I agree actually. If we get our targets this summer then we need to be up there.
Eight games away from another disastrous season under Ole
- Thread starter padzilla
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
I'm not sure we will bring in 4 first teamers tbh . Looking at us compared especially atm to Liverpool I can't see us winning a league with our current CB partnership or with Shaw at LB .
We are huge doubts now over our goalkeeper and if Henderson replaces him that's another unknown .
Have we enough goals in the team to win a league ? I'm not sure .
Hopefully I'm wrong and we can compete next season but I'm while hopeful I'm also doubtful
Let's see how we finish this season first, it could paint a very different picture if we manage to finish in the top 4.
4 first teamers is a bit high. You want us to spend half a billion before we can only expect to challenge? How much would it then cost to win it?
I think this is about right. Our options at fullback and centreback aren't really good enough, we also need a #6, a RW, the goalkeeping situation satisfactorily resolved and one of Martial/Rashford to explode and become a top tier goal threat. Questions remain about Solskjaer's ability to coach a side that can amass 95+ points.
A lot of unknowns and a lot of work to do in the transfer market, at a time when the club's finances will already be stretched. People hoping for a title challenge, will need to be patient for a while longer.
What can Shaw do better than Young:
Everything a left back should do really -
Defend
Recover (Pace)
Get away from his marker quickly (Pace)
Cross with his left foot
The only attribute Young would have is that he's a more natural attacker, but he's much slower than Shaw is, and at LB which we're talking about, a lot more predictable as he always checked back, and almost always passed back as a result.
Honestly unsure how this is even a valid argument
hi Luke
Unless we collapse (which we wont) - he will keep his job, of course he will. Even if we end 5th or 6th (as long as our finish to the season is fairly strong) - he will keep his job
Smalling is better 1 on 1 and he is quicker than Maguire - Everything else is in Maguires favour. The main difference is that with Maguire we can play out from the back, that was too risky with Smalling because he was clumsy on the ball.
I want us to spend nothing and win it but that's not realistic. You can't put a figure on the way the club has been run into the ground since Ferguson has retired . I'm not saying I'm right it's just my honest opinion and what I think we probably need to have a consistent season
I think Shaw is fine, there's not many better LB's in the league.
Lindelof can be improved but as a pair they're more than capable of top 4, even a title challenge if we hit a good run of form.
DDG has declined, but he's still in the top bracket of goalkeepers in the world. Henderson looks one of the best in the prem right now and will only improve and Romero is the best No2 in the world. We are fine in the GK department,
Rashford looks to have upped his game at LW and looks nailed on for 15-20 if not more per season. Martial is hitting good figures. We have goals from midfield in Fernandes. We have an able back up in Ighalo who can score. James and Greenwood will also improve. If we recruit a Sancho - he transforms our attack up a level. If Pogba stays fit and committed that will also help.
We really aren't that far off.
For a title winning side, we need another keeper, left back, centre back, defensive midfielder, right winger and striker. Henderson and Williams may plug some of those gaps but without the other reinforcements, we will struggle to compete with Liverpool and City.
Saying he's lucky is a bit of a myopic view imo, given the injuries to key players. One could just as easily argue he's been unlucky if we don't look at the bigger picture.
He took a gamble at the start of the season, whether that was all on him or whether the club didn't live up to their promises we'll never really know, but that gamble has mostly paid off.
However, overall it's been a mixed bag luck-wise imo.
I reckon at least two of those gaps should be plugged this Summer which will put in us a much better position.
The question is can the hit rate on transfers continue or will we end up with some duds?
We don't need another keeper. People should stop believing the narrative pushed by Liverpool sympathising pundits in the media about how awful our goalkeeper is. We definitely need a real striker. Please the British sports media is full of Liverpool pundits. I would take anything they say with a pinch of salt. Fergie knew how to deal with them. Unfortunately Gary Neville and Roy Keane have fallen for it. Last 2 years it was Ederson, now their flavour of the month is Allison. De Gea is the least of our problems. I would fix the centre half position first, then move to Striker, then midfield. Lindelof is not good enough
Relying on 1 unhappy player as our only creative outlet in CM was naive especially considering his agent. That lead to many questions being raised on whether Pogba was faking his injuries or not + it forced Ole to play him while he was still injured. We also need to thank the gods that we never signed Ole's no 1 target in CM Longstaff else there was a realistic chance we wouldn't have signed Bruno in January. That would have been a potential 130m-160m worth of talent with near nil creativity.
Apart from Liverpool, this season was one hell of a race to the bottom. In normal circumstances we would have ended up at mid table.
I’m part of the ole out brigade but I’m also getting bored of these continuous threads. However I got a warning for saying less than you did in the above post about the ole in brigade. Reading your post makes me cringe.
We have come on immensely over the last 18 months..... are we Man Utd or wast ham Utd? Have your standards dropped that much.
I am bitter and twisted because I am a true Utd fan. I started supporting Utd in 1983 and it was tough with the scouse continuously lauding it. When we finally deposed them it was the happiest day of my life and still is. It’s a religion and when you see your club in the state itwas back in 83, inconsistent as hell with mediocre players like Clayton Blackmore and then players like Colin Gibson coming in, you can understand why we didn’t win the league. We played a midfield of Colin Gibson and Mal Donaghy one match.......
But this team are more talented and are producing the same inconsist performances as the mid eighties teams and they don’t have to play on a quagmire like the players used to in the mid eighties where the pitch was half mudafter rugby league matches.
There is no excuse and it isn’t good enough we aren’t improving it’s just better players with slightly better attitudes (as you’ve suggested) and nothing to do with the coaching. This squad aren’t just relying on Robbo like the eighties squads used to there are better players in this squad but the end result is the same.
I want a manager with pedigree. I was screaming for Klopp when SAF left. You can’t compare ole with Klopp. Klopp is on another stratosphere and you want ole? Any chance he’s one of your favourite players because of the 99 final? Cos let’s face it we’ve had much better strikers at Utd than ole (he was the best finisher of the lot in my opinion but not the best striker)
Love UTD and nothing else, the legend is the club itself not one player and no real football fan can say that OGS has earned the right to manage this legend.
I worked my backside off in my industry to get to where i got to and a few months later some jimmy turns up at my company on the same pay grade with half my experience and qualifications and this wouldn’t happen normally. I did some digging and it transpired his dad knew the director of the department and they were friends.......
Ole’s Appointment as manager is similar and he is benefitting from privilege rather than earned the right to be where he is. It’s come too soon for him, and just one of many points, how long does it take a manager and his defensive coaches to teach professional footballers to hold a straight line? If ole isn’t coaching them why has he not sacked whoever is? He is guilty of this alone.
Earn the right to be at your level do not benefit from privilege. Ole’s appointment was a simple ploy by Woodward to placate some fans. It seems it’s working
Yeah ok, it's Ole's fault idiots claimed Pogba was faking an injury and Longstaff was definitely his number 1 target.
Whatever man.
The team we have available now is quite talented but a many of them weren't available for good chunks of the season.
After 7 seasons of mediocrity, are you suggesting that improvements don't count and rather than view the situation as it is and analyse where we are heading, we'd all be better served by moaning that we are not good enough for a title challenge yet?
so Klopp is at Liverpool and Pep is at City? So we can’t have them managing us. I’m not saying there aren’t more experienced managers out there. But we went for Jose and we went for LVG, and that didn’t work. Throwing £100ms away in the process.
If you somehow expected OGS to be challenging for the league after 18 months, arriving season after Jose’s meltdown then that’s utterly insane, and a ridiculous argument to hit him with.
He’s got rid of crap like Lukuku, Fellaini, Valencia and Sanchez. He’s moved on Smalling and Rojo at least temporarily and Young as well. He’s changing the culture and has got the best out of Fred, McTominey, Shaw and Martial - all of which were faltering under Jose.
His signings of Ighalo, AWB, James, Maguire and Bruno have all been successful.
if you think this is just a marginal improvement, then I’m not sure we watch the same team.
Ole was a Utd legend as a player, he’s not particularly one of my favourite players - clearly there is an unbelievable conveyor belt of great players you could choose.
remind me what experience Guardiola had at Barcelona, Lampard at Chelsea, Zidane at Real? Again not comparing per se, but experience is not everything. Younger people with less experience come into management ahead of experienced people all the time - that’s a very old school way of thinking. Get over it.
we have made a great deal of progress from the foundations of the club since he’s come in.
1987 BTW is when I started supporting the club. But your attitude seems to be longevity is more important.
Not long enough for us to be really bitter and twisted like true fans eh?
Any valid challenge though?hi Luke
What's with all the negativity around here?
We are on a good run of form but because Ole is in charge, you just want to throw your toys out the pram. Since the turn of year, with the introduction of Bruno, we have done well. The football is the best it's been since SAF and we actually look like a team. Ole cleared out the deadwood in the summer and left himself short in terms of squad depth, so much so that he had to throw in a Championship unproven winger as first choice, he got loads of stick for this and he would get loads of stick if he had kept Lukaku around or Sanchez so damned if he does, damned f he doesn't.
We are on a good run of form but because Ole is in charge, you just want to throw your toys out the pram. Since the turn of year, with the introduction of Bruno, we have done well. The football is the best it's been since SAF and we actually look like a team. Ole cleared out the deadwood in the summer and left himself short in terms of squad depth, so much so that he had to throw in a Championship unproven winger as first choice, he got loads of stick for this and he would get loads of stick if he had kept Lukaku around or Sanchez so damned if he does, damned f he doesn't.
United have three possible chances of getting CL football next season. 1, win the Europa League and that is doable. With Pogba and Rashford back, Bruno on fire we can do it. The prize a group stage place in next year's CL.
2. Finish in the top four. Again achievable, Leicester haven't been firing since the break and their squad will be severely tested with the amount of games in a short space of time.
3. UEFA uphold City's ban. This is the dodgy one. We can easily finish fifth but I can see UEFA suspending City's ban or increasing their fine with no ban. If we do win the FA cup, and/or the Europa League, would this season really be a disaster? No. But it could become one if we win nothing, fail to reach the CL and the club fail to improve and invest on the hard work that has been done so far
2. Finish in the top four. Again achievable, Leicester haven't been firing since the break and their squad will be severely tested with the amount of games in a short space of time.
3. UEFA uphold City's ban. This is the dodgy one. We can easily finish fifth but I can see UEFA suspending City's ban or increasing their fine with no ban. If we do win the FA cup, and/or the Europa League, would this season really be a disaster? No. But it could become one if we win nothing, fail to reach the CL and the club fail to improve and invest on the hard work that has been done so far
Yeah I get all that and with red tinted glasses I agree if all that was to happen and it's a massive IF for all that to happen .
How do you know Longstaff was Oles number one target ? Unless you are Oles best mate or on the United transfer committee then you are simply speculating .
He's talking pony. The agenda is strong with that one.
Pisses me right off so called United fans using paper talk as something real to have a go at our manager .. As you say talking pony
We were certainly on him which would have meant a 30m-40m down the drain and would have ruined our chances of getting Bruno in January. Irrespective of that, spending 130m in defence when our midfield relied heavily on 1 unhappy player with an ahole agent was stupid.
Agenda? Seriously? How old are you? 12?
Exactly. CL football will open the market for us. Otherwise we are competing with too many teams who are in a stronger position than us.
Well you keep posting this Longstaff thing with no proof whatsoever to back up your opinion on the manager.
Its seems like agenda driven posting to me.
Again you are chatting nonsense. You read in a paper we wanted Longstaff and you are now using it as fact to concoct some ridiculous idea of ifs and buts .
It's called a rebuild . The defence needed Maguire and AWB and they have giving us a way better defensive record this season . Our midfield now is in alot better state than it was last year which again is progression.
I'm sure we will build again this summer .
We have a better midfield than the current Champions so the midfield can't be all that bad but I'm sure it was Oles fault he didn't foresee Pogba being injured for 6 months
If I was a 12 year old conspiracy theorist I'd suggest that the one with an agendas is you who can't find any fault in your protégé. Unfortunately I am neither 12 nor a conspiracy theorist so let's agree to disagree
I think we needed a creative midfielder more then we needed two excellent but not WC defenders on a combined fee of 130m
You've outdone yourself there with completely invented drivel
You also don't seem to know what protégé means. You should probably look up words before you use them.
You've outdone yourself there with completely invented drivel
You also don't seem to know what protégé means. You should probably look up words before you use them.
Again did Ole know Pogba would miss half the season ? He's a creative midfielder and one of the best around so why wouldn't he sort out the defence ? We wouldn't be challenging for 4th without those 2 signings and God knows where we would be with Pogba fit all season