Poll - What are realistic ambitions next season if we spend 200m?

What is a realistic ambition next season if we spend 200m?


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crossy1686

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Our minimum expectation for next season, if we improve the squad massively, should be to consolidate a top 4 finish with ease. Anything more than that will be a bonus.
 

Cheesy

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In the current market it doesn't because prices just aren't sensible anymore. It used to be that when you spent £30m, you knew you were getting a quality player that had a proven track record of performing at the highest level. Now, £30m gets you a bottom half of the PL quality player. The money spent on players today, that have the ability to perform at the top half of the PL go for £70m - £250m and there's absolutely no pattern, it's all down to how much the other club think they can get for the player.

Players now don't get the chance to develop like they used to, one good season and big teams come circling due to the internet, FM, FIFA, YouTube and SQWAKA, all of which inflate the worth of the player. Getting yourself on the cover of FIFA now improves your market value by £50m.

What I'm saying is, with all these factors now in the modern game, paying £200m isn't what it used to be and we should stop piling expectation on a team because it's the most expensive team ever.

I agree with the notion that the most expensive teams are the ones that win the most trophies but there are exceptions out there where cheaper constructed teams have also had success.
Well yes, but a lot of the clubs forking out that sort of money on players are investing unwisely and not using the transfer market astutely. Good managers and good teams manage to compete by spending wisely.

Spurs have spent comparatively little to us but because they've invested wisely they're consistently in a battle for a top four spot and they've come closer to us than winning the title since he last did. If Ole's as capable of being our manager as Pochettino would've been (which is presumably why the board felt it was right to appoint him permanently) then we should be able to compete by spending wisely.

Liverpool have spent a lot in the past year or so but plenty of their star players were signed for relatively little in the modern market. Again though, they've spent wisely, instead of just aimlessly throwing £200m at various players for no reason.

If we're spending £200m and it's not even getting us to a point where we're capable of competing then we're doing something seriously wrong. The fact our spending in recent years hasn't gotten us anywhere is indicative of how wasteful we've been, not that you can't get a lot of value for £200m.
 

Cathy Ferguson

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Alderwireld 25m
RB 35 m
Fernandes 60m
Felix 80 m

Might challange for the title, but most likely not. Sell Lukaku foe 50m and bring in Koulibaily instead of Alderwireld and we need 250m. A top class CM will set us back another 60-80m and that will not happen. So no title challange next season.
 

crossy1686

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Well yes, but a lot of the clubs forking out that sort of money on players are investing unwisely and not using the transfer market astutely. Good managers and good teams manage to compete by spending wisely.

Spurs have spent comparatively little to us but because they've invested wisely they're consistently in a battle for a top four spot and they've come closer to us than winning the title since he last did. If Ole's as capable of being our manager as Pochettino would've been (which is presumably why the board felt it was right to appoint him permanently) then we should be able to compete by spending wisely.

Liverpool have spent a lot in the past year or so but plenty of their star players were signed for relatively little in the modern market. Again though, they've spent wisely, instead of just aimlessly throwing £200m at various players for no reason.

If we're spending £200m and it's not even getting us to a point where we're capable of competing then we're doing something seriously wrong. The fact our spending in recent years hasn't gotten us anywhere is indicative of how wasteful we've been, not that you can't get a lot of value for £200m.
Agreed. We have to invest wisely and I'm hoping Solskjær gets free rein over who goes and who stays/comes in. The other teams have only had success because they've backed their managers, while we've worked against ours it appears.
 

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Agreed. We have to invest wisely and I'm hoping Solskjær gets free rein over who goes and who stays/comes in. The other teams have only had success because they've backed their managers, while we've worked against ours it appears.
Not really though - all three since Fergie left were given plenty to spend in the transfer window. It was fairly clear the board were hesitant on Mourinho last summer which was on them, but he'd been given a ton to spend before that.
 

crossy1686

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Not really though - all three since Fergie left were given plenty to spend in the transfer window. It was fairly clear the board were hesitant on Mourinho last summer which was on them, but he'd been given a ton to spend before that.
Well we didn't really help Moyes. I think he was given the freedom of transfers but he couldn't decide what he wanted, someone should have forced the issue for him to save him from himself. Van Gaal also didn't know what he was doing, sold everyone he didn't like, brought in some of his favourites who were past it and promoted a load of kids because that was the job description, that was just a bad appointment all round. Then we actively didn't back Mourinho in the transfer window, that's public knowledge.

My point is, why were we appointing managers who had a different idea to recruitment than the board have? Surely these are interview questions? The reason I think Solskjær will get it right is because he's fully aware of the expectation, unlike the others.
 

Cheesy

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Well we didn't really help Moyes. I think he was given the freedom of transfers but he couldn't decide what he wanted, someone should have forced the issue for him to save him from himself. Van Gaal also didn't know what he was doing, sold everyone he didn't like, brought in some of his favourites who were past it and promoted a load of kids because that was the job description, that was just a bad appointment all round. Then we actively didn't back Mourinho in the transfer window, that's public knowledge.

My point is, why were we appointing managers who had a different idea to recruitment than the board have? Surely these are interview questions? The reason I think Solskjær will get it right is because he's fully aware of the expectation, unlike the others.
We literally made a world record signing when he arrived. And Lukaku was one of the most expensive players in history as well. The fact we didn't let him spend obscene amounts on Harry Maguire reflected the board's increasing doubt in him, which is on them, but it isn't the reason he failed and when he first came we backed him to the absolute hilt.
 

KingMinger22

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£200m is no where near enough.

A world-class attacker will cost £150m. We need two of them and four other players.
 

C'est Moi Cantona

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We'd need to spend 500m to have a chance of a title challenge in 20/21, let alone 19/20.
We're not some special case that needs to spend twice as much as everyone else to assemble a squad capable of challenging, we just need to spend the money better, and manage the players with much more quality.

The foundations of a very good team are there, if we could just consistently keep them on form, and add players we actually need for once , £200 million (net) should be more than enough.
 

Fosu-Mens

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Top 4, improve squad with players actually able to receive and pass the ball, more adept at controlling games against weaker teams, keeping possession and attack against a balanced defense, fitter players and more running. If we are able to do this we have something to build on, a foundation. Currently we are a mess and we do not see what this team may become.
 

Christie

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We need to expect a title challenge. That was our expectation for Mourinho this season. We finished second last season FFS!

We should not downgrade our expectations just because we downgraded our manager.
 

Christie

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We literally made a world record signing when he arrived. And Lukaku was one of the most expensive players in history as well. The fact we didn't let him spend obscene amounts on Harry Maguire reflected the board's increasing doubt in him, which is on them, but it isn't the reason he failed and when he first came we backed him to the absolute hilt.
Finished second when he was backed.
 

Schmeichel=God

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We're not some special case
I disagree. There is a definite issue with the club structure. So we either sort that in one window or throw a ton of $ at the on field operation

that needs to spend twice as much as everyone else to assemble a squad capable of challenging
to challenge with Liv, City and their all round operation we certainly do,

we just need to spend the money better
oh i completely agree and have done for years. yet when was the last time we did anything wisely...transfers/contracts/managers


The foundations of a very good team are there, if we could just consistently keep them on form, and add players we actually need for once , £200 million (net) should be more than enough.
i could come close to agreeing with this, "net", but this depends on who you think is leaving.

De Gea - 80m
Lukaku - 60m
Sanchez - 0m - but apply a chunk of his overgrown wages to transfer budget circa 200k x 52 = 10+mil
Bailly - 15m
Rojo - 7m
172m total

+ the 200m spend
= 372m on players, by your net amount



But if I apply that budget to what I feel we need:

120m on a real striker
80m on a centre back
60m on a right back
30m on a second left back
80m on a right winger
thats 370m there

but I still think we need another 3 players, roughly:
defensive mid - 50m
attacking mid - 50m
another wide creative forward 50m
thats 150m more = 520m all in all


That's why I originally said circa 500mil before even considering sales. So my net figure with the sales above is 348m. But I know this isn't going to happen, nor is that level of upheaval likely to gel. I wouldn't even trust the club to purchase the right players, so it's just a damn 'merry' go round.

So, by the original thread...if we spend just 200 million on two max three players....then we'll struggle for top four all over again, in my opinion. Nevermind comfortable top four. And probably 15 points+ off the top yet again.
 

The holy trinity 68

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Liverpool have competed with them for most of the season and they aren't exactly any better off than us when it comes to spending power. Indeed, for a significant period of time they were spending a lot less until they forked out massively on VVD. City will be incredibly hard to beat but with the right additions it's got to be our aim.

And it's quite conceivable that they'll slip up soon enough. Mourinho's Chelsea between 04-06 looked infallible and generally outspent Fergie's United side massively, but with some astute signings we were able to compete again and win as they started to fall off a bit.
1 season. Just doing a Leicester but better. Baring in mind Liverpool have spent a shedload. They spent over 200m in the summer.

Chelsea Arsenal and United have been shite. And the bottom clubs are absolute dross, as bad as I have ever seen in the PL.
 

C'est Moi Cantona

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I disagree. There is a definite issue with the club structure. So we either sort that in one window or throw a ton of $ at the on field operation


to challenge with Liv, City and their all round operation we certainly do,


oh i completely agree and have done for years. yet when was the last time we did anything wisely...transfers/contracts/managers



i could come close to agreeing with this, "net", but this depends on who you think is leaving.

De Gea - 80m
Lukaku - 60m
Sanchez - 0m - but apply a chunk of his overgrown wages to transfer budget circa 200k x 52 = 10+mil
Bailly - 15m
Rojo - 7m
172m total

+ the 200m spend
= 372m on players, by your net amount



But if I apply that budget to what I feel we need:

120m on a real striker
80m on a centre back
60m on a right back
30m on a second left back
80m on a right winger
thats 370m there

but I still think we need another 3 players, roughly:
defensive mid - 50m
attacking mid - 50m
another wide creative forward 50m
thats 150m more = 520m all in all


That's why I originally said circa 500mil before even considering sales. So my net figure with the sales above is 348m. But I know this isn't going to happen, nor is that level of upheaval likely to gel. I wouldn't even trust the club to purchase the right players, so it's just a damn 'merry' go round.

So, by the original thread...if we spend just 200 million on two max three players....then we'll struggle for top four all over again, in my opinion. Nevermind comfortable top four. And probably 15 points+ off the top yet again.


Not sure we need that many players, but you're right on a lot of points, bottom line is though that until sort the structure, get a DOF, and build from a team from a proper plan, and not one that is going to have to be ripped up every time we get a new manager, then we're just marking time.

No sign of that happening, so it's hard to get excited about any names we're apparently buying, or figures we're about to spend, we've seen it all before with minimal results.
 

Pfmpd

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Firstly it's not just because you spent so much money. It's because you had a good team where you then spent a lot to fix your weak spots. You had spent very well previously and were in a position to spend on quality to supplement and because of that.

We have to first get to where you were before last summer. That's why 200 won't be enough for us to challenge.
OK fair enough, but I do think it depends how you spend it. But judging by Alot of comments on here, the people in charge aren't trusted to spend it wisely.

However, if you take your form from when ole took charge into account then you should be looking for being just behind a title challenge.
 

Sauldogba

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Reading this thread just reminds me how far behind our starting 11 is away from City and Liverpool,how badly we have been managed/run,how we have misused our young talent Martial,Rashford,stupidly renewed contracts to players who should have been shifted a long time ago,Jones,Young,Smalling,Mata,Lingaard. Bought players that are really not good enough for an Elite team,Lukaku,Let our only World class players contracts run down now we have given the full time job before the season end to a manager whos biggest achievement was winning a trophy in a farmers league after getting a team Relegated.
A lot of people wont like this but I can honestly see us doing an Arsenal and going a decade without winning the league or worse a Liverpool if we are not careful.
Im beginning to think splashing the cash is not the answer and the board is the problem.
 

Web of Bissaka

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Top 4.
Strong Cup runs (LC and FAC.. maybe also EL).
Clear team playstyle/system.
High fitness, energy, workrate and press.

Surely 200m and pre-season preparations should be enough for that minimum.

How wise will the chest and time be spend we shall see.
 

Cheesy

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1 season. Just doing a Leicester but better. Baring in mind Liverpool have spent a shedload. They spent over 200m in the summer.

Chelsea Arsenal and United have been shite. And the bottom clubs are absolute dross, as bad as I have ever seen in the PL.
Chelsea have won it twice since Fergie left. We outspend Arsenal generally by considerable amounts. Liverpool reached a CL final last year.
 

sullydnl

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Top four. 200m and one summer isn't enough to bridge the chasm between us and City/Liverpool, especially as they will be spending to improve too.
 

ash_86

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No way we're challenging for the title, but should finish third definitely. Liverpool were showing intent to challenge for past couple of seasons and they did it this season. It doesn't happen overnight.
 

TheNextNo7

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Doesnt matter if you spend 200m or 600m you will win nothing if you dont have a correct philosophy or vision in place for the future.Our 3 previous managers clearly didn't.
I think one of Mourinho's biggest problems here was that he seemed torn by the fact in honoring our traditions of developing youngsters( Rashford, Martial, McTominay) whilst making signings that were the best players available on the market at the time, ie Matic, Sanchez, Lukaku without fully considering how to fit them together into a playing style that suited his philosophy. Like Chelsea where he sought out an exact profile of player for each position to achieve that philosophy. To me, This was confirmed by the Fred signing, it was obvious from day 1 he didn't believe in him, just a desperate bid to fulfill a need that the United fans were crying out for and to thwart Citys bid to sign him, nothing more.
I don't know if Solksjaer will bow down to the same style of signing players based on certain traditions or what the fans clamor for, id like to think he learned from those mistakes but if he signs players without fully considering how they can improve the team as a unit like the 3 managers before him, it will be just throwing more good money after bad
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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Title challenge, but it's not just about the money spent.

We need to bring in the right players to suit a clear and concise style.

We need a huge summer in every facet on the football side of things(and probably off the field too).
 

sdb4884

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$200 million should be the starting point and more added if we sell some players. Definitely has to be a title challenge, no top 4 will mean obviously Europa, whether or not we take that seriously is questionable. If we sell Pogba we need a player in return from Madrid.
 

Ahsan_6386

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Edit : I posted the whole transfer squad reply in wrong thread . My apologies for that

I think with us spending 200 million and more means we should atleast be looking at 3rd place considering how much more stronger Liverpool and City squad is right now . But having said that maybe we might end up challenging for the title also you never know how luck pans out
 
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AgentP

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If we spend wisely, we'll finish 3rd comfortably. Beyond that, it depends on a lot of variables. City will still be better than us. Liverpool will also be up there if they can keep their front 3.
 

Adnan

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Liverpool spent 186 or so million last summer. Fans from every other club declared we have to win the league.

So I don't understand how people are saying 200m shouldn't mean united have to win the league. Somethings not adding up or it's just double standards.

If United spend 200m, you will have to do as you all pointed out last summer, and win the league.
You also sold Coutinho for a £140m. I don't think your net spend was as high as £186m, or was it?
 

SAFMUTD

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If we spend the 200 right we should be able to comfortably end in top 4, it won’t be enough to compete for the title since we are really far away in terms of quality and 200m is not a lot of money nowadays.

We need at least 5 players in the starting XI, and for the quality of those players we would be looking at 50-70 million per player so it will take us at least two years if we do it right.
 

PSingh

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It depends on how the money is spent. It’s interesting to see if the club has learned from previous windows.

Hopefully we ditch the scatter gun approach, and opt for a more well thought out long term strategy.

With 200m, I’d expect the club to sign 4 players. Ideally a CB, RB, CM & RW. This will plug the obvious gaps in the team, and give us enough quality to comfortably get in the top 4. Maybe with a bit of luck, we could mount a title challenge, but I think that’ll be a struggle next season.
 

Escobar

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Proper and smooth 3rd place would be good I guess. The problem is you cant shake up everything that is needed in one summer after they messed up in the past 5 years
 

BenitoSTARR

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For £200m you’re only realistically looking at 3 guaranteed first XI players 4 at a real push.

Priorities for me are

RB - Wan Bissaka (best in the league who is attainable) £40m

CB - Alderweireld £25m (cheap for top quality) or you end up paying £70m+ for a Koulibaly type signing.

CM - Fernandes (we need a creative potential goal threat who works hard and at least on paper he ticks all the boxes) £60m+

RW or CF (Depending on formation)
- Felix £60m+ Or Sancho £90m+ Etc (don’t think we’ll get either of those but someone like that)

And I still think another CM is needed if Herrera leaves and I really can’t see us getting what we need in one window unless we take cheap options.
 

Kaglish10

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Top four should be the challenge if we buy the right young top talent who will eventually grow into a title winning team.

Forward: Felix (70 mil)

Ball playing central back: Ferro (30/40 mil)

Central midfield: Donny Van De Beek (30 mil)

Rigt winger: Adam Ounas (20/25 mil)

Right back: a 25/30 mil right back or we could wait to see how O'Connor and Laird play in preseason games.

De gea;
RB - Lindelof - Ferro - Shaw;
MCT/Pogba - Beek - Fred/Pogba;
Ounas - Felix - Martial.

Bench: Matic, Rashford, Lukaku, Dalot, Smalling, Pereira, Romero. (No one knows if Pogba would stay or moves to Madrid).
 

Lentwood

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So they went from 4th to 2nd and close to winning the PL by signing 2 players in important positions.

We finished 2nd less than 12 months ago so the players at our disposal have shown they are capable of performing well in the PL.

We don't need 6-8 players to compete again. We need the team to play an actual good attacking style of play and to be in unison with each other. 3 or 4 major signings and some tactical tweaks and we could actually put up a fight at the top end of the table.

I still don't think it will be enough to beat this City side, but that isn't a bad thing because they are incredible and top 3 PL sides of all time in my opinion.
You say we "just need the team to play an actual good attacking style of play and to be in unison with each other" as if that's nothing! What you're actually saying there is "we just need to be better at playing football"!

We came second by grinding out 1-0 wins playing some of the most negative, souless football I have ever seen at OT and we were still a million miles off City. I'm sorry but you can't hide from the cold hard facts which are that our league positions have been 7th, 4th, 6th, 6th, 2nd, 4-6th and that is about right based on the personnel we have
 

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Top 4 at best with only 200m spent. As it stands we need a RW, RB, CB, CDM and another CM. 200m is not enough to get all of them at the required level.
 

roonster09

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It's just not just about the money, it's about getting right players who suits how Ole wants his team to play.

For example Salah was just 37 million but he is one of the best players in the league. Keita was signed for around 60 million and he was very underwhelming.

What we lacked is spotting the right talent or getting the best out of them, also targeting players who are available on free or small fee for various reasons.
 

GBBQ

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Looking at how consistent City and Liverpool are, I think a title challenge would be optimistic regardless of how much is invested. Both teams have the luxury of only needing to add in a player or two for competition and so far haven't been the target of transfer rumours about their key players. So i would say that our aim has to be comfortably top 4.
 

Jinn

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If we spend on quality for the defence that alone already puts us in the top 4.
Required:
1 world class RWB, 1 world class LWB, 1 world class CB. My guess +/- 210m spend should do it.
Left and right backs would automatically give us more firepower upfront with creativity running from deep. New CB would improve us no end.

Proper challenge for the title would put our spending to over 400m easily. Spending on a Quality Right Winger would be the most expensive(+/- 110m).
We could get away with 1 relatively cheap upgrade in midfield(+/- 50m) and possibly a young talented striker with potential to improve(+/- 40m).

So, to win the title or at least challenge for it we require 6 quality players.
Other business should be to keep a hold of the players who we value and get rid of the unmentionables.