Is it still possible to have an excellent transfer window?

[Remember the geese]

If we signed a competent midfielder instead of the dross that we are being linked with and a forward or two who aren't Arnautovic, then yes we still can have a pretty good window. Perhaps something along the lines of Matheus Nunes and Cody Gakpo.

 

[Loony BoB]

Curious, guys, if you had to pick 2 signings from the ones we've suddenly been linked to, which two would you pick? Who would be your third if we manage to get 3?

Milinković-Savić
Rabiot
Arnautović
Gakpo
Rodriguez
Kalajdžić

For me I'd take Milinković-Savić, Rodriguez as the first two, but really uncertain about whether I'd prefer Kalajdžić or Gakpo. Gakpo for overall quality, but Kalajdžić for the position.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Just imagine trying to get rid of Arnautovic and Rabiot next year with the wages they are going to be on.. Impossible. Pile on the deadwood.

Agreed

There's absolutely no other way this is going to go other than them becoming more impossible to shift expensive flops disrupting the team.

 

[Speako]

We aren’t signing the best players in the world at the moment, just like Liverpool c2000 couldn’t ten years after they previously won a title. (they signed Nick Barmby and Christian Ziege that summer and won three trophies the following season, so you never know). It’s just where we are. Get the best we can now, make it back to CL football, go again next summer with a stronger hand.

 

[Giggsy13]

Not signing Arnautovic has made this a fairly decent window. Off to the rabiot thread now to make more jokes about his crazy mother .

 

[Red Rash]

Considering FDJ seems unlikely I would say if we get Rabiot, Savic and Gapko it would be seen as a success

I'm not sure if Rabiot is that good but he is better than McTominay. I think Gapko has the advantage of being unknown so the expectations either positive or negative won't really be there which could help compared to someone like Arnautotovic for example

 

[TheGame]

It’s still possible with time left however we need to get players in sooner rather late than later.

 

[Jeppers7]

With the realisation hitting home that we won’t be signing any players in the next few weeks that could be part of a title winning team….I’m honestly just fecked off. What a mess.

 

[peridigm]

We knew this squad needed an overhaul. Sunday reaffirmed just how much of an overhaul it's going to take. There is still time left in the window. We just need to find the right targets that want to come here. Unfortunately, any player we sign from now until the end of the window will be labeled a panic buy unless they hit the ground running. If they don't, they will be a panic buy that turned into a disaster.

 

[gica_7]

No. An excellent window would have been buying 5-6 players that addressed all of our needs. Now United might buy SMS, RAbiot and Gakpo in the next couple of weeks but none of them were prime targets. None of them probably was on ten Hag's list.

Yes, club bought ten Hag's preferred players. But, he wanted de Jong first and foremost. The fact that United announced ten Hag 6 months ago and turned the window as it did is a travesty.

 

[pocco]

With the realisation hitting home that we won’t be signing any players in the next few weeks that could be part of a title winning team….I’m honestly just fecked off. What a mess.

I know what you mean. I think fans still need to come to terms with the fact that we are a million miles away though and can't attract those players. We had time to claw it back for a few years but made a mess of it.

Our best hope of getting there any time soon is if three or four of Garnacho, Hannibal, Savage, Iqbal, Garner, Laird or Amad make the step up. Otherwise we are 3 or 4 summer windows away, at a minimum at our current trajectory.

Like Rangnick said though, it doesn't have to take so long. But the club would have to start throwing some good money around. And if they weren't willing this summer then they never will be under the Glazers.

 

[SER19]

No, an excellent window is business done in a timely way so a settled or close to settled XI can start the season. We face another year of figuring it out as we go with a manager who has absolutely no clue what players he might have 3 weeks from now. Its a mess and this was obvious when we started pre season matches with the players we did.

 

[Herman Toothrot]

There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope.

 

[BluesJr]

If we had actually listened to Rangnick then we could have had a great window. I include EtH in that criticism as well because he didn't want to listen. That kind of single mindedness isn't what we needed going into this summer.

 

[Jeppers7]

I know what you mean. I think fans still need to come to terms with the fact that we are a million miles away though and can't attract those players. We had time to claw it back for a few years but made a mess of it.

Our best hope of getting there any time soon is if three or four of Garnacho, Hannibal, Savage, Iqbal, Garner, Laird or Amad make the step up. Otherwise we are 3 or 4 summer windows away, at a minimum at our current trajectory.

Like Rangnick said though, it doesn't have to take so long. But the club would have to start throwing some good money around. And if they weren't willing this summer then they never will be under the Glazers.

Great post

 

[Ikon]

Is it still possible to have an excellent transfer window?

At this stage, its an emphatic NO from me.
With bids going in for Arnautovic & Rabiot, that proves beyond any doubt, that if there ever was a plan, its been dumped, and panic buying is here.
No way were those two ever part of a plan, and who has decided on these two anyway? Was it Ten Hag?

I think we'll sign 3 or 4 players, but it's literally anyone's guess who they might be. I doubt if our recruitment team even know that yet.
Agents will see that we are desperate, and offer their clients, and we will pick a few with good sounding names.

I had such high hopes that we had genuinely turned a corner, but I am now expecting this window to descend into a total farce.

 

[pocco]

No. An excellent window would have been buying 5-6 players that addressed all of our needs. Now United might buy SMS, RAbiot and Gakpo in the next couple of weeks but none of them were prime targets. None of them probably was on ten Hag's list.

Yes, club bought ten Hag's preferred players. But, he wanted de Jong first and foremost. The fact that United announced ten Hag 6 months ago and turned the window as it did is a travesty.

Why stop there? Go back to the beginning of the window and we apparently wanted, as priority targets, De Jong, Antony, Timber & Nunez. How many did we get? Yeah, zero.

This is the sort of issue we have with our recruitment. If those players are identified then we have to pursue them hard. I get Nunez was a no go because of Liverpool being interested. But Antony is still available for the right price. Timber could have been convinced. 2/4 wouldn't have been bad.

But if we were so sure that Antony was the player we needed, then why not spend the money to get him? Are we not serious about building the team we want? He's either the right player or he isn't. City would have got him if they were convinced (Grealish, Haaland etc). We've spent money on players we were convinced by in the past (Pogba, Maguire etc). I'd like to know our logic. Because there will come a point where, in order to bridge the gap to compete, we will have to identify the right players and pay whatever it takes. There's no getting away from that.

Another point worth making is our CF situation. We knew Greenwood was gone, Cavani gone, hoped Sevilla would pull the trigger on Martial. That left us with only Ronaldo. So what was our plan there? Did we just forget that we would need at least 1 new CF if our plans came to fruition and we managed to get rid of all those players? I refuse to believe these players that we're linked with now were the plan. So in my eyes it was Nunez. What a shocking situation.

 

[USREDEVIL]

This window will go down in history.

 

[TheNewEra]

Nope, we decide days into a season what we actually need after shitting the bed.

Every season since SAF this happens. Tired of the handling of all the windows.

Best transfer right now is Glazers out.

 

[Trequarista10]

As good as could possibly expect: Sign two CMs (eg De Jong and whoever else), a RB like Dumfries, a left footed starting RW and a CF. Depending on the quality of those signings, it could be an excellent window.

A good window from here would be minimum adding a top quality DM/CM and a RW.

Anything less will probably vary between poor to average depending on exactly who we were to bring in. Not bringing in at least one more decent CM/DM would be a travesty.

 

[croadyman]

Why stop there? Go back to the beginning of the window and we apparently wanted, as priority targets, De Jong, Antony, Timber & Nunez. How many did we get? Yeah, zero.

This is the sort of issue we have with our recruitment. If those players are identified then we have to pursue them hard. I get Nunez was a no go because of Liverpool being interested. But Antony is still available for the right price. Timber could have been convinced. 2/4 wouldn't have been bad.

But if we were so sure that Antony was the player we needed, then why not spend the money to get him? Are we not serious about building the team we want? He's either the right player or he isn't. City would have got him if they were convinced (Grealish, Haaland etc). We've spent money on players we were convinced by in the past (Pogba, Maguire etc). I'd like to know our logic. Because there will come a point where, in order to bridge the gap to compete, we will have to identify the right players and pay whatever it takes. There's no getting away from that.

Another point worth making is our CF situation. We knew Greenwood was gone, Cavani gone, hoped Sevilla would pull the trigger on Martial. That left us with only Ronaldo. So what was our plan there? Did we just forget that we would need at least 1 new CF if our plans came to fruition and we managed to get rid of all those players? I refuse to believe these players that we're linked with now were the plan. So in my eyes it was Nunez. What a shocking situation.

How many more times it was never Nunez and De Jong but one or the other. We made our choice and unfortunately it's looking like it will end up backfiring badly on us.

 

[pocco]

How many more times it was never Nunez and De Jong but one or the other. We made our choice and unfortunately it's looking like it will end up backfiring badly on us.

I don't remember reading that. I remember reading that signing De Jong was a priority over everything else first, including Nunez.

But answer my question then. If the club thought we were coming into this season with only 1 CF, what was our plan? Arnautovic? fecking no chance.

Greenwood and Cavani were known to be gone for months. Sevilla had an option to buy Martial and the club wanted him gone. That left Ronaldo (presuming the club wasn't aware he wanted out too!) So, with all this in mind, what was the plan?

To me it looks like we've had no idea what to do at CF since Nunez was signed by Liverpool. Before that we were told he was our target but we wouldn't try to sign him until other positions were filled.

 

[Abraxas]

If we had actually listened to Rangnick then we could have had a great window. I include EtH in that criticism as well because he didn't want to listen. That kind of single mindedness isn't what we needed going into this summer.

Why would it have been so different if Ralf Rangnick drew up the targets?

Different set of targets, same mediocre outcome most likely. We haven't handled the market well for about 10 years or so.

 

[DeGea’sFeet]

Yes? It’s still early days. The window doesn’t shut till September.

You could see pretty early on, within weeks of the Frenkie doesn’t want to come, but Barca want to sell and United will try… that this window would flop.

 

[DeGea’sFeet]

Why would it have been so different if Ralf Rangnick drew up the targets?

Different set of targets, same mediocre outcome most likely. We haven't handled the market well for about 10 years or so.

RR usually has several players in mind. Eg when he recommended a striker in December, he gave 3 names. Alvarez, Dias and someone who is now at Juve

 

[Abraxas]

RR usually has several players in mind. Eg when he recommended a striker in December, he gave 3 names. Alvarez, Dias and someone who is now at Liverpool.

We're supposed to have had several players in mind every summer for God knows how long. That's part of having scouts and data analysis. It hasn't stopped incompetence in terms of getting players in a timely fashion, or offered any guarantee that they're actually any good. I don't think Ralf has any magic wand that overrides everything that the upper management does, that's the problem. No more than ETH does, anyway.

 

[croadyman]

Nope, we decide days into a season what we actually need after shitting the bed.

Every season since SAF this happens. Tired of the handling of all the windows.

Best transfer right now is Glazers out.

Until they ever leave we will be forever in shite

 

[elmo]

I know what you mean. I think fans still need to come to terms with the fact that we are a million miles away though and can't attract those players. We had time to claw it back for a few years but made a mess of it.

Our best hope of getting there any time soon is if three or four of Garnacho, Hannibal, Savage, Iqbal, Garner, Laird or Amad make the step up. Otherwise we are 3 or 4 summer windows away, at a minimum at our current trajectory.

Like Rangnick said though, it doesn't have to take so long. But the club would have to start throwing some good money around. And if they weren't willing this summer then they never will be under the Glazers.

The club is the one that needs to realise we can no longer the top players.

We’ve spent so long trying to sign FDJ when in reality signing an upgrade over Scott isn’t that hard. We need to be realistic in our targets and try to get top 4 again before we think about signing the top players.

 

[pocco]

The club is the one that needs to realise we can no longer the top players.

We’ve spent so long trying to sign FDJ when in reality signing an upgrade over Scott isn’t that hard. We need to be realistic in our targets and try to get top 4 again before we think about signing the top players.

Yeah I agree. I don't hate the fact we tried for FDJ, especially if we were given any encouragement. But we should have moved on a long time ago when it became clear it was going to be a complete shit show.

 

[elmo]

We're supposed to have had several players in mind every summer for God knows how long. That's part of having scouts and data analysis. It hasn't stopped incompetence in terms of getting players in a timely fashion, or offered any guarantee that they're actually any good. I don't think Ralf has any magic wand that overrides everything that the upper management does, that's the problem. No more than ETH does, anyway.

The thing about Ralf is that he has a reputation of unearthing talented players before they make it big time and it was why we should have leveraged his scouting network while Murtough was revamping ours.

We ended up kicking him aside while our scouts quit and that left us with nothing but ETH’s preferred list of players which is yet another reminder of how badly ran the club is.

 

[Judas]

I'm going with no. Even if we bring in 3 more players, they're not first choice, clearly throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks, its an utterly horrendous window.

If we manage to turn it around, I won't even be able to give much credit, it would be a fluke.

 

[elmo]

Yeah I agree. I don't hate the fact we tried for FDJ, especially if we were given any encouragement. But we should have moved on a long time ago when it became clear it was going to be a complete shit show.

Yeah, going after FDJ isn’t the issue, the issue is not going after someone else while we were waiting for him.

Nobody can say we’ll be worse off with 2 additional midfield signings who are better than Scott. The fact that we’re still playing a limited player like him is baffling.

 

[Von Mistelroum]

Probably not possible, no. We do not have the scouts, organisation or transfer experts to make that happen. There are also not that many players out there within our rather limited price range that could accomplish this.

Curious, guys, if you had to pick 2 signings from the ones we've suddenly been linked to, which two would you pick? Who would be your third if we manage to get 3?

Milinković-Savić
Rabiot
Arnautović
Gakpo
Rodriguez
Kalajdžić

For me I'd take Milinković-Savić, Rodriguez as the first two, but really uncertain about whether I'd prefer Kalajdžić or Gakpo. Gakpo for overall quality, but Kalajdžić for the position.

Of these I would take Savic of course, but then maybe Gakpo I guess at a push.

 

[wolvored]

Chasing FDJ and offering what Barca wanted and we still couldnt get him should have been a red flag. Murtough should have said to TH mid July if we havent got him by 1 Aug then we look elsewhere. Start working on alternatives. It didnt happen, but saying that, If they give Rabiot a 2 year contract, thats better than nothing. Gives time to bed in a youth player,Iqbal, Savage or Garner. SMS and Gapko hopefully a RB as well, could pull it back to a decent transfer window, and a massive improvement on what we have.

 

[Matt851]

There is no question this window has been a disaster so the idea it could be made excellent is a bit silly. We haven't yet addressed one of out priority positions and it looks like our first signing in midfield will be a player juve we're considering releasing.

We appeared to start the window with a set of first choice targets, most of whom were never likely to happen and yet we didn't bother to think about alternatives. It's incredible how incompetent we are

Now we appear to chasing a slightly random mix of players without clarity on how they will fit together

 

[Andy_Cole]

No unless we get darn lucky. The lack of strategy here is obvious.

 

[wire74]

It’s a disaster , already 3 points behind our rivals and looking to buy bang average players

 

[onemanarmy]

Of course. There is still a chance we'll get de Jong, Rabiot and let's say a backup striker. In addition with Eriksen, Malacia and Martinez, that would be a fantastic window.

 

[diarm]

An excellent window sees a completed squad in place in time for the preseason tour. That means the players who need to leave are gone and the players that need to come in are in.

Desperately scraping around at the bottom of the barrel after losing the first game of the season will never, ever result in an excellent window.

 

[Marcus]

Of course. There is still a chance we'll get de Jong, Rabiot and let's say a backup striker. In addition with Eriksen, Malacia and Martinez, that would be a fantastic window.

This. I think we will have a few more signings because the Glazers will want to make Top 4. With the current lot, it appears unlikely.