I look at the squad and take each player and go "What other top team would he get into?"
It's a very short list.
Problem is, fans are short-sighted and think that change takes weeks or months. Sometimes it can happen like that- just look at Sherwood's initial impact at Villa- but I think that too many of us are forgetting that the man who led us to so much success was here for almost 3 decades, and was a once-in-a-lifetime manager. Everything about the club was adapted to his wants and needs. He was here for some players' entire careers. Plus, when he left, so did our back four ffs. He worked wonders with an ageing Scholes and Giggs. There's been so much change in the club, top to bottom, that it will take time. Yes, we've spent big money, but we've had huge upheaval in the squad with Scholes, Giggs, Rio, Vidic, Evra, etc all gone and not adequately replaced yet. We talk about 'transition', but we vary in our understanding of how long it takes. I honestly don't think our players are much to write home about, but then you get people countering with "but they won the league at a canter two seasons ago!" and the cycle repeats.
I think LVG could have bought another forward, but then again he's explained that he'd rather show confidence in the players he keeps, so that's obviously part of his plan. What frustrates me is the harping on about Welbeck, Chicharito, Nani, RVP, Januzaj, etc, and how if we'd only kept whichever one the poster in question has a hard-on for, we'd be ok. We need to get players who are gonna set the world on fire. I look at our teams of the past and go "Ronaldo, Giggs, Keane, Scoles- that's one of the best midfields in the world". Similarly "Sheringham, Cole, Yorke, Solskjaer - that's 80 goals a season right there". Or "Neville, Rio, Vidic, Evra- nobody's getting past that".
But I look at most of the squad and go "meh". We're just not that good.