CL secured but still lots of work to be done. What positions do we need to improve this summer/autumn?

Paxi

Dagestani MMA Boiled Egg Expert
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
27,669
I remember Sir Alex saying that if one player isn’t performing to the standards then every single other player needs to lift their game — well there at least a couple of players that aren't good enough for where Manchester United want to be.

GK — is an issue for me.
RB — I think we’re dreadful there if I’m honest.
CB — Lindelöf is inconsistent for me as is Maguire.
RW — goes without saying, we needed a player here for years.

So we potentially have 4-5 positions that are always under the question on how they will perform, how do we expect to challenge or be consistent when we still have gaping holes in our squad and in our performances.

Please, please build on this and get some players that will get us to next level.
 
Gk, cb, dm, RW, someone who can cover LW

A young lb to compete with shaw would be nice

But we obviously aren’t doing all that in one go
 
Need a back up #10, back up striker, a starting caliber wide player and a back up fullback.
 
New GK
AWB Maguire New CB Shaw
New DM
Bruno Pogba
New RW Martial Rashford
​
Also need a backup CM/AM/W (Grealish)

Henderson (free)
Dias (40m)
Ndidi (60m)
Grealish (50m)
Sancho (90m)

I’d be tempted to get Sarr as back up winger too. Massive upgrade on James. Offer them James on loan as part of the deal.
 
I like wan bissaka but he’s just not got enough going forward , need an upgrade, although might be worth seeing how he does next season.
 
We also need some new squad players. Our starting 11 only needs a right winger and a defensive midfielder but with short break ahead of next season we won't survive next season without some new squad players.

Our squad is paper thin and if anything happens we are back to playing Perreira, Lingard and Mata on the right wing. That's not good enough.
 
Need a good cull and get rid of the high earners not pulling their weight

Rojo
Jones
Mata
Lingard
Peireria
Sanchez
Smallinh

This would give us a lot of room in wages and they should be out the door first.
 
We need the board to show ambition in the market, and to professionalise the running of the club long-term.
 
Sancho, Ndidi, Torres/Upamecano

Sancho, Ndidi, VdB/Grealish (if Pogba leaves), Torres/Upamecano
 
MUST KEEP POGBA

Sancho, CDM, backup LB and whatever Ole likes after that
 
DM is our biggest priority. Get a decent one in and so many facets of our game will go up another level. CBs are far from being a concern. We need some additional firepower up top and someone who can reliably step in to give Pogba and Bruno a rest.

Sancho, Buendia and a new DM in the summer and I'll be reasonably happy.
 
I don’t know whom we will bring in but this summer ED must be so busy in clearing off deadwood and sign few quality players least to support our starting XI

Heard Barca wants Lindelof for 40M hope we sell him to make some funds
 
A RM and a fast CDM to get into the starting 11 and a LB and CF to give us depth whilst keeping everyone other than the likes of Lingard, Periera, Rojo, Smalling and Sanchez.
 
Sancho and another midfielder who can replace Bruno and even cover for Pogba are needed. Not sure for defensive midfielder, do we trust Fred to backup Matic or not.

We need another defender IMO. I think that both Lindelof and Maguire are okay, but not great (I actually think that Lindelof is the better of the two), and in any case a body is needed there (sell all the others except Tuanzabe).

More important than the signings is to upgrade the coaching staff. With Ole apparently not being too much focused on training sessions, we need someone there. We cannot press, other teams, press us to death, and we struggle passing efficiently, all aspects of the game that can be coached. And even more important (IMO), is to finally have a footballing structure on the club. Sign a DoF, or a sporting director, or a committee or whatever. People who are experienced at it and know stuff about football. They can complement Ole (or if things turn out ugly, smooth the transition). Ed so far on his impersonification of shit Florentino Perez has been awful.

So actually, I think that a DoF and a coaching structure is more important than signings (though signings are extremely important if we want to compete for the title, maybe even if we want to reach UCL again considering that likely the other teams won't have an off season again).
 
Red Daz said:
I like wan bissaka but he’s just not got enough going forward , need an upgrade, although might be worth seeing how he does next season.
Click to expand...
But the club spent £50m on him and I don't see the Glazers approving another investment on the position. Nevertheless we need four outfield players, namely;
Sancho £90m
Grealish £60m
CB £50m
DM £30m to £40m and
look to blood in Henderson, first as competition to De Gea and if he impresses then make him a starter.

That's almost £250m but I think these signings will make us competitive, Chelsea have spent loads and will be improved whilst City and Liverpool are light years ahead. We need to push out the boat this summer and sell loads of players too, qualifying for the CL is an opportunity we shouldn't let pass by in terms of team evolution.
 
You need a CB imo. I don’t think you’ll win a league title with a partnership of Maguire & Lindelof.

Isn‘t Matic 60 now? A new defensive midfielder would be useful for you. I think you’re ok up top.
 
If we buy Sancho but Lindelof AWB n Matic are still first choice we won't progress much.

I'd love Sancho here but feel like the money could be better spent on more than just one position.

The issue is if we don't get him now will we get him next summer.....

The squad just isn't good enough.
 
Red Daz said:
I like wan bissaka but he’s just not got enough going forward , need an upgrade, although might be worth seeing how he does next season.
Click to expand...

Still young at 22 and can and will improve over the years.

One of the best tacklers I've EVER seen, so it's hard to imagine he'll go anywhere. Maybe needs to become a defensive mid or something random like that because his close control is great too, it's just his passing and decision making that let him down.
 
We need :

GK - one who is comfortable coming off his line and starting the buildup
CB - quick (and ideally left-footed) with good aerial ability
LB - Needs to be great going forward - as we have seen in recent weeks (notably vs Saints and today) opposition managers are happy to leave our fullbacks with time on the ball, because Shaw/AWB are incapable of hurting you.
#6 - long-term replacement for Matic - need to be comfortable dropping into the back line and progressing the ball forward, and also mobile enough to cover for Pogba.
RW - Creative, with the pace/dribbling ability to pin the opposition LB.
#9 - Ighalo replacement in January - I'd target someone with decent aerial ability to offer us a plan B vs low blocks.

Realistically, we won't manage more than two or three of the above this summer. I'd prioritise the RW and the #6.
 
Klopper76 said:
You need a CB imo. I don’t think you’ll win a league title with a partnership of Maguire & Lindelof.

Isn‘t Matic 60 now? A new defensive midfielder would be useful for you. I think you’re ok up top.
Click to expand...

Agree, Lindelof can be improved on, and we can do better in midfield, but we do need another body up top. Our backup options aren't all that.
 
I think a sancho and a CB that will play most of the time

Think we could dramatically improve left back too

If dalot leaves hopefully we can get a different type of player to AWB to play in a game like today where we are forced to have the ball wide
 
Wumminator said:
Could get some new supporters in who don’t stop dreaming of signings after an incredible end to the season.
Click to expand...
Yeah because you’ve covered yourself in glory in Mourinho years. One of the most pathetic fans I’ve seen on here when he was in charge.
 
Right wing of course, and a centre back with pace. Those we know about, but today highlighted how much we need an attacking option at full back. While we’ve done much better recently at breaking teams down, we’re still very limited if we have to rely on attacks from our full backs. Also need a DM at some point, but maybe not this summer.
 
Klopper76 said:
You need a CB imo. I don’t think you’ll win a league title with a partnership of Maguire & Lindelof.

Isn‘t Matic 60 now? A new defensive midfielder would be useful for you. I think you’re ok up top.
Click to expand...
Everyone in the back five can be improved, but I would take Sancho ahead of any possible improvement on defense (except that wanker TAA but that is totally impossible).

Simply, good attackers are more valuable than good defenders. And outside of Martial, Rashford and Mason (with Mason being only 18), we have no quality at all in the attack. Sancho is a must IMO.
 
Full backs, centre back, defensive midfield, right wing.

Goalkeeping situation I think is solved by either sticking a rocket up De Geas arse or giving Henderson a chance.

Still think we have big problems at full back which I think is the area we could see the biggest improvement in. Shaw shows glimpses but whether it's worth continuing at this point i don't know. Certainly need at least a back up there. Right back however we need a ready made starter, hopefully one that offers something going forward. Bissaka is too limited and a full back with an ounce of attacking threat would have a field day the amount room he often finds himself in. Centre back because we need numbers and lindelof and Maguire aren't that consistent.

Still not convinced about Matic, his mobility and his penchant for dicking about on the ball too long, plus I don't think you can rely on him as a starter throughout a season. Right wing still seems to be our blind spot, a utility space for young kids or forwards. Sancho seems the obvious choice.
 
MaxiPaxi said:
GK — is an issue for me. - Agreed, but no one is buying De Gea out of that contract. Bring Henderson back and began the process of pressuring him for his place. Get Hendo initiated into the fabric of a full season at Utd.
RB — I think we’re dreadful there if I’m honest. - Yeah AWB seems poor going forward, but if we can continue working on our transitions up the pitch, positioning, movement, then I don't think RB is our priority for post covid spending. Get your point though, but after a rest for me he's a cracking defensive player.
CB — Lindelöf is inconsistent for me as is Maguire. - Yeah would be nice to add here, no idea who we're likely to go for though. Evans as a reward for his service? :lol:
RW — goes without saying, we needed a player here for years. - Now then, Sancho quite possibly. But if not...take a punt on an unhappy Traore??
Click to expand...
 
Think we need to make additions in the following 4 positions. I would have said GK too but would like Dean Henderson to be give an opportunity to make the goalkeeping position his own.

RW (1st choice - Jadon Sancho, 2nd choice Adama Traore)
DM (1st choice Denis Zakaria, 2nd choice Declan Rice)
AM (1st choice Jack Grealish, 2nd choice Donny Van De Beek)
CB (1st choice Ibrahima Konate, 2nd choice Pau Torres)

Of course a lot of the above will depend on us shipping out some of the deadwood - Dalot, Smalling, Jones, Pereira, Lingard, Sanchez.
 
MaxiPaxi said:
I remember Sir Alex saying that if one player isn’t performing to the standards then every single other player needs to lift their game — well there at least a couple of players that aren't good enough for where Manchester United want to be.

GK — is an issue for me.
RB — I think we’re dreadful there if I’m honest.
CB — Lindelöf is inconsistent for me as is Maguire.
RW — goes without saying, we needed a player here for years.

So we potentially have 4-5 positions that are always under the question on how they will perform, how do we expect to challenge or be consistent when we still have gaping holes in our squad and in our performances.

Please, please build on this and get some players that will get us to next level.
Click to expand...
Good thread. We definitely need a CB who can work well with Maguire. Aside from that, we need an attacking midfielder who can play either of the three positions behind the striker. If we are getting rid of both Mata and Lingard then probably another one.

We should be good with the GK for another season post which we can either give Dean his shot at the number 1 slot or get someone new.

I would also go for a striker who we can rotate Martial with and who can play the bulk of the cup games.

I don't understand the debate about us upgrading our RB. I think Wan Bissaka has been decent, especially considering his workload this season. We do need to make a full back signing though as we don't have enough cover.
 
Must buy:
Rw Cb Amf
(Sancho, Upamecano/Koulibaly, Van de Beek/Grealish)

Other positions who maybe need upgrade/competitions

Bring back Henderson
Attacking minded full back
DMF
ST
 
Mindhunter said:
Good thread. We definitely need a CB who can work well with Maguire. Aside from that, we need an attacking midfielder who can play either of the three positions behind the striker. If we are getting rid of both Mata and Lingard then probably another one.

We should be good with the GK for another season post which we can either give Dean his shot at the number 1 slot or get someone new.

I would also go for a striker who we can rotate Martial with and who can play the bulk of the cup games.

I don't understand the debate about us upgrading our RB. I think Wan Bissaka has been decent, especially considering his workload this season. We do need to make a full back signing though as we don't have enough cover.
Click to expand...

GOOD THREAD?!??

w
 
Matic replacement/cover, Bruno cover, CB, another attacker (preferably could play RW/LW).
 
We need to replace De Gea (but dont necessarily need to buy since we have Henderson)

We need a defensive midfielder who is better than Matic

We need CB to compete with Maguire and Lindelof

We need better bench, but that can come by improving the ones we have: McT, Fred, etc. We could also buy couple veterans so it's not all kids

If we want to challenge for title (as opposed to just being a solid top-4 team) we beed Sancho, but only after we fix other things above

Meaning: we could become much better team by just selling deadwood, buying only two players (Sancho and a DMF) and coaching decent players we have, bringing back good loanees, to become better. It is realistic. Would be nice if we could also buy a CB rather then trying to improve what who we have, but I can't see Woodward buying three expensive players, unfortunately. Only if the CB is some gem of a veteran for cheap
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.