The Green Shoots of Recovery: Lessons Learned - Patience Imperative!

[Lentwood]

This is the sort of attitude I don’t get. You have NO idea what our summer window will be like, yet you choose to believe already that it’ll be crap - when we have, for the first time in over half a decade, actually signed players that have come in, done well and have been our best players.

We’ve had one window of this new transfer policy, under a new manager and so far it’s worked. We’ve got rid of players that most deemed “not good enough” (despite the crying that we need them all of sudden because we aren’t winning every week, even though we were in this mess with the same players). We’ve signed two, youngsters who add something to the team (AWB is by far and away the best rb we’ve had since Rafael) and an experienced centre back to finally start sorting out our shoddy backline.

And here you are complaining that our next window won’t be good. A pointlessly negative opinion based on absolutely nothing. I bet you were the type to be jumping for joy when we signed Falcao, then complain about Woodward when he turned out to be a flop. The exact type of “fan” described in the first post.

Agree with all of the above

 

[Grande]

You could say English (or Norwegian) people are self-contradictive. They want to leave the EU and they want to stay in the EU at the same time. Probably not the same people, though.

That said, I think you have a lot of fair points in your analysis. I’m on board with the general direction of changes, and I’m under no illusion that any manager could make United challenge for the title within a season or two anyway at this point.

The most frustrating to me since May, was seeing that Solskjær obviously didn’t get the players in he wanted. He got two defensive players, and seeing how well they’ve slotted in, makes you think what could’ve happened if he got three attacking ones as well. I think there’s not a soul in May who didn’t think we should look to move in 4-5 players, Solskjær included, and I’m quite sure noone was thinking at this Welsh lad frim the Championship as one of those. I’m also quite sure most people would agree on moving on Lukaku and shipping out Sanchez, and nobody (clearly not Solskjær) expected us to move them and Herrera (and Fellaini) on without bringing someone in. Whose fault it is, we don’t know, but Woodward and Glazers are obviously prime suspects.

Obviously, having only so far inconsistent Pogba, Martial and Rashford as established top class players going into the season is risking it, in fact it’s not risking it: It’s evident that we will struggle when they are injured or have expected bad patches of form. Now all of them are injured, and regardless of defense, our attack is mid table level at very best when these are out of form or out. With the economical development of the mid table of PL these last years, does anyone really disagree with that?

So we know we will be somewhere from 3rd to 10th this season. With luck, Pogba getting injury free and stepping up, Rashford and Martial finding consistent goals, we’re good enough to fight for CL spots. A bit of bad luck with injuries etc, and we’re not going to be able to get there. Not strengthening a part of the pitch where four players have left and at least two more are at a deteriorating stage of their carreer and were not world beaters to begin with, it’s simple maths really.

If it was Solskjær’s choice to waiver on two or three star names because he is so adamant we need other players to make real development, he’s obviously has got not just a clear vision but also huge balls. I think he’s coolheaded enough, but I don’t think he’d have said no to a midfielder and a striker/right forward of the kind you could get for the money we (should) have.

If it’s Woodward/Glazers choice, it’s bold if they actually mean it and are going to give Solskjær the leeway to perhaps even end mid table this year and fork out for the ideal reinforcements come summer.

If they however don’t they’ll have shot themselves (and worse, Man United) in the foot once again. They’ll have spent two full seasons with managers they don’t back in the market and then lay the blame on. If that turns out to have been the case, I’m not sure what I will do.

 

[Shalashaska]

If you read the papers (stop immediately!) you would believe that United are a shambles, the worst we've ever been, leaderless, without hope, without direction.

Now, I don't believe that to be the case. I believe that finally, after 15yrs of bad decisions, we're starting to make some good decisions and that there are some reasons to be positive.

1) We shouldn't focus too much on individual results. Yes we were poor against West Ham but our already thin and inexperienced squad was decimated by injuries. Even allowing for that, it was only two great finishes and a couple of missed chances on our part (Mata and Maguire) that separated the two teams. I'll warn fans now, there will be plenty more of these bad results to come as the season unfolds. However, when all of our players are fit, I still believe that we are comfortably a top six side.

2) Now, I appreciate talking about being 'comfortably a top six side' won't get too many of you excited about the idea of being positive! However, clearly the club are in the process of undoing the mistakes they have made post-SAF. We had assembled a very expensive side of mercenary footballers, nearly men and players with contrasting styles. The objective, since Ole came in, has clearly been to get rid of these players. We've seen Fellaini, Herrera, Darmian, Smalling, Lukaku, Sanchez and Valencia leave since last January and I for one am not sorry to see any of them go.

3) However, obviously letting these senior players go is going to hurt us in the short-term. Sanchez is a much better player than Chong. Lukaku is a much better CF than Marcus Rashford. Herrera is a much better midfielder than Pereira. Nevertheless, none of those players were up to the standard required - remember, we haven't just been bad this season, we've been bad for nearly six years! Now the challenge is to replace them, but again I am not sorry that we didn't attempt to do that in one window. I can say with certainty that had we tried to bring in six or seven players last summer, we would have been right back to square one in two seasons time complaining about more flops and more deadwood

4) So what of the signings we did make? Well, I think fairly unanimously across the board, we all agree that James, Maguire and AWB are all the right type of signing. They all improve the team, they are all the right age and they all have the right attitude. James was a gamble that appears to be paying off - the type of signing RedCafe regulars have championed for years. Maguire and AWB were safe bets. No longer are we pissing around in the £10m-£30m market for defenders, we went straight in with the big bucks for two top talents and paid the necessary.

5) So, imagine if we continue with this approach into next Summer. It is very clear to all that we need an attack-minded CM/AMC and wingers/a CF. Let's say that by the end of next Summer, we have added three more quality players to the squad, one CM, one AMC, one CF. Suddenly, throw Paul Pogba, Martial, James and Rashford into the equation and we've not only got a solid back four, we've a solid midfield and an exciting attack

6) In previous seasons, it's been hard to know where the re-build should begin. At times, it's looked as though all XI outfield players needed to be replaced. I think we're starting to get to the point were we have six/seven very good players in the starting XI, admittedly supported by three or four who probably are not the standard required. This can be easily fixed though, we're still a big club with big cash reserves.

7) Many will notice I have not commented on Ole. I personally do not believe Ole is the man to win trophies at Man Utd. HOWEVER, I do believe he is the right man for the job right now. What's required now is a man who, to a certain extent, is just happy to be there. A man who is positive and will have most of the fans and ex-players on side. Many have accused Ole of being a puppet, but I really fail to see how moaning and whingeing about signings helps anybody, especially not in September when the window is shut! Let's allow Ole to oversee the clearout and keep things ticking over, then when we have the squad in-shape and ready to challenge top four/top two, we thank Ole for his efforts and move for a manager like Pochettino.

So in summary, it's not all doom and gloom. Yes, it's going to be tough at times this season, however, change can be hard and pursuing quick fixes is what's gotten us into this mess. Let's get behind Ole and the team this season and try to rise above the toxic fans and toxic media. Of course fans want the Board to spend more money, make more signings etc.... but it has to be done the right way.

Totally agree with everything here, some really well put points.

People are quick to question if the lack of squad depth is punishing us, but I don't think we would be any better off right now in terms of results if we hadn't got rid of all the players we have in the last two windows. If Lukaku was still here maybe we would have converted a chance or two against Palace, but I think that would be the only difference.

The problem with signing star names is that the club they are coming from is happy to sell them for a reason. Real Madrid didn't have to sell Di Maria to us for the money, they were done with him. Monaco wanted Falcao off their wage bill. Bayern didn't want to give Schweinsteiger a new contract. Arsenal were happy to get a player for Sanchez rather than letting him go free 5 months later.

If we spend big money on a player it should be because the club don't want to sell. Maguire and AWB were both wanted by their clubs, so we had to pay over the odds to pry them away. We had to break the world record to sign Pogba, who like him or loathe him is undoubtedly our most talented player.

This year's transfer business has been very good, there are still gaps, but until next summer we will try to blood the youth players and hope to find a gem without going into the market again.

The future will be bright if we continue to have summer windows like this one, there are still some players that need moving on (Rojo, Jones, Matic... to name a few) but the majority of the fat has been trimmed.

 

[matt10000]

If you read the papers (stop immediately!) you would believe that United are a shambles, the worst we've ever been, leaderless, without hope, without direction.

Now, I don't believe that to be the case. I believe that finally, after 15yrs of bad decisions, we're starting to make some good decisions and that there are some reasons to be positive.

1) We shouldn't focus too much on individual results. Yes we were poor against West Ham but our already thin and inexperienced squad was decimated by injuries. Even allowing for that, it was only two great finishes and a couple of missed chances on our part (Mata and Maguire) that separated the two teams. I'll warn fans now, there will be plenty more of these bad results to come as the season unfolds. However, when all of our players are fit, I still believe that we are comfortably a top six side.

2) Now, I appreciate talking about being 'comfortably a top six side' won't get too many of you excited about the idea of being positive! However, clearly the club are in the process of undoing the mistakes they have made post-SAF. We had assembled a very expensive side of mercenary footballers, nearly men and players with contrasting styles. The objective, since Ole came in, has clearly been to get rid of these players. We've seen Fellaini, Herrera, Darmian, Smalling, Lukaku, Sanchez and Valencia leave since last January and I for one am not sorry to see any of them go.

3) However, obviously letting these senior players go is going to hurt us in the short-term. Sanchez is a much better player than Chong. Lukaku is a much better CF than Marcus Rashford. Herrera is a much better midfielder than Pereira. Nevertheless, none of those players were up to the standard required - remember, we haven't just been bad this season, we've been bad for nearly six years! Now the challenge is to replace them, but again I am not sorry that we didn't attempt to do that in one window. I can say with certainty that had we tried to bring in six or seven players last summer, we would have been right back to square one in two seasons time complaining about more flops and more deadwood

4) So what of the signings we did make? Well, I think fairly unanimously across the board, we all agree that James, Maguire and AWB are all the right type of signing. They all improve the team, they are all the right age and they all have the right attitude. James was a gamble that appears to be paying off - the type of signing RedCafe regulars have championed for years. Maguire and AWB were safe bets. No longer are we pissing around in the £10m-£30m market for defenders, we went straight in with the big bucks for two top talents and paid the necessary.

5) So, imagine if we continue with this approach into next Summer. It is very clear to all that we need an attack-minded CM/AMC and wingers/a CF. Let's say that by the end of next Summer, we have added three more quality players to the squad, one CM, one AMC, one CF. Suddenly, throw Paul Pogba, Martial, James and Rashford into the equation and we've not only got a solid back four, we've a solid midfield and an exciting attack

6) In previous seasons, it's been hard to know where the re-build should begin. At times, it's looked as though all XI outfield players needed to be replaced. I think we're starting to get to the point were we have six/seven very good players in the starting XI, admittedly supported by three or four who probably are not the standard required. This can be easily fixed though, we're still a big club with big cash reserves.

7) Many will notice I have not commented on Ole. I personally do not believe Ole is the man to win trophies at Man Utd. HOWEVER, I do believe he is the right man for the job right now. What's required now is a man who, to a certain extent, is just happy to be there. A man who is positive and will have most of the fans and ex-players on side. Many have accused Ole of being a puppet, but I really fail to see how moaning and whingeing about signings helps anybody, especially not in September when the window is shut! Let's allow Ole to oversee the clearout and keep things ticking over, then when we have the squad in-shape and ready to challenge top four/top two, we thank Ole for his efforts and move for a manager like Pochettino.

So in summary, it's not all doom and gloom. Yes, it's going to be tough at times this season, however, change can be hard and pursuing quick fixes is what's gotten us into this mess. Let's get behind Ole and the team this season and try to rise above the toxic fans and toxic media. Of course fans want the Board to spend more money, make more signings etc.... but it has to be done the right way.

Thank you for taking the time to write this the most sensible post I have read on here.

 

[redIndianDevil]

This is the sort of attitude I don’t get. You have NO idea what our summer window will be like, yet you choose to believe already that it’ll be crap - when we have, for the first time in over half a decade, actually signed players that have come in, done well and have been our best players.

We’ve had one window of this new transfer policy, under a new manager and so far it’s worked. We’ve got rid of players that most deemed “not good enough” (despite the crying that we need them all of sudden because we aren’t winning every week, even though we were in this mess with the same players). We’ve signed two, youngsters who add something to the team (AWB is by far and away the best rb we’ve had since Rafael) and an experienced centre back to finally start sorting out our shoddy backline.

And here you are complaining that our next window won’t be good. A pointlessly negative opinion based on absolutely nothing. I bet you were the type to be jumping for joy when we signed Falcao, then complain about Woodward when he turned out to be a flop. The exact type of “fan” described in the first post.

I'm not saying our transfer window will definitely be shit but the original posters only point was that since we signed good players(jury is still out by the way) under OGS we do the same all over again, even Mourinho had one good window.

My point is that buying players is secondary, the primary thing should be our manager must be capable of doing some coaching, he can't just buy good players and hope it all clicks.

My other point was that, a CB and RB slot directly into a side but the same cannot be said for an attacking midfielder, we all know Dybala is a very good player but he might struggle in a different setup, some wingers will work in a style while some wingers will not. What I'm trying to say is that we need a manager who at least tries to coach a system and buys players who fit that system instead of buying "good" players generally.

While i agree that I'm not a overly positive person, I'm not that negative either, I'm always cautious in all things not just in support of Manchester United, I'm always cautious about players who are seriously injured just like Falcao was but it didn't cost us much so I was happy we got him on loan.

 

[matt10000]

I'm not saying our transfer window will definitely be shit but the original posters only point was that since we signed good players(jury is still out by the way) under OGS we do the same all over again, even Mourinho had one good window.

My point is that buying players is secondary, the primary thing should be our manager must be capable of doing some coaching, he can't just buy good players and hope it all clicks.

My other point was that, a CB and RB slot directly into a side but the same cannot be said for an attacking midfielder, we all know Dybala is a very good player but he might struggle in a different setup, some wingers will work in a style while some wingers will not. What I'm trying to say is that we need a manager who at least tries to coach a system and buys players who fit that system instead of buying "good" players generally.

While i agree that I'm not a overly positive person, I'm not that negative either, I'm always cautious in all things not just in support of Manchester United, I'm always cautious about players who are seriously injured just like Falcao was but it didn't cost us much so I was happy we got him on loan.

I bet Ole hasnt thought of that maybe you should advise him so he knows to do a bit of coaching

 

[ash_86]

If you read the papers (stop immediately!) you would believe that United are a shambles, the worst we've ever been, leaderless, without hope, without direction.

Now, I don't believe that to be the case. I believe that finally, after 15yrs of bad decisions, we're starting to make some good decisions and that there are some reasons to be positive.

1) We shouldn't focus too much on individual results. Yes we were poor against West Ham but our already thin and inexperienced squad was decimated by injuries. Even allowing for that, it was only two great finishes and a couple of missed chances on our part (Mata and Maguire) that separated the two teams. I'll warn fans now, there will be plenty more of these bad results to come as the season unfolds. However, when all of our players are fit, I still believe that we are comfortably a top six side.

2) Now, I appreciate talking about being 'comfortably a top six side' won't get too many of you excited about the idea of being positive! However, clearly the club are in the process of undoing the mistakes they have made post-SAF. We had assembled a very expensive side of mercenary footballers, nearly men and players with contrasting styles. The objective, since Ole came in, has clearly been to get rid of these players. We've seen Fellaini, Herrera, Darmian, Smalling, Lukaku, Sanchez and Valencia leave since last January and I for one am not sorry to see any of them go.

3) However, obviously letting these senior players go is going to hurt us in the short-term. Sanchez is a much better player than Chong. Lukaku is a much better CF than Marcus Rashford. Herrera is a much better midfielder than Pereira. Nevertheless, none of those players were up to the standard required - remember, we haven't just been bad this season, we've been bad for nearly six years! Now the challenge is to replace them, but again I am not sorry that we didn't attempt to do that in one window. I can say with certainty that had we tried to bring in six or seven players last summer, we would have been right back to square one in two seasons time complaining about more flops and more deadwood

4) So what of the signings we did make? Well, I think fairly unanimously across the board, we all agree that James, Maguire and AWB are all the right type of signing. They all improve the team, they are all the right age and they all have the right attitude. James was a gamble that appears to be paying off - the type of signing RedCafe regulars have championed for years. Maguire and AWB were safe bets. No longer are we pissing around in the £10m-£30m market for defenders, we went straight in with the big bucks for two top talents and paid the necessary.

5) So, imagine if we continue with this approach into next Summer. It is very clear to all that we need an attack-minded CM/AMC and wingers/a CF. Let's say that by the end of next Summer, we have added three more quality players to the squad, one CM, one AMC, one CF. Suddenly, throw Paul Pogba, Martial, James and Rashford into the equation and we've not only got a solid back four, we've a solid midfield and an exciting attack

6) In previous seasons, it's been hard to know where the re-build should begin. At times, it's looked as though all XI outfield players needed to be replaced. I think we're starting to get to the point were we have six/seven very good players in the starting XI, admittedly supported by three or four who probably are not the standard required. This can be easily fixed though, we're still a big club with big cash reserves.

7) Many will notice I have not commented on Ole. I personally do not believe Ole is the man to win trophies at Man Utd. HOWEVER, I do believe he is the right man for the job right now. What's required now is a man who, to a certain extent, is just happy to be there. A man who is positive and will have most of the fans and ex-players on side. Many have accused Ole of being a puppet, but I really fail to see how moaning and whingeing about signings helps anybody, especially not in September when the window is shut! Let's allow Ole to oversee the clearout and keep things ticking over, then when we have the squad in-shape and ready to challenge top four/top two, we thank Ole for his efforts and move for a manager like Pochettino.

So in summary, it's not all doom and gloom. Yes, it's going to be tough at times this season, however, change can be hard and pursuing quick fixes is what's gotten us into this mess. Let's get behind Ole and the team this season and try to rise above the toxic fans and toxic media. Of course fans want the Board to spend more money, make more signings etc.... but it has to be done the right way.

Good post.

 

[redIndianDevil]

I bet Ole hasnt thought of that maybe you should advise him so he knows to do a bit of coaching

What is even the point of this post? Do you know how an online football forum works?

 

[matt10000]

What is even the point of this post? Do you know how an online football forum works?

Yes it’s even called sarcasm even

 

[Fitchett]

Excellent posts Lentwood.
OGS is the right man to implement our transition at this stage and shows all the long term strategic thinking I would expect to see in a DOF/TD.
But, I wouldn't rule him out as a long term manager for us. A really tactically astute coach alongside him could make a big difference. Think of how much more effective SAF was when he had the likes of McLaren or Queiroz alongside him, as opposed to the spells when he was working without a coach alongside him.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Are you sure this is the same people as you say, or different posters having different opinions?

This seems highly likely. There are some morons on the caf but the whole point of a forum is you get a load of different opinions, particularly when it comes to transfer targets.

Personally, my thoughts are we should give patience in bucket loads to the right manager but make sure we have the right one. I'm 100% confident Ole isn't an elite level manager but also 100% hoping he proves me wrong, all I want is success and for us to really create an identity again - I'm more than happy to wait for that to happen even if there are big bumps on the way. I guess I just don't believe at the moment.

 

[JohnnyKills]

We should definitely keep faith with the project.

Whether Ole's the right man, time will tell. But the overall direction of travel is correct.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Excellent posts Lentwood.
OGS is the right man to implement our transition at this stage and shows all the long term strategic thinking I would expect to see in a DOF/TD.
But, I wouldn't rule him out as a long term manager for us. A really tactically astute coach alongside him could make a big difference. Think of how much more effective SAF was when he had the likes of McLaren or Queiroz alongside him, as opposed to the spells when he was working without a coach alongside him.

Isn't the DoF supposed to have contacts and relationships with agents though? Not sure OGS has those.

 

[alexthelion]

If you read the papers (stop immediately!) you would believe that United are a shambles, the worst we've ever been, leaderless, without hope, without direction.

Now, I don't believe that to be the case. I believe that finally, after 15yrs of bad decisions, we're starting to make some good decisions and that there are some reasons to be positive.

1) We shouldn't focus too much on individual results. Yes we were poor against West Ham but our already thin and inexperienced squad was decimated by injuries. Even allowing for that, it was only two great finishes and a couple of missed chances on our part (Mata and Maguire) that separated the two teams. I'll warn fans now, there will be plenty more of these bad results to come as the season unfolds. However, when all of our players are fit, I still believe that we are comfortably a top six side.

2) Now, I appreciate talking about being 'comfortably a top six side' won't get too many of you excited about the idea of being positive! However, clearly the club are in the process of undoing the mistakes they have made post-SAF. We had assembled a very expensive side of mercenary footballers, nearly men and players with contrasting styles. The objective, since Ole came in, has clearly been to get rid of these players. We've seen Fellaini, Herrera, Darmian, Smalling, Lukaku, Sanchez and Valencia leave since last January and I for one am not sorry to see any of them go.

3) However, obviously letting these senior players go is going to hurt us in the short-term. Sanchez is a much better player than Chong. Lukaku is a much better CF than Marcus Rashford. Herrera is a much better midfielder than Pereira. Nevertheless, none of those players were up to the standard required - remember, we haven't just been bad this season, we've been bad for nearly six years! Now the challenge is to replace them, but again I am not sorry that we didn't attempt to do that in one window. I can say with certainty that had we tried to bring in six or seven players last summer, we would have been right back to square one in two seasons time complaining about more flops and more deadwood

4) So what of the signings we did make? Well, I think fairly unanimously across the board, we all agree that James, Maguire and AWB are all the right type of signing. They all improve the team, they are all the right age and they all have the right attitude. James was a gamble that appears to be paying off - the type of signing RedCafe regulars have championed for years. Maguire and AWB were safe bets. No longer are we pissing around in the £10m-£30m market for defenders, we went straight in with the big bucks for two top talents and paid the necessary.

5) So, imagine if we continue with this approach into next Summer. It is very clear to all that we need an attack-minded CM/AMC and wingers/a CF. Let's say that by the end of next Summer, we have added three more quality players to the squad, one CM, one AMC, one CF. Suddenly, throw Paul Pogba, Martial, James and Rashford into the equation and we've not only got a solid back four, we've a solid midfield and an exciting attack

6) In previous seasons, it's been hard to know where the re-build should begin. At times, it's looked as though all XI outfield players needed to be replaced. I think we're starting to get to the point were we have six/seven very good players in the starting XI, admittedly supported by three or four who probably are not the standard required. This can be easily fixed though, we're still a big club with big cash reserves.

7) Many will notice I have not commented on Ole. I personally do not believe Ole is the man to win trophies at Man Utd. HOWEVER, I do believe he is the right man for the job right now. What's required now is a man who, to a certain extent, is just happy to be there. A man who is positive and will have most of the fans and ex-players on side. Many have accused Ole of being a puppet, but I really fail to see how moaning and whingeing about signings helps anybody, especially not in September when the window is shut! Let's allow Ole to oversee the clearout and keep things ticking over, then when we have the squad in-shape and ready to challenge top four/top two, we thank Ole for his efforts and move for a manager like Pochettino.

So in summary, it's not all doom and gloom. Yes, it's going to be tough at times this season, however, change can be hard and pursuing quick fixes is what's gotten us into this mess. Let's get behind Ole and the team this season and try to rise above the toxic fans and toxic media. Of course fans want the Board to spend more money, make more signings etc.... but it has to be done the right way.

Some sanity on the caf? What am I seeing?

 

[bond19821982]

What's our identity in play ? What sort of game plan do we have ? Show me some progress in our game play and I will wait 5 years (let alone 3 years )

Dont tell we dont have players to do that. The right Coaching is all about making the below average players play better. Like Klopp did with a below average Liverpool team, like Bielsa did with Leeds in championship ,like Norwich is playing now, like potter is making the BHA team play.

Fact is , while we have learnt the lesson in transfers, we have lost our way in getting the right manager in. It has to be a combination of both .

 

[Rafaeldagold]

We should definitely keep faith with the project.

Whether Ole's the right man, time will tell. But the overall direction of travel is correct.

No it isn’t!! How blind are people??

We’ve got worse since he’s taken over with no identity being developed. We’re boring & losing games..

The league is laughing at us for sticking with Ole. It’s time to fcking wake up & have some standards

 

[Fitchett]

Isn't the DoF supposed to have contacts and relationships with agents though? Not sure OGS has those.

Good point, but I'm sure he has some contacts and relationships with them. My main point was that he is demonstrating that he has a long-term strategic vision of where he wants the club to go. Of course, he must also overcome the short term aims of getting results, whilst the team is in transition.

 

[Duafc]

If you read the papers (stop immediately!) you would believe that United are a shambles, the worst we've ever been, leaderless, without hope, without direction.

Now, I don't believe that to be the case. I believe that finally, after 15yrs of bad decisions, we're starting to make some good decisions and that there are some reasons to be positive.

1) We shouldn't focus too much on individual results. Yes we were poor against West Ham but our already thin and inexperienced squad was decimated by injuries. Even allowing for that, it was only two great finishes and a couple of missed chances on our part (Mata and Maguire) that separated the two teams. I'll warn fans now, there will be plenty more of these bad results to come as the season unfolds. However, when all of our players are fit, I still believe that we are comfortably a top six side.

2) Now, I appreciate talking about being 'comfortably a top six side' won't get too many of you excited about the idea of being positive! However, clearly the club are in the process of undoing the mistakes they have made post-SAF. We had assembled a very expensive side of mercenary footballers, nearly men and players with contrasting styles. The objective, since Ole came in, has clearly been to get rid of these players. We've seen Fellaini, Herrera, Darmian, Smalling, Lukaku, Sanchez and Valencia leave since last January and I for one am not sorry to see any of them go.

3) However, obviously letting these senior players go is going to hurt us in the short-term. Sanchez is a much better player than Chong. Lukaku is a much better CF than Marcus Rashford. Herrera is a much better midfielder than Pereira. Nevertheless, none of those players were up to the standard required - remember, we haven't just been bad this season, we've been bad for nearly six years! Now the challenge is to replace them, but again I am not sorry that we didn't attempt to do that in one window. I can say with certainty that had we tried to bring in six or seven players last summer, we would have been right back to square one in two seasons time complaining about more flops and more deadwood

4) So what of the signings we did make? Well, I think fairly unanimously across the board, we all agree that James, Maguire and AWB are all the right type of signing. They all improve the team, they are all the right age and they all have the right attitude. James was a gamble that appears to be paying off - the type of signing RedCafe regulars have championed for years. Maguire and AWB were safe bets. No longer are we pissing around in the £10m-£30m market for defenders, we went straight in with the big bucks for two top talents and paid the necessary.

5) So, imagine if we continue with this approach into next Summer. It is very clear to all that we need an attack-minded CM/AMC and wingers/a CF. Let's say that by the end of next Summer, we have added three more quality players to the squad, one CM, one AMC, one CF. Suddenly, throw Paul Pogba, Martial, James and Rashford into the equation and we've not only got a solid back four, we've a solid midfield and an exciting attack

6) In previous seasons, it's been hard to know where the re-build should begin. At times, it's looked as though all XI outfield players needed to be replaced. I think we're starting to get to the point were we have six/seven very good players in the starting XI, admittedly supported by three or four who probably are not the standard required. This can be easily fixed though, we're still a big club with big cash reserves.

7) Many will notice I have not commented on Ole. I personally do not believe Ole is the man to win trophies at Man Utd. HOWEVER, I do believe he is the right man for the job right now. What's required now is a man who, to a certain extent, is just happy to be there. A man who is positive and will have most of the fans and ex-players on side. Many have accused Ole of being a puppet, but I really fail to see how moaning and whingeing about signings helps anybody, especially not in September when the window is shut! Let's allow Ole to oversee the clearout and keep things ticking over, then when we have the squad in-shape and ready to challenge top four/top two, we thank Ole for his efforts and move for a manager like Pochettino.

So in summary, it's not all doom and gloom. Yes, it's going to be tough at times this season, however, change can be hard and pursuing quick fixes is what's gotten us into this mess. Let's get behind Ole and the team this season and try to rise above the toxic fans and toxic media. Of course fans want the Board to spend more money, make more signings etc.... but it has to be done the right way.

Thoroughly agree.

 

[Bastian]

What's our identity in play ? What sort of game plan do we have ? Show me some progress in our game play and I will wait 5 years (let alone 3 years )

Dont tell we dont have players to do that. The right Coaching is all about making the below average players play better. Like Klopp did with a below average Liverpool team, like Bielsa did with Leeds in championship ,like Norwich is playing now, like potter is making the BHA team play.

Fact is , while we have learnt the lesson in transfers, we have lost our way in getting the right manager in. It has to be a combination of both .

My sentiments too.

@Lentwood you're presenting the narrative that finally we have a clue about how to go forward, in that we signed 3 players that are suitable and shipped off a few that needed to go. I agree like most people that we made good signings. And maybe not a popular opinion but I think everyone who left needed to go, and more still. However, I fail to see any identifiable style in Ole's team and hearing him before and after games makes me think he's totally out of depth. I'm not sure he can be a placeholder until we get a top manager given how quickly things are getting out of hand.

And it's not easy signing 3 top players to significantly improve the first XI next summer if we are infamous for our tumescent football and terrible morale.

I understand patience is vital in a long-term sensible approach. It's not that I don't have it. It's that I don't think anything has really changed upstairs and that Ole is also a pretty terrible manager. The only hope I have for this turning out any way positive is if pressure mounts on Woodward - he gets more and more ridiculed in the press - and we finally have a top DoF with actual authority to make big decisions.

It's easy to frame things to suit a nice story - that had we signed 3-4 players more this summer we'd be same as before. Well, that depends on the players right? And it also depends on their manager's ability to coach and motivate them, right?

I was with you 100% in the Glazer thread, but I'm afraid here we don't have the required intelligence at the club behind this new direction. Not at board level, in the coaching staff and certainly not playing staff. Who is supposed to lead this journey? We went for two safe bet defenders - and got taken to the cleaners for one of them - and sent two high earners out on loan. Herrera was not a club decision. And that bit with letting players on huge contracts leave, we still reward those who stay with huge deals, Shaw, Rashford, Martial, Lingard, they're probably all paid a lot more than what they could dream of elsewhere. Hence my point, nothing major has changed really.

 

[Lentwood]

What's our identity in play ? What sort of game plan do we have ? Show me some progress in our game play and I will wait 5 years (let alone 3 years )

Dont tell we dont have players to do that. The right Coaching is all about making the below average players play better. Like Klopp did with a below average Liverpool team, like Bielsa did with Leeds in championship ,like Norwich is playing now, like potter is making the BHA team play.

Fact is , while we have learnt the lesson in transfers, we have lost our way in getting the right manager in. It has to be a combination of both .

Klopp/Michael Edwards have signed 22 players at Liverpool for a combined £420m

Solskjaer has signed three at United.

I honestly believe people don’t quite appreciate how poor some of our players are. I keep seeing posters going on about coaching, do we honestly believe Lingard, Pereira, Rashford and Mata would be tearing it up under Klopp?

The way I see it, we have half a football team at the moment. We can’t judge any manager until we have XI round pegs in XI round holes across the pitch and at least a 7/10 player in every position

Klopp didn’t go into Liverpool and coach Matip, Lovren, Mignolet, Joe Allen, Sturridge and Benteke until they became better players, the club got rid and bought in Fabinho, Mane, Salah and van Dijk

See also Pep “4th in his first season” Guardiola

 

[Galactic]

I like the OP.

 

[Wolff]

Very refreshing read! Well done!

 

[Valuedrug]

My sentiments too.

@Lentwood you're presenting the narrative that finally we have a clue about how to go forward, in that we signed 3 players that are suitable and shipped off a few that needed to go. I agree like most people that we made good signings. And maybe not a popular opinion but I think everyone who left needed to go, and more still. However, I fail to see any identifiable style in Ole's team and hearing him before and after games makes me think he's totally out of depth. I'm not sure he can be a placeholder until we get a top manager given how quickly things are getting out of hand.

And it's not easy signing 3 top players to significantly improve the first XI next summer if we are infamous for our tumescent football and terrible morale.

I understand patience is vital in a long-term sensible approach. It's not that I don't have it. It's that I don't think anything has really changed upstairs and that Ole is also a pretty terrible manager. The only hope I have for this turning out any way positive is if pressure mounts on Woodward - he gets more and more ridiculed in the press - and we finally have a top DoF with actual authority to make big decisions.

It's easy to frame things to suit a nice story - that had we signed 3-4 players more this summer we'd be same as before. Well, that depends on the players right? And it also depends on their manager's ability to coach and motivate them, right?

I was with you 100% in the Glazer thread, but I'm afraid here we don't have the required intelligence at the club behind this new direction. Not at board level, in the coaching staff and certainly not playing staff. Who is supposed to lead this journey? We went for two safe bet defenders - and got taken to the cleaners for one of them - and sent two high earners out on loan. Herrera was not a club decision. And that bit with letting players on huge contracts leave, we still reward those who stay with huge deals, Shaw, Rashford, Martial, Lingard, they're probably all paid a lot more than what they could dream of elsewhere. Hence my point, nothing major has changed really.

Really well put, this is exactly how I see it as well.

We shouldn’t be too negative, but the optimism Lentwood is advocating here doesn’t seem justified in my opinion. United are treading dangerous ground. We’re already considered a poisonous chalice for managers. Three previously successful ones have shipwrecked here, and a large number of the players they signed had depressing spells at United.

We’re a graveyard for talent and success in the eyes of the football world at the moment. An insane asylum really. This HAS to change in order to move forward. I don’t know that it’s possible unless Woodward gives up control, but since that seems very unlikely, given his nature and stature at the club, an exceptional manager with some level of backing is our only chance of building something that can make us an attractive proposition again. I was really hoping Ole was that man, but I see absolutely nothing to support this in his decisions, our “style”, player attitude or his public appearances. Quite the opposite.

Unfortunately, we probably have to stay the course a while yet given that the season just started, and no one else is really available. The bright side is, United is still a rich and powerful club, a sleeping giant. We may look almost comatose sometimes, but *if* we ever wake up, we can still get very far, very quickly.

 

[bond19821982]

Klopp/Michael Edwards have signed 22 players at Liverpool for a combined £420m

Solskjaer has signed three at United.

I honestly believe people don’t quite appreciate how poor some of our players are. I keep seeing posters going on about coaching, do we honestly believe Lingard, Pereira, Rashford and Mata would be tearing it up under Klopp?

The way I see it, we have half a football team at the moment. We can’t judge any manager until we have XI round pegs in XI round holes across the pitch and at least a 7/10 player in every position

Klopp didn’t go into Liverpool and coach Matip, Lovren, Mignolet, Joe Allen, Sturridge and Benteke until they became better players, the club got rid and bought in Fabinho, Mane, Salah and van Dijk

See also Pep “4th in his first season” Guardiola

Klopp took over in October and his style was evident from the first match. He did that with Moreno,Clyne,Sakho,Skrtel,Lucas,Can,Milner, Coutinho,Lallana,Firminho.

We are almost an year into Ole's reign and where is our style ? So you don't need signings to make a team play a particular style.

 

[Denis79]

Are you sure this is the same people as you say, or different posters having different opinions?

What I was about to write. The OP has mixed together several posters to create this Nu football fan. Don't entirely disagree with what he writes but he's using a broad stroke when painting the fans.

 

[redIndianDevil]

Klopp/Michael Edwards have signed 22 players at Liverpool for a combined £420m

Solskjaer has signed three at United.

I honestly believe people don’t quite appreciate how poor some of our players are. I keep seeing posters going on about coaching, do we honestly believe Lingard, Pereira, Rashford and Mata would be tearing it up under Klopp?

The way I see it, we have half a football team at the moment. We can’t judge any manager until we have XI round pegs in XI round holes across the pitch and at least a 7/10 player in every position

Klopp didn’t go into Liverpool and coach Matip, Lovren, Mignolet, Joe Allen, Sturridge and Benteke until they became better players, the club got rid and bought in Fabinho, Mane, Salah and van Dijk

See also Pep “4th in his first season” Guardiola

Klopp got to sign those players because he actually showed he could coach a side, the fact that the likes of Henderson, Wijnaldum, Milner regularly start for Liverpool shows that he can actually coach a side, his team progressively improved even since Klopp became manager(the same is the case for Guardiola), we are regressing under OGS. Also Matip and Lovren still play for them.

No one here is asking OGS to wield a magic wand and make us champions immediately, is asking us to be competitive against the likes of Palace and a league one side too much?

 

[redIndianDevil]

Klopp/Michael Edwards have signed 22 players at Liverpool for a combined £420m

Solskjaer has signed three at United.

I honestly believe people don’t quite appreciate how poor some of our players are. I keep seeing posters going on about coaching, do we honestly believe Lingard, Pereira, Rashford and Mata would be tearing it up under Klopp?

The way I see it, we have half a football team at the moment. We can’t judge any manager until we have XI round pegs in XI round holes across the pitch and at least a 7/10 player in every position

Klopp didn’t go into Liverpool and coach Matip, Lovren, Mignolet, Joe Allen, Sturridge and Benteke until they became better players, the club got rid and bought in Fabinho, Mane, Salah and van Dijk

See also Pep “4th in his first season” Guardiola

Klopp got to sign those players because he actually showed he could coach a side, the fact that the likes of Henderson, Wijnaldum, Milner regularly start for Liverpool shows that he can actually coach a side, his team progressively improved even since Klopp became manager(the same is the case for Guardiola), we are regressing under OGS. Also Matip and Lovren still play for them.

No one here is asking OGS to wield a magic wand and make us champions immediately, is asking us to be competitive against the likes of Palace and a league one side too much?

 

[wolvored]

You could say English (or Norwegian) people are self-contradictive. They want to leave the EU and they want to stay in the EU at the same time. Probably not the same people, though.

That said, I think you have a lot of fair points in your analysis. I’m on board with the general direction of changes, and I’m under no illusion that any manager could make United challenge for the title within a season or two anyway at this point.

The most frustrating to me since May, was seeing that Solskjær obviously didn’t get the players in he wanted. He got two defensive players, and seeing how well they’ve slotted in, makes you think what could’ve happened if he got three attacking ones as well. I think there’s not a soul in May who didn’t think we should look to move in 4-5 players, Solskjær included, and I’m quite sure noone was thinking at this Welsh lad frim the Championship as one of those. I’m also quite sure most people would agree on moving on Lukaku and shipping out Sanchez, and nobody (clearly not Solskjær) expected us to move them and Herrera (and Fellaini) on without bringing someone in. Whose fault it is, we don’t know, but Woodward and Glazers are obviously prime suspects.

Obviously, having only so far inconsistent Pogba, Martial and Rashford as established top class players going into the season is risking it, in fact it’s not risking it: It’s evident that we will struggle when they are injured or have expected bad patches of form. Now all of them are injured, and regardless of defense, our attack is mid table level at very best when these are out of form or out. With the economical development of the mid table of PL these last years, does anyone really disagree with that?

So we know we will be somewhere from 3rd to 10th this season. With luck, Pogba getting injury free and stepping up, Rashford and Martial finding consistent goals, we’re good enough to fight for CL spots. A bit of bad luck with injuries etc, and we’re not going to be able to get there. Not strengthening a part of the pitch where four players have left and at least two more are at a deteriorating stage of their carreer and were not world beaters to begin with, it’s simple maths really.

If it was Solskjær’s choice to waiver on two or three star names because he is so adamant we need other players to make real development, he’s obviously has got not just a clear vision but also huge balls. I think he’s coolheaded enough, but I don’t think he’d have said no to a midfielder and a striker/right forward of the kind you could get for the money we (should) have.

If it’s Woodward/Glazers choice, it’s bold if they actually mean it and are going to give Solskjær the leeway to perhaps even end mid table this year and fork out for the ideal reinforcements come summer.

If they however don’t they’ll have shot themselves (and worse, Man United) in the foot once again. They’ll have spent two full seasons with managers they don’t back in the market and then lay the blame on. If that turns out to have been the case, I’m not sure what I will do.

You wont be able to do anything. This has gone on for 6 seasons now and wont be changing while the glazers are here. We will be discussing our 2nd/3rd manager since solskjaer in another 6 seasons.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

If you read the papers (stop immediately!) you would believe that United are a shambles, the worst we've ever been, leaderless, without hope, without direction.

Now, I don't believe that to be the case. I believe that finally, after 15yrs of bad decisions, we're starting to make some good decisions and that there are some reasons to be positive.

1) We shouldn't focus too much on individual results. Yes we were poor against West Ham but our already thin and inexperienced squad was decimated by injuries. Even allowing for that, it was only two great finishes and a couple of missed chances on our part (Mata and Maguire) that separated the two teams. I'll warn fans now, there will be plenty more of these bad results to come as the season unfolds. However, when all of our players are fit, I still believe that we are comfortably a top six side.

2) Now, I appreciate talking about being 'comfortably a top six side' won't get too many of you excited about the idea of being positive! However, clearly the club are in the process of undoing the mistakes they have made post-SAF. We had assembled a very expensive side of mercenary footballers, nearly men and players with contrasting styles. The objective, since Ole came in, has clearly been to get rid of these players. We've seen Fellaini, Herrera, Darmian, Smalling, Lukaku, Sanchez and Valencia leave since last January and I for one am not sorry to see any of them go.

3) However, obviously letting these senior players go is going to hurt us in the short-term. Sanchez is a much better player than Chong. Lukaku is a much better CF than Marcus Rashford. Herrera is a much better midfielder than Pereira. Nevertheless, none of those players were up to the standard required - remember, we haven't just been bad this season, we've been bad for nearly six years! Now the challenge is to replace them, but again I am not sorry that we didn't attempt to do that in one window. I can say with certainty that had we tried to bring in six or seven players last summer, we would have been right back to square one in two seasons time complaining about more flops and more deadwood

4) So what of the signings we did make? Well, I think fairly unanimously across the board, we all agree that James, Maguire and AWB are all the right type of signing. They all improve the team, they are all the right age and they all have the right attitude. James was a gamble that appears to be paying off - the type of signing RedCafe regulars have championed for years. Maguire and AWB were safe bets. No longer are we pissing around in the £10m-£30m market for defenders, we went straight in with the big bucks for two top talents and paid the necessary.

5) So, imagine if we continue with this approach into next Summer. It is very clear to all that we need an attack-minded CM/AMC and wingers/a CF. Let's say that by the end of next Summer, we have added three more quality players to the squad, one CM, one AMC, one CF. Suddenly, throw Paul Pogba, Martial, James and Rashford into the equation and we've not only got a solid back four, we've a solid midfield and an exciting attack

6) In previous seasons, it's been hard to know where the re-build should begin. At times, it's looked as though all XI outfield players needed to be replaced. I think we're starting to get to the point were we have six/seven very good players in the starting XI, admittedly supported by three or four who probably are not the standard required. This can be easily fixed though, we're still a big club with big cash reserves.

7) Many will notice I have not commented on Ole. I personally do not believe Ole is the man to win trophies at Man Utd. HOWEVER, I do believe he is the right man for the job right now. What's required now is a man who, to a certain extent, is just happy to be there. A man who is positive and will have most of the fans and ex-players on side. Many have accused Ole of being a puppet, but I really fail to see how moaning and whingeing about signings helps anybody, especially not in September when the window is shut! Let's allow Ole to oversee the clearout and keep things ticking over, then when we have the squad in-shape and ready to challenge top four/top two, we thank Ole for his efforts and move for a manager like Pochettino.

So in summary, it's not all doom and gloom. Yes, it's going to be tough at times this season, however, change can be hard and pursuing quick fixes is what's gotten us into this mess. Let's get behind Ole and the team this season and try to rise above the toxic fans and toxic media. Of course fans want the Board to spend more money, make more signings etc.... but it has to be done the right way.

1. Us being in the top 6 is not likely. We will struggle against any organized and or technical and possessionoriented team.
2. Yes. The biggest positive.
3. Only Herrera needed replacing. It is not like Lukaku would have been able to create on his own without being fed.
4. We have bought two defenders that are either limited in attack and on the ball or slow as a lighthouse(and his CB partner got some physical limitations as well). Given that the rest of the team is unable to pass the ball, whats the point in having two centrebacks that can when they seldom are asked to contribute in the buildup and playing out of defense.
5. Regardless of positions, we need players with the technical ability to receive and pass the ball.
6. Who are those 6-7 very good players? Rashford and James needs space and are counter attacking specialist. AWB and Shaw are better when we are defending and not on the ball. Lindelof gets targeted by the opposition every week because he is weak, PP gets pressed every time he gets the ball, Matic and Mata are finished and have been for some time, Lingard is another player that are better when we are not in possession... Lindelof abilities as a player is closer to the modern fullback than AWB abilites are... If we got a possessionoriented manager next season (which we should), then there are few players in the squad that would be able to contribute.
7. We can agree on that OGS will never win us any trophies. My hope is that he is able to create a "winning culture" within the squad, get rid of some more players and take Woodward with him when we end up at 8th place.

The gap between us and the top clubs in Europe is still increasing, and we are far from being on the right track. A majority of our players are miles behind in being able to play a technical game, we still rely on individual situations to create chances, our players do not seem to improve over time in areas that they should etc. Only positives are that the other clubs fighting for the fourth place are not at their best, we have gotten rid of some deadwood and we have some promising youngsters.

 

[Lee565]

What's frustrating is now the club and fans are bleating on about patience with quite possibly the worst manager out of all the managers post fergie, it's a joke really, no patience shown for van Gaal and Mourinho who actually won us trophies and got the club back in the champions league, no we have to show patience with a manager who's claim to fame as manager is winning the Norwegian league, even bloody Steve McLaren had more impressive achievements!

 

[Lentwood]

It strikes me that many members of this forum don't know what they want.

- They want a clear-out but they don't want players to leave.
- They want experienced, 'complete' footballers who are young, hungry and can be developed the 'Manchester United way'.
- They want an experienced manager who is a proven winner but also someone very trendy and 'modern', unlike those dinosaurs LvG and Jose.
- They want the club to throw money at players but they don't want to waste any more money on overpaid mercenaries.
- They don't want 'Galatico' signings but they do want Bale, Neymar and Dybala.
- They want our Scouts to identify young, talented players before they become household names but they complain when we sign young, talented players who are not already household names
- They want to implement a 'long-term' strategy but they want to tear up the plan every time we lose a football match

I believe all of the above comes from short-termism and the desire to 'have their cake and eat it', symptomatic of the 'NuFootball' fan. The NuFootball fan is a strange creature who likes to share football-related "hilarious" banter memes on Facebook, refers to our rivals as 'Loserpool' and 'Shitteh' and has never actually kicked a football, nor been to a football game, bar the odd occasion they get a free ticket through work or a mate. The problem with this 'fan' is they become so entrenched in the tribalism and petty squabbling they fail to see the big picture.

Let's just make a couple of my opinions clear before I make my points;

- The Glazer takeover has done immeasurable damage to Manchester United, they are blood-thirsty, cretinous, uber-Capitalist parasites who have contributed NOTHING to this club

- Ed Woodward may be, in some sense of the word, a 'smart' man, however, when referring solely to his skills at running the operations of a modern day football club, he is an incompetent buffoon

HOWEVER

As I stated earlier in my post, we cannot, as fans, have our cake and eat it. Over the last six years, the Glazers and Ed have been RIGHTFULLY criticised for;

- Failing to understand the 'United DNA'
- Failing to invest between 2005 and 2014
- Looking for 'quick fixes' as opposed to long-term strategic planning
- Throwing money at mercenary footballers who perform better on Instagram and Twitter than they do on the field
- Sacking managers who are basically hung out to dry, effectively fighting a war against an armoured tank division with what has amounted to water pistols
- Employing managers who's very footballing ethos goes against 'the United way'

NOW

If you look at what the Glazers and Ed have done over the last 12-18 months, it would appear to me that somewhere, somehow, they have had an epiphany. It would appear to me at least that there has been a total shift in mindset and that the foundations are now (hopefully) being laid for a better future....what makes me say this?

- The club have done what they should have been doing for the last six years and signed the best two AVAILABLE 'young' players in their position from the PL (Maguire and Wan-Bissaka)

- The club have let go of several players who, whilst admittedly may have contributed to varying degrees over the last few seasons, were NEVER really Manchester United players. Either in terms of personality or ability. I am talking here about your Fellaini's, Sanchez's, Lukaku's, Herrera's and HOPEFULLY Rojo's, Darmian's etc...

- The club refused to bow to Dybala's wage demands NOT because we couldn't afford them but because we felt he was joining for the WRONG reasons

- The club immediately distanced themselves from the usual press speculation about signing players like Bale and Neymar

- The club moved to sign a young player with potential from the Championship. Something we never had to do in the past because we were by far the most resource-rich team in the league. Roman, Sheikh Mansour and TV money has changed that.

- They have appointed Ole, a man who understands Manchester United and its History

Now, I can feel the NuFootball lot gnashing their teeth.....'but what about squad depth' they cry....'how will we cope with only three senior forwards', furthermore 'Ole is a novice, a Glazer yes-man with no more tactical nous than a cabbage'. They also bang on about 'net spend' and 'not replacing Player X'.....well I have an answer to all of the above and that is that this situation we are in now is going to have to get A LOT worse before it gets better and I believe the club finally appreciate this. Here's what I think the club have realised;

- A senior football manager like a Jose Mourinho is the antithesis of what we need right now. We cannot afford to spend the £800m+ I believe it would take to transform us into title contenders in one window and therefore we would end up in another situation whereby we have a frustrated manager sat in the dugout, constantly firing shots at the Board and at the players. We do not need this right now. What we need is a positive man, a man who understands the club and his role within it, a man who admittedly, to a certain extent, is happy just to be here. That man is Ole. Is he the best manager out there? Hell no. Does Ed believe he is the best manager out there? I highly doubt it. I believe the Board see Ole as a man who can oversee this painful transitional period with a smile, whilst just about managing to keep just enough players and fans on-side to make it bearable. At the point were we ARE ready to start challenging for titles again, I believe Ole will make way for a more senior, tactical aware manager who will then go to war with a proper squad of footballers.

- Signing mercenaries and expecting players who performed well for other teams in other positions/formations/styles to slot straight in and produce a 'quick fix' is NOT the way forward. This never, ever works. All of the very best teams are constructed, not bought in one window. What we need now is to identify the right players at the right age and steadily, over the course of four or five windows, build a team. We will lose players like De Gea and Pogba along the way, but this is a hangover of poor choices made in the past. In De Gea's case, we wasted his best years and his powers are now waning. In Pogba's, we failed to find the right players to get the best out of him and keep him happy in a side challenging for trophies. He won't want to, nor should he, waste two/three more seasons pissing about in 6th. This will make it more difficult to build a strong squad but IF we keep identifying the RIGHT players, at the RIGHT age and adding two/three at a time, it ought only be three seasons max before we can at least compete for second

- We need to get rid of the players who don't WANT to be here or who are not good enough to be here as quickly as possible, even if we don't have replacements lined up. A common mistake the NuFootball lot make is that they have gained their experience of buying and selling football players from Football Manager 2018. They think you can simply transfer list 12 players, sell them for asking price before July and spend the money on 5 replacements. Sorry but this is so far from the reality it's laughable. Selling players is almost as complicated as buying players for a club like Manchester United. Our players by default are on big wages and by virtue of the fact we want to sell them, it's unlikely other clubs who could afford their wages would touch them with a barge pole. That means that IF the club identify that Lukaku is NOT the striker to take us forward as a club and there is an offer of £75m on the table, then we HAVE to take it whether a replacement is lined up or not. Does this weaken us short-term? Of course it does, because right now Lukaku and Sanchez are better players than Greenwood, however, next window and the window after we SHOULD have cash, wages and squad positions free to target the players I outlined earlier - the best young players from the PL (and the odd one from elsewhere) in their positions.

So in summary, I believe;

- The Glazers and Ed have learned something from the Jose debacle and the last 6yrs
- Ole is basically a 'long-term caretaker' overseeing the transition phase
- Money IS available but we won't just throw it around anymore. NOT a bad thing at all.
- The club want to get back to signing two/three top young, hungry players at a time, as opposed to hordes of mediocre 'established' footballers (and I include your Lo Celso's and Ndombele's and Icardi's and Fernandes' in that 'hordes of mediocre' category)

However, that all being said, in terms of league position and points gained, this season IS going to be very, very painful. We've left ourselves very thin, our squad is lacking in quality and we have a manager who doesn't appear to have much tactical nous. What we need to appreciate as fans is that this is a result of poor choices made between 2005 and 2018 and just repeating these poor choices MIGHT scrape us 4th on the odd occasion but will never get us back to where we want to be. For that, we need open heart surgery and unfortunately, where going to be very weak for a while before HOPEFULLY making a full recovery

Patience is a virtue. Don't come on here wailing every time we lose one football match. Understand the big picture. Still appreciate the damage that the Glazers and Ed have done to our club. Let's just hope that the green shoots on display are not a mirage!

Looks like @Lentwood was right again. Really is a wise old sage. If you look closely, even had the foresight to predict Gedson Fernandes would flop at Spurs :-) :-)

 

[Freak]

Looks like @Lentwood was right again. Really is a wise old sage. If you look closely, even had the foresight to predict Gedson Fernandes would flop at Spurs :-) :-)

Did you just properly tag yourself in your own post referring to yourself?

 

[Fosu-Mens]

Looks like @Lentwood was right again. Really is a wise old sage. If you look closely, even had the foresight to predict Gedson Fernandes would flop at Spurs :-) :-)

Gedson is obviously who you thought about. And I would not start celebrating anything yet. Not performing any better (statistically) in the league since Fernandes (the one named Bruno) came in. When the clubs start marking him as they did with PP last season, we will see how the team and manager/coaches adjusts.

And OGS being dependent on buying players to "fix" the attack is basically what Mourinho was dependent on as well. Improve through buying players... Not sustainable.

 

[Bilbo]

Gedson is obviously who you thought about. And I would not start celebrating anything yet. Not performing any better (statistically) in the league since Fernandes (the one named Bruno) came in. When the clubs start marking him as they did with PP last season, we will see how the team and manager/coaches adjusts.

And OGS being dependent on buying players to "fix" the attack is basically what Mourinho was dependent on as well. Improve through buying players... Not sustainable.

You disagree with buying better players to make your team better?

 

[ivaldo]

Gedson is obviously who you thought about. And I would not start celebrating anything yet. Not performing any better (statistically) in the league since Fernandes (the one named Bruno) came in. When the clubs start marking him as they did with PP last season, we will see how the team and manager/coaches adjusts.

And OGS being dependent on buying players to "fix" the attack is basically what Mourinho was dependent on as well. Improve through buying players... Not sustainable.

He must've bought upgrades to Fred, Shaw, McTominay and Rashford then. I imagine he spent big on Williams and Greenwood too..

If I didn't know better, it looks as though he has a healthy balance between improving current players, buying quality and introducing youth products...

 

[Fosu-Mens]

You disagree with buying better players to make your team better?

Nah, but OGS seems fairly dependent on buying new players to improve the team(same as Mourinho was slated for). People saying most of our players have improved seem to think that us winning or getting more points is a direct correlation to improving. We have been efficient in both ends, nothing more. Fernandes is obviously a better player than Lingard/Pereira, but the biggest difference in relation to us winning games is his efficiency in front of goals and effectiveness in the build-up and final third.
He knows what to do and how to attack, hence mitigating for OGS lack of systematic attacking coaching(needed for Lingard, Pereira, Shaw, AWB and the youngsters)...

 

[Lentwood]

Did you just properly tag yourself in your own post referring to yourself?

Sorry not sorry

 

[Bilbo]

Nah, but OGS seems fairly dependent on buying new players to improve the team(same as Mourinho was slated for). People saying most of our players have improved seem to think that us winning or getting more points is a direct correlation to improving. We have been efficient in both ends, nothing more. Fernandes is obviously a better player than Lingard/Pereira, but the biggest difference in relation to us winning games is his efficiency in front of goals and effectiveness in the build-up and final third.
He knows what to do and how to attack, hence mitigating for OGS lack of systematic attacking coaching(needed for Lingard, Pereira, Shaw, AWB and the youngsters)...

This is an agenda post for me

 

[Fosu-Mens]

He must've bought upgrades to Fred, Shaw, McTominay and Rashford then. I imagine he spent big on Williams and Greenwood too..

If I didn't know better, it looks as though he has a healthy balance between improving current players, buying quality and introducing youth products...

Fred has improved in his positioning and not playing to ambitious, still makes some stupid decisions and bad passes. Not a liability anymore on average, and an asset when we are off the ball. I think we can give OGS some credit for his man-management of Fred. Making him feel confident etc.

I do not see how Rashford, McT and Shaw have improved? Rashford shooting when he wants at a relatively inefficient rate. Bad shot selection, still a fairly one-dimensional player... His output is higher due to a higher volume of shots and playing more.
And explain to me how Shaw and McT have improved, what they have improved in and how this is down to OGS?

 

[nyanza]

You disagree with buying better players to make your team better?

Idk, I'd be quite unhappy with that fraud Klop if I was a Liverpool supporter. Had to buy Van Dijk in order to fix their defense and start winning trophies. He should have coached Sakho to become the best defender in the world instead. And turned Sturridge into the PL top goalscorer and Karius into a decent keeper instead of buying the likes of Salah and that Brazilian guy.