Where are the United incomings?

[Chairman Steve]

It would have been nice to get just one central midfielder but it’s understandable that we haven’t bought anyone. If new guy doesn’t want him then we clearly haven’t learned from our mistakes. We need to find a style of play and system(s) that suit our squad and in the long term, it will dictate the players we should buy.

Thats what Liverpool have done and that’s why Diogo Jota slots in effortlessly and does well. Jota was purchased for a fairly modest sum by todays market prices and they didn’t go out and buy some obvious excellent individual talent like we do for a marquee price and then seemingly wonder how we fit them into the side. In terms of Solskjaer, it felt like he was trying to shoehorn in as much individual talent into a starting XI as possible and thought individual brilliance will trump over a playing system, because Ferguson did it 10 years ago.

I do like that we’ve cleared the decks though. Hopefully a big summer of activity awaits us.

 

[RedCurry]

gotta be a big summer now

We will for sure get Rice 2 days before summer window closes. That’s as exciting as it will get.

 

[Frank Grimes]

You can't honestly believe we have a shot at anything other than the FA Cup?? My point is, we rebuild starting from now. The likes of Elanga and perhaps a couple of other youngsters can be fully blooded - look further than this season, which, let's face it, is not going to be one that brings us anything more than the FA Cup.

You didn't even mention the FA Cup? Thats my point.
Talk of writing off the season is daft.

 

[Gazautd18]

Great transfer window this is......

 

[::sonny::]

Please come back woody

 

[Smores]

I see the usual positivity masquerading as self proclaimed wisdom is afoot. Not seen this much since we were still being told how amazing Ole is.

Simple fact is we were in need and we've failed to make any smart acquisitions. We failed and undermined our chances of success once again.

No throw away phrasing about signings being for the sake of it, shiny toys, or rushed pointless signings change that as they weren't the alternative to nothing.

 

[Superunknown]

Not looking forward to the rest of the season with our squad. There's not really a lot to shout about, at the moment.

 

[PoTMS]

The rest of the season is gonna be such a slog. I just wish it was over already although I have a feeling it'll be over very soon, and not down to choice. We've essentially given up this season and basically have Rangnick as our nightwatchman.

 

[Leftback99]

The rest of the season is gonna be such a slog. I just wish it was over already although I have a feeling it'll be over very soon, and not down to choice. We've essentially given up this season and basically have Rangnick as our nightwatchman.

I don't have much hope for the rest of the season but signing someone like Haidara/Kamara or whoever else I hadn't heard of until this month wouldn't have changed it either.

Who were you expecting exactly that would have changed your opinion?

 

[Tom Cato]

Probably the worst transfer window in the modern era. The squad is weakened, cheap options were never even considered and we are down one player who will rightfully never return to the club.

This season started with such a colossal amount of optimism

 

[RedDevil@84]

I see the usual positivity masquerading as self proclaimed wisdom is afoot. Not seen this much since we were still being told how amazing Ole is.

Simple fact is we were in need and we've failed to make any smart acquisitions. We failed and undermined our chances of success once again.

No throw away phrasing about signings being for the sake of it, shiny toys, or rushed pointless signings change that as they weren't the alternative to nothing.

Stop moaning, Its a process.......................... till death

 

[Ajr]

Simple: our midfield is obviously shite. Every layman can see that it won't get better without personnel changes which are not happening. If we get top 4 then it's a bloody miracle tbh.

 

[Wilt]

Last minute purchases!!

1 x lawnmower

2 x floor mops

 

[Hansi Fick]

Please come back woody

Woody was still in charge until 10 minutes ago.

 

[Dans]

You didn't even mention the FA Cup? Thats my point.
Talk of writing off the season is daft.

Well if winning the fa cup isn't a failure for you, ok. Much as I love the competition, it doesn't really come close to what a club like ours aspires to.

 

[Oranges038]

Better off signing no-one than over paying for players who haven't been properly looked into or scouted for the long term.

Would rather the groundwork is put in between now and the end of the season to identify the right players for the right areas going forward.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Biggest club in the world…

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Better off signing no-one than over paying for players who haven't been properly looked into or scouted for the long term.

Would rather the groundwork is put in between now and the end of the season to identify the right players for the right areas going forward.

I would be worried if it takes them 2 years to not even find one proper midfielder to replace one of McFred.

 

[SuperiorXI]

Probably the worst transfer window in the modern era. The squad is weakened, cheap options were never even considered and we are down one player who will rightfully never return to the club.

This season started with such a colossal amount of optimism

I wonder how many of us thought it would be this bad at the start of the season... very few I'd wager, if any.

 

[mav_9me]

I don't have much hope for the rest of the season but signing someone like Haidara/Kamara or whoever else I hadn't heard of until this month wouldn't have changed it either.

Who were you expecting exactly that would have changed your opinion?

Bruno Guimaeres?

 

[Oranges038]

I would be worried if it takes them 2 years to not even find one proper midfielder to replace one of McFred.

Not just midfield though, it's about sorting out how the team is going to play going foward and finding players that will suit that style. In my opinion the whole spine of the team needs replacing and sorting out.

A more dominant all round goalkeeper, DDG makes his saves but he's piss poor at everything else. At least 1 centre back.
Definitely 2 midfielders and a striker

Full backs also need sorting out. Telles and Dalot aren't great. Also we've seen enough of AWB and Shaw to know they aren't reliable enough. One of each RB and LB could be kept as backup.

Could very easily let up to ten players go in the summer that wouldn't be missed to bring in 5 or 6 really good players.

Better off looking for those players now and identifying the right ones, get the deals done early and have the squad ready for pre season.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Strange how some people here would have genuinely been happy with useless signings they've never seen before like Haidara/Kamara just to get their transfer fix. Would be at the detriment of having a proper Summer window and chasing targets like Rice/Ruiz.

 

[PoTMS]

Strange how some people here would have genuinely been happy with useless signings they've never seen before like Kamara. Would be at the detriment of having a proper Summer window.

How much have you watched of him?

 

[Jibbs]

The more things change, more the stay the same at United, Ragnick looks lost and players look disinterested, probably everyone would have left if given a chance except for free riders like Jones.
Crazy to think we haven’t added a DM and would have to rely on McFred still.

 

[Lemon Moon]

Strange how some people here would have genuinely been happy with useless signings they've never seen before like Haidara/Kamara just to get their transfer fix. Would be at the detriment of having a proper Summer window and chasing targets like Rice/Ruiz.

No chance Rice swaps Champs League with West Ham, for Euro Conference with United.

 

[Stadjer]

No chance Rice swaps Champs League with West Ham, for Euro Conference with United.

A high wage can compensate a lot

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

No chance Rice swaps Champs League with West Ham, for Euro Conference with United.

We've signed much better players than Rice without Champions League football and look at the table right now to see who's 4th and who's Euro Conference, also remind yourself who we beat in our last game.

 

[The Irish Connection]

The excuses keep trickling in for the Glazers and board.

I disagree with this ‘no point in signing a player now as the new manager mightn’t fancy him’ line. That is 20 years ago thinking. We have a football director now who is supposed to be able to sign suitable players for a general styLe that won’t be too different from Ralfs. Ralf also will continue in a consultancy role.
Even from a glazernomics pov, signing a good, young player in a position of need for under 10m is a no brainer. And there were a few available.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

The excuses keep trickling in for the Glazers and board.

I disagree with this ‘no point in signing a player now as the new manager mightn’t fancy him’ line. That is 20 years ago thinking. We have a football director now who is supposed to be able to sign suitable players for a general styLe that won’t be too different from Ralfs. Ralf also will continue in a consultancy role.
Even from a glazernomics pov, signing a good, young player in a position of need for under 10m is a no brainer. And there were a few available.

I don't think that's the issue, if that's the case we wouldn't have been trying to actively get rid of players either.

It's just that you're not likely to sign a long-term signing in January i.e. the club may be targeting someone like Declan Rice and that's not an attainable move during January.

 

[RedDevil@84]

No chance Rice swaps Champs League with West Ham, for Euro Conference with United.

We can always give him 250K contract and then regret

 

[DON’T PANIC ™]

A high wage can compensate a lot

This is part of the problem. Players shouldn’t be joining Utd just to earn more money than they can elsewhere. That’s why we can’t move on the dead wood.
I get it that Utd are not in a great place but if a player, any player, needs to be convinced by big wages to come play for Manchester Utd then we should walk away. We need hungry players not greedy ones who think they’ve made it once they sign the big Contract.

 

[VidaRed]

We're going to sign feck all.

 

[CloneMC16]

No chance Rice swaps Champs League with West Ham, for Euro Conference with United.

Let's be real. West Ham aren't getting CL. They're not going to finish ahead of us, Spurs and Arsenal. We're ahead of them and have a game in hand. Arsenal have 2 games in hand on them. Spurs have 3. I could understand if Rice turned us down. The club has been a shitshow for almost 10 years now, but it won't be because they're in the CL and we aren't.

This is part of the problem. Players shouldn’t be joining Utd just to earn more money than they can elsewhere. That’s why we can’t move on the dead wood.
I get it that Utd are not in a great place but if a player, any player, needs to be convinced by big wages to come play for Manchester Utd then we should walk away. We need hungry players not greedy ones who think they’ve made it once they sign the big Contract.

Agreed. That is massively part of the problem. What we pay is ridiculous in comparison to Chelsea and Liverpool. They both play much better than us and their players earn less than ours.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Well if winning the fa cup isn't a failure for you, ok. Much as I love the competition, it doesn't really come close to what a club like ours aspires to.

We haven't won a trophy in 5 years mate. Welcome to the real world.

 

[simonhch]

January is generally a hard and crap time to buy. There are obvious holes in the squad, but I’m more interested in seeing coaching of the existing players we have at our disposal. Players who, contrary to popular belief, are actually pretty good.
All eyes on the summer, new manager, and general recruitment.

 

[HailtotheKing]

I don't understand this whole panic here.

We have Matic for now as a DM, and have Scott as his back up. We have Pogba coming back from injury. Bruno is almost never injured(knock on wood) and he has been instructed to play deeper. We have Hannibal who will offer cover to our 8's.

So far we have Matic/Fred/McTominnay/Bruno/Pogba/Mejbri for 3 midfiled spots. It's literally 2 players per spot. How much more cover do you need?

As for why "we didn't loan anybody?" Who? Who can we loan that will actually improve our starting 11? As of right now, there are no players that can be loaned and be better than Matic/Scott/Fred at the DM spot.

Why not buy someone then? Why? So the new manager that comes in does a DVB on him if he doesn't like him? We already have one DVB, we don't need another.

As things stand out board is being very tight and stingy and for good reason! We just lost Greenwood. We are losing, Lingard, Cavani and possibly Ronaldo and Pogba. We're not City. We need to save as much of our transfer kitty as possible. If we spend 25 million right now on a dud, that's 25 million we won't have during the summer.

The new manager will need a new DM, CM, CF and possible Wing Forward just of the top of the head. He will need every pound available to build his team.

And what if we get a few injuries and don’t make 4th? Then our summer players won’t even come unless we overpay them. Which is how we got into this huge mess in the first place. I think 4th was worth throwing 10m at for Kamara or 3m for Zakaria.

 

[Ali Dia]

I don't understand this whole panic here.

We have Matic for now as a DM, and have Scott as his back up. We have Pogba coming back from injury. Bruno is almost never injured(knock on wood) and he has been instructed to play deeper. We have Hannibal who will offer cover to our 8's.

So far we have Matic/Fred/McTominnay/Bruno/Pogba/Mejbri for 3 midfiled spots. It's literally 2 players per spot. How much more cover do you need?

As for why "we didn't loan anybody?" Who? Who can we loan that will actually improve our starting 11? As of right now, there are no players that can be loaned and be better than Matic/Scott/Fred at the DM spot.

Why not buy someone then? Why? So the new manager that comes in does a DVB on him if he doesn't like him? We already have one DVB, we don't need another.

As things stand out board is being very tight and stingy and for good reason! We just lost Greenwood. We are losing, Lingard, Cavani and possibly Ronaldo and Pogba. We're not City. We need to save as much of our transfer kitty as possible. If we spend 25 million right now on a dud, that's 25 million we won't have during the summer.

The new manager will need a new DM, CM, CF and possible Wing Forward just of the top of the head. He will need every pound available to build his team.

Good post

 

[HailtotheKing]

Not just midfield though, it's about sorting out how the team is going to play going foward and finding players that will suit that style. In my opinion the whole spine of the team needs replacing and sorting out.

A more dominant all round goalkeeper, DDG makes his saves but he's piss poor at everything else. At least 1 centre back.
Definitely 2 midfielders and a striker

Full backs also need sorting out. Telles and Dalot aren't great. Also we've seen enough of AWB and Shaw to know they aren't reliable enough. One of each RB and LB could be kept as backup.

Could very easily let up to ten players go in the summer that wouldn't be missed to bring in 5 or 6 really good players.

Better off looking for those players now and identifying the right ones, get the deals done early and have the squad ready for pre season.

True. And based on previous experience, how successful do you think this board will be at negotiating and buying said 5 major players plus a manager?

 

[Daengophile]

Is this state of stagnation something that Rangnick requested?

Or was he spurned by a higher power?

 

[RedDevil@84]

True. And based on previous experience, how successful do you think this board will be at negotiating and buying said 5 major players plus a manager?

I really don't understand whether the posters who say everything is fine and going exactly as planned , really put that for the sake of posting or really believe that the club will buy 5-6 players in key positions in one summer or some other poster was saying not buying anyone this window means we have a "huuuuge" kitty for summer, as if the club is some kind of bank and funds are deposited before every window.