How far away from City are we?

[Bestietom]

I think we could be as far as 7 players away from their team, and another 3/4 away for squad players.

I do think that we have some good youth coming through, but we certainly need to start building this summer with bringing in no less than 5 players. City and Liverpool as well as Chelsea, Spurs, and Arsenal, will strengthen and we certainly don't want to fall further behind.

Getting the RIGHT players in is so important this summer and a lot of thought must go into this. Not just buy for commercial reasons.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Not as far as people think. A bonafide world class player per line, a director football/manager duo with a clear strategy and final say in player sales and purchases, and we can challenge them.

Of course these things are an utopia with our present set up.

So in reality we are miles away.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

In reply to the OP

The council house is about an hour or so walk from OT. I’d take a cab or Metro personally

 

[redshaw]

We can be 3-5 years away but that's dependent on changes made at the club. Right now we're just hoping one man can do it all.

City have done exactly what we should've in preparation of Fergie retiring. It happened right under our noses with them hiring Barcelona people to run the football side.

 

[AdNani]

We’re about 2 summers away from being anywhere near a CL/PL challenging team I think, if we get 7/8 of the right sort of players in and we’ll be up there, big If though.

 

[UpWithRivers]

Racist.

Wtf? Please back up your comment

 

[mitchmouse]

We are 9 starting players, 5 squad players, 1 world class manager, 1 world class DOF and 3 years of training and implementing a philosophy away.

So no, we wont reach them not the next season or the season after that one, nor the season after.

we are so far, we might as well be in the Championship

 

[Bill Beaumont]

Hopefully another 3 more points behind after tonight.

I suppose you're happy we are finishing behind the citizens for the sixth season in a row

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

I suppose you're happy we are finishing behind the citizens for the sixth season in a row

Better them than the scousers winning it. 29 years and counting...

 

[McGrathsipan]

Wolves and Watford are closer to City and Liverpool.
May be even Everton.

Worst United team in 30 years

 

[Bocca9978]

Wolves and Watford are closer to City and Liverpool.
May be even Everton.

Worst United team in 30 years

Have you looked at the league table, just curious.

 

[McGrathsipan]

Have you looked at the league table, just curious.

Over the last 3 months they are miles better than us. So you can forget about your league table. Means nothing

 

[Yorkeontop]

Guardiola won't be there forever.

 

[Castia]

We’ve never been further away.

They’ve accumulated 200 points in 2 seasons and whilst in the midst of a title battle are making signings before the window even opens to improve on next year

Meanwhile we’re giving renewals to Young, Jones and Smalling whilst begging Mata to stay......City are on a different planet it’s not even close.

The management at this club from owners to fecking chairman and half of the playing staff need to go. That’s not me being hyperbolic after a couple a bad loses either, the state we’re in and the money we’ve spent Ed should have been fired 2 years ago.

Absolute cluster feck and it’s going to get worse.

 

[Buster15]

Guardiola won't be there forever.

I have been thinking (hoping actually) the same thing.
These things can be cyclic. We may be at the bottom of our cycle and City at their peak.
The gap is close to 30 points which is massive.
Make no mistake. Firstly we have to arrest our decline before we can even think of challenging the two top teams.

 

[Bocca9978]

Over the last 3 months they are miles better than us. So you can forget about your league table. Means nothing

Ok

 

[Yorkeontop]

I have been thinking (hoping actually) the same thing.
These things can be cyclic. We may be at the bottom of our cycle and City at their peak.
The gap is close to 30 points which is massive.
Make no mistake. Firstly we have to arrest our decline before we can even think of challenging the two top teams.

Its not the worst thing in the world to suck right now. Look at Liverpool, they'd be champions already in 98% of the EPL seasons we've had. Let's just try get our bleep together and hopefully the top end opens up a bit more then (end of Messi I'm thinking as well) so tangible rewards could be had.

 

[hobbers]

Forget Man City.

How far are we from Leicester City?

I look at their team tonight and I see maybe 3 United players getting into this eleven. De Gea, Lindelof and Pogba. That's not hyperbole or a joke. We really are that fecking shite.

 

[Toni's Left Foot]

City have a few key players getting on in years...Fernandinho, Aguero, Kompany

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Things change quickly in football so you can’t measure it in terms of years (i.e how many years before we will finish above them) but at this present moment we are light years away. So far off on every level it’s insane.

I'd say at least 3/4 years away from that. IF everything goes well for us. Reality may be alot longer.

 

[Heelguy57]

City have a few key players getting on in years...Fernandinho, Aguero, Kompany

All of whom they will replace with comparable players over the next 2 transfer windows while we continue to struggle.

 

[utdalltheway]

Gary Neville already said it, we’re 2 to 3 years away and that’s if we do things right.
Hope he’s wrong but honestly the shit way we chased the top 4 over the past number of weeks has shown the gulf in class.

 

[calodo2003]

Wtf? Please back up your comment

Joking!
Reread the post, the material is there.

 

[UpWithRivers]

Joking!
Reread the post, the material is there.

Ok. Sorry!

 

[cyril C]

City, Liverpool, Spurs have a balanced squad, in both attack and defence. In fact, even Arsenal's squad (at home games) is better balance than ours. Then we need time to fine tune on certain positions and/or bring in the level of understanding like City's squad. So 2 years 2 summer windows at least.

 

[calodo2003]

Ok. Sorry!

No worries, brother!

It’s humor I use to ultimately lighten a mood that sometimes doesn’t translate well in a computer screen. It’s much easier to see I am joking in person.

 

[Spark]

Look at City’s first team for the first five years after the takeover. Complete upheaval every single year until they hit it right and got a solid core of players around Aguero, Silva, Kompany et. al.

United sadly need to go through the same process. Fergie basically did it too when he first came in. He did it after we won our first league title too.

Until that happens - and properly - the season we’ve just had will be the same next year. I.e. scrambling for fourth, likely finishing seventh-sixth with a fair few games lost to shocking teams.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Look at City’s first team for the first five years after the takeover. Complete upheaval every single year until they hit it right and got a solid core of players around Aguero, Silva, Kompany et. al.

United sadly need to go through the same process. Fergie basically did it too when he first came in. He did it after we won our first league title too.

Until that happens - and properly - the season we’ve just had will be the same next year. I.e. scrambling for fourth, likely finishing seventh-sixth with a fair few games lost to shocking teams.

Somebody who is actually being realistic. People saying promote the kids, yes that is a good idea, let's just hope they live up to all the hype. If they don't then we are in even more trouble. The fact everybody is hoping Ole actually does have a plan. That Ed and Co. get him the players he needs and not just the sexy name reject from another club. It is going to be really interesting, but could be very stressful as well. What's new, it's Manchester United.

 

[Buster15]

Forget Man City.

How far are we from Leicester City?

I look at their team tonight and I see maybe 3 United players getting into this eleven. De Gea, Lindelof and Pogba. That's not hyperbole or a joke. We really are that fecking shite.

Quite agree. Leicester have been busy putting together a strong squad with a number of very talented young players.
But it is Brendan Rogers who has come in and is very quickly getting the best out of them.
I have been a big fan of Rogers and it doesn't bother me that he is ex Liverpool.
I have previously posted that I would be perfectly happy for him to manage United.

 

[Buster15]

Look at City’s first team for the first five years after the takeover. Complete upheaval every single year until they hit it right and got a solid core of players around Aguero, Silva, Kompany et. al.

United sadly need to go through the same process. Fergie basically did it too when he first came in. He did it after we won our first league title too.

Until that happens - and properly - the season we’ve just had will be the same next year. I.e. scrambling for fourth, likely finishing seventh-sixth with a fair few games lost to shocking teams.

Very well put Spark. I believe that we are very much at the cross roads as a club.
We need someone with:
New ways of thinking.
New ways of working.
A clear plan aimed at delivering football excellence.
A prosess for continuous improvement.
And that plan to be signed off by the owners and CEO with the commitment to provide all the necessary resources.
Ideally a clean break from the past.
And most importantly someone who will stop at absolutely nothing to do what is necessary to take our club back to the very top.

Unless something like that is put in place then your scenario is what will happen.

 

[Suv666]

The Sheikhs want their club to win as much as possible. Glazers want us to earn as much as possible. Until that mentality changes we wont get anywhere near City.

 

[Hughie77]

Club needs a whole new direction, with transfers, before we can get anywhere near them, playing styles pick a formation 1st stick with it, buy players to compliment it. 4-4-3, or whatever Ole wants to play.

I think he will go back to a 4-4-2, with wingers? If so 2 strong CB, along with 2 strong CM, needed.

3 years to even hope of a challenge for title, just hope it's not 30yrs like pool.

 

[ValenciaRocks]

We desperately need to go back to basic.

Sort out our players fitness and conditioning.

Apply strict diet regimes.

Observe our academy and promote from within.

Know what our best formation and starting lineup is. We have no consistency in this regard.

Stick to a playing style and adapt to that.

Fire all players that are not performing

Hire players that are young and can adapt to our play style, whatever that may be.

Reward high performing players with new contracts.

Instil a family-like atmosphere.

Ensure players have a competitive mindset. Let them know that a starting place in our team is like gold. For this we need depth in every area.

Give the management time. No need to start disrupting things every 1/2 years.


To be honest, it’s common sense really. There’s no magic wand or formation/tactic that will change hings over night.

 

[Jib]

We are 9 starting players, 5 squad players, 1 world class manager, 1 world class DOF and 3 years of training and implementing a philosophy away.

So no, we wont reach them not the next season or the season after that one, nor the season after.

This

 

[TRUERED89]

Reminder that Liverpool were 8th not that long ago and were only 4th last season.

Exactly, yes we're shite, but it wont take as long as people are claiming if the damn recruitment is right both for ins and outs! Liverpool were miles off in the league last season. But now they've pushed City right until the last day, massive turnaround from finishing 25 points behind City to being right up their arse on matchday 38!

 

[FootballHQ]

May 2016 which wasn't that long ago, there was nothing between the two. Both had underwhelming seasons with managers leaving (Pellegrini and LVG). Think it was GD that settled 4th wasn't it so nothing between the two regarding points.

Again 16-17 there was little difference.

They've accelerated fair away in last two years though so think it will take at least two seasons to build up a WC team to properly rival them as that's the standard it will take.

 

[Melville Red]

Hmm to answer the question posed in the thread title.

Do you remember that story on the black hole? How many light years is it from us?

There’s your answer.

 

[Melville Red]

I think we could be as far as 7 players away from their team, and another 3/4 away for squad players.

I do think that we have some good youth coming through, but we certainly need to start building this summer with bringing in no less than 5 players. City and Liverpool as well as Chelsea, Spurs, and Arsenal, will strengthen and we certainly don't want to fall further behind.

Getting the RIGHT players in is so important this summer and a lot of thought must go into this. Not just buy for commercial reasons.

It’s getting the right players out as well but with the contracts they have it’s going to be nigh on impossible to shift the crap we have unless it’s on the players terms. That in itself will cost us a fortune, I suspect we will sign no more than three players this summer, and that’s if we are lucky.
And don’t go expecting world class signings either, not where we are we have to do what Fergie did and rebuild from the bottom up, his first signing I think was Viv Anderson, someone whose character was right and was a proven winner, he did a job not only on the pitch but more importantly off it.
That’s what we need to do now, it be several years before we win the league again, I might not see it but I have my memories.

 

[TRUERED89]

See we're not that far off, calm down people!

 

[esmufc07]

We are so far away it's untrue. Sadly I feel they will dominate for the next 20 or so years much like we did.