So much for our new improved transfer committee. Looks like the usual mess like the past 3 summers.
Ole is going to struggle without good investment.
Ole is going to struggle without good investment.
Opinion: Upcoming Season Is Going To Be Tough
- Thread starter NewGlory
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
I go the other way, Im really looking forward to it
One player is not enough. Our squad is weak.
They were decent after the restart - only City and United took more points than them.
Mourinho will have a meltdown eventually, but it will likely be sometime during the 2021/22 season. They'll be quite good next year.
You have to be a fairly glass half empty guy to say we had luck over Rash n Pog.
How about the bad luck of having them injured for ages?
Yes, but most on this forum also acknowledge Ole isnt the best manager.. which means he does need the players to help him out too.
Thread-title should be changed from Opinion: to Early premature moan:
Yes! I have hope too!
I just ignored that thread, it's frankly pointless - must say the ignore works very well.
Next season is not easy for any one with games will come thick and fast. Whoever have bigger squad will do well.
Next season Manchester City will get more points than Liverpool. Liverpool have great starting 11 but injury to key players will derail them.
Manchester United have similar problem with great first 11 but will struggle to rest some key players without dropping the level of performances.
Chelsea signed two players(ziyech and Werner) as of now for two out going important players(Willian and Pedro). Need to look how well new players will adapt.
Spurs under Mourinho will not be taken easily. He is a master of navigating teams often looked as underdogs. He has good group of players so can be a threat.
Arsenal under Arteta have same problem having not big enough squad.
All teams and their signings made already Manchester City will be champions. Liverpool will be second. Next four depends on how lucky they are with injuries with key players.
Next season Manchester City will get more points than Liverpool. Liverpool have great starting 11 but injury to key players will derail them.
Manchester United have similar problem with great first 11 but will struggle to rest some key players without dropping the level of performances.
Chelsea signed two players(ziyech and Werner) as of now for two out going important players(Willian and Pedro). Need to look how well new players will adapt.
Spurs under Mourinho will not be taken easily. He is a master of navigating teams often looked as underdogs. He has good group of players so can be a threat.
Arsenal under Arteta have same problem having not big enough squad.
All teams and their signings made already Manchester City will be champions. Liverpool will be second. Next four depends on how lucky they are with injuries with key players.
Another thread moaning about lack of signings. 40+ days of the window to go and at least a week until we're even back in training.
We're not going to catch Liverpool and City next season regardless who we sign (realistically). Below us other than Chelsea no one else has done anything significant in the market yet.
It's always going to be tough or did people expect the rest just to stand still and accept last season's positions?
We're not going to catch Liverpool and City next season regardless who we sign (realistically). Below us other than Chelsea no one else has done anything significant in the market yet.
It's always going to be tough or did people expect the rest just to stand still and accept last season's positions?
Once again another stunning thread on the cafe.
Nah the season won't be tough. We are gonna win the champions league. Just believe
I don't think anyone ever thinks the season ahead is going to be easy, even if you're City or Liverpool. But I think we're in much better shape than Spurs and Arsenal, and nothing between ourselves and Chelsea.
Chelsea have strengthened, but not in the areas they need. Their defence is terrible. There are still plenty of weeks before the season starts, no need for these kind of reactionary discussions, two good signings put an entirely different complexion on things. And of course we're working hard behind the scenes to get the players we want. Ole has said as much.
Chelsea have strengthened, but not in the areas they need. Their defence is terrible. There are still plenty of weeks before the season starts, no need for these kind of reactionary discussions, two good signings put an entirely different complexion on things. And of course we're working hard behind the scenes to get the players we want. Ole has said as much.
First XI is strong enough to get us top 3, I have no doubts about that. The problem is our depth. Any injury/injuries - and lets face it, there's always an injury crisis at some point every season - and we look down to bare bones. So in that respect I think we will struggle to cope with the schedule, unless we get 2/3 additions.
We're going to struggle with injuries and squad depth unfortunately. Going to be gruelling.
I think the Covid aftermath and the last season being on top of the next will show and make the new season a unique challenge. I don’t think Liverpool and City will be as dominant as they have been, they both have weakness and look very beatable at the moment. I don’t think arsenal or spurs will be a threat in the way they have been either, both rebuilding. Chelsea on paper look dangerous but as stated their defence is poor.
As for us, it’s clear we only have 11 players but I think we have seen enough development to have hope we can avoid some of the defeats to lower teams, turn some draws into wins and be there or thereabouts. If we can’t get a few in it would be nice to see the youngsters on the bench to give them an opportunity. It’s all about consistency moving forward. I think we can have a positive season.
As for us, it’s clear we only have 11 players but I think we have seen enough development to have hope we can avoid some of the defeats to lower teams, turn some draws into wins and be there or thereabouts. If we can’t get a few in it would be nice to see the youngsters on the bench to give them an opportunity. It’s all about consistency moving forward. I think we can have a positive season.
We'll be able to compete ad long as Shaw, Bruno, Martial and Maguire can go the whole season without getting injured.
If any of those miss a considerable spell I think the wheels will fall off.
If any of those miss a considerable spell I think the wheels will fall off.
Because the transfer window is not going as planned, coaching and management and medical staff have their work cut out.
We can’t afford long term injuries in key positions as it stands. We have to work around it.
LB - Shaw is the only good left back we have. Then there’s a long line of mediocre replacements that paralyze our left side of attack. Need to coach Williams or get a replacement, seeing as Sancho ain’t coming.
RB - AWB is fine. He doesn’t get injuries. But he needs to be coached to be better offensively since we will once again play with a RW that is Inverted forward, not a winger. May be some games for Dan, who does a decent job on the counter but can’t beat his man in dribble. Coach team to break the lines on the right may be?
CB - we are fine. We won’t improve but we aren’t horrendous. Chelsea has bought a lot but they haven’t fixed their defense. It will remain a problem for them. Others are not going to be better than us.
CDM - rationing matic will be key. That’s the management side. Coaching our other midfielders to work as single pivot will be the work. Getting a back up or a starter would be fantastic. Garner? Galbraith? May be too much responsibility in big games but we will get easy games
CM - arguably our best position, in terms of depth. Do what you are doing, you’ll be fine.
CAM - Glaring hole. Bruno is key. He needs to be managed. Switch formations to avoid playing Pereira or Jesse at all costs when Bruno is rested in somewhat important games, because there are more important games in midweek. Play mata in fixtures that suit him. He will do a job for us. I am confident.
LF - Rashy. Please stay fit for the most part. We can play Martial there, move greenwood CF, bring in Dan James. We aren’t too bad here.
RF - Sancho was so needed to fix this. Greenwood will play. He seems like he s a fit lad. James too. Mata at worst.
CF - Martial and Ighalo until January. Greenwood can come in. We are bare here as well.
It all depends on the luck and coaching. We can stay in top 3 and do better or fall down to 6th or 7th.
We can’t afford long term injuries in key positions as it stands. We have to work around it.
LB - Shaw is the only good left back we have. Then there’s a long line of mediocre replacements that paralyze our left side of attack. Need to coach Williams or get a replacement, seeing as Sancho ain’t coming.
RB - AWB is fine. He doesn’t get injuries. But he needs to be coached to be better offensively since we will once again play with a RW that is Inverted forward, not a winger. May be some games for Dan, who does a decent job on the counter but can’t beat his man in dribble. Coach team to break the lines on the right may be?
CB - we are fine. We won’t improve but we aren’t horrendous. Chelsea has bought a lot but they haven’t fixed their defense. It will remain a problem for them. Others are not going to be better than us.
CDM - rationing matic will be key. That’s the management side. Coaching our other midfielders to work as single pivot will be the work. Getting a back up or a starter would be fantastic. Garner? Galbraith? May be too much responsibility in big games but we will get easy games
CM - arguably our best position, in terms of depth. Do what you are doing, you’ll be fine.
CAM - Glaring hole. Bruno is key. He needs to be managed. Switch formations to avoid playing Pereira or Jesse at all costs when Bruno is rested in somewhat important games, because there are more important games in midweek. Play mata in fixtures that suit him. He will do a job for us. I am confident.
LF - Rashy. Please stay fit for the most part. We can play Martial there, move greenwood CF, bring in Dan James. We aren’t too bad here.
RF - Sancho was so needed to fix this. Greenwood will play. He seems like he s a fit lad. James too. Mata at worst.
CF - Martial and Ighalo until January. Greenwood can come in. We are bare here as well.
It all depends on the luck and coaching. We can stay in top 3 and do better or fall down to 6th or 7th.
The starting XI is good enough to get 4th if Bruno stays healthy, we have no back up for him at all if he gets injured.
But the goal should be to improve and get closer to the top 2 and that requires more quality and depth at RW, CB, CM and LB.
But the goal should be to improve and get closer to the top 2 and that requires more quality and depth at RW, CB, CM and LB.
Teams dont have an answer for bruno. His arrival coincided nicely with everyone's good form it's all clicked.
Next season teams would have more material to study our team and they'll make it harder for us. It's the real test whether we can sustain the run.
Next season teams would have more material to study our team and they'll make it harder for us. It's the real test whether we can sustain the run.
Im not so confident about being able to easily get in the top 4 by relying on current our first 11 with solskjaer in charge.
We saw a lot of cracks appearing in our performances in the last 5 or 6 games in this season just gone and were really struggling again to score from open play and even Fernandes performances were dropping compared to his first few months at the club and another issue is solskjaer's poor squad management where just like Mourinho did he runs his players into the ground to the point of performances dropping massively or injury.
We saw a lot of cracks appearing in our performances in the last 5 or 6 games in this season just gone and were really struggling again to score from open play and even Fernandes performances were dropping compared to his first few months at the club and another issue is solskjaer's poor squad management where just like Mourinho did he runs his players into the ground to the point of performances dropping massively or injury.
We can forget about Liverpool and City. Unless they have a meltdown of literally historical proportions, they'll finish above United next season. Chelsea are signing some of the highest rated European youngsters to bolster an attack that was already looking quite dangerous towards the end of last season. Shaky defence won't matter much if they can just score a bucketload of goals, which doesn't seem that outlandish. And even with their current squad, United finished above them only on the virtue of goal difference. If they strengthen and United don't, that doesn't exactly bode well for us, does it?
Spurs and Arsenal are the big doubts, naturally. Spurs have a good squad but they are managed by Mourinho. Arsenal are Arsenal. But they're not the only worries. Leicester and Wolves could easily push United for the last UCL place, as could some unknown black horse that has a great season next year.
United not strengthening and trying to coast next season is criminally negligent. We already saw that the squad is painfully thin, and the first 11 (the only players in the squad Ole trusts) can't play all game every game. And that is before we factor in injuries: if Pogba or Bruno goes down, United are screwed. They will be targeted hard, because by next season everyone knows they are the crucial players that drive the entire team, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility. United will also be playing in the Champions League, so Ole can't just send out the kids to play some tractor drivers from Eastern Bolovia and give the first team a rest.
Next season will be very hard indeed.
As others have said the first eleven can compete, but if tiredness (lack of form) or injuries happen we will be done. The likes of Mata will be another year older as will Matic. Jones is not going to turn into some physical monster.
I think 2020 Manchester united is where we are at with a full squad. Our problems begin when we run into a number of injuries.
The first XI closes the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City more or less, but the bench is our downfall. The dropoff is just SO big in some positions. The only great substitution we have off the bench is Fred for Matic, other than that its players that will do very well in scrappy games against middle to low tier teams.
Wait, Bruno position is also best Pogba position right? So we're pretty well covered in midfield.
RW and Full Back are priorities imo.
I'll tell you whats difficult, having to say Twenty Twenty, Twenty Twenty One all the time....
!? >Hold on, you think we’re favourites?
Yeah mate we are gonna win the champions leagueHold on, you think we’re favourites?
This seems such a prescient analysis. Completely agree that injuries to one or two critical players or failure to invest in quality and quantity will expose our failings. I feel sorry for Ole, if he fails to get proper support it will mean all of the potential of the side will be wasted and we'll be back with the tractor drivers again.
Reminding me a little of Jose's last preseason.
Disruption due to a late finish to the previous season and a lack of activity in the transfer market.
Disruption due to a late finish to the previous season and a lack of activity in the transfer market.
All I have to say is, when the shit inevitably hits the fan, I hope our fans are not just blaming Ole and the players. Where other teams have consolidated and strengthened, the Glazers, Ed and the board are hanging Ole out to dry. They will be the main reason we do not kick on next season and we should not forget that.
Are we hell. We couldn't even get to the EL final.
It's way too early to call how next season will pan out. If we didn't get these many long term injury this season, I'd say we would have finished with close to 75 odd points, and with I'd say most of our players are going to get better as they're in their early 20s. So, I'm pretty confident that we'd get CL football next season.
Having said that, I'd really like us to get a replacement for Matic and a RW at the very least, as we require some rotation to keep our players fit. And that's because i really think that City (Aguero is getting old and they don't really have a proper goalscorer, Fernandinho is past his peak and they look vulnerable defensively) and Pool (they've been lucky with no injuries and have zero depth) can't keep this points total up every season, and I'd like us to take advantage when they do finally slip in the league.
Having said that, I'd really like us to get a replacement for Matic and a RW at the very least, as we require some rotation to keep our players fit. And that's because i really think that City (Aguero is getting old and they don't really have a proper goalscorer, Fernandinho is past his peak and they look vulnerable defensively) and Pool (they've been lucky with no injuries and have zero depth) can't keep this points total up every season, and I'd like us to take advantage when they do finally slip in the league.
It’s going to be tougher than a normal season what with the FA deciding not to cancel the EFL cup and us having to play a match every three days for like 85-90% of the season. With our current bench strength and ole’s reluctance to trust anyone apart from his core 13-14 players, we will find it tough.
The only positive of this whole pandemic was getting them back for the final run.
Let's be real we almost always lose a significant player for an extended period of time. If we continue a high press that is likely to happen again.
Its funny we've got back into the champions league and its likely we will go out at the group stage.
We won't get top 4 with this team either.
We won't get top 4 with this team either.
Too many people are writing Tottenham off. I think they will be a very difficult opponent next season.
Chelsea have signed some much-needed quality in their attack. They are also signing an experienced defender that may give their defence some sort of discipline.
Arsenal had improved a lot by the end, but their weak team was holding them back. I think Arteta has done some good work there with no signings. If they get their business correct, they could end up a difficult opponent also.
Man City won't sit back in the transfer market; they will improve this season. I think Ake will turn out to be a good signing for them, who will improve their defence.
Liverpool look like they are signing some good players after buying nobody last season. Thiago a possibility.
Yes, next season is going to be extremely tough. On top of that, we won't be able to rest anyone in the Champion's League games. Our depth is likely not going to be fixed for a lot of areas in the squad, and this will run the team into the ground.
There have also been some concerning signs about the team in the last 6 or 7 games. Fernandes's form has dropped off from earlier, which begs the question: can he replicate that form next season or will he perform at a lower level? This could be an enormous blow if his performances even dip slightly.
Our defence looks vulnerable. Without the midfield protecting them, I think a lot of teams could have some joy against them. There is a lot to fix by next season; we need to make a massive improvement on this one.
Chelsea have signed some much-needed quality in their attack. They are also signing an experienced defender that may give their defence some sort of discipline.
Arsenal had improved a lot by the end, but their weak team was holding them back. I think Arteta has done some good work there with no signings. If they get their business correct, they could end up a difficult opponent also.
Man City won't sit back in the transfer market; they will improve this season. I think Ake will turn out to be a good signing for them, who will improve their defence.
Liverpool look like they are signing some good players after buying nobody last season. Thiago a possibility.
Yes, next season is going to be extremely tough. On top of that, we won't be able to rest anyone in the Champion's League games. Our depth is likely not going to be fixed for a lot of areas in the squad, and this will run the team into the ground.
There have also been some concerning signs about the team in the last 6 or 7 games. Fernandes's form has dropped off from earlier, which begs the question: can he replicate that form next season or will he perform at a lower level? This could be an enormous blow if his performances even dip slightly.
Our defence looks vulnerable. Without the midfield protecting them, I think a lot of teams could have some joy against them. There is a lot to fix by next season; we need to make a massive improvement on this one.
We literally just did get top 4(3rd) with this team that for half a season didn't have pogba, bruno, greenwood and Rashford.
Let's not overdo the gloom
I predict we will finish outside the top 4 and Ole will be sacked