The Deadwoods Assassinated by Babyface

[Rhyme Animal]

Players that are not wanted in the managers system, or are not good enough for the squad. Lukaku and Fellaini hit the bill perfectly, Smalling is 4th or 5th choice centerback, and Herrera was not a gamebreaker, although we should absolutely have signed a midfielder this transfer window to help Pogba.

But yeah, I am very happy about the ruthlessness shown by the manager. It's clear he does not care what your name is, if you don't fit the squad or get behind the program, off you go. Maybe now the crowd that believes Ole is just too nice, can give that particular argument a bit of a rest.

You sure it's not ruthlessness of the owners...?

I mean, why wouldn't Solskjaer want Smalling or Fellaini as back-up?

I few injuries and this situation could very, very different for Utd and Solskjaer.

To me, it reeks of greedy owners, and nothing else.

 

[romufc]

I haven’t heard anyone say we need to replace the aging Valencia,

Maybe because he got replaced last summer with Dalot and we strengthened again this summer with AWB

 

[LARulz]

Why is everyone reacting as if Herrera was an amazing player. for sake he wanted £250k a week.

I am not crying my eyes about losing him, he got 30 appearances once in his time here.

That's cos we fecked up. We shouldn't have let his contract go down to such levels and given it to him the previous season. His demands only went extreme when PSG came in and offered it

 

[romufc]

Should we expect a thread from you calling for Rashford to be sold off given how average he is for his purported 200k/week (300k with bonuses)?

IMO Rashford is not average. Rashford is 21, he scores goals, has pace, has energy, has potential of being a United great.

Should we expect a thread for you calling for Lingard to be given a £300k contract because he tries?

 

[crossy1686]

Reports are Darmian is getting the bullet as well now. Solskjaer has told a lot of people to get the feck out it seems.

 

[romufc]

That's cos we fecked up. We shouldn't have let his contract go down to such levels and given it to him the previous season. His demands only went extreme when PSG came in and offered it

I agree but we already knew that our contracts dept. has no clue. But there is no point crying over losing Herrera. People on here are barking for Pogba to be sold. Feck me, if your going to cry about Herrera going and want Pogba out there is something about football some fans do not understand.

We still need quality. Herrera is easier to replace than Pogba.

 

[jem]

Half his job... didn’t bring in any replacements. I know for a fact Ole didn’t tell them he’s fine with the midfield and having no real RW.

Really? Any other inside information you can share with us?

 

[Eric's Seagull]

That's cos we fecked up. We shouldn't have let his contract go down to such levels and given it to him the previous season. His demands only went extreme when PSG came in and offered it

Totally agree with you as this is what I have been saying. Too simple for Woody to do.

 

[Amerifan]

Maybe because he got replaced last summer with Dalot and we strengthened again this summer with AWB

Last try. That was my point. Valencia left and no one cared because he was “deadwood”. Lukaku and Herrera leave and we demand replacements. Not deadwood.

 

[Gator Nate]

I'm a little less in favor of losing Smalling because I like his aerial play and thought he worked fairly well with Lindelof. He's a decent bench option. That said, Ole needed to clear out CBs and no one is going to take Jones... Not overly bothered by it. Long term, we're better off for offloading all these players. I'm wondering who takes their places on the top complaints list.

Are we thin? Maybe, but: How many people complaining about not replacing these players are also complaining about Ole not actually playing the youth that he carries on about? Is this going to be an insanely young lineup? Yes. But I'll grab one of those paddles, because the youth are going to get their chance, and they'll make it or not and, if not, next man up.

To be fair to the critics, I do think there is a disconnect between acquisitions and sales, but I put most of that on Woodward and the front office. It wouldn't come as a surprise that it's more incompetence in making deals than a lack of targeting. But we did have too many players, and most of the ones now gone were not a good mesh for Ole's style.

 

[Eric's Seagull]

The Babyfaced Lumberjack, clearing the deadwood one log at a time.

That is a good one.

 

[LARulz]

Totally agree with you as this is what I have been saying. Too simple for Woody to do.

We've done the same with De Gea as well. Now we have been in discussions for ages it seems but it should have been sorted by now - either him signing or being sold. At this point we've lost one of the best keepers in the world for free next summer to Juve or something

 

[Kylar Stern]

Herrera should have stayed, he would have had a big part to play this year and with all the money sitting in the bank doing nothing for the team and the huge hole in midfield it would have been a no brainer to pay him what he wanted.

I also would have kept Smalling - not because he's a guaranteed starter, but for me he was definitely the best of the rest of our massive roster of back up CBs.

More than happy with the rest of the clear out.

 

[romufc]

Last try. That was my point. Valencia left and no one cared because he was “deadwood”. Lukaku and Herrera leave and we demand replacements. Not deadwood.

Well there is 2 things here.

Herrera - The club didn't handle this well and then Ole wanted him but he was already on his way to PSG with a bumper offer. We didnt match it so we didn't sell him persay, he left. Players leave clubs, it is natural.

Lukaku - Ole was never a fan, why keep a player on £200k on the subs when you can get £75m for him. Martial and Rashford replaced him in the ST role.

 

[Eric's Seagull]

We've done the same with De Gea as well. Now we have been in discussions for ages it seems but it should have been sorted by now - either him signing or being sold. At this point we've lost one of the best keepers in the world for free next summer to Juve or something

I agree on that. We've let it get too far and I thought it would have been sorted by now. Hope he signs soon as I would hate for the bit in bold to come true as that would be complete idiocy.

 

[Tom Cato]

You sure it's not ruthlessness of the owners...?

I mean, why wouldn't Solskjaer want Smalling or Fellaini as back-up?

I few injuries and this situation could very, very different for Utd and Solskjaer.

To me, it reeks of greedy owners, and nothing else.

Fellaini was not utilized by OGS at all, and was the first player sent packing long before the season was even over. Why keep a significant contract when he's not even sitting on the bench? The same with Smalling. Smalling or Phil Jones can't even crack the subsitute bench at the club. We don't need BOTH as emergency backups. Of course both Maguire and Lindelöf can get injured, but the odds are not that great. Same goes for all other positions. I am concerned about our left back options, with Shaw out. We are very,very thin there.

So why don't he want them as backups? If he did, he'd put them on the bench. It's not good business for this football club, or any other football club, to have players who can't even crack the first team roster collect a big paycheck, you fill those emergency backup slots with young talent, or cheap cheap options.

Smalling, jones, Dalot, Fred, Matic, Sanchez, Rojo, Darmian.. all players with a good salary,who are either loaned out, about to be, or might see a rare bench appearance this season. That's a lot of money for maybe. I expect Fred to become a useful player, the others are not needed. We started the season with 7 centerbacks, that's just ridiculous.

 

[Ekeke]

If all those names are deadwood, then we have a lot more still to go. And a handful of players to keep

I guess not everyone can be an overpaid mascot

 

[Amerifan]

We've done the same with De Gea as well. Now we have been in discussions for ages it seems but it should have been sorted by now - either him signing or being sold. At this point we've lost one of the best keepers in the world for free next summer to Juve or something

I’ve been thinking a lot about DDG’s contract situation and now I’m wondering if his agent is demanding a Sanchez level salary at the same time we’re cutting the high wage players and sending the message those days are over?

 

[Jack Burke]

We have a good squad not a great squad, City and Liverpool have great squads. Strength and Depth is a key factor to winning titles and competing in every game. One injury in some positions we have some serious problems. To be a world class team you need to have world class players with world class replacements this is the gap we fail to bridge and the difference between Liverpool and City.

I am in favor of shifting some of the "Deadwood" but without a replacements or squad depth is it really the right thing to do?

 

[Rightnr]

IMO Rashford is not average. Rashford is 21, he scores goals, has pace, has energy, has potential of being a United great.

Should we expect a thread for you calling for Lingard to be given a £300k contract because he tries?

Really now. I don't support mediocrity and so Lingard is bin material for me. As for Rashford, he seems to have become another Walcott - 'eternal potential' and no end-product.

What you claim for Rashford also does in no way warrant a wage that 99% of the league's players don't earn and most at top clubs as well. Claiming Herrera was nothing but average but Rashford has some world class potential demonstrates clear bias.

 

[Yagami]

Herrera was our 2nd best CM, Smalling was our 2nd best CB, and Lukaku was one of our better attackers.

As sad as that is for us, it's true, so I don't classify losing any of them as clearing out the deadwood. All 3 should still be here, imo.

 

[romufc]

Really now. I don't support mediocrity and so Lingard is bin material for me. As for Rashford, he seems to have become another Walcott - 'eternal potential' and no end-product.

What you claim for Rashford also does in no way warrant a wage that 99% of the league's players don't earn and most at top clubs as well. Claiming Herrera was nothing but average but Rashford has some world class potential demonstrates clear bias.

Yes, I am Bias because Rashford is 21 with potential. Herrera was 29 and was a squad player.

Eternal potential? he is 21. He has better stats at his age than most strikers, who hit form at 24. There was a 8 year difference in the two players.

 

[ivaldo]

The contract offer was too late in the day, his mind was made up and we didn't want to get into a bidding war over wages.

Yes, and I still don't think he will be missed. So you are saying Herrera is one of the best ball winning CM, so if we concede less goals than last season, clearly we wont miss him. Because a ball winner gets the ball back but we conceded our most goals.

I am not the one who said stats prove it, all I am asking for is you to show me the so called stats that you are refering to, clearly you are making it up in your head if you cannot show us them stats.

PSG play in a farmers league, can't get past the quarter final of champions league, I don't care if they think Herrera is good. He will probably be a bench player for them anyway.

So you agree it’s negligence from our side then? That we did want to keep him, but he royally fecked it up.

Oh yeah. That wouldn’t have anything to to with the £80m CB we signed, or the £50mil fullback, or having the same manager for the full season . Incredible.

Here’s the stats last season for us with and without Herrera circa April. Squawka is down right now so all the previous comparisons done on here are unavailable so there’s this and this and this which reference on his defensive stats over last 3 seasons or so. There’s literally dozens of references that always touch on how often Herrera wins the ball back. Now show me the stats that show Herrera won’t be missed, and that he isn’t a great ball winner. Good luck.

 

[romufc]

So you agree it’s negligence from our side then? That we did want to keep him, but he royally fecked it up.

Oh yeah. That wouldn’t have anything to to with the £80m CB we signed, or the £50mil fullback, or having the same manager for the full season . Incredible.

Here’s the stats last season for us with and without Herrera circa April. Squawka is down right now so all the previous comparisons done on here are unavailable so there’s this and this and this which reference on his defensive stats over last 3 seasons or so. There’s literally dozens of references that always touch on how often Herrera wins the ball back. Now show me the stats that show Herrera won’t be missed, and that he isn’t a great ball winner. Good luck.

Our board have been negligent for a while now, I will not defend them. Woodward has fecked it up.

As I said, lets see at the end, if we finish above 5th, he isnt really missed is he? I just don't think he is a player that we lost and shits going to fall apart. He was a good player that's all.

But I have people on here comparing him to Rashford?

 

[Eric's Seagull]

So you agree it’s negligence from our side then? That we did want to keep him, but he royally fecked it up.

Oh yeah. That wouldn’t have anything to to with the £80m CB we signed, or the £50mil fullback, or having the same manager for the full season . Incredible.

Here’s the stats last season for us with and without Herrera circa April. Squawka is down right now so all the previous comparisons done on here are unavailable so there’s this and this and this which reference on his defensive stats over last 3 seasons or so. There’s literally dozens of references that always touch on how often Herrera wins the ball back. Now show me the stats that show Herrera won’t be missed, and that he isn’t a great ball winner. Good luck.

Very interesting stats. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sp00ks11]

Somehow i think you will be dissapointed with the next transfer windows..

No I doubt it, Maddison and Zaha for me would be realistic, attainable and improve us immensely.

 

[Eli Zee]

Really? Any other inside information you can share with us?

Well I’m basing this on the fact that I believe Ole is not an idiot.... so based on that, I am assuming that he requested more additions to the team than just the 2 defenders and championship LW we signed.

If rashford, martial, or pogba get Injured, we are relying on players that are young, inexperienced, and/or not good enough. We have no squad depth. We cleared out “deadwood” that needed replacing and kept the deadwood that won’t ever actually play

 

[ivaldo]

Our board have been negligent for a while now, I will not defend them. Woodward has fecked it up.

As I said, lets see at the end, if we finish above 5th, he isnt really missed is he? I just don't think he is a player that we lost and shits going to fall apart. He was a good player that's all.

But I have people on here comparing him to Rashford?

Hold up, so you've gone on and on about stats for Herrera, how I've made up his proficiency in ball winning, how he's going to make no difference, and now once I've provided them you're going to ignore it completely? I take it this is you admitting you were wrong.

Course not. We've spent £130mil on defenders; we should be expecting an improvement defensively whether we have a capable midfield in front of them or not. There's so many variables you'd be daft to say if we improve on our disastrous season last year then we haven't missed his contribution. Simply watching our midfield this season should be all the evidence you need.

 

[ivaldo]

Very interesting stats. Thanks for sharing.

No problem. No idea why sqwarka isn't working but the 'per 90' stats for Herrera for every season he's been here have been incredibly impressive. In terms of ball winning ability he's right up there with the best. The criticism has always come from what he does with the ball rather than without it.

 

[MikeKing]

Ship out all first teamers that wasn't good enough to win the league. Instead give the fringe players that didn't get to play much all of the trust to be better, and be disappointed when they do worse than what we did the year before.

Herrera, Smalling have been key players through some of our best performances often carrying the midfield and defence in different periods. To replace them from within, with players that are far worse doesn't really call for much of a celebration.

 

[Keefy18]

Ship out all first teamers that wasn't good enough to win the league. Instead give the fringe players that didn't get to play much all of the trust to be better, and be disappointed when they do worse than what we did the year before.

Herrera, Smalling have been key players through some of our best performances often carrying the midfield and defence in different periods. To replace them from within, with players that are far worse doesn't really call for much of a celebration.

How are they far worse?

If anything McTominay was better last season than Herrera, he sure as feck was in the 2nd half of the season anyway.

Smalling I've always been a fan of, part of me is sorry seeing him leave as I'd preferred to see Jones, Rojo or Bailly moved before him. But I look at all the factors and consider it all and it makes sense.

Doubt we could shift Bailly, due to his injury. Jones and Rojo are injury prone as well and chances are neither are wanted by many clubs. If us plebs here can see how woeful they are, why do we expect qualified football people to invest in them?

Anywho, I've high hopes for Axel. It's his chance now and he'll shine I reckon when he does play!

 

[#07]

So you agree it’s negligence from our side then? That we did want to keep him, but he royally fecked it up.

Oh yeah. That wouldn’t have anything to to with the £80m CB we signed, or the £50mil fullback, or having the same manager for the full season . Incredible.

Here’s the stats last season for us with and without Herrera circa April. Squawka is down right now so all the previous comparisons done on here are unavailable so there’s this and this and this which reference on his defensive stats over last 3 seasons or so. There’s literally dozens of references that always touch on how often Herrera wins the ball back. Now show me the stats that show Herrera won’t be missed, and that he isn’t a great ball winner. Good luck.

We will miss Ander, no doubt about it. We should never have signed Fred. We wasted £50m on an inferior player when we could've just renewed Ander's contract. Even if we'd have increased his wage it would've been less expensive than buying Fred and paying his wages for the next few years.

However, when it comes to the rest of Deadwood FC, I'm glad to see Ole clearing the whole lot out. Even if we can't bring replacements in, I can't see many of them performing better than an enthusiastic young player might do. At this point its not a case that a Brandon Williams or a Jimmy Garner will be much better than Deadwood FC. Its the fact that they cannot conceivably be much worse and will benefit from the minutes, in terms of maturing as players, much more than Deadwood FC. Lets invest in our future and wave goodbye to the past that's failed us over these past six years.

 

[izzydiggler]

I’m not upset to see any of them go but not having getting replacements in was criminal. In many areas our squad is weak not just in quality but numbers.

Seen a few people claim getting rid of deadwood was what everyone wanted. People wanted crap squad players gone but because it would mean better ones coming in. Instead what we have is a potentially disastrous ‘No deal’ despite the empty promise of sunlit uplands.

 

[ivaldo]

We will miss Ander, no doubt about it. We should never have signed Fred. We wasted £50m on an inferior player when we could've just renewed Ander's contract. Even if we'd have increased his wage it would've been less expensive than buying Fred and paying his wages for the next few years.

However, when it comes to the rest of Deadwood FC, I'm glad to see Ole clearing the whole lot out. Even if we can't bring replacements in, I can't see many of them performing better than an enthusiastic young player might do. At this point its not a case that a Brandon Williams or a Jimmy Garner will be much better than Deadwood FC. Its the fact that they cannot conceivably be much worse and will benefit from the minutes, in terms of maturing as players, much more than Deadwood FC. Lets invest in our future and wave goodbye to the past that's failed us over these past six years.

Agree wholeheartedly. Herrera sticks out on that list because Ole didn’t try to move him on, he did just the opposite.

The other names on that list all needed to go, and Ole has done that in some form or another. We have the most talented group of youngsters in years, now is the time to implement them into the first team. I would’ve liked to have see some reinforcements but I’m not certainly not devastated we will see the likes of Tuanzebe and Greenwood getting a shot.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

The problem with the clearout is there hasnt been any replacements, leaving us rather thin across most of the pitch.

Especially now Lukakus gone.

 

[MikeKing]

How are they far worse?

If anything McTominay was better last season than Herrera, he sure as feck was in the 2nd half of the season anyway.

Smalling I've always been a fan of, part of me is sorry seeing him leave as I'd preferred to see Jones, Rojo or Bailly moved before him. But I look at all the factors and consider it all and it makes sense.

Doubt we could shift Bailly, due to his injury. Jones and Rojo are injury prone as well and chances are neither are wanted by many clubs. If us plebs here can see how woeful they are, why do we expect qualified football people to invest in them?

Anywho, I've high hopes for Axel. It's his chance now and he'll shine I reckon when he does play!

I like McTominay, and he is a young player coming through, that isn't my concern. Although the way he is expected to carry the midfield is unfair on both him and Pogba. I'm talking about Fred too, and still Matic is around. We haven't replaced Carrick, Fellaini or Herrera and are looking to phase out both Fred and Matic. Like who is going to play?

I don't think anyone would want Rojo or Jones, my problem with it is this, why do we? Why do we want them, while letting go of Smalling? That is weakening the squad for the grand purpose of giving worse players an easier route to the first team. All it takes is an injury to Maguire or Axel needing a bit of time and they're first choice again.

 

[Tony247]

IMO Rashford is not average. Rashford is 21, he scores goals, has pace, has energy, has potential of being a United great.

Should we expect a thread for you calling for Lingard to be given a £300k contract because he tries?

Its not about young age but how long he is playing and what improvement he is showing. In last 3 years he has not shown significant improvement in taking position in 18 yard box, heading the ball, creatively getting involved in build up. All parameters are almost stagnant.

I just hope in next 2 years he shows what he's got. Otherwise we are going to witness making of another deadwood.

 

[AgentP]

Definitely very happy with the clear-out. This will make things so much clear for everyone else. If you are not upto the standards, then you are out. Ed won't have his typical excuse of 'we need to sell before we buy' next summer. This season will also be a wonderful opportunity for our youngsters to show that they are good enough to play for the first team. Depending on who steps up and who can't make the cut, we'll have a very clear idea about where all we need to focus in the summer window. If we continue playing positively even if we get poor results and don't win anything, I'll be happy to keep faith in Ole.

 

[thegregster]

Snalling and Sanchez will be back here next summer.

It's just kicking the can down the road.

 

[Keefy18]

I like McTominay, and he is a young player coming through, that isn't my concern. Although the way he is expected to carry the midfield is unfair on both him and Pogba. I'm talking about Fred too, and still Matic is around. We haven't replaced Carrick, Fellaini or Herrera and are looking to phase out both Fred and Matic. Like who is going to play?

I don't think anyone would want Rojo or Jones, my problem with it is this, why do we? Why do we want them, while letting go of Smalling? That is weakening the squad for the grand purpose of giving worse players an easier route to the first team. All it takes is an injury to Maguire or Axel needing a bit of time and they're first choice again.

They haven't been replaced because we've been stupid in our transfer dealings for years.

We are where we are and we have to grin and bear it for the foreseeable now. If Ole and Mike can get Fred playing, it'll be like a new signing. We might start seeing Garner play more as well and I've big hopes for him as well in the years ahead. Depending on the opposition, Matic can still do a job here n there but Ole is right to drop him and give him a break after Jose played him into the ground.

We don't want them I'd suggest. I reckon Ole probably wants another CB as well. Our main 4 CB's going forward will probably be Vic, Harry, Axel and Jones... The latter will be moved on next year with a replacement either stepping up from youth or another signing.