The best United Eleven post Ferguson

[devips]

My pick is:

David De Gea

Raphael Chris Smalling Licha Martinez Luke Shaw

Bruno Pogba Di Maria

Greenwood Martial Rashford

What's yours?

 

[Trequarista10]

Rashford - Zlatan
Bruno
Pogba -------------- Herrera
Matic
Shaw - Martinez - Smalling - Valencia
DDG​

 

[GazTheLegend]

I'd argue the best post Fergie side was still the side he left Moyes with. It got a lot of shit for being not good enough etc but I'd argue those players would batter pretty much any of our alternatively managed sides. That is to say de Gea, Rafael, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Evra are better than our back four right now, and we still had Rooney, Kagawa and van Persie that season too. Maybe midfield has a stronger case for players getting in there - Fernandes and Herrera for me. And Rashford over Ashley Young.

Realise that would mean that I'd only have three players getting in to the post Ferguson 11, but that makes sense. His final 11 got 89 points. Our post Fergie best effort is 81.

 

[STYLOISRED]

My pick is:

David De Gea

Raphael Chris Smalling Licha Martinez Luke Shaw

Bruno Pogba Di Maria

Greenwood Martial Rashford

What's yours?

There is no way Herrera doesn't get into that midfield and Zlatan his short stint here was by far the best Utd Striker post SAF

 

[Bwuk]

I agree with @GazTheLegend

The team Moyes inherited had just walked the league by 12 pts. It’d mostly be them. Moyes just couldn’t get a tune out of them.

I think only really Ferdinand was finished at that point due to injuries. RvP too, I don’t think he played much in Moyes season due to injuries.

De Gea
Valencia - Varane - Vidic - Evra
Bruno - Casemiro - Carrick - Rashford
Rooney - Zlatan​

 

[AndySmith1990]

I agree with @GazTheLegend

The team Moyes inherited had just walked the league by 12 pts. It’d mostly be them. Moyes just couldn’t get a tune out of them.

I think only really Ferdinand was finished at that point due to injuries. RvP too, I don’t think he played much in Moyes season due to injuries.

De Gea
Valencia - Varane - Vidic - Evra
Bruno - Casemiro - Carrick - Rashford
Rooney - Zlatan​

Over £1bn spent and this is the best we can put together? Over the hill players way past their best, and brain dead Rashford? No wonder we've been terrible for a decade

Mind you the teams with the likes of Pogba and Herrera are just as bad

 

[Samid]

DDG
Rafael - Rio - Vidic - Evra
Carrick
Bruno - Giggs
Rooney - Persie - Welbeck
​

Fergie would walk the league with this

 

[Andersons Dietician]

DDG
Bissaka-Varane-Smalling-Shaw
Pogba-Casemiro-Carrick
DiMaria
Martial-Rashford​

 

[AltiUn]

De Gea

Valencia
Varane
Martinez
Shaw

Casemiro
Pogba
Fernandes

Greenwood
Ibrahimovic
Rashford

Players like Vidic and Rooney were world class under Ferguson but as they didn’t show anywhere near that level of performance after he left I don’t think they can be included.

 

[Red00012]

My pick is:

David De Gea

Raphael Chris Smalling Licha Martinez Luke Shaw

Bruno Pogba Di Maria

Greenwood Martial Rashford

What's yours?

That’s terrible

 

[noodlehair]

DDG
Rafael - Rio - Vidic - Evra
Carrick
Bruno - Giggs
Rooney - Persie - Welbeck
​

Fergie would walk the league with this

Tbh Rio, Evra and Vidic were way past their best by that point, and Carrick + RVP dropped off massively under Moyes, which seemed to be as much to do with fitness/age as who the manager was. Rooney SAF was going to sell if he stayed. Giggs was literally in his last year before retirement.

I don't doubt SAF would have still been there or there abouts, but not with this team if we're talking players post his retirement.

 

[Josh 76]

DDG
Rafael - Rio - Vidic - Evra
Carrick
Bruno - Giggs
Rooney - Persie - Welbeck
​

Fergie would walk the league with this

Great on paper, but most of these players were shocking after Fergie left.

 

[GazTheLegend]

Great on paper, but most of these players were shocking after Fergie left.

If that side played us right now they'd -batter us-.

 

[noodlehair]

DDG

Valencia
Varane
Smalling
Shaw

Casemiro
Herrera
Fernandes

Greenwood
Zlatan
Rashford

Wanted to get Mata in there but there's no position for him.

It really is slim pickings in a few positions. Right wing would almost be Antony based purely on him being the only player we've had post SAF where its actually their position

 

[noodlehair]

If that side played us right now they'd -batter us-.

Doubt it. Even in SAF's last season the only teams they "battered" were Wigan and Norwich.

And Rio, Vidic, Rooney, Welbeck and Giggs could only get in the team for half the league games or less that season.

SAF was just a very good manager who could recognise when players were past their best and needed to be used differently

 

[SoCross]

Why is Di Maria making the teams? He was atrocious after the Leicester game if memory serves right.

DDG
Valencia
Smalling
Blind
Shaw

Bruno
Casemiro
*Carrick/Herrera/Pogba

Greenwood
Zlatan
Rashford

*I can’t remember if Carrick’s “can’t believe it’s not Scholes” period came after Fergie or not. That midfield spot in that order if he didn’t.

 

[MadDogg]

DDG

Valencia
Varane
Smalling
Shaw

Casemiro
Herrera
Fernandes

Greenwood
Zlatan
Rashford

Wanted to get Mata in there but there's no position for him.

It really is slim pickings in a few positions. Right wing would almost be Antony based purely on him being the only player we've had post SAF where its actually their position

I'd agree with this 11 except I'd probably play Martinez ahead of Varane. Partly due to him probably being a little more consistent IMO, and partly due to both Varane and Smalling preferring to play on the right.

Bruno or Pogba depends if we wanted to play 4231 or 433. Casemiro and Matic are fairly even, as are Herrera and Fred, but I'd probably give the slight edge to the former in both cases.

Technically Carrick for a year or two was probably still better than Casemiro (so far) or Matic ended up being for us, but I'm not going to include players who were on their last legs after Fergie.

 

[CM]

De Gea
Valencia Smalling Blind Shaw
Herrera Casemiro
Fernandes Pogba Rashford
Ibrahimovic
​

The midfield is a bit of a mess but it's slim pickings from the last decade. I've shoehorned Pogba into the team in the absence of any consistently good right winger, although the idea of Fernandes playing on the right in our 'best' team does make me feel slightly ill.

 

[Oranges038]

Harder if you only pick players who played & signed after he left.

Romero
Shaw
Bruno
Rashford


​

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

De Gea
Rafael, Varane, Martinez, Shaw
Carrick, Herrera
Bruno, Pogba
Zlatan, Rashford

 

[2 man midfield]

From players that signed after Sir Alex left?

Romero

Wan Bissaka
Varane
Martinez
Shaw

Casemiro
Herrera
Pogba

Bruno
Rashford
Zlatan

 

[Mmm-Qatarian]

Rashford - Zlatan
Bruno
Pogba -------------- Herrera
Matic
Shaw - Martinez - Smalling - Valencia
DDG​

Replace Matic with Casemiro and this is probably mine.

 

[Scandi Red]

I don't want to cheat by having a weird formation or playing players out of position... But the right wing is a problem.

De Gea

Wan Bissaka
Varane
Martinez
Shaw

Casemiro
Herrera

Mata
Bruno
Rashford

Zlatan


You could make an argument for the following too. I guess that makes for a nice bench: Valencia, Blind, Smalling, Pogba, Matic, Martial and Rooney.

 

[Kingdingaling]

Varane making these teams is a joke.

 

[Thom Merrilin]

De Gea
Valencia Varane Vidic Shaw
Casemiro Herrera
Di Maria Bruno Rashford
Zlatan​

This 11 is definitely arguable, which shows that we've really had some great players at the club but never put it all together.

 

[Captmfla]

Ddg
Rafael Rio vidic evra
Young carrick kagawa
Rooney Rvp giggs

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

With the seasons that earned everyone's nomination:

De Gea
(17/18)
Valencia Varane Martinez Shaw
(16/17) (22/23) (22/23) (20/21)
Casemiro Pogba
(22/23) (16/17)
Greenwood Fernandes Rashford
(19/20) (20/21) (22/23)
Ibrahimovic
(16/17)​

Could throw Blind 15/16, Martial 19/20, Herrera 16/17, Mata 14/15 on the bench.

Not much else to pick from - that right wing was particularly brutal, Greenwood looked good that season but he played a very, very low volume of minutes.

 

[PaudieG91]

What's funny is even the best 11 you can choose from over the last decade isn't really all that good.

Probably on paper but I wouldn't fancy any of the teams named to win a title or get close.

 

[el3mel]

De Gea
Valencia - Varane - Smalling - Shaw
Casemiro - Herrera
Bruno
Mata - Rashford
Zlatan

Smalling over Martinez because Smalling played consistently for a longer period of time so I think he deserves the spot for (Martinez might get it in the future). Varane here despite his fitness issues because the rest of our CBs post Ferguson have been shit.

Casemiro vs Matic was a tough competition but I'll give it to Cas. Both played one great season before declining but I think Cas's last season edges it vs Matic's 2017/2018 season.

The rest is self explanatory.

Weird to see people favoring Wan Bissaka over Valencia. Valencia, with all his faults, was far better and more assuring figure on the right flank.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

DDG
Bissaka-Varane-Martinez-Shaw
Herrera-Casemiro
Greenwood-Bruno-Rashford
Zlatan

 

[lex talionis]

My pick is:

David De Gea

Raphael Chris Smalling Licha Martinez Luke Shaw

Bruno Pogba Di Maria

Greenwood Martial Rashford

What's yours?

Good thread and props to laying it all out there, but there's no way Martial snakes in ahead of Zlatan. I'd have to go with Varane over Smalling but Varane hasn't been here that long, but neither has Martinez and if Martinez is in, then Varane has to be in as well. Di Maria had a total of one great game for us but was otherwise a bust in a United kit. Here's my take

Dave
Rafael Varane Martinez Shaw
Casemiro Herrera
Greenwood Bruno Rashford
Ibrahimovic

The curious omission is Pogba, but he just didn't do enough for the club on a consistent basis to warrant inclusion here. Without question Pogba put in some top worldies, but did ever once put in three consecutive 6+ performances for United? I seriously doubt it. Pogba wasn't quite the disaster Di Maria and Sanchez were, but in some ways his United spell was worse as his ceiling was higher and his off-pitch issues contributed to the chaos within the club. So he's off and on in his place is Herrera, who arguably punched above his weight but Ander is the kind of footballer who should be wearing the shirt and put in some incredible performances despite being mismanaged.

The harder question the OP doesn't ask is who the manager should be. We've been truly and thoroughly fekked since Fergie handed the clipboard to the hapless Moyes with his VHS tapes of Jagielka but it would have to be ETH.

 

[cyril C]

I agree with @GazTheLegend

The team Moyes inherited had just walked the league by 12 pts. It’d mostly be them. Moyes just couldn’t get a tune out of them.

I think only really Ferdinand was finished at that point due to injuries. RvP too, I don’t think he played much in Moyes season due to injuries.

De Gea
Valencia - Varane - Vidic - Evra
Bruno - Casemiro - Carrick - Rashford
Rooney - Zlatan​

Rooney was very much Gone as soon as he got his new contract. In fact, come to think of it, EVERY players do a cliff dive as soon as he gets a new contract.

 

[Josh 76]

If that side played us right now they'd -batter us-.

Apart from Bruno? That was Fergie's team. The thread is best 11 post Fergie. I presume that means players that were signed after he left.

 

[bosnian_red]

Going off of post Sir Alex performances only:

De Gea
Valencia Smalling Martinez Shaw
Casemiro Herrera
Mata Bruno Rashford
Ibrahimovic​

Martinez and Casemiro and Ibra in off of 1 season, Varane missed out cause he was bad in his 1st season here so it drops his overall level. Not gonna use this season yet. Rooney was good for Moyes but then declined and had some big moments but overall not as good as Bruno has been. Ibra is a pretty easy choice up top, which says more about our CFs post Sir Alex given he had just 1 season really.

 

[Snow]

What's funny is even the best 11 you can choose from over the last decade isn't really all that good.

Probably on paper but I wouldn't fancy any of the teams named to win a title or get close.

Agree. Could make a team that would be very hard to beat with a strong defense and great counters but not a team that would rival any of the good City or Liverpool teams. A strong cup team maybe.

 

[Dazzmondo]

De Gea
Valencia Smalling Martinez Shaw
Casemiro Carrick
Bruno Pogba Rashford
Ibra
​

Similar to everyone else, rw was a problem. I don't think any of our right wingers at that time were particularly good. Even Greenwood while good, didn't have the consistency. Because of that I just put Bruno onto the right where he has played well also. Pogba was inconsistent but at his best he was excellent, however few of those appearances we actually got. Particularly in the period where Ole replaced Jose he was one of the best players in the league for a while.

 

[VeevaVee]

That all these teams look pretty shit to me says a lot.

 

[Jeppers7]

If I were to leave out players who had their best years under SAF and in effect weren’t his players then it would be

DDG
AWB
Licha
Varane
Shaw
Casemiro
Pogba
Bruno
Rashford
Ibra
Ronaldo

To me it shows the lack of planning because whilst that for me is the best 11 based on players and performance the balance is terrible.

If I was to pick a worst 11

Dubravka
Damian
Maguire (overall, first two years I feel we’re actually decent)
Rojo
Telles
DVB
Schneiderlin
Sanchez
James
Weghorst
Ighalo

 

[Nep77]

DDG
Valencia Varane Martinez Shaw
Carrick Casemiro
Greenwood Bruno Rashford
Martial

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Zlatan missed so many chances it was incredible.

Pogba was actually amazing that season and created chance after chance.