, he would cut inside drive towards the centre of the goal with his head down and blast a shot at one of the 3 or 4 West Ham players between him and the goal. It was so predictable and easy to defend against and he should have been the first player hooked in my opinion. Our goal came from Rashford having the where with all to have his head up in the box and see McTominay to lay the ball off for him. Had that been Martial he'd have just attempted to shoot, most likely hitting the player in front of him.

It's very frustrating as he has all the talent in the world in his feet, great balance, pace, trickery and a great shot. However, he lacks the mental capacity to deal with competition for his place. Ultimately that is what separates the good players from the great players. Good players can play great when there is no pressure, but great players play great regardless of the pressure. Martial has sadly show time and again that although he has the physical ability to be a great player, he doesn't have the mentality to be a great player. Repeatedly cracking under the pressure of competition for a starting spot.

Last night was a typical performance against a side that set up to stop us, and it will be the same until we get players in who can create chances. But we are in the pot for the next round, so let's look forward to that and finger crossed we can win the cup this year.

1.) 10 Feb 2021 13:40:52
While I can see why people think this about Martial, I'm still not convinced that this is the problem. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about him, but I have a nagging feeling that the cause of his struggles is being misdiagnosed.

With Donny, I'm more in agreement. Play him at number 10 with wide playmakers rather than wide forwards, and I think he'd shine. Playing him with Pogba behind him and Mata on the right might work. Cavani up front would probably help too, as he is the type of forward who can hold up the ball and look for those runs being made around him.

The problem with that is that we can't build our entire team around what gets the best out of one player. Maybe if you have someone like Messi or Ronaldo you can do that, but much though I like Donny, he is no Messi or CR7.

However, with a proper holding midfielder who sits deep and shields the defence (a role only Matic currently fills), Donny could play more alongside Bruno rather than behind him, and Bruno is definitely a player who could find Donny in those spaces. Hell, Bruno would love having someone alongside him with that kind of movement.

The other thought I have regarding Donny is that even without that extra creativity around him, he could do well for us in big games against big teams who don't just sit back. There will be a lot more space for him to find, and it will be easier for others to find him in that space. He also offers more than Bruno in terms of pressing and winning the ball back, which synergises well with Ole's preference for Fred and McT in these games.

2.) 10 Feb 2021 13:53:51
Shappy you absolutely rinsed Maguire a few days ago, and now you say "defensively we are sound". Make your mind up.

It wasn't great to watch, but one thing I have noticed is that our slow football is now played 10-15 years further up the pitch.

That's been the case for 4-6 weeks now so I wonder if it's something Fletcher or another coach has suggested, after it was glaringly obvious to everyone else that we won't score passing the ball between our back 4.

Either way we are in the hat for the QF draw.

3.) 10 Feb 2021 14:13:12
It was a very forgetful game. Touching on your part about Martial, Rashford and Greenwood all being natural strikers? I don't think any of them are. Greenwood obviously is the closest to a striker simply because his finishing is his best attribute, but the few games he's been up top he's looked a little lost. I do think he'll end up there but right now he's not a striker.

Rashford is a winger to me. His best games are on the left. Martial is also a winger. None of them have decent hold up play, they don't make good runs into the box, they don't score the scruffy goals you need your striker to get.

The two of them just put their head down and dribble into the box. Often down alleys they shouldn't run. I don't know if it's a lack of football intelligence but neither of those two fill me with any confidence when they play as a striker.

4.) 10 Feb 2021 14:55:01
Wazza, You've misquoted me there. I said "Defensively we were sound enough", were not are, as I was clearly referring to this game in general where West Ham only had 3 shots on goal in two hours of play.

I also go on to say that it was mostly due to how West Ham set up to almost intentionally avoid our penalty area. Even then I point out at least one situation where our defenders gave the ball away giving West Ham the advantage in a 3v2 situation which they failed to capitalise on. I still think our defence is nowhere near good enough, last night however, West Ham decided to give them a free pass.

Mumbles I think it depends on what your definition of a striker is. Some people think it means being a traditional centre forward leaning in to CB's winning headers and and goal hanging for the tap ins. While others think differently. I'm not saying anyone is wrong, just different view points. Personally for me what distinguishes a striker from a winger or a No.10 is a single tracked mind to goal. Always looking to score when they are on the ball and either ignoring or not even seeing where their team mates are. That is why for me someone like Rooney was never really a striker even though he played a lot of games at CF. RvN however couldn't play anywhere else as he did nothing but score goals.

In that respect I see Martial, Greenwood and to a slightly lesser extent Rashford as strikers. Players who's first instinct when they get the ball is to think how they can score and not how the team can score.

Martial has never got more than 6 assists in a season, mostly because he doesn't look to pass to anyone else and keeps looking to shoot. His best seasons for us in terms of impact have been when he has played as a striker as although he doesn't get many more assists for us from that position he goes from scoring 3 or 4 goals a season to 11 or 17 making a much bigger impact.

Sadly the pattern of the moment someone come in to challenge him for his place he goes off the boil, Zlatan, Lukaku, Cavani. It's no coincidence anymore.

5.) 10 Feb 2021 15:28:29
I’m must be in the minority but I thought we played reasonably well last night against a decent team. We completely dominated possession, played higher up the pitch and won the ball back quickly. We created a few good chances and looked in total control.

West Ham sat incredibly deep with at least 8 men behind the ball, creating chances was always going to be difficult against an inform, motivated and well organised team. I think we missed Cavani’s movement and presence in the box and as the game opened up in extra time we looked a lot more threatening.


On VdB he will never play consistently at No10 for Utd because Fernandes is our best player. He’ll only play in that position if Fernandes is injured or rested.

In my opinion VdB is a neat and tidy footballer best suited to a possession based team that play with precision and rotation. A team that creates chances by the movement and rotation of its players. He likes to play quick, short passes, with players in and around him all moving off each other and into space. We play a more direct style and require our attackers to be more dynamic.

His best chance of securing regular minutes in my opinion is part of the midfield pivot. I don’t see him playing that much in the bigger games where Ole prefers the energy and industry of Mctominay and Fred but against lower placed opposition where we will enjoy the majority of possession I think he could do a good job of keeping the ball moving quickly, linking with Fernandes and making runs into the box. I think he will have to change his game slightly to become a bit more combative and he might have to look for longer passes on occasions either to switch the play or pass in behind when we find ourselves in quick transitions or on the counter.

Once Pogba leaves in the summer I expect he’ll find more opportunities to play. Had Pogba been sold I’m sure he would have got significantly more minutes although I’m not entirely convinced he’ll ever really be considered an automatic first choice starter whilst Ole is the manager. I think Ole see’s him as quality back up for Fernandes and a different, more offensive option in the double pivot.

6.) 10 Feb 2021 15:55:45
I’m with you DLIB, I thought we did ok against an in form team. It was laboured at times, we made some poor decisions in the final third but too often I have people seen us lose those kind of games.

Rashford worries me, I think he is very talented but he seems distracted. As for Martial, I think he has been here long enough and not contributed far too often. Greenwood is looking frisky so I’d keep him in and I’d have Cavani in as often as we can.

We rested a couple, have a game to a couple, and we’re through. That’s fine by me.

7.) 10 Feb 2021 16:10:49
DLIB / AJH,

Totally agree, Moyes tactics were to sit back so we couldn't break them down and I can only assume try and win on penalties, it took a while and we had to be patient but our squad did well, being able to change the full backs and not lose too much quality is what City have done so well over the last couple of years, whenever we change one (or both last night) we seem to score not too long after. After the good performance against Everton and disappointment of not getting the result last night was all about getting the win and into the hat for the next round which we did and I never really felt like we were in any trouble and always felt our subs would change it for us.

8.) 10 Feb 2021 16:23:55
Dlib i tend to agree West ham sat deep with 2 banks of 5 restricted room and made it hard and a dire game .
But there really was only 1 team in it .

9.) 10 Feb 2021 18:28:09
Apologies Shappy I read that wrong. I should become a journo.

Shappy's rumour replies

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26 Feb 2021 14:12:36
I mean except by the looks of it be the difference between Sheffield United getting a top half finish or relegated.

{Ed077's Note - I don't think it's fair to say DH is the sole difference between Sheffield Utd finishing in the top half last season and being rock bottom this. Ramsdale not shot ng their style of play and frankly being an inferior GK is certainly a contributing factor and so is the large number of injuries their defence has suffered. For example O'Conell being out injured for the whole of the season has unsettled their defence quite a bit and they have had to play a near retirement Jagielka fair few amount of times due to various players I defence getting injured. They are so reliant on their system and their first 11 that even 2or 3 players missing can completely make them very weak. And they have been very unlucky in most games too.

But yeah DH would most likely have helped them get a few more points I think}

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26 Feb 2021 10:43:15
Spenno, Buendia is probably the best player in the championship this season and a big reason for Norwich being 7 points clear at the top currently. He is 100% good enough for the EPL, although most people on here could probably guess that I'd say that.

Sarr has been solid if unspectacular, on balance of play he has probably been Watford's best player. Currently they sit 3rd 7 points off of top spot.

Ultimately though football is a team game and many aspects of that will impact how effect a player can be within that team.

I think Sarr has the ability to step up in a better team. Is he good enough for us? You'll never know unless he gets given the chance. We've signed top players who have flopped and young unknowns who have become stalwarts of the side.

If I'm honest I wouldn't have either of Buendia or Sarr as first choice if money was no object. But the reality is that we are going to have to be clever with our money this summer and prioritise positions other than RW. In that situation then putting talented players who are already settled in England and tested in the EPL makes a lot of sense, especially as they will be half the price of a Jadon Sancho, or proven in the EPL and less injury prone than a Ousemane Dembele or Kingsley Coman and would significantly less on wages.

In an ideal world we would make 4-5 signings and all of them would be top class players. Jules Kounde, Declan Rice, Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and a top RB.

The reality is we might be able to afford 1 or 2 of those players and maybe 1 or 2 cheaper alternatives to those players if we are lucky. So it all comes down to who we can get, and which positions we prioritise.

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25 Feb 2021 14:41:10
Ed077, Raphinha would also be a great option.

Pedro Neto before moving to Wolves has played primarily on the RW, or as a second striker, similar to Joao Felix. But at Wolves due to them having Podance and Traore who almost exclusively play RW, and with Jota leaving the obvious gap in the first team was on the left at Wolves which is where he has tended to play.

So far this season he has played on the left 11 times.
On the right 5 times.
as a striker 4 times.
as a No.10 on 3 occasions.
And as a No.8 twice.

So very versatile. To be honest with what will likely be a limited budget this summer we are unlikely to be able to buy a wide player, a back up for Bruno and a striker. Yet signing someone like Neto who can play most positions with little to no drop off in performance would mean we are stronger across the front line by only signing one player.

{Ed077's Note - Jota was replaced in the wolves side , by Neto which led to his sale. Not the other way around. Neto had 8 senior career appearances before moving to Wolves so your conclusion about him being a RW primarily before signing for Wolves is frankly untrue because of the sheer lack of game time.

Neto is having a really good season and might be a really good player for Man Utd to look at but he has played more times at LW than RW which is a fact yours "stats" back up Shaps.}

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25 Feb 2021 10:36:15
Ed077, Neto is comfortable right across the frontline, at No.10 and even as a No.8. He tends to play on the left for Wolves more often than not because Adama Traore and Daniel Podence play best off the right, and in Traore's case can only really play off the right.

However, I see Neto's flexibility and comfortability on either wing or as a No.10 as a huge benefit. It would allow us to sign a player who can play on thr right but without stifling Amad or Greenwood who'd also look to get minutes. While he can cover Rashford on the left if we either needed to rest him or play him as a striker. He's better than James and more consitent on the left than Martial. He is also capable of playing in the No.10 role to a high level giving us a genuine option to play and rest Bruno.

Very few players can play to a high standard, score and create goals from both wings or the No.10 position with near equal impact in all three positions.

{Ed077's Note - So what you are saying is Neto is a LW who is very versatile and can play on the right or through the middle. Neto, no doubt has been really impressive this season but he is (or has been) playing mainly as a LW.

Man Utd has a first choice LW whose primary position is LW but is versatile enough to cover at RW or CF, in Rashford. It would then make more sense in going after a player whose best position is off the right hand side but can cover other positions ideally. For example Raphinha at Leeds.
But that's just my opinion.}

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25 Feb 2021 09:46:39
Danny, I don't think Sancho would have an issue moving back home to England. I mean it's his home country after all, so he won't have issues like language, or culture barriers that can make it difficult for other players.

I don't for one second believe his current numbers of goals and assists would be as high in the EPL as they are in the Bundesliga. At least not initially, maybe in a few years when he really starts to fulfill his potential. Ultimately the quality of defending in the EPL is far superior to the Bundesliga.

However, for me while I think he would stylistically he would be a good fit. I'm not sure that we can afford to spend 80m+ which it will cost to sign him. In my opinion we need a top class CB and a CDM. Those two positions will cost us the best part of 100m if not more. If there is money for a third signing them I doubt it'll be enough for Sancho. So for me signing Sancho means comprising on the signings that we really need.

I also really rate Pedro Neto, I think if someone doesn't snap him up soon then he'll be a 70m+ signing in two years time.

{Ed077's Note - Isn't Pedro Neto an LW who can play RW. Man Utd are better off going for an RW/RM who can cover other positions not the other way round.}

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26 Feb 2021 15:46:39
Mumbles, my view is if either Bruno or Rashford get a long term injury then finishing in the top 4 becomes seriously in doubt. I'm not sure if trying to win the European consolation cup is worth it risking it.

{Ed077's Note - Just Finishing in the top 4 but not 1st gives you CL footy for next season but no trophy. Winning the EL also gives you CL footy next season but also a trophy to go along with it. And I prefer winning real trophies over the fictional good cup that Arsenal invented.}

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26 Feb 2021 12:48:25
I've said before that I would bin the EL, I certainly wouldn't be trying hard to win it. 2 games versus AC Milan, then another 2 in the quarter final, then another 2 for the semi final before the final. Another potential 7 games is a lot especially in an already congested season.

In my opinion I'd rather face the toughest opponent in each round. That way we either take out a serious contender or if we lose then it's against the best side left in the competition.

In that regard AC Milan is the perfect draw. Plus it means we don't have to travel to a far flung corner of Europe.

Will be good to welcome Zlatan back as well.

{Ed077's Note - Shappy we know how the competition works, even Man Utd won it 4_5 yrs ago😜}

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26 Feb 2021 10:53:02
It's always s really tough decision with these types of games. Do you rest all your players but risk losing (potentially badly) which can disrupt momentum and impact confidence, do you go full first team in an attempt to maintain momentum and confidence but risk injury and burn out.

Or do you go with something in the middle, rest a few, play a few. Try and give those that need a break a break, give those that need minutes for fitness or form some minutes and try and keep the momentum and confidence high.

Personally I'd have given Bruno and Rashford the night off, but then with the injuries we have there are added limitations. For example if we rested Bruno then with Pogba, Donny and Mata injured then we had no one to offer a creative spark in midfield.

If you throw the youngsters in and they get battered then how does that impact their confidence and how does it aid their development?

So its a balancing act.

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25 Feb 2021 18:54:14
LPU, who takes responsibility for individual errors? I'd imagine the individual.

I don't for one second think that our coaches are seeing these errors and thinking "sod it, we'll leave that as it is".

However, it's not easy to improve players who make fundamental mistakes over and over again. They just don't learn.

I mean you could just play 10 men behind the ball to cover for those errors, but I suspect if they did that you'd complain about that.

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25 Feb 2021 17:00:00
LPU, I suppose it all comes down to what you see. I have worked at youth level coaching, and I specialised in defensive set up.

I don't see a great deal wrong with how we set up, bar the fact that our players make too many individual errors.

Our full backs tuck in to make a narrow back four, with only one full back pushing forward at a time and the other staying back. This could be considered defensive or cautious, yet with two CB's who aren't the quickest having once full back alongside them makes sense. Often the full back who pushes further forward is Shaw, but his starting position just like AWB's on the other side is more on the inside channel rather than the outside channel. Its a narrower position, the full back will then look to play a one two with the winger and move from inside to outside taking the wide position looking for the return ball. Doing so forces the opposition full back to go with the runner which can open up space for the winger/ wide player. If they leave the runner then a quick pass and we are in behind.

Our midfield is interesting, neither Fred or McTominay are natural holding players, yet both start deep and sit covering the centre of defence. Often a one two will be played with Maguire to allow him to break the press as he steps forward. The issue with playing two more natural box to box/ shuttler players in a double pivot is that often they forget to pick up the midfield runner. We often concede goals to opposition midfielders making late unmarked runs into the box. That is down to not having a natural CDM. This happens much less when Matic plays, but he doesn't have the legs to play every game.

Our defensive shape tends to be deep and narrow, mostly due to a lack of pace and mobility in our back line. If we played higher then a simple over the top ball could undo us fairly easily.

We don't actually concede many goals from open play and when we do it tends to be either from an individual error or from our midfield not tracking runners.

Where we struggle is at set pieces, now there is two reasons for this. Firstly, we have no one taking charge of the situation. DDG isn't very vocal, nor is he comfortable coming out to collect high balls hit in the danger alley around the 6 yard box. So with DDG not coming out, or communicating there is a lack of command of the box. The next issue is that Maguire is very poor in these situations, too often he watches the ball and even gets dragged towards it. He isn't aware of who is where and charges around like a bull in a china shop. The way he headed the ball back into the danger area then chased after it and hauled Luke Shaw to the ground as he was about to clear it allowing Spurs to score might have been the most calamitous piece of defending I have ever seen at a professional level. The sad thing is that it is not an isolated incident.

Some people want to blame the zonal marking, but in truth zonal marking is the better of the two. And in our case it would make little to no difference. The problem we have with zonal marking is that Harry gets drawn out of his zone because he is watching the ball. Leaving a huge space un marked, play the ball in there and someone can shoot unopposed.

However, if you decided to man mark then Harry will still get drawn to the ball and leave his player unmarked and the same situation occurs. While man marking systems work both ways. If you are man marking the opposition then they by design are marking you. Meaning if you win the ball then your player is marked as is all their passing options. Meaning your best bet is to just boot it out, which nearly always means you lose possession and the opposition can launch another attack. Zonal marking means that once you win the ball you are more likely to a an unmarked player to pass to and maybe launch a counter attack yourself.

So we have a clear shape, and tactical plan. While for the most part it works and we limit the opposition to limited chances from open play, while we are also the top scorers.

We concede goals from two main avenues, midfield runners not being tracked, and from individual mistakes of which Harry Maguire is the biggest culprit.