Which players are good enough?

[pocco]

Hands on hearts. How many of our players are truly good enough to form an 11 capable of firstly winning the Premier League, and secondly the Champions League? Because this is the criteria our players should ultimately be measured against.

De Gea
Bailly
Matic
Pogba

In my opinion these are the only players that we have currently that are of the required standard to play in an 11 that could win top honours.

We have the likes of Valencia, Herrera, Jones that can do a job but when measured against the best they aren't good enough. The only young hopefuls that we have are Rashford and Martial, but both of them aren't good enough currently and still have a hell of a long way to go.

In terms of winning the league, you can get by with a few players that can "do a job", but the bar has been significantly raised in Europe and we may be witnessing City also raising that bar in the league.

Basically, it doesn't look good for us right now in terms of getting back to where we want to be, which is challenging seriously on all fronts.

I'm interested to hear who everyone else genuinely believes is good enough to play every week in an 11 that could win the CL and/or PL.

 

[E-mal]

Hands on hearts. How many of our players are truly good enough to form an 11 capable of firstly winning the Premier League, and secondly the Champions League? Because this is the criteria our players should ultimately be measured against.

De Gea
Bailly
Matic
Pogba

In my opinion these are the only players that we have currently that are of the required standard to play in an 11 that could win top honours.

We have the likes of Valencia, Herrera, Jones that can do a job but when measured against the best they aren't good enough. The only young hopefuls that we have are Rashford and Martial, but both of them aren't good enough currently and still have a hell of a long way to go.

In terms of winning the league, you can get by with a few players that can "do a job", but the bar has been significantly raised in Europe and we may be witnessing City also raising that bar in the league.

Basically, it doesn't look good for us right now in terms of getting back to where we want to be, which is challenging seriously on all fronts.

I'm interested to hear who everyone else genuinely believes is good enough to play every week in an 11 that could win the CL and/or PL.

Am sorry but I disagree.
Sane and Sterling are not better than Rashford and Martial, the difference is that they play in positive team whoose first aim is to attack like any top team should. So naturally their productivity and confidence to do things will be better, coupled with the fact that they have great support.

I dont like to make comparisons but if Pep was in charge of those young players he will make them better than they are curently showing.
Is not everything that is about quality, we have no imagination in our attacking play at all.

 

[Prodigal7]

Am sorry but I disagree.
Sane and Sterling are not better than Rashford and Martial, the difference is that they play in positive team whoose first aim is to attack like any top team should. So naturally their productivity and confidence to do things will be better, coupled with the fact that they have great support.

I dont like to make comparisons but if Pep was in charge of those young players he will make them better than they are curently showing.
Is not everything that is about quality, we have no imagination in our attacking play at all.

Same is a level above any of our attackers.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

We have had far worse players in title winning campaigns. Jones, Smalling, Valencia, Young have a medal. So do guys like Anderson, Cleverley, Welbeck, Fabio, Owen and more. We need our best players to shine and the rest to fit the pieces.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Even City have been winning matches with Fabian Delph at LB. Teams rarely have World Class players at every position.

 

[pocco]

We have had far worse players in title winning campaigns. Jones, Smalling, Valencia, Young have a medal. So do guys like Anderson, Cleverley, Welbeck, Fabio, Owen and more. We need our best players to shine and the rest to fit the pieces.

I feel that the bar has been raised in recent years though. Plus, have we ever challenged in the PL and CL with those players being a main part of our first 11?

 

[pocco]

Even City have been winning matches with Fabian Delph at LB. Teams rarely have World Class players at every position.

Would they challenge in Europe if they have Delph at LB? Any time we have challenged on both fronts we have had quality right across the pitch.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Would they challenge in Europe if they have Delph at LB? Any time we have challenged on both fronts we have had quality right across the pitch.

Beating Napoli twice is a good sign in that regard.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I mean if I am being really stern:

DDG
Matic
Pogba

I would have had Bailly in there before, but he's filled me with no confidence this season and I think he's been hugely shaky.

This is yet another damning indication of how much money we've wasted. Case in point being that I and OP don't even have our big money signing in Lukaku in the list.

 

[BennyBlanco]

We need a galactico in every position, our squad is shite, etc, the usual, okay.

 

[deafepl]

Fellaini, Herrera, Young, Mata, Carrick and Blind have an expiring contract in 2018. Jose needs to overhaul the new first XI with Pogba, Baily, Jones, Matic, De Gea, Rashford/Martial, Lukaku and strengthen position with new RB and LB, new CM box to box/destroyer to form a partnership with Matic and Pogba, new attacking midfield who can operate on right-wing.

At least new 3 world-class players in XI first would be good for us to be really strong.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

Yet another thread where bailly gets overrated. Fecking henning Berg had better distribution than him

 

[Cypriot]

This is an awful thread. We have a lot of good players and a lot of squad players. No team in the world has 23 World Class players in their squad. Sure, we can improve drastically in some areas - and I'm sure we will do. But the level of knee-jerk is astonishing.

 

[frank lee madeer..]

Im not having this players are shit thing again, ts the coaching. Where do you think citeh would be if Jose coached them ? You think they'd have still signed attacking full backs ? He'd have signed big lumps , debruyne would more than likely be on the bench for not tracking back aguero would be up top to win it on his own. Jose just has not moved with the times, he can't coach modern football & yes there has been a major change in attitudes in the short time since his last league. The trendy kids have turned up, & they all have bloodied his nose.

 

[Charlie Foley]

Same is a level above any of our attackers.

Na, they're about the Same.

 

[jungledrums]

We need a galactico in every position, our squad is shite, etc, the usual, okay.

Right, this feckin place sometimes

 

[BennyBlanco]

Oh and another 3-4 galactico's needed for the bench incase we need to change the game. Thanks.

 

[Rojofiam]

Plus, have we ever challenged in the PL and CL with those players being a main part of our first 11?

2011

 

[ghagua]

Im not having this players are shit thing again, ts the coaching. Where do you think citeh would be if Jose coached them ? You think they'd have still signed attacking full backs ? He'd have signed big lumps , debruyne would more than likely be on the bench for not tracking back aguero would be up top to win it on his own. Jose just has not moved with the times, he can't coach modern football & yes there has been a major change in attitudes in the short time since his last league. The trendy kids have turned up, & they all have bloodied his nose.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Green_Red]

Same is a level above any of our attackers.

No, he's in a good vein of form, that's all.

 

[khoazany]

Same thread, different year.

 

[poacher]

It is quite funny if you criticise the team before the losses come then you are being negative because we are at the top of the table etc however if you criticize the team afterwards it's a kneejerk reaction. It was obvious at the start of the season that our squad was inferior to our rivals and we were not likely to win or strongly contend in either the EPL or the CL. It was also strange that people expected that a team that finished 6th could suddenly win titles with the addition of two first-team signings. I think that De Gea, Martial, Matic and Pogba are top notch with Rashford, Lukaku and Jones decent players. The rest of the team is not really the kind of players that win you titles. Most of the rest of the United squad would struggle to make the bench at City, Chelsea or Spurs. We don't need superstars in every position but we do need more dynamic players with the technical ability to pass the ball at pace or to hang onto possession without being dispossessed. I am not slamming Jose because he inherited a team full of subpar or if we are being generous average players and he has only been given the budget to make three signings a year so it will take another two years before the team will be full of Jose players. I have seen progress this year but we definitely have a long way to go before we are playing football that is both exciting and successful. SAF could turn chicken sh't into chicken soup but he was a one of a kind miracle worker and I don't think Jose is cut from the same cloth so I doubt Jose will win any major prizes until we give him the players he needs.

 

[pocco]

We need a galactico in every position, our squad is shite, etc, the usual, okay.

I'm not saying that, but I'm trying to gauge exactly who people think could form part of our first 11 going forwards that is capable of challenging on all fronts.

If things are being overstated, as you seem to think, then why have we been shite for a few years now? There are obvious issues and I think it's a cop out to blame yet another manager. It's easier for supporters to do that because they can then convince themselves that there is a quick fix by changing a formation or even manager. We have one of the best and most successful managers out there and even he can't get us fucntioning to a level that he has every other team he has coaches. It's the players, whether that be a lack of quality or intelligence...the issue is just as serious either way.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

A strong number 10 in the vein of KDB or Hazard would completely transform our team.

That's the massive difference for us at the moment. IF we had someone at the level playing behind Lukaku we'd be in a miles better position right now.

 

[pocco]

A strong number 10 in the vein of KDB or Hazard would completely transform our team.

That's the massive difference for us at the moment. IF we had someone at the level playing behind Lukaku we'd be in a miles better position right now.

A no.10 is great and obviously needed but the players ahead of them are seriously lacking. Martial and Rashford are far too inconsistent and Lukaku is far too easily dealt with by better organised teams, something that has always been obvious with him. He's never proven that he is cqpable of scoring the goals that a top team needs. He seems to score a lot of goals but not in a spread of games whereby he can win you more games.

The right hand side...well, it's non existent. We don't even have one.

 

[minoo-utd]

DDG
Bailly
Pogba
Lukaku
Martial
Matic

For me no one else can fit in the list, but how many seasons we can keep our best players while we are not winning the league or a major trophy?

Some players really need to be sold, or not included in our main squad
Mkhitaryan
Lingaaaaard
Blind
Darmian
Valencia ( such a limited R.B )
Carrick ( think he is finished )
Shaw

 

[CM21]

Not all of these are first XI worthy ,some are good enough only to be squad players:

DDG
Bailey
Jones
Valencia
Young
Pogba
Matic
Martial
Rashford

 

[DWelbz19]

Same thread, different year.

Almost like revamping our team for a third successive time won’t solve anything so long as the deep-seated problems exist

 

[Ace of Spades]

We have a good squad overall, just need more quality in our FBs, AM and RW position. Obviously, individual players in our team can be improved easily, but the problem though stems from coaching rather than personnel. Even with better players, if the coaching does not improve, we won't win much anyway as our rivals can spend just as much as us.

 

[DannyCAFC]

Hands on hearts. How many of our players are truly good enough to form an 11 capable of firstly winning the Premier League, and secondly the Champions League? Because this is the criteria our players should ultimately be measured against.

De Gea
Bailly
Matic
Pogba

In my opinion these are the only players that we have currently that are of the required standard to play in an 11 that could win top honours.

We have the likes of Valencia, Herrera, Jones that can do a job but when measured against the best they aren't good enough. The only young hopefuls that we have are Rashford and Martial, but both of them aren't good enough currently and still have a hell of a long way to go.

In terms of winning the league, you can get by with a few players that can "do a job", but the bar has been significantly raised in Europe and we may be witnessing City also raising that bar in the league.

Basically, it doesn't look good for us right now in terms of getting back to where we want to be, which is challenging seriously on all fronts.

I'm interested to hear who everyone else genuinely believes is good enough to play every week in an 11 that could win the CL and/or PL.

Chelsea won the title last year with a record number of wins and the best period of form for about 3 months we’d ever seen in the PL with players like Moses and Cahill in the lineup. Those guys aren't any better than Valencia and Jones/Smalling for example. It’s not necessarily always about the individual players, or if it is it shows you’re under-rating a lot of yours.

 

[el3mel]

We're not a bad team, but we lack quality in some positions that are essential in modern football to succeed. We don't have an X factor in the attack that can bring us the win in our bad days on his own as the rest of EPL teams. We don't have modern full backs that provide continuous attacking threat and, sadly enough, Pogba's injury proved that the depth we though we have in the squad is trash. No one in the whole team can bring the ball on the ground and dribble forward except Pogba, which is frustrating.

We're close, though. I think all these can be easily addressed in next summer but Jose should be more ruthless next summer. We can criticize the coaching all we want but I haven't seen anything from the likes of Mikhi, Mata and Herrera to prove they are still good but lacks offensive coach, on the opposite I think they'll hinder any new manager after Mourinho due to their age and limitations.

Next summer we need to switch both Mikhi and Mata to squad players, bring on top quality number 10 and RW with 2 RB and LB and try to bring on a good sub for Pogba instead of Herrera. We need to stop spending +75m on one player each summer while paying 2 or more players for 30-40m as this will need about 5 more years of building to achieve anything. At least 5 more players are required next summer, 4 as starters and one as a sub, and I believe we can have a go at the title.

 

[Schneckerl]

Not saying there aren't any player we should replace, but the idea that you need 11 top starters to win the PL is wrong.
Take a look at the past winners (not even including Leicester obviously)


The recent CL winners were obviously really strong, but you can always fluke a tournament

 

[Kapardin]

Starters: Lukaku, Martial, Pogba, Matic, De Gea, Bailly/Jones/Smalling/Rojo (alternatively).

Squadies who can "do a job": Rashford, Fellaini, Blind, Young, Romero.

Sell: The rest.

This is the reality if we want to be a PL and CL winning team, but obviously will get pelters for labelling two-thirds of our squad as deadwood.

If I am being harsh on Valencia, it's because he's getting on and regressing. Young can be useful for another year or so.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Silly thread. We've a really good squad that's lacking a top LB and winger. It should be more than capable of challenging for the title (although we're unlucky in that this City side look like they could be record breakers), the manager simply needs to do more.

 

[Trizy]

First Team
De Gea
Baily
Valencia (Probably not much longer due to age)
Matic
Pogba
Martial

Squad Players
Rashford
1 of Jones or Smalling
Rojo
Herrera
Lukaku

Yet people blame Mourinho, the squad isn't good enough.

 

[Luciano Venturini]

De Gea
Valencia
Bailly
Pogba
Matic
Martial/Rashford
Lukaku (But when Ibra is fit this could be debatable, Lukaku in desperate need of a goal)

A title winning team doesn't need 11 superstars, the players we have backing up our starters are not up to scratch. The gap shows in the big games for players like Smalling, Jones, Mkhitaryan, Young, Herrera, Blind, Darmian, Lingard.

 

[Strachans Cigar]

No mentions of Ibrahimovic? He's not good enough then?

It's no coincidence we are struggling at the moment without two of our better players from last season namely Ibra & Pogba.

Stick them both back in this team & we get a whole lot better.

 

[Schneckerl]

First Team
De Gea
Baily
Valencia (Probably not much longer due to age)
Matic
Pogba
Martial

Squad Players
Rashford
1 of Jones or Smalling
Rojo
Herrera
Lukaku

Yet people blame Mourinho, the squad isn't good enough.

Lukaku is a squad player? Where would you realistically get someone better to replace him from?

People play too much football manager.

 

[Epicurean]

All of them are good enough.

City doesn’t field 11 super stars, some are WC, many are not. Same for United.

It’s the cohesion of the team, the confidence and tactics instilled by the manager which makes a team tic or not.

This petulant obsession with which players are good enough and which are not and after the slightest of poor form knee jerking about some of them, wanting to replace them, is what kills this squad.

Mourinho will either get them to play together as a team or he doesn’t. The players at hand are good enough to compete with any team out there.

 

[Massive Spanner]

First Team
De Gea
Baily
Valencia (Probably not much longer due to age)
Matic
Pogba
Martial

Squad Players
Rashford
1 of Jones or Smalling
Rojo
Herrera
Lukaku

Yet people blame Mourinho, the squad isn't good enough.

What the hell?

Man this place sometimes, I swear people these days just have the most shocking expectations imaginable.