Rewinding Erik's Transfer Business

[daba]

One for the bored transfer muppets out there...

There's been a lot of talk about how poor our recruitment has been and how this has been a significant factor (if not the biggest factor) causing our constant cycle of struggle. Using the power of hindsight, if you could go back and replay the past transfer windows since Erik took over, what you do differently with the same money made available to him?

Below is a reminder of the incomings from the last two seasons - Fees taken from Transfermarkt totalling roughly €450m across the 3 windows:


Incomings 22-23: €243m

Antony	€95.00m
Casemiro	€70.65m
Lisandro Martínez	€57.37m
Tyrell Malacia	€15.00m
Wout Weghorst	Loan fee: €2.96m
Martin Dúbravka	Loan fee: €2.30m
Christian Eriksen	free transfer
Marcel Sabitzer	loan transfer
Jack Butland	loan transfer

Incomings 23-24: €204m

Rasmus Højlund	€75.00m
Mason Mount	€64.20m
André Onana	€50.20m
Sofyan Amrabat	Loan fee: €10.00m
Altay Bayındır	€5.00m
Jonny Evans	free transfer
Sergio Reguilón	loan transfer

Now being realistic (ie. not saying we should have bought De Jong last summer or Kane or Bellingham this summer) and by mainly replacing like-for-like and only adding extra signings if you've saved money elsewhere - how could we have recruited better with the money at stake?

Below are my suggestions.


NEW 2022-23 Incomings: €205m

Moussa Diaby	€50.00m
Joao Palhinha	€25.00m
Lisandro Martinez	€57.37m
Tyrell Malacia	€15.00m
Enzo Fernandez (before Benfica)	€30.00m
Mehdi Taremi (in Jan)	€25.00m
Martin Dubravka	Loan fee: €2.30m
Jack Butland	loan transfer

First up LW - we explore the possibility of the familiar Antony but as soon as Ajax demand more than €60m we walk away to our next target in Diaby, who was coming off the back of his break out season at Leverkusen. Next the midfield - Palhinha was such an obvious signing at the time, especially given our previous successful dealings with Sporting. At a third of the price of Casemiro, it's actually mental we passed up that opportunity as he was a stand out performer for Sporting and Portugal the season prior so there is no way he wasn't somewhere on our radar. Alongside him, Enzo was another highly talked about player at the time but again, for some reason it seemed we didn't go near. You could say that he might have wanted that stepping stone club into Europe, but I'm sure if we had been serious and had a strong sporting proposal we could have got in there before anyone. Then assuming the Ronaldo fiasco still takes place, we'd need a new ST in January. Because we didn't completely blow our budget in the summer, we actually have some funds to buy an experienced striker to lead the line, enter Taremi. Keeping Martinez in there for obvious reasons and also Malacia as I couldn't think of any other realistic young LBs available at that time (Udogie being the only one but I'll give Spurs that one due to their Paratici links at the time).


NEW 2023-24 Incomings: €245m

Rasmus Højlund	€75.00m
Alex Scott	€25.00m
André Onana	€50.20m
Jean-Claire Todibo	€40.00m
Jeremie Frimpong	€40.00m
Sofyan Amrabat	Loan fee: €10.00m
Altay Bayındır	€5.00m
Jonny Evans	free transfer
Sergio Reguilón	loan transfer

We make an initial push for Kane but after realising that wasn't happening we move ahead with our younger alternative in Hojlund. We explore the possibility of signing Mason Mount given he was out of favour at Chelsea and only had a year left, potential for a bargain maybe... But after Chelsea play hardball and demand a massive €65m for someone we could get for free next summer, we say bye bye and move onto other targets to back-up Bruno. Alex Scott from Bristol City had a superb Championship campaign winning Young Player of the Year and has everything you'd want from a midfielder, and he's English. €25m, done. After giving a warm goodbye to De Gea with an appropriate testimonial for a modern day legend (just about), we need a new keeper or two and we go get the MOTM from the CL Final in Onana and some unknown Turkish lad, sorted. Now, as we saved some decent money last season and by going for Scott over Mount, we have a good €90m in the bank which we can use on a young, strong, fast CB to replace Varane long-term, Todibo, and a RB to offer a genuine attacking threat, Frimpong. Both at a very fair €40m a pop. Lastly, we get some unfortunate injuries to the impressive Mainoo, Malacia and Shaw and make a last min loan moves for Amrabat, Reguilon for some added depth (and Evans if we could shift Lindelof or Maguire).


That would then currently leave us with a current squad of:

Onana
Bayindir

Frimpong
Dalot
Wan-Bissaka
Malacia
Shaw
Reguilon (loan)

Varane
Martinez
Todibo
Maguire (or Lindelof)
Evans

Enzo
Palhinha
Mainoo*
Amrabat (loan)
Bruno
Alex Scott*
Hannibal*

Diaby
Amad*
Sancho
Rashford
Hojlund*
Taremi
Martial

(*under 21 and don't need to be registered in 25-man squad)


Mental how badly we've got it wrong.

 

[Yorke to Cole]

Marcus Thuram on a free transfer to back up Hojland.

 

[tenhagsimp]

At minimum 150m wasted which could be used to make the world a better place instead of flushing it down to the drain

 

[Mainoldo]

Wasted/Not good enough:

Antony - There isn’t an issue with talent but in Antony’s case style. He was very similar to Sancho and lacked the fundamentals that should be associated to a ‘Man Utd player’ I.e. he never beat his first man

Amrabat - On the eye he looks good but you could see he lacked spark and he didn’t get around the field well at all and that was in Serie A.

Onana - Time will tell only mentioning him because of his start but he can change things around.

Malacia - Good back up but what was the plan? Again a full back who cannot attack.

Alternatives:

Pedro Neto - it was a risk as he had a big injury but he plays like a Manchester United winger. Exciting and wants to take his man on

Paulinho - Had the same concerns as Amrabat when watching him for Sporting but he has proven he can play in this league.

Diogo Costa - Highly rated would be here for 10 years if tings went well and a shot stopper as well as good with his feet.

Malo Gusto: We had been following him for a while great attacking fullback and in a position we lack technical ability.

 

[Skills]

Antony isn't an issue of talent?

 

[Mainoldo]

Antony isn't an issue of talent?

He has talent.. his profile is just shite. Like Sancho’s

 

[Skills]

He has talent.. his profile is just shite. Like Sancho’s

What tangible talent does he have?

 

[Mainoldo]

What tangible talent does he have?

He can dribble in tight spaces and has good close control. Also is a very good system player but you need more to play here. I’m sure he would be excellent at Porto.

 

[Telsim]

Antony and Mount are the standouts. Shocking recruitment on both occasions. But you also have Casemiro, who is well past his "best before" date and definitely not worth the financial package, and Malacia, although he was very cheap, so at least that's good and offsets Casemiro's premium price tag. The less said about the likes of Weghorst and Sabitzer, the better. All failures of varying degrees.

Eriksen and Amrabat are good squad players... and that's about it. Onana and Hojlund remain in the air, though you have to question why the former was brought if we are going to be playing Oleball Redux? You can already see he is a bit lost at what to do and just ends up hoofing the ball more often than not.

The only objectively good transfer is that of Lisandro Martinez, but we will see how he is after he comes back next year.

Ajax fans warned us Ten Hag is bad at recruiting. So, Saint Murtough, unparalled genius in matters football, decided to delegate all recruitment to him, and get rid of Rangnick along the way, you know, the counter-pressing recruitment guy. So, that we can start building towards... a counter-pressing style of football.

Impeccable plan, truly.

 

[Bwuk]

Incomings 22-23: €243m

Antony	€95.00m
Casemiro	€70.65m
Lisandro Martínez	€57.37m
Tyrell Malacia	€15.00m
Wout Weghorst	Loan fee: €2.96m
Martin Dúbravka	Loan fee: €2.30m
Christian Eriksen	free transfer
Marcel Sabitzer	loan transfer
Jack Butland	loan transfer

Incomings 23-24: €204m

Rasmus Højlund	€75.00m
Mason Mount	€64.20m
André Onana	€50.20m
Sofyan Amrabat	Loan fee: €10.00m
Altay Bayındır	€5.00m
Jonny Evans	free transfer
Sergio Reguilón	loan transfer

Hindsight is easy, but I think if we'd went into 22/23 with same outgoings and had the same budget but spent it smarter;

240m Budget

Declan Rice - 70m
Lisandro Martinez - 57m
Christian Eriksen - Free
Joao Palhinha - 25m
Pervis Estupinan - 15m
Gakpo? - 37m
Kim Min-Jae - 18m
Billy Gilmore - 15m

237m Spent - 18m Saving.

That would have left us with a starting 11 and squad mix of;

de Gea
Dalot - Varane - Martinez - Shaw
Rice - Palhinha
Sancho - Bruno - Rashford
Gakpo

Heaton
AWB - Maguire - Min-Jae - Estupinan
Fred - Gilmore
Elanga - Eriksen - Garnacho
Martial

Move onto 23/24 with the same budget of 204m, and the same outgoings..

204m Budget

Moussa Diaby - 55m
Hojlund - 70m
Onana - 50m

175m Spent

Onana
Dalot - Min-Jae - Martinez - Shaw
Rice - Palhinha
Diaby - Bruno - Rashford
Hojlund

Heaton
AWB - Varane - Maguire - Estupinan
McTominay - Gilmore
Sancho - Eriksen - Garnacho
Gakpo


This was just quickly off my head - we've spent the money very poorly.​

[/QUOTE]

 

[daba]

Incomings 22-23: €243m

Antony	€95.00m
Casemiro	€70.65m
Lisandro Martínez	€57.37m
Tyrell Malacia	€15.00m
Wout Weghorst	Loan fee: €2.96m
Martin Dúbravka	Loan fee: €2.30m
Christian Eriksen	free transfer
Marcel Sabitzer	loan transfer
Jack Butland	loan transfer

Incomings 23-24: €204m

Rasmus Højlund	€75.00m
Mason Mount	€64.20m
André Onana	€50.20m
Sofyan Amrabat	Loan fee: €10.00m
Altay Bayındır	€5.00m
Jonny Evans	free transfer
Sergio Reguilón	loan transfer

Hindsight is easy, but I think if we'd went into 22/23 with same outgoings and had the same budget but spent it smarter;

240m Budget

Declan Rice - 70m
Lisandro Martinez - 57m
Christian Eriksen - Free
Joao Palhinha - 25m
Pervis Estupinan - 15m
Gakpo? - 37m
Kim Min-Jae - 18m
Billy Gilmore - 15m

237m Spent - 18m Saving.

That would have left us with a starting 11 and squad mix of;

de Gea
Dalot - Varane - Martinez - Shaw
Rice - Palhinha
Sancho - Bruno - Rashford
Gakpo

Heaton
AWB - Maguire - Min-Jae - Estupinan
Fred - Gilmore
Elanga - Eriksen - Garnacho
Martial

Move onto 23/24 with the same budget of 204m, and the same outgoings..

204m Budget

Moussa Diaby - 55m
Hojlund - 70m
Onana - 50m

175m Spent

Onana
Dalot - Min-Jae - Martinez - Shaw
Rice - Palhinha
Diaby - Bruno - Rashford
Hojlund

Heaton
AWB - Varane - Maguire - Estupinan
McTominay - Gilmore
Sancho - Eriksen - Garnacho
Gakpo


This was just quickly off my head - we've spent the money very poorly.​

[/QUOTE]

Some nice shouts there with Kim-Min Jae before Napoli got there and Estupiñan before Brighton. From memory I think we had loose links to both at one point or another.

 

[Scandi Red]

I think the transfer criticism is a little over the top. I never count loan deals or youth signings when judging a manager's transfers. And I always wait at least one season before passing judgement, so I wont judge Onana, Mount and Højlund:

Martinez
Ten Hag's best transfer deal. Great value.

Malacia
Cheap-ish, young and added some much needed competition for Shaw who responded by improving his game almost immediately. Therefore a decent transfer.

Eriksen
Smart, free transfer. Very useful option to have.

Casemiro
World class midfielder in his late prime. Improved our midfield instantly. Got two freakish straight red cards (the first of his career I think?) which made him miss a lot of games. He was expensive and it was not a long-term signing, but I don't think that he was Ten Hag's first choice either.

Antony
Total disaster.

---

This is honestly good. 2 good transfers, 2 good options and 1 complete miss.

We will see how this summer's transfers pan out. Onana was widely considered the best goalkeeper on the market so it's harsh to criticise Ten Hag for picking him. Mount is a very confusing choice. Højlund is a bit of a gamble, but I like what I'm seeing so far!

 

[Tom Cato]

Only good transfers have been Martinez and Casemiro, Eriksen has been ok but not influental.

I get that we somehow treat Hojlund as a talent instead of the ready article, despite spending ready article money on him. 0 goals in 7 Premier League starts is not good.

 

[Leftback99]

The only ones I'd likely keep is Hojlund and Eriksen.

 

[sugar_kane]

Should this not be John Murtough's transfer business, or are we continuing to ignore the fact we have a Director of Football?

 

[rooneyberbatov]

We could’ve had Lukeba (€30), Hernandez (€35) and Veiga (€35) for the price of Antony. Should I mention that Adeyemi, Akanji and Soler were sold for peanuts? I won’t mention big names because apart from some superstars almost on their retirement, we don’t attract big names anymore.
Our recruitment has been subpar for years now.

 

[Stadjer]

Some nice shouts there with Kim-Min Jae before Napoli got there and Estupiñan before Brighton. From memory I think we had loose links to both at one point or another.
[/QUOTE]

Ah yes, hindsight scouting. Why didnt we pick Messi out of Argentina before Barcelona did? Or Haaland straight from Norway... Should have picked up Mbappe instead of Martial too.

 

[Bwuk]

Some nice shouts there with Kim-Min Jae before Napoli got there and Estupiñan before Brighton. From memory I think we had loose links to both at one point or another.

Ah yes, hindsight scouting. Why didnt we pick Messi out of Argentina before Barcelona did? Or Haaland straight from Norway... Should have picked up Mbappe instead of Martial too.

My point was more, we never get these players. We always wait until they become either way over-priced, or are too old.

We never seem to get a gem for cheap, who's value increases. Our scouting is piss poor.

 

[didz]

Diaby for Antony seems the most obvious swap to make, although it's probably worth also mentioning that had we acted earlier, the latter wouldn't have cost what he did.

At the time we properly abandoned the De Jong chase, we were reportedly deciding between going for Casemiro or Caicedo. Obviously the way we went worked out for us last season, but there's definitely an argument to be made that we should have taken the long term option.

I tend to agree that Palhinha really should have ended up at Old Trafford straight from Sporting - it seemed like a no-brainer at the time, but the club didn't seem to have anything like a firm interest. It could be the case that we wanted a playmaking #6 rather than a destroyer, and by the time we changed our minds, he was of course off the market.

Palhinha and Caicedo would have been a pretty incredible shield for the defence and both are good at progressing the ball - Palhinha with his passing, Caicedo with his dribbling. And if Brighton stonewalled us, I'd have been pretty happy with signing two Sporting midfielders that summer.

We really needed a striker in 22/23 not named Wout Weghorst, but I'm struggling to think of anyone who moved in that season besides Jesus, who we'd never have gotten, or Nunez, who I wouldn't fancy. I guess there was Isak, but matching Newcastle's bid probably puts us over budget. Maybe Trossard would have been a decent option to beef up the frontline on the whole?

As to the summer gone, had our midfield been sorted out, we could have prioritised a central defender along with a keeper and centre forward. While I do like Mount and back him to come good eventually, we're seeing serious issues building from the back, and a Todibo or a Timber could have helped with that. Meanwhile Mount isn't getting a run of games, which Ten Hag has hinted is because of having the chop and change in defence.

Onana still gets signed, as the only other keeper I liked the look of was Diogo Costa and he would have cost considerably more. As for Hojlund, the main alternative would probably be Goncalo Ramos, who would likely have had a better start. Hojlund looks to me like he'll end up the better player if he can reach and then maintain fitness, but that's obviously a little speculative.

 

[lex talionis]

A massive shout to the OP for the detailed homework.

The clear winner of the Bonehead Transfer Decision is Antony. But beyond that one it seems to me United has its fair share of hits and misses. Hindsight now, but we just didn't need Onana and Mount but they're both decent players. We all knew this at this time but instead of Mount we should have gone all in for KMJ.

 

[Ayoba]

OP that is seriously good work!

Can you apply to be Man Utd's chief scout

 

[Stadjer]

My point was more, we never get these players. We always wait until they become either way over-priced, or are too old.

We never seem to get a gem for cheap, who's value increases. Our scouting is piss poor.

Dan James and Pellistri maybe? Malacia was fairly cheap. Cheaper than Kim when Napoli got him? Im fairly sure Manchester United will be aware or have info on most young and talented players in the world. I think all clubs are in this digital age. If not, they can even just look up the Football Manager database.

However Manchester United cant take the risk to play some young gem and watch him learn but also watch him make mistakes like Brighton, Ajax or Dortmund can do. A lot of fans wont accept it. Look at how some people bash Hojlund, write him off and call him a bad singing. He wasnt a cheap gem but he still is a young and talented player that needs time to develop.

Its always so easy to do transfer business with the advantage of hindsight. Yes Antony wasnt worth the money that was used on him but he was a rare left footed right winger that was doing well at a young age. There were reasons to think that Antony would be able to make the step up after Ajax. Diaby wasnt a sure thing either because when i read this forum i always read that the German league is crap and players doing well there will fail in the mighty Premier League (some even said it about Haaland). Just because Diaby does well now and Antony is the most disliked Manchester United player doesnt mean it was as obvious as some like to make it out.

Signing Palhinha out of Portugal would also offer a lot less security than signing a proven player like Casemiro from Real Madrid. Had Palhinha not be able to make the step from Sporting to Manchester United the defensive midfielder would have been McT or Fred last season. That means no CL and no CL money this season. That is a big risk and i can understand that Manchester United went with the safer but more expensive option in that situation.

 

[Matt851]

Dan James and Pellistri maybe? Malacia was fairly cheap. Cheaper than Kim when Napoli got him? Im fairly sure Manchester United will be aware or have info on most young and talented players in the world. I think all clubs are in this digital age. If not, they can even just look up the Football Manager database.

However Manchester United cant take the risk to play some young gem and watch him learn but also watch him make mistakes like Brighton, Ajax or Dortmund can do. A lot of fans wont accept it. Look at how some people bash Hojlund, write him off and call him a bad singing. He wasnt a cheap gem but he still is a young and talented player that needs time to develop.

Its always so easy to do transfer business with the advantage of hindsight. Yes Antony wasnt worth the money that was used on him but he was a rare left footed right winger that was doing well at a young age. There were reasons to think that Antony would be able to make the step up after Ajax. Diaby wasnt a sure thing either because when i read this forum i always read that the German league is crap and players doing well there will fail in the mighty Premier League (some even said it about Haaland). Just because Diaby does well now and Antony is the most disliked Manchester United player doesnt mean it was as obvious as some like to make it out.

Signing Palhinha out of Portugal would also offer a lot less security than signing a proven player like Casemiro from Real Madrid. Had Palhinha not be able to make the step from Sporting to Manchester United the defensive midfielder would have been McT or Fred last season. That means no CL and no CL money this season. That is a big risk and i can understand that Manchester United went with the safer but more expensive option in that situation.

Antonys stats were pretty meh in Holland though and at the most basic level it would have been pretty easy to see he isn't the quickest, struggles to go past people and has no right foot. I don't really understand the obsession with having a left footed right winger either when we have rashford constantly wanting to cut in and no effective attacking right back

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Antonys stats were pretty meh in Holland though and at the most basic level it would have been pretty easy to see he isn't the quickest, struggles to go past people and has no right foot. I don't really understand the obsession with having a left footed right winger either when we have rashford constantly wanting to cut in and no effective attacking right back

Our scouts warned about all those points in their Antony report. Of course, the club overruled them anyway and signed him for a stupid amount.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I appreciate the effort, and some of the comments too, but all I can really think of here is that these are (at least largely) his transfers.

Which highlights a huge problem with United's basic structure.

Why did United spend a shitload of money on Antony?

ETH's recent comments make this question even more pertinent (and depressing).

 

[ToToMarshall]

Listing transfer fees for players that moved in the pay assuming that we would/could have got them for the same price is a little disingenuous.

 

[PoTMS]

I don't think Casemiro can be classified as a "good" signing. He's played well for what, about a third of a season? The rest he was either either suspended, unfit or shite. Not to mention getting top 4 only to bow out the CL group stages means feck all considering we paid more for him than what we get from participating in the CL.

 

[Glorio]

Why is Erik leading on transfers though? That's the key issue, and has always been the issue.

The club has to adopt a viable style, and sign the right manager and players (with the manager's buy-in) to suit that.

I thought EtH was the first step to that, but from the number of players with the Dutch League connections, it appears he was the only step

 

[Andycoleno9]

He can dribble in tight spaces and has good close control. Also is a very good system player but you need more to play here. I’m sure he would be excellent at Porto.

He can? He has?

 

[Andycoleno9]

About OP.
With 0 money spent in last two years, our squad would be;
Ddg (Henderson, Kovar)
AwB (Dalot), Varane (Maguire), Lindelof Shaw (Telles)
Eriksen (McT), Fred (Mainoo), Bruno (Mejbri)
Sancho (Amad), Thuram (Martial), Rashford.

Money saved: €450 mil
Results: the same?

 

[OleGunnar20]

About OP.
With 0 money spent in last two years, our squad would be;
Ddg (Henderson, Kovar)
AwB (Dalot), Varane (Maguire), Lindelof Shaw (Telles)
Eriksen (McT), Fred (Mainoo), Bruno (Mejbri)
Sancho (Amad), Thuram (Martial), Rashford.

Money saved: €450 mil
Results: the same?

Not far off I imagine. That's not a good looking squad by any means, but our current one isn't anywhere near 450m better off either.

 

[Hugh Jass]

The Long and Rewinding Road.

 

[daba]

About OP.
With 0 money spent in last two years, our squad would be;
Ddg (Henderson, Kovar)
AwB (Dalot), Varane (Maguire), Lindelof Shaw (Telles)
Eriksen (McT), Fred (Mainoo), Bruno (Mejbri)
Sancho (Amad), Thuram (Martial), Rashford.

Money saved: €450 mil
Results: the same?

Interesting perspective but we’re not looking for the same are we!

 

[Rauður Djöfull]

A lot of money looks wasted but how many were ETH first choice? And not his fault that club dithering on Anthony and then buy him for double up price

 

[Hammondo]

He can dribble in tight spaces and has good close control. Also is a very good system player but you need more to play here. I’m sure he would be excellent at Porto.

His dribbling is very average.

 

[RyRy11]

Hindsight is an easy game to play. I think the only way to judge them retroactively is against what the viewpoint at the time of signing.

Antony€95.00m
Paid way over what I considered was his value. He's no better than Raphinha who barca signed for €60m. I had no qualms getting him for under that price as the talent was questionable and now its proving a terrible transfer.

Casemiro€70.65m
Good player but his shelf life was always a concern. That money for 2 years of elite play wasn't ideal. Not sure we will get those two years either at this rate.

Lisandro Martínez€57.37m
Good signing although there were concerns about his height. I initially thought the price was steep but its looking about justified currently.

Tyrell Malacia€15.00m
Good squad player for the price.

Wout WeghorstLoan fee:
€2.96m
A serious team would have gone and signed a proper centre forward and not a stop gap. It was just about better than nothing, I think we all thought he'd score at least 5.

Martin DúbravkaLoan fee:
€2.30m
Could have just promoted Kovar. I guess it actually benefited us considering he couldn't play in the cup final for Newcastle when Pope was put with a red card.

Christian Eriksenfree transfer
Good signing. Hasn't got the legs anymore but he raises the technical floor and cost nothing.

Marcel Sabitzerloan transfer
Alright loan signing. Pushes a transfer need back another season rather than spending money which can be good and bad.

Jack Butlandloan transfer
Weird signing. Not really sure it was necessary.


Incomings 23-24: €204m

Rasmus Højlund€75.00m
I like this signing but it's a lot of money to pay for a raw player. Ideally we could have signed him for 20m cheaper and also signed a more experienced striker alongside him to ease him in.

Mason Mount€64.20m
I see the rationale but I have never rated Mount. I would much rather us use that money elsewhere.

André Onana€50.20m
Most were content with this signing. Potentially you could have targeted Maignan or Costa instead but this was seen as good business.

Sofyan AmrabatLoan fee:
€10.00m
I wanted us to sign a proper DM replacement. This summer, Lavia was high on my list. Perhaps we were banking on Mainoo to be fit for the start of the season.

Altay Bayındır€5.00m
Remains to be seen. From what others have said, apparently he's not anything to write home about.

Jonny Evansfree transfer
Free so can't complain. A serious club would sign the eventual Varane replacement in the summer.

Sergio Reguilónloan transfer
Had to be done. Can't really complain but maybe we should have thrown Alvaro a bone.

 

[Mainoldo]

His dribbling is very average.

End of the day nobody questioned these things when the majority of his YouTube clips showed him cutting inside and giving the ball to his overlapping fallback with zero direct take ons from himself.

He can dribble but he refuses to beat the last man so what’s the point. Critiquing what I said is pointless as I’ve already identified he’s a crap signing and I never wanted him in the first place as he wasn’t direct enough. Not what we needed.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

End of the day nobody questioned these things when the majority of his YouTube clips showed him cutting inside and giving the ball to his overlapping fallback with zero direct take ons from himself.

He can dribble but he refuses to beat the last man so what’s the point. Critiquing what I said is pointless as I’ve already identified he’s a crap signing and I never wanted him in the first place as he wasn’t direct enough. Not what we needed.

Imagine him with a Frimpong overlapping.

 

[Gopher Brown]

My point was more, we never get these players. We always wait until they become either way over-priced, or are too old.

We never seem to get a gem for cheap, who's value increases. Our scouting is piss poor.

Our academy is full of young players from other countries.

 

[Rajma]

Antony and Mount are the standouts. Shocking recruitment on both occasions. But you also have Casemiro, who is well past his "best before" date and definitely not worth the financial package, and Malacia, although he was very cheap, so at least that's good and offsets Casemiro's premium price tag. The less said about the likes of Weghorst and Sabitzer, the better. All failures of varying degrees.

Eriksen and Amrabat are good squad players... and that's about it. Onana and Hojlund remain in the air, though you have to question why the former was brought if we are going to be playing Oleball Redux? You can already see he is a bit lost at what to do and just ends up hoofing the ball more often than not.

The only objectively good transfer is that of Lisandro Martinez, but we will see how he is after he comes back next year.

Ajax fans warned us Ten Hag is bad at recruiting. So, Saint Murtough, unparalled genius in matters football, decided to delegate all recruitment to him, and get rid of Rangnick along the way, you know, the counter-pressing recruitment guy. So, that we can start building towards... a counter-pressing style of football.

Impeccable plan, truly.

Thank you for saving my time, dead on point.