Frank Grimes
Full Member
Think people are underestimating how not having a high profile manager affects a players decision too. Solskjaer might be well known to United fans but the vast majority of foreign players will have no idea who he is.
Pretty much sums up the entirety of the thread it's also something that's going over many fans head the reality of the situation. Solskjaer is nothing managerially. People can use Pep and Zidane as stupid examples but seem to forget the ridiculous quality (inc two world number 1s) both these managers inherited when they became first team coaches. That's excluding the aspects of structural stability within Barcelona / Madrid as clubs, as well as the competitiveness in domestic / european competitions.Think people are underestimating how not having a high profile manager affects a players decision too. Solskjaer might be well known to United fans but the vast majority of foreign players will have no idea who he is.
We need to stop with this fanfiction of a lineup. It's cringey.If we had secured a Champions League place and/or hired a manager like Mauricio Pochettino I do think our Summer Transfer Window would be playing out differently. I believe we would have managed to retain Ander Herrera and other players like Paul Pogba who I think would be more willing to stay. By doing this we could of fixed a lot of our squad issues with just four quality signings which I would like to believe this is the direction we would of followed.
I could of still seen us signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka but with other signings such as Matthijs de Ligt, Jadon Sancho and of course Tanguy Ndombele especially if Pochettino was indeed our manager instead.
Taking all this into account, we could of seen a team similar to this:
(4-3-3)
GK: de Gea
RB: Wan-Bissaka
CB: de Ligt
CB: Lindelof
LB: Shaw
CM: Ndombele
CM: Herrera
CM: Pogba
RW: Sancho
ST: Rashford
LW: Martial
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No Roy Keane instead of Herrera?If we had secured a Champions League place and/or hired a manager like Mauricio Pochettino I do think our Summer Transfer Window would be playing out differently. I believe we would have managed to retain Ander Herrera and other players like Paul Pogba who I think would be more willing to stay. By doing this we could of fixed a lot of our squad issues with just four quality signings which I would like to believe this is the direction we would of followed.
I could of still seen us signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka but with other signings such as Matthijs de Ligt, Jadon Sancho and of course Tanguy Ndombele especially if Pochettino was indeed our manager instead.
Taking all this into account, we could of seen a team similar to this:
(4-3-3)
GK: de Gea
RB: Wan-Bissaka
CB: de Ligt
CB: Lindelof
LB: Shaw
CM: Ndombele
CM: Herrera
CM: Pogba
RW: Sancho
ST: Rashford
LW: Martial
The odd season doesn't matter. When it is 4 out of 6 though, that is when players start asking questions. We desperately need to get back in for next year, League and Europa will be a big focus this year.
Surely the bigger barrier to ambitious/world class players joining Manchester United is less about how many times the club failed to qualify for the Champions League (although without a doubt it is a factor), but rather how willing this club is willing to get out its current phase and go back to seriously competing for the PL/CL. Because as the examples of Chelsea, PSG and Manchester City show, such players are willling to join such clubs (even when their recent history consisted of Europa League qualification at best) because they all had a plan to properly compete for the major trophies (and put the needed financial resources towards it).If it’s an odd season it does not matter BUT when missing CL football becomes a trend it will absolutely begin to impact the quality and level of players you can sign.
Except that neither De Ligt or Sancho are "Galactico" Type Players in the first place, not when both of them are not even 20 and only have 1-2 seasons (at the highest level) under their belts (in contrast to lets say the likes of Ramos & Bale). Rather they are still (despite their recent fine form) players that have the "potential" to be great and thus are the sort of players Liverpool would be signing (and wholm Manchester United should be signing). That is if Klopp had not decided (on the basis they have won a single Champions League) that Liverpool's rebuilding job is finally "completed", despite the fact they still have too many players like Lovern who are simply not good enough to play for them while also lacking in the squad depth needed to continue competing at all fronts (not good when the El Classico Clubs & City are spending to upgrade their squads), but alas that is for another thread.Liverpool have got back to challenging, not by signing the likes of Sancho, De Ligt etc, but scouting and buying players that suit the style they want to play! None of the likes of Salah, Firminho and Mane were heralded but have turned into world class players! This is what we need to replicate, not galactico types
It doesnt take long to build a bit of a reputation. Look at Pochettino, he was at Southampton a couple years ago. Now you have players like De Jong coming out and saying Pochettino is a great coach who he seriously considered working under. And clubs like RM being linked with him, Perez is a huge Pochettino fan.Think people are underestimating how not having a high profile manager affects a players decision too. Solskjaer might be well known to United fans but the vast majority of foreign players will have no idea who he is.
Pochettino is a class above Solskjaer. It took him years of consistently getting Spurs into top 4 before he could turn the heads of players like Ndombele. Solskjaer couldnt train ivy up a wall.It doesnt take long to build a bit of a reputation. Look at Pochettino, he was at Southampton a couple years ago. Now you have players like De Jong coming out and saying Pochettino is a great coach who he seriously considered working under. And clubs like RM being linked with him, Perez is a huge Pochettino fan.
Ole needs some time to get his squad how he wants it.