Board will do feck all
4th place is there to play for: what will the board do?
- Thread starter Fortitude
- Start date
I'm from Derby, so i'm in no position to talk - but the Venice of the Midlands ain't all that. It might smell a bit like Venice on a bad day, but that's it i reckon...lolHey, whats wrong with Birmingham
In all seriousness, there's nothing wrong with Birmingham, just its more glum than glam. I reckon that's changing though.
It really is frustrating isn’t it. It has not been so easy to get into top 4 for years. Given how awful we actually play football it is a miracle that we are fifth. Shows how bad Spurs, Arsenal and also Chelsea are.
We still could finish 4th and win the EL. Would be counted as successful season then I guess but truth is we are far away from where we should be 6,5 years after Fergie.
We still could finish 4th and win the EL. Would be counted as successful season then I guess but truth is we are far away from where we should be 6,5 years after Fergie.
It appears the club decided early on to ignore this window. Now that we obviously need help to land European football there is a decision to make. Given the thinness of our squad we would be unlikely to progress out of the group stage. My guess is it’s a poor financial decision to invest at this point. A few more summer windows of good business and then maybe it makes sense.
Ye there's not much glam about Birmingham. It is changing slowly. The HS2 line will change things certainly.
They're on a fairly poor run, coinciding with Brenton's boast about being there to mop up if Liverpool slipped!
Roll on losing to City and Liverpool, but also Southampton and was it a draw at home to Norwich too?
With a bit of ambition we could get some players in, even if only on loan and probably get 4th. However, we aren’t ambitious and so we won’t.
This, unfortunately.
Sign a 16 year old for 30m.
Surely the right thing to do is be active in the Transfer market and go all out for it now that it a realistic goal with Chelsea faltering.
Like it or not, not making CL will have a knock on effect when trying to attract players in the summer, realistically we will be in for the same quality or players that City , Liverpool and other top European clubs are in for, i.e. these players will have options and are (the ambitious ones anyway)more likely to pick teams who are challenging for titles or in the CL.
Correct me if I am wrong here but isn't also significant financial penalty for us not making the CL two years in a row outside of TV money etc in that sponsors have clauses inserted that they get a significant discount on what they have to pay if we don't meet targets of us qualifying at least every other year.
I think earlier this year in a financial statement to stockholders the club said it did not envision us missing out on CL again this year thus triggering those sponsor clauses , but looking at our depleted squad now if we don't bring in players then I think we will miss out again, and the longer you are out the harder it becomes every year to get back there again.
Oh for the days when we used to scuff at teams whose main ambition was just to be top 4 , how the mighty have fallen.
Like it or not, not making CL will have a knock on effect when trying to attract players in the summer, realistically we will be in for the same quality or players that City , Liverpool and other top European clubs are in for, i.e. these players will have options and are (the ambitious ones anyway)more likely to pick teams who are challenging for titles or in the CL.
Correct me if I am wrong here but isn't also significant financial penalty for us not making the CL two years in a row outside of TV money etc in that sponsors have clauses inserted that they get a significant discount on what they have to pay if we don't meet targets of us qualifying at least every other year.
I think earlier this year in a financial statement to stockholders the club said it did not envision us missing out on CL again this year thus triggering those sponsor clauses , but looking at our depleted squad now if we don't bring in players then I think we will miss out again, and the longer you are out the harder it becomes every year to get back there again.
Oh for the days when we used to scuff at teams whose main ambition was just to be top 4 , how the mighty have fallen.
The situation now could have the affect that they veer off from the alleged long-term approach, and go big for non-ideal options. But I'm not even sure to begin with if we authentically have any long-term targets that are plausible.
I'd honestly rather see us spend nothing in January than to buy a centre forward for loads of money who isn't a great fit, or a midfielder who won't really up our level. That would just set us back further. Loans would be sensible, with no obligation to buy.
I've said since the start of the season that it should be top four or Solskjaer hits the door. Irrespective of fans opinions i do genuinely believe the Glazers will sack him with no European football next season. There's a domino effect which will hinder our progress moving forward, all of the flavour of the month surnames will transfer to other clubs and we will be left looking to sign decent prospects rather than players that can make a difference.
at the start of the season top 4 was very ambitious
Spurs have imploded, Arsenal have dropped off and Chelsea have been really inconsistent though which has really changed the picture
Really we would be well placed for top 4 had we signed another midfielder and attacker in the summer.......
We haven't planned to sign anyone in January given the lack of activity and Bruno Fernandes seems a reaction to the injuries we've suffered.
Unless we see a couple of signings in - a midfielder and attacker minimum - we've no chance of top 4
the Glazers will still collect their dividends though
Spurs have imploded, Arsenal have dropped off and Chelsea have been really inconsistent though which has really changed the picture
Really we would be well placed for top 4 had we signed another midfielder and attacker in the summer.......
We haven't planned to sign anyone in January given the lack of activity and Bruno Fernandes seems a reaction to the injuries we've suffered.
Unless we see a couple of signings in - a midfielder and attacker minimum - we've no chance of top 4
the Glazers will still collect their dividends though
Other than pay themselves dividends
Feck all and no new players coming in January and Ole will say that he is waiting for the right player. We will be waiting for the right players till we sell Pogba in the summer for 80 million and buy Longstaff for 73 million. Then we will have no more money to spend on anyone.
The board will sit and hope that Ole can squeeze enough from what he has to scrape top 4. If he does, they will release meagre funds in the summer and point towards that 4th place finish as a positive sign for 20/21.
If Ole flops, they'll fire him, replace him and give the new man meagre funds in the hopes he can actually scrape 4th place.
If Ole flops, they'll fire him, replace him and give the new man meagre funds in the hopes he can actually scrape 4th place.
This pretty much. Then we will see the same cycle with fans on here hating and blaming the next manager.
Truth is we need a Saudi takeover feckin pronto. Nothing will change otherwise and nobody else can afford us.
I wonder what his impact will be if we get him. The PL will take some getting used to, as will the unpredictable movement of our young players. Should be interesting.
Agree, The club should show us how ambitious they really are and sign a centre forward with Fernandes, and maybe another midfielder also.
But a squad will always have injuries.
Fact is our squad was way too threadbare when season started.
I agree. We severely lack depth(and quality, if we wish to make a title challenge).
Having said that, I think we've been especially unlucky with our injuries.
The board will do nothing because there is no money for transfers. We may have the biggest turnover but with crippling wages and staggered payments, we have nothing left.
We won’t buy until the summer and it will be a net spend of about £50m once we’ve sold PP and reduced the wage bill further.
We won’t buy until the summer and it will be a net spend of about £50m once we’ve sold PP and reduced the wage bill further.
Yes, I wonder if Liverpool lost VanD and Salah/Mane for a few months, where would they be.
We've not been in top 4 most of season despite having Rashford's best ever season for us. So if we weren't good enough with him I find it hard to believe we will be without him. He's scored 40% of our goals this season. I don't see it happening personally.
Our best hope of CL is to hope we keep getting through in Europa League whilst we wait for Mcsauce, Pogba n maybe Rashford to get fit. If we can get past Brugges and maybe avoid a big team in round of 16 and progress we could have a full strength side available from last 8 onwards. Long shot though.
Our best hope of CL is to hope we keep getting through in Europa League whilst we wait for Mcsauce, Pogba n maybe Rashford to get fit. If we can get past Brugges and maybe avoid a big team in round of 16 and progress we could have a full strength side available from last 8 onwards. Long shot though.
I think we need to bring in a CF whether it be on a loan deal, or a player that we have on the list. We have a great chance of top 4 and a CF with Fernandes and maybe another midfielder would help get us there, or win Europa League.
aye. Last 3 games at OT have been a draw. Stuff of nightmares
Mmmm. Sounds like Ole has an impossible job, come 4th or win the EL, then Ed and the Glazers will say that there is nothing wrong with our squad, and we will wait for the academy to produce the next generation of stars (which I hope the academy does by the way), finish outside the top four, and win nothing, or just the FA cup (ala Van Gaal), then lose his job?
If we do miss out on CL this season, then surely that will impact on how much money the Glazers make? Would this then make them think about selling the club?
We would get TOP 4, Ed won’t spend 100 million to get TOP 4. Ole will convince us that it is always hard to do business in January. Seriously, there are may disgruntled sitting on the bench of elite team like Barcelona, Real, Juventus, Bayern, Dortmund and etc. Why can’t we loan these players in with option to buy and pay for the wages? 1 striker and 1 midfield would makes this team much ready to the end of the season. Utd is such a joke with Ed.
Last January, we could've bought a player or 2, to help alleviate the burn-out which was inevitably going to occur. The board chose not to buy, using the excuse that we haven't decided on a manager yet. The fans believed this. Then we failed to make top 4, when we could have.
This January, we can make top 4 (our opponents for top 4 are ridiculously bad this year), but the board are attempting to save money.
Most people think that we will get Bruno F, but with Woodward in charge, anything is possible.
Now level. Like I said lack of goals in this team will mean we've no chance of top 4.
And lack of defence. 4 clean sheets in 24 games after spending £130m on defence. Actually, lack of everything.
Pathetic chase as normal.
Chelsea have been dog shite, but somehow we managed to eclipse them.
Chelsea have been dog shite, but somehow we managed to eclipse them.
Quoted for the usage of black magic
Top 4 charge? Do you guys know how stupid you make us look? I did say this yesterday and was ridiculed by some on here. Without Rashford we're going to have a job to stay in the top 10. Closer to 14th in terms of pts than we are to Chelsea who are one place above us.
Club is dead. It's finished. It will only rise again once the Glazers n Woodward are gone.
Club is dead. It's finished. It will only rise again once the Glazers n Woodward are gone.
Not a chance in hell of getting top 4, unless we can magically bring in 3 players in a week.
If no signings come in, then its clear the board have Poch on speed dial. So theres that.
I think top 4 is gone now, we will do well to finish in the Europa positions at this rate.
No European football next season, probably finish 5th next season as well.
We are going into campaigns that are over by October.
No European football next season, probably finish 5th next season as well.
We are going into campaigns that are over by October.