FFP has them by the short n curlies.
They've an ageing squad as well that needs quite a few talents replaced in the next year or so.
Thinking the unthinkable : Winning the League next season - It's alright, we're on
- Thread starter rcoobc
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They've an ageing squad as well that needs quite a few talents replaced in the next year or so.
Too early. We'll be 2/3 and people will saying Ole should be fired as we should be challenging cause no one else has a valid claim. Still lots to play for this season. Hopefully we can win a trophy or two.
IMO the top 2 are more vulnerable than it appears.
I think City have massive defensive problems that will be difficult to fix unless they spend massively at CB and left back. Without Champions League football, COVID 19, and having been caught cheating FFP they may be unable to splash the cash they need to fix their defense.
In terms of Liverpool their squad depth is questionable and they have been very lucky to not have any major injuries to their front 3 despite little rotation. The backups they have in Origi and the Japanese lad they signed from RB Salzburg are a big drop off in quality. The consistency they've shown is unbelievable though but they haven't made any major squad investments lately and their squad isn't getting any younger.
United IMO IF we sign Sancho, Grealish, and Tolisso this summer (our most realistic signings IMO) would have an outside shot at the title if we can stay healthy.
It's easy as cake, with our current squad even I can win the league. In FM.
The two positions where we don't need to strengthen?
Why buy a striker when Greenwood is breaking through?
LB - Shaw getting this treatment is kind of harsh when he has done nothing wrong, no £30/40m LB will be better than him so it will be spending money for sake of it, when we also have Williams.
I think we can all agree that we should challenge to try winning the league next season.
No defeatist attitude.
Weaker squad have sneaked a win before, doesn't necessarily stronger squad will win it.
Current best 11 with Bruno is just strong enough to win it and he is a fitness freak.
Doesn't matter if we lack squad depth and other top teams are better.
It's 11 vs 11, 3 points per game, win game one by one.
Have confidence but never over.
No defeatist attitude.
Weaker squad have sneaked a win before, doesn't necessarily stronger squad will win it.
Current best 11 with Bruno is just strong enough to win it and he is a fitness freak.
Doesn't matter if we lack squad depth and other top teams are better.
It's 11 vs 11, 3 points per game, win game one by one.
Have confidence but never over.
Challenging for the title should be the bare minimum requirement of a Manchester United side.
Yeah Shaw is quite ok. But how about this one ? @SportingCP96 would love to hear an opinion from you mate.
And City Liverpool aren't if KDB/Aguero and VVD/TTA go down injured? Or is it just us who would be affected by loss of our two best players?
I totally understand that we could do with a LB like Grimaldo. How good is he defensively? I do not know.
The way I look at is:
a) we have a limited budget this summer and there is the RW, CB, CM positions before upgrading LB
b) Shaw is on a big wage, not sure it is worth having him just sat there
c) It feels like a want signing rather than a need.
Surely not this summer, we have other positions that would need upgraded much more than LB. I just want to have a conversation about good LB mate.
Fair enough. I do see the logic having a LB who can take care of the left hand side, maybe this could work if Shaw transitions into a LCB? I cannot see anyone paying us a fee over £30m for Shaw and pay the wages.
I do want to give Shaw a season to see what he can do if he is fully fit though.
I think we'll challenge alright but Chelsea are looking to add Rice and Havertz to the Timo Werner and Ziyech signings, so they will challenge too.
But I can't see past Liverpool. They have Minamino and Harvey Elliot breaking through to the first XI. They're an absolute winning machine now without any weaknesses in the team, and I feel they will dominate for the next few seasons.
But I can't see past Liverpool. They have Minamino and Harvey Elliot breaking through to the first XI. They're an absolute winning machine now without any weaknesses in the team, and I feel they will dominate for the next few seasons.
Shaw will definitely get one, even two or more seasons. This is not FM. We fans are just having fantasies.
Imo Ole won't buy any LB unless both Shaw and Williams kinda suck. Which is unlikely to happen I think.
P/s: Shaw can play as a LCB in a three CB system, but imo he can't play in a two CB one. And we rarely play with three CB.
Minamino and Harvey Elliot? Scary stuff. It will be tough for us to keep pace with City next season but I think Liverpool will be there for the taking, especially if they stay out of the transfer market. They had a great 2019 but not been overly impressed with them in 2020 and league winners often struggle to maintain the same level the following season.
I feel exactly the same way, but what do I know? I thought the same last year that they wouldn't be able to maintain the same standards but they did.
I have a few mates who are Liverpool fans and are absolutely convinced they will win the league next year and get 95+ points.
We need to step up and break this bubble.
Klopp is a master of turning bargain signings into superstars. They don't need to spend big to keep winning. It will be much tighter at the top next season, but they remind me of that great Bayern team of 2013 I think it was. No weaknesses in the team. Their focus and priority was clearly the league this season. I can't see past them next season.
To win the league my points are true.
Greenwood coming through doesn’t win the league yet.
Shaw, in my opinion, isn’t good enough. Teams target our left side for a reason
It may be the optimist in me, but I don't think we're that far off from putting up a proper title challenge and even winning the league.
Like many have stated earlier, City are in some trouble - I don't really rate their defenders except Laporte and Walker. Laporte has struggled with injuries and Walker is getting older. Fernandinho is on decline thanks to his age and they lack a player who can do his job when he isn't there. Rodri hasn't set the league alight and Gundogan has been avergae. On the top end of the pitch, Aguero is 32 and has started signs of slowing down and Jesus hasn't exactly progressed from where he was 2-3 years ago. Unless they spend a fortune to address all these areas, they wouldn't be getting 90 odd points.
Coming to Liverpool, they've been lucky with injuries this season and it would be interesting to see if they can even continue to put in the performances they have put this season week in week out next year. They've played as well as title winners for 2 seasons in a row, and like we saw with City, it's tough to sustain such a run for the third year. Nearly all the players in their team are of similar age bucket and you would expect them to start declining in the next couple of years. Lastly, their underlying statistical data (xG and xGA numbers) point out that they've been incredibly lucky in a lot of their games this season. Unless they add more depth to their attack and defence (as they arguably have less depth than even us), I can see their competitors leave them behind especially with 5 subs a game rule.
For the sake of it, I'd address Chelsea as well. They've definitely performed better than what most people expected this season and players like Mount, Tammy and Pulisic have exceeded expectations. They've bought Werner and Ziyech which seem like good pieces of business. However, it seems that strengthening their defence (which has been their pain point all season) on back burner. I don't think any of the back 5 is a player who belongs to a title winning side (maybe Rudiger at a stretch). They've already conceded 46 goals this season, and considering they aren't even being linked with any CB, one can safely assume that their defence will remain as bad as it has been.
We, on the other hand, have been improving ever since Bruno joined us. We have a young side and have had moments of bad luck this season, more often than other big sides - conceding some worldies and all. I also think that thanks to our players being really young, we've lacked maturity in the 1st half of the season. Defensively, we're giving away lesser chances now, we're creating more and more every game, our midfield is playing vertical passes cutting across lines, our attackers seem much more confident our pressing has been really good, and I can go on. If we add Sancho and a DM and maybe a CB, I really think that we'd be having a hell of a starting XI. We'd also be having players like Greenwood, Ighalo as backups, James as a sub against tired legs would be an interesting watch as well. Add to that, McT, Fred as backup CM options is as good as any other team. Should our players not suffer from long term injuries, I genuinely think next year would present us with a really good chance of winning the league
Like many have stated earlier, City are in some trouble - I don't really rate their defenders except Laporte and Walker. Laporte has struggled with injuries and Walker is getting older. Fernandinho is on decline thanks to his age and they lack a player who can do his job when he isn't there. Rodri hasn't set the league alight and Gundogan has been avergae. On the top end of the pitch, Aguero is 32 and has started signs of slowing down and Jesus hasn't exactly progressed from where he was 2-3 years ago. Unless they spend a fortune to address all these areas, they wouldn't be getting 90 odd points.
Coming to Liverpool, they've been lucky with injuries this season and it would be interesting to see if they can even continue to put in the performances they have put this season week in week out next year. They've played as well as title winners for 2 seasons in a row, and like we saw with City, it's tough to sustain such a run for the third year. Nearly all the players in their team are of similar age bucket and you would expect them to start declining in the next couple of years. Lastly, their underlying statistical data (xG and xGA numbers) point out that they've been incredibly lucky in a lot of their games this season. Unless they add more depth to their attack and defence (as they arguably have less depth than even us), I can see their competitors leave them behind especially with 5 subs a game rule.
For the sake of it, I'd address Chelsea as well. They've definitely performed better than what most people expected this season and players like Mount, Tammy and Pulisic have exceeded expectations. They've bought Werner and Ziyech which seem like good pieces of business. However, it seems that strengthening their defence (which has been their pain point all season) on back burner. I don't think any of the back 5 is a player who belongs to a title winning side (maybe Rudiger at a stretch). They've already conceded 46 goals this season, and considering they aren't even being linked with any CB, one can safely assume that their defence will remain as bad as it has been.
We, on the other hand, have been improving ever since Bruno joined us. We have a young side and have had moments of bad luck this season, more often than other big sides - conceding some worldies and all. I also think that thanks to our players being really young, we've lacked maturity in the 1st half of the season. Defensively, we're giving away lesser chances now, we're creating more and more every game, our midfield is playing vertical passes cutting across lines, our attackers seem much more confident our pressing has been really good, and I can go on. If we add Sancho and a DM and maybe a CB, I really think that we'd be having a hell of a starting XI. We'd also be having players like Greenwood, Ighalo as backups, James as a sub against tired legs would be an interesting watch as well. Add to that, McT, Fred as backup CM options is as good as any other team. Should our players not suffer from long term injuries, I genuinely think next year would present us with a really good chance of winning the league
This is a bit harsh imo. On the right side it's AWB ...
So to win the league we need a LB over a CB and a ST over a RW?
Aso, Greenwood filling on for Martial is good enough IMO. He is probably going to better in 8 months time over most Strikers that are available in the market.
Decent attacking player but has no defensive positioning or awareness. He is also pretty good in dead ball situations but that’s not enough for him to make it at the top level.
He is decent going forward but the fact that he is such a defensive liability means he would he ran off the field in the EPL. If you are shopping in the Portuguese league for a left back I would go with Alex Telles but I think United can find a better left back elsewhere.
In addition to that Grimaldo is an injury prone player and I don’t think his signing would get United closer to winning the EPL.
If you want to be patient in 2 years time Nuno Mendes I am sure will be sold and he is going to be a serious serious player.
I predict he will be the starting left back for the Portuguese national team in the neat future.
Recently made his debut for Sporting a day before his 18th birthday and he has been brilliant so far. Technically gifted, quick, strong and has shown to be not only a capable defender but a good attacking outlet as well. At just 18 and having just made his debut he is not ready for a move yet but in 2 years he will be 20 and will be on every top clubs short list.
Remember this post in 2 years
To win the league we need about 3 players yes. And 3 players who will walk into the starting XI.
Nice period at the moment but look how far we are off the top. Bruno doesn’t solve all problems, we need to build on it. There are still weaknesses.
That should be United mentality next season. Don’t make winning the Title the objective. Make winning the next game the objective and take it Game by game and if come April your in with a shot then you set your eyes on the title.
Detailed and insightful as usual. Thanks a lot and have a great day mate (insert thumbs up gif)Decent attacking player but has no defensive positioning or awareness. He is also pretty good in dead ball situations but that’s not enough for him to make it at the top level.
He is decent going forward but the fact that he is such a defensive liability means he would he ran off the field in the EPL. If you are shopping in the Portuguese league for a left back I would go with Alex Telles but I think United can find a better left back elsewhere.
In addition to that Grimaldo is an injury prone player and I don’t think his signing would get United closer to winning the EPL.
If you want to be patient in 2 years time Nuno Mendes I am sure will be sold and he is going to be a serious serious player.
I predict he will be the starting left back for the Portuguese national team in the neat future.
Recently made his debut for Sporting a day before his 18th birthday and he has been brilliant so far. Technically gifted, quick, strong and has shown to be not only a capable defender but a good attacking outlet as well. At just 18 and having just made his debut he is not ready for a move yet but in 2 years he will be 20 and will be on every top clubs short list.
Remember this post in 2 years
You are forgetting that the Bar to win the league is now that you must basically win every game. Teams getting 95+ points nowadays. Does this look like a 95+ team to you?
Ita suspended, they will go mad this summer I’m sure!
And Ighalo as well.
Imo we'd definitely need a world class RW, Sancho preferable. Maybe a better CB but it's just too hard and expensive to find one these days. And a DM that can pass, preferable world class but decent is still ok. Then our squad should be enough to challenge. But challenge only, tbh sadly I just can't see us beating the current Liverpool or City for the title anytime soon.
Regardless of how much we hate them, we can't deny how strong they are. And it's not like only us want or can improve, they are too.
Are you sure? The ban, fine and the rest is still upheld at least until I think its next week.
I agree. With regards to Liverpool and City, I agree it will be difficult. This is why if we get top 4, we can have some confidence that we will improve next season.
If other teams improve and take points of Liverpool as well, it would help as this season none of the big teams have taken points off them apart from City after the league was done.
It frustrates me watching teams play Liverpool sometimes. e.g yesterday when Brighton are trying to play out knowing Liverpool are one of the best pressing teams. It's like they do 0 research when playing against them.
Anytime mate!Detailed and insightful as usual. Thanks a lot and have a great day mate (insert thumbs up gif)
Sancho and world class centre back and we have a real chance.
Second this. Sell Jones and Lingard once and for all as well.