Better than we think? Some optimism

Strelok

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We're still going to see a lot of starts for players who clearly aren't good enough. The fixture congestion for this season is obscene and we can't keep playing the same 11 over and over without them burning out. I admire the optimism shown, but I don't feel the same. We simply don't have the quality to maintain a top 4 place as well as a CL/cup run.
Agreed.

We can't play our trio attacker week in week out in the CL and PL so surely Lingard, Mata, James will get a lot of minutes. I'm really happy with the signing of VDB partly because it means I probably won't have to see Pereira playing for us again.

I really wish we could add a decent RW before the season start. That way we can rotate our trio and limit the presence of Lingard, Mata, James to one per game. Having two of those start in a match basically means death to our attack. Tbh one is already destructive enough.
 

Zlatattack

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I should preface this by saying that I think we still need more depth and that I think solskjaer is so far being failed in the window by about 3 signings.

But on a note of optimism, if you consider our terrible form in the first stages of last season and consider who was often starting or featuring frequently, we have quietly transformed for a number of reasons including fitness, youth development and signings.

Looking at last season in the first third of the campaign we frequently saw starts or common involvement from

Lingard
James
Pereira
Young (made 15 starts before mid season departure)

Often, at least one of these was starting. I expect we will rarely see any start this season. We saw little of matic. Mata was commonly called upon.

This season we add the following, who we did not see for most of the first third to half of last season, or at all:

Pogba - return to fitness
Bruno Fernandes--January window
Van De Beek - new signing
Henderson--return from loan
Ighalo--loan

Not to the same extent but we could arguably add

Greenwood--lightly used initially and developed far beyond expectations.

And if rumours are to be believed

Reguilon - said to be close.

When you compare how we are starting this campaign, versus the first third of last season, we are arguably around 7 players stronger and that includes some real quality.

As I said I still think we need at least 2 more recruits (plus Reguilon) and if sancho is one then fantastic, but are we in better shape than we think, especially compared to the stages of last season when so much damage was done to our ambition?
I'm not sure we are better than last year, not by much anyway. Our first 11 is decent, but the next 11 after that are terrible.

If we stick to 4231, lets look at our players for each position...

GK - DDG, Henderson, Romero
RB - AWB, TFM, Dalot
LB - Shaw, Williams
CB - Maguire/Lindelof, Bailly/Jones, Taunzebe/Rojo
CM - Matic/Pogba, VDB/Fred/McT
CAM - Fernandes, Pogba, Mata, Lingard, Periera
LW - Rashford, James
RW - Greenwood, James, Periera
ST - Martial, Rashford, Ighalo

We're stacked in goal and in central midfield, but in defence and attack, once we go past the first choices, we're either bringing in other first 11 players and replacing their position with a lousy backup or we're going with a lousy backup. This is what our second 11 looks like if we're not redeploying first xi players;

Henderson
Dalot Bailly Jones Williams
VDB Fred
Periera Mata James
Ighalo

Only four of those players are really any good. This is what will let us down next season, as it did last season. We play 50-60 games a season, injuries happen, football is more intense. These are the guys we'll fall back on.

CB might be okay if we keep Smalling (unlikely) but the fullback positions, the wings and up front, are all weak. We don't need to replace all the weaker players, but 2 or 3 replacements might help us big time. For example a first choice RW would mean Greenwood free to rotate across the front 3, meaning we don't have James stinking the place up. Competition at LB would mean we could get the relatively competent Williams covering on the right, rather than the out of favour Dalot.

We're in a much better position, but we have momentum to build it, it'd be a shame to see it go to waste as we trudge through League cup matches.
 

Zen86

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I don’t want to be negative, but we haven’t really resolved the main problem we had last season in that we don’t have much depth to our squad.

This season will be: We will be good for a few weeks, everyone will get excited, then when the injuries start setting in it will all come crashing down.
 

KiD MoYeS

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We have a good, strong XI, we all know the issue is now depth of quality. I fully expect the club to finish top four but trophyless as the manager will again be reliant on the same core players all season and we do not have the squad to compete on multiple fronts.
 

Siorac

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We have a better starting XI than we had for the first six months of last season but it still has quite a few weaknesses: Matic, Lindelöf (and let's face it, Maguire is also just decent at best), Wan Bissaka when in possession; the lack of an RW might put too much pressure on Greenwood who's still young and raw. And our depth is poor.

We should do better than last season and end up around the 75 point mark but we're very far away from the top.
 

SER19

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We have a better starting XI than we had for the first six months of last season but it still has quite a few weaknesses: Matic, Lindelöf (and let's face it, Maguire is also just decent at best), Wan Bissaka when in possession; the lack of an RW might put too much pressure on Greenwood who's still young and raw. And our depth is poor.

We should do better than last season and end up around the 75 point mark but we're very far away from the top.
Out of interest, how would you feel if sancho and Reguilon were added before the window shut?
 

Siorac

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Out of interest, how would you feel if sancho and Reguilon were added before the window shut?
Would be a step in the right direction if Reguilón is more Evra than Darmian in terms of quality. I haven't really seen him much apart from the game against us and the final but I like the idea of signing an attacking left-back.

Sancho would probably be a great signing and massively increase the quality of the team but at this point I'm about 99% sure we're not getting him this year.
 

Random Task

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As soon as Rashford/Martial start picking up injuries we'll be in trouble again as their replacements have the goal threat of a 6 year old child. Our first 11 is a match for Liverpool/City but our squad is weak in comparison (exception being midfield).
Basically, yes. After Rashford, Martial, Greenwood - two of which appear to be injury-prone - the drop in quality makes for painful viewing. Which is why the signing Sancho (or a viable alternative such as Bale on loan as a stop gap) is essential. I struggle to believe Ole will be content going into a new season with the squad in its current state. I only hope he isn't afraid to air his greivences publically if that turns out to be the case.

Liverpool have a similarly weak squad but somehow manage to make it work, due in part to Klopps' effective training methods and a healthy dose of good fortune. We'll need both of those ingredients if we hope to compete this season with or without new signings.
 

freeurmind

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Genuinely think we won't make Top 4. Arsenal look decent, Chelsea have strengthened heavily and City and Liverpool are City and Liverpool.
 

Ash_G

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I'm not sure we are better than last year, not by much anyway. Our first 11 is decent, but the next 11 after that are terrible.

If we stick to 4231, lets look at our players for each position...

GK - DDG, Henderson, Romero
RB - AWB, TFM, Dalot
LB - Shaw, Williams
CB - Maguire/Lindelof, Bailly/Jones, Taunzebe/Rojo
CM - Matic/Pogba, VDB/Fred/McT
CAM - Fernandes, Pogba, Mata, Lingard, Periera
LW - Rashford, James
RW - Greenwood, James, Periera
ST - Martial, Rashford, Ighalo

We're stacked in goal and in central midfield, but in defence and attack, once we go past the first choices, we're either bringing in other first 11 players and replacing their position with a lousy backup or we're going with a lousy backup. This is what our second 11 looks like if we're not redeploying first xi players;

Henderson
Dalot Bailly Jones Williams
VDB Fred
Periera Mata James
Ighalo

Only four of those players are really any good. This is what will let us down next season, as it did last season. We play 50-60 games a season, injuries happen, football is more intense. These are the guys we'll fall back on.

CB might be okay if we keep Smalling (unlikely) but the fullback positions, the wings and up front, are all weak. We don't need to replace all the weaker players, but 2 or 3 replacements might help us big time. For example a first choice RW would mean Greenwood free to rotate across the front 3, meaning we don't have James stinking the place up. Competition at LB would mean we could get the relatively competent Williams covering on the right, rather than the out of favour Dalot.

We're in a much better position, but we have momentum to build it, it'd be a shame to see it go to waste as we trudge through League cup matches.
I think it's fair to say that our 2nd 11 leaves a lot to be desired and I definitely would prefer we sign one more attacker at least however I do think there is also an important test for Ole in how he uses what he has regardless of any further signings.

I would argue that we probably don't want to be doing complete wholesale changes if we can avoid it but rather that we need to make sure that in every game we don't start all our best players. I think there's enough variety in the midfield in particular that Pogba/Bruno don't need to start every game or that we couldn't change formations to rest one of Martial/Rashford/Greenwood or bring in one of James/Igahlo for a match.

Again whilst quality is an issue I also think you could say we haven't always used our players in a way that suits their skills. For example I would say that Mata/Pereira/Lingard are not a combination that work well together regardless of their quality as they all tend to come short rather than will try and get in behind and lack pace. However I think in the right games we could have played Mata in an A/M role behind Martial/Rashford/Greenwood to give Bruno a rest.

Fergie used to do that really well, small changes here and there which would meant we kept players fresh but also that we didn't have players who barely got any competitive minutes until they had to play. Clearly the ideal solution would be that we have a good player in each position but I also don't think that things are so bad, luck with injuries permitting, that if we used the squad smartly that we couldn't keep our players reasonably fresh.
 

Raw

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Beating City, Spurs, Leicester, Chelsea twice & drew to Liverpool. Pretty good and could have been more consistent if it wasn't because relying on Pereira & Lingard as our creative source.
Yeah it was mainly that first third(?) of the season where we were in absolute dog shit, relegation-tier form that really ruined the season. After that our form picked up to a decent level despite relying on players like Lingard and Pereira.

To me, it's absolutely imperative that we start the season strong and build on that momentum. It's a shame we've been so slow in the transfer market, would be nice to have new players ready for the start of the season. Still, plenty of time left.
 

jackal&hyde

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We are in a much better position then we were at the beginning of last season and we will no doubt progress. The question is, will other teams, namely Chelsea, progress to a faster rate then us? It's going to be an interesting season where we might make significantly more points but finish one league position lower.

If we get unlucky with injuries we might have problems, especially in attack, but if we are Liverpool level lucky, then who knows what can happen.
 

Paul_Scholes18

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We have a good squad. I think the main worries I have is the amount of injuries we get. That is a big problem.
Our fitness department seems way behind Liverpools and Man Citys.
We lack quality and depth up front too, but hopefully Greenwood step up or we get someone for that role.
 
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pav1790

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Too early to say either way. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that we have not shown ambition in the current transfer window.

On the other hand, we have shown maturity and prudence in the targets we pursue in last 18 months. That’s a big plus in the overall direction of the club. We want to be a well run club, which means there’s been an admission, internally at least, that we were a badly run club.

Our recruitment to academy has been good and quite ambitious while remaining in the realm of sensible. We finally have a pipeline established where we can see a few of those lads coming in the team and if not be regulars, at least do a decent back up job for a few seasons. Dean, Mason etc have shown that you don’t always have to buy quality in first team or back ups. Hopefully this means more money for gaps in first 11 in coming seasons.

As for the on pitch performances, I was optimistic at the start of last season as well, I won’t be fooled again. We are a rollercoaster, we won’t be anything but until some obvious issues with our squad are addressed in the long term, either by youngsters maturing or deadwood moving on or being released in favor of new signings.
 

CM10

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There are good foundations there but we need to build on that. The disappointment is it feels like there is a lack of ambition from the people who matter to make that happen.

Our season starts in less than a week and we've not really addressed any of the areas that need addressing. There's not really anyone to turn to if any of our front 3 aren't performing/need rotating. Our depth in defence isn't great either.
 

Foxbatt

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Sancho is worth that amount if he is going to bring trophies. Anyone better than Matic is worth paying 30 million or so.
If we don't want Smalling why can't we get rid of him? Low transfer fee or not?
We need a top class CB too. We should have bought Thiago Alcantra as his transfer fee is not high though his wages maybe.
 

MVP_88

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I think it's fair to say that our 2nd 11 leaves a lot to be desired and I definitely would prefer we sign one more attacker at least however I do think there is also an important test for Ole in how he uses what he has regardless of any further signings.

I would argue that we probably don't want to be doing complete wholesale changes if we can avoid it but rather that we need to make sure that in every game we don't start all our best players. I think there's enough variety in the midfield in particular that Pogba/Bruno don't need to start every game or that we couldn't change formations to rest one of Martial/Rashford/Greenwood or bring in one of James/Igahlo for a match.

Again whilst quality is an issue I also think you could say we haven't always used our players in a way that suits their skills. For example I would say that Mata/Pereira/Lingard are not a combination that work well together regardless of their quality as they all tend to come short rather than will try and get in behind and lack pace. However I think in the right games we could have played Mata in an A/M role behind Martial/Rashford/Greenwood to give Bruno a rest.

Fergie used to do that really well, small changes here and there which would meant we kept players fresh but also that we didn't have players who barely got any competitive minutes until they had to play. Clearly the ideal solution would be that we have a good player in each position but I also don't think that things are so bad, luck with injuries permitting, that if we used the squad smartly that we couldn't keep our players reasonably fresh.
This is the truth. It is about fixture planning, deciding which players play in which matches. Bar Liverpool, no other top team plays their best XI every game. How they haven't had any significant injuries to their main players is beyond witchcraft.
Under no circumstances even against relegation fodder at home, should a front 4 consist of any of James, Lingard, Mata, Pereira or Ighalo.
Yes, play Ighalo but have him flanked by Rashford and Greenwood. or Martial up front with James and Greenwood wide. This again highlights our need for a RW as aside from Greenwood, the options are poor at best.
Same logic applies to the midfield though I am very comfortable with any combinations of Matic/Fred/VdB, McTominay (Defensive) with Pogba/Bruno/VdB (Offensive).
 

treble_winner

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I should preface this by saying that I think we still need more depth and that I think solskjaer is so far being failed in the window by about 3 signings.

But on a note of optimism, if you consider our terrible form in the first stages of last season and consider who was often starting or featuring frequently, we have quietly transformed for a number of reasons including fitness, youth development and signings.

Looking at last season in the first third of the campaign we frequently saw starts or common involvement from

Lingard
James
Pereira
Young (made 15 starts before mid season departure)

Often, at least one of these was starting. I expect we will rarely see any start this season. We saw little of matic. Mata was commonly called upon.

This season we add the following, who we did not see for most of the first third to half of last season, or at all:

Pogba - return to fitness
Bruno Fernandes--January window
Van De Beek - new signing
Henderson--return from loan
Ighalo--loan

Not to the same extent but we could arguably add

Greenwood--lightly used initially and developed far beyond expectations.

And if rumours are to be believed

Reguilon - said to be close.

When you compare how we are starting this campaign, versus the first third of last season, we are arguably around 7 players stronger and that includes some real quality.

As I said I still think we need at least 2 more recruits (plus Reguilon) and if sancho is one then fantastic, but are we in better shape than we think, especially compared to the stages of last season when so much damage was done to our ambition?
In my opinion, the pessimism also stem from the board's attitude. We are a team in serious need of reinforcing. We have been like that for 7 years. Yet the board seems to aim for 4th place instead of pushing that last extra step to be a title challenging team. There has been a clear pattern in which we spend strongly when we miss Champions League football to get back into top 4 next season. Then we tighten the purse string right when we are on the verge of getting back on track because we have fulfilled the Champions League ticket goal that gains money back. Last season we did an incredible heroics to claim top 3 after a disaster start. Then it lead us nowhere: This summer transfer window seems to be the same dithering and tightening purse string because we have gotten Champions League football. All of these depressing cycles have been ongoing for 7 years and they may seriously break a fan down, thinking there is no way out of this dark pit for us.

Regarding the optimism about our on-field performance, we had similar optimism when Ole first arrived and the honeymoon period started. We had a similar run after Bruno came and then our performance got sluggish again. We clinched 3rd place because Leicester were imploding themselves. Our lack of depth hampered our performance and momentum, no matter how impressive our run-in before. Only adding Van De Beek this summer would not have solved our lack of depth. We could go on a similar winning run and then fade into jaded performances all over again. This can only be solved by sorting our depth, which our owners haven't cared enough to address.

We find it hard to get our hopes up because once again, we feel we have been lied to. We were promised a massive rebuild. Ole was promised a massive rebuild. We kept track on Sancho immediately after Ole was appointed (Around the honeymoon period). We didn't sign him last summer. Ole didn't complain about that but simply kept his head down and did his job while knowing they'd not hesitate to sack him if things get worse even if it comes from the lack of investment on right wing. We all cheered Ole on, thinking that a Champions League ticket would guarantee us and Ole a more supportive summer. What did the board give us til now, given how hard we fought for 3rd spot?

Sorry for the long post. But it's our reasoning for thinking our situation is "worse than you think". There seems to be no escape out of this endless cycle which has been going for 7 years. At least for now.
 

Foxbatt

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We are worse than we think because others have got better or getting better by getting better players.
 

Paul_Scholes18

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We are worse than we think because others have got better or getting better by getting better players.
City got Ake and Torres and Liverpool some leftback from Greece. Hardly improving much.
Chelsea are overrated. We should be better than them.
 

bosnian_red

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City got Ake and Torres and Liverpool some leftback from Greece. Hardly improving much.
Chelsea are overrated. We should be better than them.
Liverpool finished 33 points above us, City in a down year with little motivation finished 15 points above us. The year before that we were 32 and 31 points behind them. We arent competing with them. We finished top 4 by the skin of our teeth after a pandemic gave us a 3 month break to get our injured players back. Chelsea spent 250m on top of what they had to strengthen their starting 11 and depth. We made 1 signing to help the midfield, but ignored our lack of depth at fullback and mainly our lack of depth in our attack. Signing Sancho would've had us just keeping up with the business Chelsea was doing, building off our previous season to improve more and fix attacking depth in one go. Instead we ignored the position and will 100% suffer big injury problems, as we simply don't have depth to rotate. We were dead on our feet after a month of that post lockdown schedule. Well that schedule is what the entire season will be like, starting this Saturday. Its weekend and midweek games, every single week.

It's just straight up negligence from the management if we don't sign anyone, and its harmful to the development of Greenwood/Williams, as well as the well being and longevity of Martial, Rashford, Wan Bissaka and Shaw. There is no positivity when its so blatantly obvious that we're going to suffer constant injuries with no depth to keep players fresh, unless Ole throws away every single cup competition.
 

Paul_Scholes18

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Liverpool finished 33 points above us, City in a down year with little motivation finished 15 points above us. The year before that we were 32 and 31 points behind them. We arent competing with them. We finished top 4 by the skin of our teeth after a pandemic gave us a 3 month break to get our injured players back. Chelsea spent 250m on top of what they had to strengthen their starting 11 and depth. We made 1 signing to help the midfield, but ignored our lack of depth at fullback and mainly our lack of depth in our attack. Signing Sancho would've had us just keeping up with the business Chelsea was doing, building off our previous season to improve more and fix attacking depth in one go. Instead we ignored the position and will 100% suffer big injury problems, as we simply don't have depth to rotate. We were dead on our feet after a month of that post lockdown schedule. Well that schedule is what the entire season will be like, starting this Saturday. Its weekend and midweek games, every single week.

It's just straight up negligence from the management if we don't sign anyone, and its harmful to the development of Greenwood/Williams, as well as the well being and longevity of Martial, Rashford, Wan Bissaka and Shaw. There is no positivity when its so blatantly obvious that we're going to suffer constant injuries with no depth to keep players fresh, unless Ole throws away every single cup competition.
Agree we should sign someone. We are leaving it late like we often do.
 

Lee565

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I think the lack positional experimenting from ole hold us back at squeezing the most out of our squad.

We have seen the likes of man city, bayern, barca, psg and even united under fergie experiment with player positions to good effect.

It's a head scratcher when so many of fans scoff at the idea the minute someone suggests playing our players elsewhere on the pitch.
 

Tango80

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I really don't think things are that bad.

VDB was an underrated signing because it addresses the real issue, and that's the over-reliance on Bruno. Had we just gone with Sancho and not VDB we would have run into the same issues as last year ie he ends up running out of steam, and our attack suffers for it. We have a front three that are all capable of hitting 20+ next season (I think they actually outscored Liverpools front 3 last season as well, feel free to correct me on that though) so it's fair to say we'll get by.

Still 3 weeks of the window left too, so still time to get some depth up front too. But it's not necessary to panic buy.
 

bosnian_red

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Agree we should sign someone. We are leaving it late like we often do.
We arent leaving anything late. We've done our business already IMO. The season starts this weekend for us, if we were prepared for the window, we would've had things done by now.
 

Icemav

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We’re in the right track, but there’s a gulf between seeing the positives and fooling ourselves. I think at the end of last season we could all see the squad is moving in the right direction generally, but that some clear deficiencies remain. In that regard, the disappointment people are feeling is not because we have not magically become the finished article, but because it feels like we are squandering the momentum we have finally built up after years in the wilderness. It feels like an opportunity lost and I will be deflated if we don’t build on last season, regardless of all the positives in front of us. I am envious of Chelsea’s excellent work in the market when we finished around the same level as them last season, I can’t help it.
Rashford was poor (despite the stats) at the end of the season and clearly doesnt trust his body again, yet. So basically once Shaw went down injured our overall play was horrid because the left side was non existent. Also saw AWB who is not the most attacking fb being run into the ground. The last few games were a signal that if we dont sort out this weakness (by signing so more top class wide players) we will struggle again this season.

We need more wingers and wingbacks.
 

bosnian_red

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I really don't think things are that bad.

VDB was an underrated signing because it addresses the real issue, and that's the over-reliance on Bruno. Had we just gone with Sancho and not VDB we would have run into the same issues as last year ie he ends up running out of steam, and our attack suffers for it. We have a front three that are all capable of hitting 20+ next season (I think they actually outscored Liverpools front 3 last season as well, feel free to correct me on that though) so it's fair to say we'll get by.

Still 3 weeks of the window left too, so still time to get some depth up front too. But it's not necessary to panic buy.
We have a Bruno level of reliance on our front 3 and on our fullbacks. Getting a left back would mean between Shaw, wan bissaka, Williams and a new left back, we'd be good to rotate. Our attack though is just a good front 3 with a championship level player behind them, and then Ighalo who is gone in January but barely usable in competitive games. Unless we plan on throwing away every single cup competition and only using our starters in the premier league, this is going to be a painful season unless we bring in depth up front and at fullback desperately.
 

Tango80

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We have a Bruno level of reliance on our front 3 and on our fullbacks. Getting a left back would mean between Shaw, wan bissaka, Williams and a new left back, we'd be good to rotate. Our attack though is just a good front 3 with a championship level player behind them, and then Ighalo who is gone in January but barely usable in competitive games. Unless we plan on throwing away every single cup competition and only using our starters in the premier league, this is going to be a painful season unless we bring in depth up front and at fullback desperately.
We're fine at full back. We have three, plus TFM/Axel and Dalot can all play there. Laird may even break through. Might need addressing next summer but for now it's enough.

Who's the championship level player? Bruno sits behind the front 3.

I hate this time of year, the fans are so whiny and all you seem to get is relentless negativity, regardless of how we do in the transfer market. I just struggle with it all.

In reality though, it's never as bad as that.
 

bosnian_red

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We're fine at full back. We have three, plus TFM/Axel and Dalot can all play there. Laird may even break through. Might need addressing next summer but for now it's enough.

Who's the championship level player? Bruno sits behind the front 3.

I hate this time of year, the fans are so whiny and all you seem to get is relentless negativity, regardless of how we do in the transfer market. I just struggle with it all.

In reality though, it's never as bad as that.
Dan James is the championship level player. I guess that's harsh, but you have better wingers than him playing in the championship so maybe not.

And how are we fine? Did you see how Williams got torn apart at left back when playing in the Europa League? Whats going to happen in the Champions League? Williams is young and has some potential, but hes right footed and more natural on the right. Dalot as you said can compete for that side, same with TFM even though I'm not sure if either would start at any premier league side. Shaw goes down and we have nobody at left back, other than putting randoms over there. You can't plug injuries like that. Shaw is bound to get injured every season even in a normal schedule, let alone a crazy schedule like this season. We need depth if we want to do anything this season. Without a couple of quality depth signings in the right positions, we'll crumble with injuries.

I agree with you normally, people are usually overly dramatic. But thats really not the case this summer. We barely finished 3rd, blatantly obviously have no depth, and then the owners tightened the purse and refused to strengthen to build off that. This season we have the post lockdown scheduling that we barely survived in, but for the entire season. Unless Ole throws away every cup competition (even the Champions League), then even top 4 will be a tough ask. We simply have no usable depth at fullback or for the front 3.
 

MZX7

@Vato @Varun @moses @Hectic @Solius
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We’re in the right track, but there’s a gulf between seeing the positives and fooling ourselves. I think at the end of last season we could all see the squad is moving in the right direction generally, but that some clear deficiencies remain. In that regard, the disappointment people are feeling is not because we have not magically become the finished article, but because it feels like we are squandering the momentum we have finally built up after years in the wilderness. It feels like an opportunity lost and I will be deflated if we don’t build on last season, regardless of all the positives in front of us. I am envious of Chelsea’s excellent work in the market when we finished around the same level as them last season, I can’t help it.
Well put. Will definitely put a spanner in the works if we don't build on the momentum gained in the final part of last season. Ole should be backed more in this transfer window.

Unfortunately, with Reguilon says he won't come without a Real buy-back clause and Bayern are confident of keeping Sancho for another season.

Perisic is not what we need and Bale would be a (extremely expensive) wild card that could turn out good or bad.

Really makes you wonder what the scouts were up to last season and why we have identified only a handful of targets who are seeming unachievable at this late stage.

Twitter is trending #WoodwardOut#GlazersOut today. Fans are really frustrated with lack of investment to back Ole.
 

Roboc7

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Just another post SAF season, might finish in top 4 and/or maybe win a cup. That’s what Utd is now and will remain so for a long time.

Until there are changes behind the scenes or club stumbles on a brilliant manager it’s just going to be more of the same.
 

Paul_Scholes18

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Just another post SAF season, might finish in top 4 and/or maybe win a cup. That’s what Utd is now and will remain so for a long time.

Until there are changes behind the scenes or club stumbles on a brilliant manager it’s just going to be more of the same.
Probably, but we can hope it will change. If we could have really good luck with injuries and coach things a bit better behind the scenes then things could go far.
People overstate the quality difference needed to improve.
For Liverpool to do it they really added mainly Allison and Van Dijk to a team ending in 4th.
One guy for us in or some players improving could make a huge difference.

We need to find good form and improve players too. Get our fringe players to be able to do a job.
They have shown the capacity before so it is about getting them into the right state physically and mentally for the job.
Hopefully we can get Rashford back in top form with Martial up front. Those two can be deadly with supply from Bruno and Pogba.
 

RedDevilCanuck

Quite dreamy - blue eyes, blond hair, tanned skin
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We are much better than the start of last season, no doubt about that.

However, we still can't hold the ball to save our life at times and this is criminally obvious even against lower table sides.

Our back line is wobbly due to DDG letting in howlers and never coming off his line even knowing that Lindelof is passive and Harry is slower than molasses going uphill in the middle of January.

Our midfield is very creative and we added depth which is good.

Our attack is fantastic but we lack depth and a plan B. Igalho should provide this plan B but Ole doesn't fancy him even though he went through quite a bit to secure him until January.

We really did need Thiago and or Graelish as we can't keep the ball under pressure at all. We also need a left footed attacker or RW to hold width.

We are a side designed to counter attack against the big teams and we did well with this last season. Against mid and low table teams I think we may well struggle yet again to break them down or to maintain control when leading. All they have to do is pressure our backline and Matic/Fred and control is lost.
 

Tel074

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For me we are still way short on a title challenge as our squad isnt strong enough especially with CL football but I think we are the best of the rest .
Chelsea have signed alot but most are unproven in the PL and their defence is still weak .
I just hope we can add 2 or 3 more but it's the Glazers so I doubt we will
 

Dan_F

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It will be interesting to see how Klopp manages his rotation vs Ole. He never seems to leave out the front three. Ideally you’d want a situation like City, where you can take out one or two of the front four or so, and the drop off isn’t as steep.

I have a horrible feeling Ole will start the first few months of the season as we finished the last, and refuse to rest the likes of Bruno and Rashford at all.
 

SteveW

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We've a young squad that will improve simply through the passing of time. Our midfield and attack are hugely exciting.

But we're dead if we don't add another quality attacker for depth. Too many games. Not enough quality options. We don't even have any forwards in the reserves who could step in in an emergency. Get Sancho and I'll be pretty excited about the season.
 

sp_107

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Henderson/Dalot/Baily/Fred/SMT/VDB/James/Ighalo , may not be the best squad options but not too bad either
 

cyril C

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The fact that we have 2x CB hardly used (Rojo, Jones) and 1 CB on loan, is not good. That must be sorted out. Smalling returns to the bench is 1 option, or trade in for a younger CB. On any scenario, Rojo and Jones must go, cleaning up the deck.

Another fact that we are still short on a right winger, need to be addressed. Pereira may become surplus so deal with it.

Either Romeo or Henderson must go out on loan, unhealthy having 2 seasoned backup keeper.

We are 3 steps outstanding.