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

03 Sep 2020 12:03:00
Rumour from AS is that we have bid for Sergio Reguilon of Real Madrid, who apparently don't see him as an important player currently with Mendy and Marcelo at LB, but would like a buy back clause in the deal. Which makes sense given Marcelo's age. It would allow them to raise funds while maintaining a an option on a future Spanish international player.

Ed002, do you know if there is anything in this rumour? Cheers.

{Ed002's Note - I am not aware of any bid but numerous clubs have had discussions with Real Madrid about him.}

1.) 03 Sep 2020 12:53:15
Haw anything changed with us? Are we one of the clubs interested now?

{Ed002's Note - As I said. I am not aware of any offer from MU.}

2.) 03 Sep 2020 13:14:21
We have a good defensive fullback in AWB.
Therefore a superb attacking fullback like Reguillon makes sense.

I can imagine him and Rashford tearing up the left flank.

Btw, Real also have Ferland Mendy who plays at LB.

3.) 03 Sep 2020 17:34:17
Leaving Maguire exposed on that side with an attacking fullback makes no sense. We’re always susceptible on that side when LS or BW push forward.

4.) 03 Sep 2020 18:20:17
If an official bid went in then there would be a public response by RM by now I'd expect.
We have quite a few defenders to move on. Rojo dalot jones smalling all need shifting before we can move. Smallings exit is dragging on unfortunatly. Dalot will attract bids but we will they be attractive?
Jones someone might take a gamble, rojo the same but if we got much over 40mm for the 4 of them i'd be surprised but it would take a nice junk off the wage bill too.

5.) 03 Sep 2020 18:23:16
Hence the need for a cb. Sorry but to say we can’t use an attacking fullback because our 80m cb gets exposed says it all. We shouldn’t accommodate for maguires weaknesses fgs.

6.) 03 Sep 2020 18:28:22
It works with 3 CBs, which will:also allow us to play Bruno, Pogba, and DVDB together.

7.) 03 Sep 2020 19:07:20
Seeing as Shaw seems to miss half the season through injuries, having another true LB makes sense. Reguilon also gives the option of a LWB or an attacking LB to offer width if we want to play a diamond.

Also, if (and it's a big if) we were to sign Sancho, it takes a lot of the right sided burden off of AWB - especially as Sancho has more of a tendency to stay wide compared to all our other wide forwards, lessening the need for an overlap. This would allow for us to play a lopsided FB system similar to what Jose uses, with AWB staying more defensive and allowing Maguire and Lindelof to shift left when Reguilon bombs on. With Rashford's tendency to play in the half spaces and in the inside channel, it's more imperative to have a fullback who offers the width and an overlapping option on the left side, and I could see Reguilon being a good choice in this system.

I think he'd be a good acquisition personally, as he would offer cover, competition and more tactical options to allow us to be more flexible. It also would allow Brendan to play on the right as cover for AWB/ come in if we were to play with wing backs.

8.) 04 Sep 2020 06:47:44
An excellent post, Somerset.
My thoughts exactly 👍🏼.

22 Aug 2020 17:06:23
So today's rumour is that we are interested in James Rodriguez from Real Madrid. Available for as little as 22m but we would need to match his "huge" wages of 140k per week.

I have no idea if that information is accurate. However, if it is I'd take a gamble of a hugely talented player, who if the Glazers are reading has a huge following in South America, for a 7m more than we paid for Dan James.

We have been linked with Jack Grealish for 70-80m and wages of 200-220k per week. Again, I have no idea how accurate those figures are.

But if someone said James Rodriguez for 22m on 140k per week.

OR

Jack Grealish for 80m on 200k per week.

I'd 100% be signing the Colombian.

1.) 22 Aug 2020 17:21:02
Absolutely!

2.) 22 Aug 2020 17:38:40
Definetely Shappy. He would be a very astute signing. Seems to a stigma on players who don't make it at the top clubs. He could be a very good addition to our squad.

3.) 22 Aug 2020 18:07:58
I think united need to be careful when buying players surplus to requirements from clubs like real madrid, barcelona and bayern munich.

There are questions of whether these players actually want to play for the club and are of sufficient quality anymore.

Not saying the grealish deal is any better but it doesn't have to be an either or on james vs grealish. The answer can be neither.

4.) 22 Aug 2020 18:33:57
James Rodriguez?

Have we now moved away from the Ole cultural reboot buying young hungry players then?

I seem to recall one of the Eds saying one of the main reasons Madrid bought James was because of his marketability in a South America.

It’s not the fee or the wages but if he couldn’t make it elsewhere why would he make it in the PL?

5.) 22 Aug 2020 18:41:57
Regardless oc the completely made up figures I would stay clear of james. didn't really work out for him at madrid or Munich imo.
Not quick enough to play in our front 3 could only really be cover for bruno.
29 years old, with no EPL experience and I'm not sure he would be looking to sit on our bench more often than not.

6.) 22 Aug 2020 18:47:38
For that money to be essentially back up to Bruno/ Pogba/ Greenwood, I couldn’t think of anyone better. Would end up starting 30 games a season and on the bench for 20 in all likelihood and the drop off in quality would be minimal from the first XI in my opinion, far less so than with Grealish/ Brookes and for less cost! GET IT DONE!

7.) 22 Aug 2020 19:24:37
James Rodriguez isn't the player I'd choose, personally I prefer to go for younger hungrier up and coming players.

Yet for the money quoted would you rather have James Rodriguez either on the bench or starting a game or Jessie Lingard, or Juan Mata or Andreas Pereira?

Rodriguez offers more than any of them and at least two of them are currently being paid more than the supposed 140k per week James Rodriguez would cost.

Like I said personally I'd prefer someone like Dani Olmo, or Christopher Nkunku, or James Maddison, or Todd Cantwell, or Johnathan David, or Moussa Diaby, or Houssem Aouar, or Donny van de Beek.

Someone young and talented. Yet, we have many young and talented players in our squad. For a squad/ back up role we could do with someone who isn't learning their craft and needs minutes to improve. Maybe someone with a bit of experience, who's been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Maybe not every signing we make has to be between the ages of 18-24, maybe with the youngest squad in the EPL maybe what we are missing is a little experience when key players are missing.


Like I said, not my first choice, not even my second, but not necessarily a bad choice.

8.) 22 Aug 2020 20:51:04
I can't be the only one who doesn't see the clamour for James. I have literally never watched a game where he has been much more than average. Scores the occasional screamer, and very much a highlight reel player in my opinion - a case of style over substance.

I'm not against signing experienced players, but they need to be the right players and I don't think James is.

9.) 22 Aug 2020 21:05:00
Gifting ageing players big long term contracts is a recipe for disaster.

He might be worth a gamble on loan or a rolling one year contract but otherwise we should steer well clear in my opinion. His form hasn't been anywhere near good enough to warrant signing him on a long term deal and as he ages it's unlikely to improve. A move like this would reek of desperation and a return to the flawed transfer strategy of the past. I'd include Douglas Costa in that bracket and we must resist the temptation to get lured into these types of deals.

10.) 22 Aug 2020 21:37:36
I don't see it. He may be cheap, but he just isn't that good. Frankly, I think Mata offers more as a backup to Bruno despite his age, and if you want cheap Mata is even cheaper ;)

Wouldn't touch James with a bargepole.

11.) 22 Aug 2020 22:01:34
For me, Mata still has a lot to offer as long as we don’t play him on the right. The question is, why we would he not now leave and play some football as his career comes to an end. For me, Mata is Juanderful. Always been a big fan. Player for me that would have ripped up Serie A.

12.) 23 Aug 2020 01:39:06
Plus if we sign James and he plays when James is playing then it just gets confusing so a no from from me to James.

13.) 23 Aug 2020 01:44:45
He's cheap for a reason.

14.) 23 Aug 2020 04:41:10
Stevie, he's cheap because Real Madrid have financial issues they need to sort and need to raise money this window. He isn't part of Zidane's plans and they gain nothing from loaning him out again.

15.) 23 Aug 2020 07:23:46
Shappy
Your just blinded by a fancy name.

16.) 23 Aug 2020 09:02:03
James, Ousamane Dembele, Douglas Costa, all players not wanted at their clubs which are big clubs so why would we be interested, no ta from me on these players, go get Jadon Sancho or let Greenwood have it all season and go buy a CB which we need.

17.) 23 Aug 2020 09:33:16
Hardly jred, I have said there are many others I'd prefer including the "fancy" names Maddison and Cantwell 😂.

18.) 23 Aug 2020 09:55:28
Shaps not in your op,

19.) 23 Aug 2020 10:22:01
I agree with you shappy. I think he is a better player and a better professional to boot.

20.) 23 Aug 2020 10:55:47
James Rodriguez should not be signed by United, for one thing he is very slow. Basically he would be a replacement for Mata on the subs bench.

21.) 23 Aug 2020 11:37:47
Keep Mata.

22.) 23 Aug 2020 14:06:29
Red man, I agree to that too. But if you had a straight choice between him and grealish, who would you rather?

Now Rodriguez will probably come relatively cheap and would only be an alternative to the starters. But he is a good player and is extremely professional.

23.) 23 Aug 2020 16:15:04
James has the odd moment, a key pass etc, i don't think he is good player and clearly not for Premier because of pace. For a squad role i would prefer someone "lesser" as Shappy says, Brooks, Buendia etc. Although ideally i would take 3 starters and not a squad player, go and take 3 starters promote a couple and that's 5 good players in addition to an already good squad. Only if you are at top and your first eleven doesn seem than can improve dramatically (like Liverpools) only then you must targer good squad players.

24.) 24 Aug 2020 13:02:56
Herrera - one of the positions we urgently need to add depth is CAM, who are we going to sign there if we target only starters?

It's not as simple as only signing starters or squad players, we need a mix of both.

Angelred - why sign James at all? If Grealish is too expensive, Mata is as good as James, and a great professional with real character. He's even cheaper than James too!

25.) 24 Aug 2020 23:05:26
Thorne i have explained this mate. Its not as important as our coach makes it to seems. Making the team stronger overall with attacking full backs, a right winger and a better holding who can provide good passes, possesion and creativity from deeper 6 (remember the pass of Tiago on Bayerns goal) then we will have creativity from all over the place. Ole wants depth in CAM position, i disagree that this is urging, i simply believe he is wrong. Its wrong to put all eggs of creativity in one or two baskets (AM with Bruno and CM with Pogba) . Is Bayern waiting their attacking midfieder to only provide the creativity? What about Liverpool? Why we can't take a lesson from them?

26.) 25 Aug 2020 08:43:42
I think his wage, as most European papers tend to do, is reported after tax. Now if my knowledge of British taxes is up to date, high earners pay in the high forties in taxes, hence his salary would then be around 270k/ week, more than Martial and Rashford.

10 Aug 2020 16:11:57
So Michael Zorc comes out and says Sancho stays, end off. Well glad we can put that one to bed. On to the next big name target 😂.

1.) 10 Aug 2020 16:34:55
You genuinely believe that's the end of it, Shappy? If I were a betting man I'd be confident in betting a good amount of money on Sancho signing for United in the coming weeks.

2.) 10 Aug 2020 16:48:03
I hope we get linked with Neymar again, that will be entertaining for a few months.

3.) 10 Aug 2020 16:51:44
I think we could move on to Nico Gaitan, I heard he's a hot prospect 🤣.

4.) 10 Aug 2020 16:54:55
Sancho just a smokescreen for Sneijder 😂.

5.) 10 Aug 2020 17:06:44
What are the odds he goes elsewhere at a much lesser amount.

6.) 10 Aug 2020 17:13:32
We know there is no chance of sancho now, we all know how when zorc says a player is staying they stay, i mean look how well dembele and aubamyeyang are doing at dortmund atm 🙄 don't believe a word of it tbh.

7.) 10 Aug 2020 17:16:07
Enter Gareth Bale stage left.

8.) 10 Aug 2020 18:08:02
Shan, I think this summer he either joins United or stays at Dortmund.

However, if he stays at Dortmund then I think he will go elsewhere next summer.

For United I think it's this summer or never.

9.) 10 Aug 2020 19:28:34
I do think he will join us this summer. Fellaini type transfer again, last day of the window and paying a few million over what Dortmund are asking for now 😂😂.

31 Jul 2020 09:58:03
Ed002, There are reports coming out of France this morning that United along with Everton and Napoli have made bids for Gabriel Magalhaes of Lille.

They state that Napoli are his preferred option, but that United's UCL football might help swing a decision their way.

How accurate are these reports, do you know if United have made a bid?

Cheers.

{Ed002's Note - I am not aware of Manchester United having made an offer although other clubs, after discussion with Lille have submitted offers. In general, it is rare for a club to simply make an offer.}

1.) 31 Jul 2020 13:59:06
I think our record is bad in multy deal. Presently all focus is on Sancho Deal. once is done or over. our board will think something else.

2.) 31 Jul 2020 14:04:03
Apparently his representatives are in the UK today talking to two premier league clubs which they think are Man United and Everton.

3.) 31 Jul 2020 19:54:21
He's strong in the tackle good in the air and very importantly for me he's quick if its a good price he's worth a gamble. He has a lot of potential.

4.) 01 Aug 2020 11:36:45
My preference would be for Jose Gimenez, but he is unavailable and would cost a significant amount. If the club are looking for a cheaper alternative with potential then Gabriel looks like a solid option. Hopefully UCL football can sway him.

30 Jul 2020 17:32:05
The independent are reporting that United and Dortmund have an agreement in principle for Sancho. Initial fee of around 60m with add-ons going up to over 100m.

Would be good if true.

1.) 30 Jul 2020 17:54:04
They’ve been shot down by a number of sources in Germany saying that no way are Dortmund taking as small an initial fee. 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️.

2.) 30 Jul 2020 18:22:12
How about screw Dortmund, let him stay and leave in future seasons for a lot less.

3.) 30 Jul 2020 18:53:30
Depends on the add ins I suppose. If it’s no. of starts then Dortmund may take it, Balon d or, maybe not. In reality it lo be a mix of those. But that figure makes sense for everyone and allows us to spread our outlay.

4.) 31 Jul 2020 06:35:06
I think now is the time to bring him in CSF.

The C.V. puts us in a very strong situation financially as we are one of few clubs with cash to spend this summer.

We might end up spending a lot, but waiting until next year would likely mean other big clubs like Real and Barcelona are in a position to rival us for his signature and in that instance, I see him moving elsewhere (even if the fee is lower) .

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

17 Sep 2020 07:32:18
I thought it might be interesting to start a tactical debate on here to get away from all the transfer stuff.

I've been thinking about how the end of last season and the shorten summer break might effect how teams play this season.

Particularly how it might effect teams that play with a high press.

Traditionally teams would have 10-12 weeks off between seasons. This year it is 7-8 weeks at most, but only 5 weeks for some. Normally players would be afforded 4-6 weeks rest, followed by 4-5 weeks of pre-season training. The rest period allows players bodies to fully recover from the rigours of a full season of football. While the pre-season period is where fitness is built up, while new players are integrated, and new tactics are practiced ahead of the season.

This summer has meant players haven't had the full rest period they normally would, while the shortened pre-season and the lack of friendly games means players won't be starting the season in peak fitness. While fitness can be built up during the season, the lack of rest over the summer will catch up with players before the end of the season.

We might see some strange results and odd/ poor performances early in the season as players build up fitness, with teams probably peaking around Christmas time in terms of fitness, followed by a decline probably in February running through to the end of the season. Certainly we will likely see more injuries in the second half of the season then we normally would.

This will likely effect certain tactical ideas more than others. Playing with an aggressive high press for example requires high levels of fitness and endurance. Will the players be able to maintain that across this unusual season?

{Ed047's Note - are you not factoring in the long break they had during lockdown so it’s not like they’ve played a full season followed by this one.

1.) 17 Sep 2020 08:43:31
I think a lot pay come down to which teams get C.V. positive players or not. The impact on PSG who had to quarantine seven first team players just before the first game of the season is already visible. If games are delayed to help teams with sick players who tested positive, you could end up with a backlog which could see games played quick and fast further in the season.

2.) 17 Sep 2020 10:28:41
Ed047, I have considered the long break during the C.V.

I think the bigger issue will be the lack of preparation for the season. Pre-season's often run 5-6 weeks with 5-6 friendly games, intense training sessions etc all to build up fitness. We saw with the restart that many teams started well but faded quickly. United started the restart like are arse was on fire, but the last 4-5 games we faded badly. While the players looked out on their feet during the Europa League games.

I think this will be the most physically challenging league campaign in living memory, and as LLV points out players having to self isolate during the season will have the potential to severely impact games and results.

Imagine if 5 or 6 first team players need to self isolate over the Christmas period, depending on the fixture list that could either relegate a club (losing key games against relegation rivals) or be the difference between a club making it into Europe or not, it may even impact who wins the league.

{Ed047's Note - that for me is the single biggest factor Shappy, the CV issue.

That is what will make or break the season in exactly the way you’ve said.

There is, I don’t think, anyway clubs are going to avoid that.

The fitness issue is just getting the players up to speed and that will be dependent on the individual player, ie how much fitter was Salah than the majority of his team mates.

16 Sep 2020 17:08:46
While there is a little doom and gloom around the club to do with a lack of signings so far this window I still feel there are things to look forward to this season.

I'm looking forward to seeing how DvdB does, to seeing Pogba and Bruno play a whole season together, to continued development and improvement from players such as Martial, Rashford, McTominay, Tuanzebe and AWB. I'm looking forward to seeing DDG and Henderson battle it out for the No.1 shirt. I'm looking forward to seeing Greenwood and Williams in their second seasons. I'm looking forward to maybe seeing one or two other youngsters step up either at the club or on loan. While there is still another 3 weeks left in the transfer window.

I do have a couple of concerns though. Firstly, as pointed out by Shan further down the page. Our players haven't had much rest and looked very tired toward the end of last season, while we have a large squad Ole doesn't seem to trust half of them. I am concerned about burn out this season. To that end maybe early exits from the domestic cups wouldn't be such a bad thing when looking at the bigger picture.

Secondly, is it just me or do we spend less in the season's when we qualify for the UCL? Since Sir Alex left we have finished in the top 4 twice and once qualified for the UCL as Europa league winners. Without checking to confirm my suspicion is that we spend money to qualify for the UCL but then once we have it we don't seem to spend. It definitely happened after Jose finished 2nd, he wanted 3-4 players and he got Fred and Dalot. I just wonder if the club have the appetite to spend and push for league titles or whether top four is the height of their ambition.

1.) 16 Sep 2020 18:26:30
The big issue is the drop off in quality in the front 3.

Martial, Rashford and Greenwood, am more than happy to watch them week in week out.

But we are going to have 3 games in a week and our backup front 3 is Ighalo, James and Lingard. That is an awful chasm in quality drop off.

I still don't get why we haven't looked at wilfried zaha as an alternative to sancho, admit he blows hot and cold and it’s questionable if he's champions league level but he's certainly miles better than james or lingard.

2.) 16 Sep 2020 18:50:24
So shappy let me get this right. You think it won't be a bad thing if we get knocked out early in the cups because we can then but up a better challange for a top 4 spot?
Tired my arse. look how many games robertson salah mane vvd played last season.
You doubt the owners ambition. Where is your ambition? Imo its never a good thing to go out of cups early. Never.

3.) 16 Sep 2020 18:57:16
I think you've hit the nail on the head Shappy! The next few weeks will tell us more!

4.) 16 Sep 2020 19:43:36
About the spending I mean, I agree with Ken about the rest!

5.) 16 Sep 2020 21:08:08
Ken I don't want us to exit competitions early. I'm just saying that if we did this season it might have more of an upside than it would normally.

While every club will have had little rest between last season and the start of this one. Ourselves and the other sides still in European competitions last season got 2-3 weeks less rest, which when we had 5 weeks and other clubs have had 8 will make a difference.

Also it will be tougher for those sides playing in Europe again this season as those club's will likely have an half a dozen games at least maybe as many as 12 extra games as well as international travelling.

It will be a longer and more arduous season this year than most. To that end if we had to make a choice on one hand we could make the Semi finals of both domestic cups and finish 5th or get knocked out early in the cups and finish 3rd. Which would you pick?

6.) 16 Sep 2020 21:35:33
I also agree with shappy that there are positives to look forward to.
Pogba fernandes dvb all can create and score from midfield. Matic fred mctom are all solid enough he has to find the right and best combinations.
At their best rash greenwood and martial are very good and a real handful.

7.) 16 Sep 2020 23:17:09
so now we become arsenal.

06 Sep 2020 18:44:29
Interesting article in the Guardian by Daniel Harris on Ole and his management at United.

Well worth a read. Balanced.

1.) 07 Sep 2020 08:23:48
Shappy

I read it this morning, not sure it was balanced as you put it. It did give him credit, however, whilst it referred to the issues dealing with the pressing game, it didn’t mention the very obvious problems/ shortfalls of his in game management.

2.) 07 Sep 2020 09:12:48
On one hand they said Ole has improved many aspects around the club. Yet the whole article is based around Ole's focus on having the right players both in terms of mentality and talent. It states that Ole isn't a tactical manager such as Pep, but that actually just having better players working together will win you most of your games without having to be a tactical genius.

To that end Pep hasn't made it to a UCL semi final without Messi, Xavi and Iniesta in his side. Pep has always had the best players and his side's have struggled when he hasn't been able to buy the players he needs to make his system work. At City his second 11 is as good or better than any side in the league's first 11. No doubt he reads the game better than Ole and he has won more than Ole ever will.

We slate Ole for his lack of in game management, yet if you were the manager and you looked over your shoulder at your bench and saw Andreas Pereira, Lingard, Mata, James and Ighalo as your options to turn the tide of a game which would you bring on?

The article states that Ole probably won't be the manager to win our next title, but that he might be the manager who lays the foundations for out next title winning side.

3.) 07 Sep 2020 12:18:22
Shappy

Sorry but not making substitutions because of what is on the bench is lame excuse for his poor in game management. Anyway didn’t you tell us all these players were great and it was Mourinho’s fault not winning the league with them? A manager who leaves tired players on the pitch giving less than 100% because they are tired is foolish. A fit tryer is better than someone who is too knackered. When we needed a goal he left Ighalo on the bench until was it 93rd minute? What was the logic of paying millions for the loan.
Ole’s tactics and more important his in game management is an issue, his tactics for the FA cup semi were awful. If he isn’t going to win the league, at some point soon, that means another manager who may not fancy the players Ole has bought, so it has to be ripped up. How far down the line do we go with Ole on that basis. He starts next season but sticking with a manager who we believe can’t win the league is not acceptable for long at Manchester United. The question is when will he have done what he can?

4.) 07 Sep 2020 13:29:15
Red man, City have Pep and a phenomenal squad. To think people are questioning us signing DvdB when we have Pogba and Bruno in the first team. Look over at City who have Sterling, Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Foden and just signed Ferran Torres to replace Sane. Seven players good enough to be first choice for pretty much every side in the league while City only have 3 spaces in the team for them meaning 3 or 4 will sit out every game.
Liverpool have Klopp who had built a fantastic team that probably play the best football in the league.

Be fair and name one manager who could come into United and with the players we have finish above those two?

Simply put the two best managers in the world are at our two closest rivals. We have a good first 11, albeit several players are a few years away from their peak. The issue is the quality on the bench is shocking. The fact is that the players on our bench wouldn't start for Everton, Leicester, Wolves or Sheffield United let alone Spurs or Arsenal who are the traditional challengers for top four.

You always need to bring up your school girl crush Jose Mourinho. Well firstly Mourinho had a better squad than Ole has currently, he bought players like Lukaku, Zlatan and Sanchez for big money then either couldn't get the best out of them or they have since left.
Jose lost his job because he did what everyone knew would happen. He picked fights with everyone, sulked, bullied and created an awful atmosphere which put the club in a steep downward spiral.

Ole has since changed that atmosphere, created a more together dressing room, he has shipped out several of José's failed signings. On the whole the players that have been brought in under Ole have improved the team and he is giving young players a chance to reach their potential. While he has the club in an upward trajectory then their is no reason to fire him.

5.) 07 Sep 2020 13:31:45
Thank you Shappy, I thought the article was a good read and fairly well balanced.

Red Man, I'm not going to get into whether the in game management is good enough or not, I would just like to know who would you have as a manager to replace Ole?

We tried LVG and JM but neither were able to alter the dire football that was being produced, plus some poor signings as well.

6.) 07 Sep 2020 13:45:20
Did he not get to 3 ucl semi finals with bayern I'm pretty sure he did.

7.) 07 Sep 2020 15:28:23
notjrred

This has been done to death. LvG was a mistake, should have been to restructure the club, with Pep lined up to take over. However they didn’t buy him the players he wanted and asked for. Looked to me like they bought commercially viable ones.

Mourinho miraculously won two cups, got us to second with a rabble, despite everyone saying they were good enough to be Champions, now they referred to as terrible. He asked for certain players, a central defender was one if I remember and they didn’t buy them. He should have resigned on 1st Sept but stayed for the pay off. I didn’t want LvG, I said on here I wanted Klopp.

Quoting LvG or Mourinho in no way justifies the appointment of Ole with almost zero experience based upon an emotional ride. He achieved the bare minimum of top four so will be manager for the start of next season. Therefore we have a manager. However, there are hundreds of coaches/ managers with more experience and relevance than Ole.

Personally I think Simeone would put a fire in us, something we need to have when up against Klopp and Pep, we need to break back in. There are plenty of others, the manager at Ajax, Allegri but the club need a DOF who defines the direction and not the amateurs we have running it now.

The DOF should make the appointment next but it means someone who has power now will lose it and that likely means more of the same. So when choosing the next manager I don’t trust that we won’t make another mess. Whoever it is next, sentiment and emotion shouldn’t be part of the decision.

8.) 07 Sep 2020 15:43:55
Shappy

“bring up your school girl crush Jose Mourinho”. You write like a child when challenged, hitting out because you don’t like anyone disagreeing.

1) “Mourinho had a better squad than Ole has currently, he bought players like Lukaku, Zlatan and Sanchez for big money”. Lukaku and Sanchez were available to Ole. Ole has splurged how much on Maguire, AWB, James and Bruno and how many points did we get this last season?

2) José's failed signings. As with LvG, it doesn’t appear the club bought the players either manager asked for. So they weren’t Jose’s failed signings, probably no more than Ole’s failed or successful ones.

3) “On the whole the players that have been brought in under Ole have improved the team”. You yourself wrote another long post days ago indicating only one of three of Ole’s signings were good enough. So which is it?

You are supposedly an adult, try communicating like one or you may find it difficult when leaving the cosseted world of student, even mature student life.

9.) 07 Sep 2020 15:50:40
Red Man, I wouldn't go for Simeone. One Europa League win in 6 years. He did well at Atletico when they had a good team and Barcelona and Madrid had an off season. But he has since taken the club backwards. Similar to Pochettino in that he took over a decent team, improved them for a couple of years then they have stagnated or even regressed. The difference is Someone has taken the next step and actually won things.

Erik Ten Hag would probably be my top choice if we were looking for another manager. Others I'd consider would be Marco Rose and Jesse Marsch. As a club I think we do better giving chances to younger talented players and managers rather than the tried and tested out of the box options.

10.) 07 Sep 2020 16:17:32
Simeone is a poor choice imo Red Man.
The football is dire and his team should have done much better considering Real's and Barcelona's rebuild.

And Jose's United finished 6th in EPL in his first season.

11.) 07 Sep 2020 17:50:09
TRD

Simeone has had to deal with Real and Barcelona when they had Messi and Ronaldo. My thoughts are the club needs to appoint a DOF reporting directly to the board, not to Woodward and go from there. I think anything other than being close behind City and Liverpool will see Ole under increasing pressure. I hope we get the reinforcements we need but in marginal situations I remain concerned, as with the semi finals, we won’t get over the line. We shall see but I hope the amateurs buy players and do it based on the team not the bank balance.

12.) 07 Sep 2020 18:08:51
Absolutely Red Man, DoF should be the highest priority.

We also need to get players signed up early, so that they can quickly form an understanding on and off the pitch.

13.) 07 Sep 2020 18:17:29
TBF Jamal with the squads and money he has had he should be winning the CL at least one of them 3 times, and with the amount of money he spent at City he should have come closer than he has. Look at Liverpool, a fraction and won it.

14.) 07 Sep 2020 19:57:28
TRD

It is key for me that a DOF reports to the board and not to Woodward, leaving him or her free to make decisions. Reporting line is really important for me.

Agree with you, we need to get players in as soon as, to assimilate them more effectively.

28 Aug 2020 13:43:21
So they say hindsight is a wonderful thing. Reflected back on past dealings and assessing them is an interesting way to promote self-improvement. Would you still do things the same way, or would you do things differently and why.

With this in mind if you could travel back to last summer and choose how the club would spend the 145m they spent on AWB, Maguire and James. Would you sign the same players or would you sign different players? If so who?

While I feel all of the signings from last summer have been varying degrees of a success. If I'm honest AWB would be the only one I would sign now.

Maguire has been solid enough, but I don't see him dramatically improving and for the money I think we could have spent more wisely.

Dan James is an interesting one, for 15m he is a good buy as a squad player with potential. Yet what we really needed was a first team quality player.

I'd probably sign AWB, as well as a CB and a winger. But different ones to Maguire and James. I think for 95m we could have got a first choice quality in both positions.

Ismailia Sarr joined Watford for around 30m last summer. I think he has more potential than James and although twice the cost could have offered us a better short term and long term player.

That would leave 65m to spend on a CB, Jose Gimenez, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano could all have been bought for around that amount or less.

Would that have made us stronger overall? Maybe, although it's all conjecture.

I think it's interesting to look back even on a summer that most would say was a success. Because it might make us change out minds with transfers this summer.

Last summer we spent big on one "key" signing. Is that the best way forward? Or would we be better placed buying higher quality across all our signings?

1.) 28 Aug 2020 14:04:22
I would have never bought Maguire. He is overrated and hasn't really improved us alot. He often gets caught out. I would have have signed Ruben Dias instead of Maguire. circa €50 -€69 million for Dias.

James is an interesting one, he lacks experience and is probably one for the future. A loan away would probably do his the world of good. Yes, I would have bought him. Yiu can fault his effort.

AWB the guy loves to tackle so yes i woild have boughy him still. He needs to work on his attacking game but he is still young.

2.) 28 Aug 2020 14:44:23
I would take James, i think he is one of our better transfers in the last 7 years, ofcourse taking into account age and price. At the start of last season when he was used as left winger cutting inside he was good, then we hardly played him and used him as a sub. He is not the kind of player which with vision technical abilities and passes will change the match in last minutes. He is not a Mata style player, or a Sancho. James must have rythm and play in his natural position . I wouldn't touch Maguire even for 40 millions, i disagree with some posters saying the problem is the price, he is simply not good enough no matter how much we paid. Then Bissaka, i like the guy and he is superb at one on one situations but at 50 millions you must have better balance as a player. Going forward if he improves his attacking play and his positioning (when someone crosses from the other side) I would be happy with him. Overall i don't think last summer was a success. It can't be a success buying 4 players for 200+ millions and only one of them is top class.

3.) 28 Aug 2020 14:59:46
The problem with this game is it ignores whether the players we would have brought instead of could have been brought. It also ignores whether they would have done any better in the situation the club have found themselves in.
For what it's worth. AWB yes I would have signed as I like the defensive side of the game but hopefully he will develop the attacking side of he gets a regular partner on the right (Sancho/ Greenwood or another) . Maguire yes I would as I feel he has improved is (not as much as we would love when you look at van duke) but he has. We need to move him to the right side to get the best out of him.
James yes he was always a punt on a youngster with potential and needed to be bedded in slowly which unfortunately for him he played more than we expected, he could still develop over the years.

4.) 28 Aug 2020 15:22:35
I wouldn’t sign Maguire or James. Maguire has slightly improved our defence, but £80m is too much for a slight improvement. He has major limitations to his game and isn’t a defensive organiser, which is what we desperately need.

James is not a good player. Being fast is not all that’s needed to be a good winger. He has no end product and has been largely anonymous since the opening few months of the season. He’ll be 23 in November, and he simply doesn’t have the technical ability to become a top level player. Will be, inevitably, bought by a bottom half club in a year or two.

5.) 28 Aug 2020 17:07:32
AWB - the so-called 'best one-on-one' defender in Europe (who comes up with this crap? What is this based on? ) fell short at the end of the season, but I think he's been a plus overall. Needs to offer a little more going forward. Otherwise I would have liked to have seen Doherty as an option.

Dan James hasn't hit the mark for me. It's difficult with players who shine in the Championship to make an impact immediately (think Sessegnon) . Admittedly he wasn't meant to be starting every week but had some form at the start of the season so fair play. Personally other than pace I haven't seen much to be excited by and believe loaning him out should be considered, assuming we strengthen in that area. As far as young British alternatives go, late last season I thought Morgan Gibbs-White at Wolves looked decent.

Harry Maguire is a tough one. and I am going to stand by it. When I first began following the club in the late 80s - like most of the top sides - we had a British spine, with great leaders and strong communicators. The side has utterly lost this. Sure players like Dias, Konate and Upamecano are more technically gifted and have bright futures, but I still feel the side needs a more leaders. It was a high price (ok, too high), but Utd paid for a captain for the next decade. The antics of the last week are a worry but unfair to judge at this stage. No-one at the club comes close in terms of leadership and organising the team other than possibly Matic. Personally I prefer a defensive/ midfield captain, otherwise Bruno would be a candidate as he wears his heart on his sleeve. Quite liked Ake too - not superstar material but very useful in several positions.

6.) 28 Aug 2020 20:54:37
AWB is a right sided CB in a back 3 for me.

HM is a centre half who needs to play in a back 3.

Yet we play 4 at the back.

7.) 29 Aug 2020 08:01:39
AWB is exceptional in 1 on 1 situations but teams have learned his positional sense is average at best. He's still young and you'd hope this improves. He also has a tendency (unsure if this is the coaching staff telling him to do this or not) to push very high on the opposition full back or winger. This often isolates Lindelof on the right side. If it's his own tendency the coaching staff should look to improve his timing of when he does this, if it's something he's being told to do I'm a bit concerned. On the ball he seems to be improving but it's slow progress.

I wasn't and I'm still not a fan of the Maguire signing, I think there are several defenders in the league who are considerably better.

James started well but shouldn't have been starting the amount of games he was. Should be a squad option going forward but his final ball and decision making need to improve.

I'd still be fine with the AWB and James signings but we should have signed another CB instead of Maguire.

8.) 29 Aug 2020 10:26:17
Perhaps it is me, but were any of them bought to a plan?

James is ok, take a chance at £15m, but as Herrera says you need to play him to his strengths, he is at his best when on the run not when he has the ball tight and needs to start running.

AWB, defensively excellent, although seemed a little off the ball towards the end. However, what was the plan? We switched tactics to requiring the full backs being important in attacks, getting good crosses in, yet AWB has not been good at that. Shaw better when not injured. If the plan was to get more attacking out of AWB, did they scout him? We already had Dalot, but Ole just abandoned him, yet he was a better attacking fullback than AWB, also very highly thought of, looked good to me, just needed better coaching. It looks like muddled thinking to me, like we didn’t buy to the plan or there wasn’t a plan. I like AWB, the defender but does he fit in the plan? To answer the OP question, you have to decide what you want from a fullback, based on the way of playing. If we want a defensive one, definitely would have bought him, a more attacking one I would have looked elsewhere.

Harry. Well I will stand by him, not worth £80m but that’s the amateurs for you. Our club had Laurent Blanc who was much slower. I have said a number of times, central defence is about partnerships and HM needs a better one than the bits and pieces approach. How many do we have? Too many, coming and going, no understanding, I happen to think that Smalling might have been a better partner, but he was sent to Italy whilst keeping Jones (genius idea) . If we were going to buy Harry it should have been earlier when Mourinho wanted him. The number of CB’s indicates a lack of planning and poor scouting, the fact we added another without thinking about partnerships is poor.

All through the season most have been praising Ole and the recruitment, yet now people are saying only one was any good, so are people waking up about Ole or will it be him not buying the players now? I am not convinced there is a clear coherent plan. We sold a Centre Forward, then had to bring a loan in, so now we need a centre forward? No, because we are after a right winger now, but we want an attacking full back who may have to operate in that area. Confused?

9.) 30 Aug 2020 02:08:46
I'm sure someone on here mentioned that AWB started off as a right-winger. There should be an attacking instinct in there somewhere. First season. Big jump from Palace to Utd. let's see how he develops this season.

10.) 30 Aug 2020 06:22:28
Yes red man. Lukaku was sold. Was he good enough? Not for me. I'm guessing behind the scenes Ole decided he needed to go. That is what managers do. Assess the squad and make changes. 3rd behind that Liverpool and City squad wasn't bad though eh? And when you think he only had his star signing for the second half of the season.

11.) 30 Aug 2020 09:40:08
Dodgy

You missed the point, he sold Lukaku, then decided he needed a centre forward, brought in Ighalo on loan, extended the loan, didn’t play him, now we are seemingly not looking for a centre forward.

I wasn’t saying anything about Lukaku being good enough, however under Conte, a coach who knows what he is doing, Lukaku has done far better and I am sure I read that Real Madrid may be interested, but that has nothing to do with us.

The question I posed was whether we had a plan, what is our style of play and are we buying for it?

12.) 30 Aug 2020 16:06:31
Lukaku was a flat-track bully. Italian league suits him well. It's even making Ashley Young look like a top player.

{Ed047's Note - I’m not having that last sentence Nou 🤣😉

26 Aug 2020 10:08:21
Harry Maguire, you silly boy.

What we know so far is that Harry has a story about his sister being attacked and him defending her. Which on the face of it most people wouldn't condemn him for. Especially given the circumstances.

However, throwing around his status and repeated attempts to bribe police officers was extremely stupid, and not really something you can defend in any circumstance.

While a Greek court found him guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.

Harry Maguire hasn't actually denied that he assaulted someone, or that he attempted to bribe a police officer. What he has said is that he defended his sister. Giving justification for his actions rather than denying they happened.

That suggests that he did hit someone, however justified he felt in doing so. While he also attempted to bribe a police officer.

Which to me regardless of circumstances means he did commit an assault and he did break the law. Therefore, the court was right in their verdict.

This brings us back to his United future. While several United captains have had their indiscretions with the law, none have been found guilty and handed a custodial sentence suspended or not. There is no getting away from the fact that this is the most serious incident involving a club captain in our history. For me that very fact makes it impossible for Maguire to continue bas club captain and the public face of our team.

If his story holds any truth then I do feel sorry for him. He seems like a good lad. The assault can be a heat of the moment thing, while the bribery could be put down as a stupid decision made while drunk and in a state. Yet they happened, and their has to be consequences for those actions. He needs to front up, apologise to United fans for bringing their club into disrepute and offer to stand down as club captain.

At which point Ole needs to reluctantly accept, say they will continue to support Harry and appoint someone else as club captain.

This is a harsh lesson to others about the importance of being club captain for a club under such global scrutiny. As United captain their is no far flung corner of the world where you can escape you status and therefore you need to act accordingly. It's a heavy burden, one you don't get a break from, but that's part of the job.

1.) 26 Aug 2020 10:23:35
Yes shappy. New captain and face for the team.

Maguire seems like a good guy just gone wrong for him on this occasion. Needs to get home, head down, concentrate on football and making amends.

2.) 26 Aug 2020 11:58:30
It looks like he was targeted but what an idiot going to Mykanos and trying to be just one of the lads. Something like this was predictable, I'm surprised the club didn't tell him what a stupid idea it was. Don't they have player welfare officers to advise the players on stuff like where to go on holiday? Of all the beautiful Greek Islands, he decides to go to Mykanos and go out drinking! The report about what happened to his sister is disgusting but again, what an idiot Maguire is putting his friends and family in that kind of situation.

3.) 26 Aug 2020 12:05:46
That just reads like a Tablet Newspaper article Shappy. Just making assumptions. Maybe just wait and see if there is an appeal and a proper hearing. If he's done what is 'alleged' then fair enough, but lots of things just don't add up. This one I'm sure will run for a while yet.

4.) 26 Aug 2020 12:07:49
. on a side note, I heard this morning that when the Greek Authorities set Harry Maguire's bail conditions, the fee was set at 5000euros.
Apparently United offered 3000 plus Jones and Lingard🤣🤣🤣.

5.) 26 Aug 2020 12:24:37
I think if anything happened to his sister it could explain an initial fight outside the bar, to continue any violence later in the police station is unrelated. As far as I understand, the sister never went to hospital and did not get a toxicology report which would have strengthened any case he has. Drugs don't disappear from a person's system over night, the fact his defence has no proof only allegations to this effect makes it all very dubious to me.

6.) 26 Aug 2020 12:28:03
Shappy, complete conjecture without any fact attached. Note Harry has already lodged an appeal and until the result of that and pending a reliable statement from him this will remain as conjecture. Let’s all wait and see prior to conducting a press and soshul meedja lynching please.
Nice1 betty 😂.

7.) 26 Aug 2020 12:32:30
The bribery for me is worse than the assault. You can get past the assault with the sister angle, but if he then hit a policeman and attempted to bribe them whilst stating that he's the utd captain, that's pretty hard to justify.

8.) 26 Aug 2020 11:29:02
Shappy I believe Cantona was initially given two weeks jail but that was later reduced to 120 hours community service, he then went on to become the Utd captain!

But I do agree with your post, he has stupidly put himself in a situation where he could well be targeted.

Plus if he's drunk, he is paid a lot of money not to get in to that sort of situation, as a professional footballer never mind club captain.

9.) 26 Aug 2020 12:43:21
If, if, if. Let's wait and see.

10.) 26 Aug 2020 13:06:07
If he got found guilty of assault, if he got found guilty of resisting arrest, if he got found guilty of bribery.

11.) 26 Aug 2020 13:14:28
Yes Angel - IF. What doesn't sit right with me is the actual charges. Assaulting a Police officer and, in particular, trying to bribe a Police Officer are very serious crimes. Yet Maguire is "supposed" to have done both, yet is only up on a "misdemeanor"? Just doesn't ring true for me. If I am being naive and he did all of those things, then I take it all back, but I think there is more to this.
Just my view, based on very little fact, admittedly.

12.) 26 Aug 2020 13:43:37
Betty, was he or was he not found guilty in a court of law?

That isn't up for conjecture. He can and is appealing it.

But an appeal could take months, I'm not sure how strong a case he has. No evidence that his sister was drugged, and even if there was that doesn't excuse him hitting a police officer and then trying to bribe his way out of trouble.

I don't think it's the worst thing in the world and many have done much worst. But his actions have been stupid to the extreme given his position. It shows a lack of forethought and appreciation for his position.

I can't see how the club can start the season with a convicted criminal (which he is unless he wins his appeal) as club captain.

13.) 26 Aug 2020 13:36:36
At this time he is guilty but has an appeal pending.
As far as I'm concerned I've the club issue his punishment if any The matter is closed untill the result of his appeal.
The club may wait for the result of his surreal to issue a punishment.
Either way its a closed matter imo.
The courts have dealt with it so its over as far as I'm concerned.
Its far from ideal either way he has been an idiot.
No doubt there was extreme provocation but there are ways to conduct yourself on this occasion harry made several poor choices but its not a hanging offence. If his appeal is not successful he needs to take his punishment apologise and move on and never get into that sort of situation again.

14.) 26 Aug 2020 14:04:24
Snappy

Everything you’ve put about his charges etc is from taking the verdict at face value. We are still yet to see any actual proof be released of body cam footage, recordings, CCTV or anything. As someone that’s admittedly been in a holding cell in Greece they might be a country that’s struggled financially but they still have cameras etc.

For me the club and Maguire wouldn't have had the reaction they did yesterday with their press releases.
There must be some confidence there to still insist on appealing and remaining innocent. I would have expected Maguire to come out publicly apologise etc if this wasn’t the case and the club to have a different public stance.

Let’s see what happens and keep the knives in the drawers for a little while.

Although I do agree for the better of the player and the club in the mean time the captaincy does beee to be moved to another player.

15.) 26 Aug 2020 14:12:47
Yesterday - innocent until proven guilty.

Today - you’re only taking the verdict at face value.

What’s the longest river in Africa?

16.) 26 Aug 2020 14:29:07
Betty if the Greek Authorities were offered Jones and Lingard as part of the bail, Harry would still be inside.

17.) 26 Aug 2020 14:56:30
All we are getting here is headlines from the trial- headlines designed for clicks. The same happened in the case of the Ulster rugby players like I mentioned yesterday. The judge was critical of the reporting as the full story was never given and public opinion was swayed massively. Bear this in mind. Anyone who knows anything about that case will understand exactly what I mean.

The hearing had several faults which would not be allowed in this country, I think a full proper hearing where both sides have adequate time to present their cases will determine 100% guilty or not.

If the appeal proves him innocent then good for him, if it goes the other way then he has to deal with it. This issue with this case so far is there are two different stories, very little evidence (from what I can see, if anyone can point me toward something that’d be appreciated) from either party.

Let’s just see how the appeal plays out, before branding him a horrible monster etc etc. Idiot for placing himself in that situation, but it’s happened and whatever will come of it will come.

18.) 26 Aug 2020 14:59:56
Love it Danny.

19.) 26 Aug 2020 15:13:32
Shappy, pointless going round in circles. Let's just see what happens. We just have different views. The difference is I made it quite clear it was just my opinion based it little fact, whereas you as usual make it seem like you have the first clue about the case and put it across as 'fact'.

20.) 26 Aug 2020 15:38:23
Shappy: “
Harry Maguire hasn't actually denied that he assaulted someone, or that he attempted to bribe a police officer. What he has said is that he defended his sister. Giving justification for his actions rather than denying they happened. ”

Correct me if I’m wrong but I am given to believe pleading not guilty is to deny the allegation as opposed to justifying it.

21.) 26 Aug 2020 15:53:21
RedD, I bet the policeman thought the assault was worse!

22.) 26 Aug 2020 15:55:04
Spot on, Scoobs.

23.) 26 Aug 2020 16:43:21
Bang on scooby.

Shappy's rumour replies

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18 Sep 2020 17:05:57
bolger, I believe the club has been in discussions, but buying players is a little more nuanced than picking up a can of beans from Tesco. The Eds have said the total cost of signing Sancho is huge and has caused other clubs to walk away from any deal.

The idea that he will continue the same numbers he is achieving in the Bundesliga is slightly foolish. Very few if any offensive players move from Germany to the EPL and maintain the same volume of goals/ assists as they managed in Germany. Some of the defending in the Bundesliga is awful which inflates offensive players numbers. Maybe Sancho would after a couple of years be able to get his number back up to his current level but I highly doubt it would be instant.

While shirt sales are irrelevant as the money goes to Adidas unless sold via the club shop. We get nada from shirt sales as Adidas has bought the rights.

I think a lot of your frustration comes from reading too much into what the media is saying on a daily basis. My advice is either stop reading it or read it but don't believe a single word of it. Most is just made up to sell papers and get clicks. No amount of reading these articles will hurry along any transfers. They will happen when they happen or they won't happen.

Shan, Sarr wouldn't be a bad signing and he would offer us another option. I wouldn't be against signing him. It's just a personal thing, I'd prefer a more technical player who offers us something different to what we have. I 100% agree that we need to sign someone, we can't go into the season with Lingard and Pereira being the options from the bench.

While I think Greenwood is good enough to play first choice and play most weeks, he is a young player and he will have dips in form. Therefore its vital to have a player who can come in for him and allow him a rest both physically and mentally. We saw Sir Alex do it a few times with DDG in his first couple of seasons with Lindegaard coming in for him for a few games here and there.

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18 Sep 2020 14:01:55
bolger, Sancho isn't just £58m more than Brooks, that's just the transfer fee, then there is Sancho's agents fees which are thought to be in the region of 50m. Plus Sancho would be looking for wages in the 280-300k per week.

So the total cost of Sancho on a 5 year deal would be 108m in transfer fee, 50m in agents fees and 72.8m in wages over 5 years at 280k per week. Making Sancho cost a total of around £230m over 5 years.

Whereas Brooks would be a maximum of 50m in fees, around 10m in agents fees, and wages of around 120k per week (31.2m over 5 years) . Making Brooks cost a total of 91m over 5 years.

That means Sancho would cost 139m more not just an extra 58m.

While Sancho is clearly the much better player, my argument is based around only spending a huge fee on a player who is clearly better than Greenwood currently. Sancho fits that bill. But if he isn't available then what we should be looking for is a top quality rotation option with Greenwood.

TrueRedDevil, I'd love Buendia, he'd be a great option in my opinion. But the club don't have an interest in him and there seemed little interest on here in him when I mentioned him.

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18 Sep 2020 11:17:48
Shan, Sarr would be a great option if we are looking for a player similar to Adama Traore but don't want to spend 70-80m on them. Quick, strong, direct, with improving end product. I wouldn't call either of them clever players, they are knock and run wingers who rely on their raw power and pace to blow players away. Then once clear they look for a cross or cut back, both tend to play lower crosses rather than high ones, or they look to cut back to an on rushing player. It's effective, but a little one dimensional. Similar to Dan James but with power as well as pace.

Personally I prefer the tricky clever players who find pockets of space and appear to ghost past people. While looking at that we have in our squad and the types of situations we find difficult to circumvent I think that sort of player suits our needs better. A technical dribbler, who plays with their head and not their physical attributes.

While Sarr would be a decent signing he would only add a more powerful version of Dan James.

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18 Sep 2020 10:07:29
Brooks being injured last season ultimately cost Bournemouth their EPL status. He is by far their best and most creative player. Bournemouth were comfortable mid table with him in the starting 11 and then got relegated by 1 point with him out of the team through injury.

He isn't a "winger" in the traditional sense, he is a player who plays more like a wide No.10, he is creative and comes inside to work with the midfielders and forwards to create chances, he is clever at finding half a yard of space and using that to find teammates to create good chances.

In many ways he adds something different to what we have, we have Greenwood who'll cut inside to score, Dan James who can stay wide and stretch play what we need is someone who can come inside and create.

Sancho obviously offers that as well as goalscoring ability. But then that is what Sancho is £108m and Brooks would be around £40-50m.

Brooks offers us something different to what we have while being better than Lingard, Andreas Pereira and Mata.

If I'm honest if we can't sign Sancho then the best front three we could have going into this season would be Greenwood, Martial and Rashford. For me Greenwood is going to be a top top player, maybe not at the Messi and Ronaldo level but certainly at the Bale, Neymar, Lewandowski, Aguero and Hazard level. He is got 17 goals and 3 assists last season. His debut season in a struggling side. There are only a few players I'd be happy to see starting ahead of him, Sancho being one, Mbappe might be another. But that level of talent. Otherwise I'd want Greenwood starting.

With that in mind if we can't sign Sancho then what we should be looking for is a top level rotational option who adds quality in depth and something different to what we have.

Players like Brooks adds that. Others could be Calvin Stengs, Viktor Tsygankov, Moussa Diaby, Leon Bailey or Bryan Mbeumo.

{Ed001's Note - that was not the reason they got relegated. Not even close. There were far more problems than an injury to him.}

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17 Sep 2020 21:42:05
Out of those options I hope we get Brooks if we can't get Sancho.

Shappy's banter replies

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18 Sep 2020 17:24:51
Yer Man, I wouldn't say we have an issue with giving youth a chance. Very few top clubs give young players a chance, while only the very best tend to play regularly at 17 or 18 at a top club.

In our first team squad we have Henderson, Williams, Tunazebe, Mengi (promoted recently), McTominay, Rashford and Greenwood who have all come through our academy.

While the likes of Laird, Garner, Levitt and Chong have or will likely leave on loan ready to come back and maybe be part of the first team squad next season. While we have others such as Bernard, Galbraith, Helm, Puigmal, Elanga, Shoretire, Harvey Neville, Hoogerwerf, and Hannibal Mejbri any of whom could get a chance and if they take it could end up like Williams or Greenwood. While we have just added another 3 Spanish lads, a Norwegian, a Slovakian, two lads from Sunderland and Charlie McCann from Man City to the academy. We wouldn't be adding 8 players if we didn't intend to have some sort of a pathway to the first team.

Then there is Filip Stevanovic who if we can complete the deal he could be a very special player.

While we have also bought players like Shaw, AWB, Martial and James who were 22 or in a couple cases teenagers and played them straight in our first team.

Of all the traditional top sides I would say very few have as an impressive record as us for giving youth a chance.

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18 Sep 2020 14:18:01
It would mean we would have signed a LB, CAM, RW and auxiliary forward. I don't think we could really complain too much about that. Personally there are other possible targets that I think would be better or at least I'd prefer. But then I don't own the club so I don't get a say.

While there is a lack of quality at CB there certainly isn't an issue with depth. While the striker position is an odd one. Martial looked like making the position his own last season, however he does pick up a few injuries. Rashford also had a breakout season as a top player, yet he clearly is better off the left hand side. Then Greenwood looks a future great, but is he ready to lead the line for potentially a couple of months if there was an injury to Martial? Ighalo is decent cover but he will leave in January. So on the face of it we have 4 players for one position, yet there is a potential issue with all of them.

I'd be happy if we sign a RW and a LB to go with DvdB. I'd be happy if we only sign Sancho from here on out.

We have a decent squad with some excellent youngsters coming through.

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18 Sep 2020 14:07:06
He's a good all round player, good defensively, hard worker, reads the game well and has a very good passing range on him. He has the ability to play in many different tactical systems. The key thing with his loan is he goes somewhere he will play pretty much every week.

Swansea, Huddersfield, Blackburn and now Watford have been touted as possible destinations. I wonder if we are trying to insert some kind of clause where he gets recalled if he doesn't start a certain number of games which might be a stumbling block with a few of the loan clubs.

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18 Sep 2020 11:08:37
I think it highlights the impact Bruno had plus the disjointed season many of our players had. If Rashford hadn't picked up his back injury then he might have scored an extra 5-8 goals as he was in red hot form when he got injured, while he didn't look fully up to speed after the restart.

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18 Sep 2020 08:59:42
Eric, it's not about the amount of money spent per se. It's about the ambition of the owners. They are happy to spend big when we NEED to get into the UCL (as income would drop significantly if we don't), but once we are there they spend the minimum required. You could argue that while we had Sir Alex we spent less as Sir Alex kept us challenging.

The question is do the owners have the ambition to push on beyond the top four? Because it's starting to look like they haven't.