Thinking the unthinkable : Winning the League next season - It's alright, we're on

[Ronaldo's Mum Eh?]

If we win out this season or at least come to close to it (1 more draw, the rest wins) then we would have shown some consistency over the last 3rd of this season.

However, i don't think Martial is the guy at starting striker. (just doesn't strike me as someone who you can rely on) and also think we need upgrading at LB and a better CB.

So no... we are about another 2-3 years away from being a serious challenger that goes the distance.

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

Next time you see him with the ball in the final third, I guarantee he gives it away

Your just being harsh, who else would you have?

 

[Greck]

That's looking too far down the road. There are still many tests we have to pass this season to legitimise our claim. Europa league, Top 4/5, FA cup. Achieve one or two of those lesser achievements brackets before we can talk about aiming higher. Teams don't typically go from contending for nothing at all to contending for the league. The euphoria of the unbeaten run is great but that's all it is for now

 

[NinjaZombie]

Rashford and Martial may or may not have the potential to mature like Ronaldo and Rooney did back in 2006 but the latter two had something our current younger players don't have nowadays. An abundance of senior players who were proper leaders and who'd done it all for the club.

I think for us to win the league is a big ask. We'd have to have everything line up for us. Most of the players we have are learning on the job, so to speak. Even our captain Maguire has not won any league honours. The likes of Matic, Pogba, De Gea and Fernandes have to step up. Amongst the non playing staff, Ole, Carrick and Phelan have to impart their experience to the rest of the team.

 

[ruskyline]

I wasn't criticizing Ole!

All I am saying is that as good of a job Ole has done to date, if we are to challenge for the title he will need to be consistent at items 1 and 2 over the course of an entire season. I'm saying that once you get to a certain level of talent (we are close to that), then we will be taken as far as the capabilities of Ole can take us.

I agree. I've recently read the book of US Navy Seal, Jocko Willink and he talked about a story that in one of their training, there was a team that almost always finished last and there was another team that almost always finished first. After a few months, the Navy Seal decided to do an experiment and rotate the team leader of the two teams. The results was incredible! The last team finished first and the team that always won finished some where in the middle. You just can not underestimate the power of a leader in a group. If a team is not performing, to me after reading Jocko Wilink's book, it's always the leader's fault. I highly recommend you guys to read Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Your just being harsh, who else would you have?

Williams is a better all round footballer, just younger and less experienced

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

Williams is a better all round footballer, just younger and less experienced

You really think that? We’ll see if he takes his place in the team, I doubt it myself.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

What type of post is that. So James is as good as Park in what universe. Plus you left out Ole. Richardson was much better than lingard and Pereira. We managed without Pogba and Bruno for most of the season, but look at our lack of goals compared to teams fighting for the title. It's not comparable. City lost Debruyne for much of last season and Sane for this and have barely missed a beat on the goals front. That is what we are competing against. If you can't see the difference, especially in attack, where consistency is key and rest is needed for key players due to the amount of competitions we are competing in, then I don't know what to say. You are right that 07/08 quality was better and imo that is what led to us winning the UCL. 06/07 we ran out of steam due to that lack of depth. But my point is, even if we weren't the best depth wise that season, the players we had to fill in were much better than we have atm. Park was a PSV player who was solid and could easily fill in. Ole was still a quality finisher. Fletcher could fill in both at right wing and centre midfield that season, he only shifted fully to the centre in 07-08. O'shea was a quality back up and constantly filled in in midfield as Heinze was Evra's back up that season and Brown was Gary Neville's that season. Richardson was better than Lingard and Pereira and had the quality in pace and dribbling to fill in during less difficult games where the rest of the team's quality shone through.

Park in 06/07 had done nothing in that season. He was hit by lot of injury in that season, and James contributed goals & assists more than Park 06/07. How can you make a player who did nothing in that season being better than someone who done something? I didn't left out Ole, re-read it again! Richardson is not better, an average player!

O'Shea & Fletcher could fill in multiple position. Does this not give you bigger picture? A team who aims for just challenging doesn't need to sign quality depth but should focusing on the starting XI and few bench option. few player can cover multiple position like James, Greenwood, Williams & Mata.

World class & top class players can make any players around you look better. Look at what Rooney, RVP & Carrick can do to make Welbeck, Cleverley & Anderson look better. The same goes with 06/07 season, 06/07 depth squad season isn't "much" better. The fact that in 05/06 we finished bottom in the CL group with those depth squad and it wasn't like we were in hell's group that we can't even qualify for Europa League spot.

Are you forgetting that we are without Pogba & Bruno for more than half of the season? You can't expect team to perform in consistent basis without their best players for long run. If United 06/07 without Rooney & Ronaldo for more than half season, never mind winning the league, we would be fighting for top 4. City has a squad to win double & treble not just winning or challenging the league, their aim is much bigger.

 

[Thiagoal]

IF we have a season where we get very few injuries then we could win the league with our current first 15 players in my opinion. But on top of that we’d need City and Liverpool to have poor seasons by their current standards! Leicester proved what is possible in a one off season!

To be competitive in the title race over successive seasons we need 5 or 6 players of similar quality to those we’ve signed in the last two windows! A CM to challenge Matic, a right winger and another top quality centre back are the most pressing additions

 

[SirScholes]

fecks sake. I know it’s good to be optimistic but this really isn’t going to happen. Perhaps in 3 years at best.

3 years! Christ if ole cant mount a challenge by then he should leave
That’s a crap load of time! Do you think we need more than 6 transfer windows!

 

[JB08]

3 years! Christ if ole cant mount a challenge by then he should leave
That’s a crap load of time! Do you think we need more than 6 transfer windows!

I think it's a somewhat realistic timeframe in which good teams are built. Also, you are saying about mounting a challenge whilst I was talking about winning the league - I think 3 years is slightly optimistic in all honesty.

 

[Revan]

Our record against the Top 4 are very good (maybe even excellent). The problems are beating these "smaller" teams. The key on beating them is not by buying a centerback or a DM. It's the attack, as I had a thread before with "Our Weak Attack".

It's proven with addition of Bruno, now we start putting smaller teams down. He's a player at the cusp of greatness, and at the right age to give us consistency. Adding Sancho is a great leap, but still we'll see inconsistency on attack with all those young players. If we're planning to challenge next season, it's imperative to get another attacker with similar profile to Bruno and Maguire. They are at a good age to expect consistency, and at the cusp of their career peak.

Other option is to get a ready to go attacker (to be first teamer), that can give a good at least 2 year of service. He fills in the gap for Rashford, Martial, and Greenwood (and Sancho, if we get him) to mature and be more consistent.

Has there been ANY team on big League in the last 30 years that win League title with all main attackers younger than 25 y.o.?

United 2007-2008. Carlos Tevez was the oldest of the trio (started the season as 23, but became 24 during the season).

 

[Greck]

I think it's a somewhat realistic timeframe in which good teams are built. Also, you are saying about mounting a challenge whilst I was talking about winning the league - I think 3 years is slightly optimistic in all honesty.

If that's the case we'll end up like Wenger's later Arsenal team who had all their best talents picked off. Talented players aren't going to stick around waiting 4 years just to win the league. Heck within 4 years of mediocrity we would both buy then lose Sancho to a better team. The older ones like Pogba and Bruno will be dead set to be gone by then as well

I get the feeling you're trying to use Klopp as a guideline here when he was making CL and Europa league finals from his first year. Make no mistake, if this rebuild is going anywhere it will be obvious from early on, as opposed to a futile test of blind faith. Why our finish to this season will say a lot about what direction we're headed. That goes for the players as well as the manager

 

[LawCharltonBest]

You really think that? We’ll see if he takes his place in the team, I doubt it myself.

I do.

Shaw hasn’t been the same imo since the serious injury that kept him out for about a year. He takes less risks, has lost a yard of pace and gives the ball away so frequently. Keep an eye vs Bournemouth if you’re watching how often he gives away possession. I don’t think you realise.

Williams isn't going To be the next Bale but I think there’s a lot of talent there

 

[baskinginthesun]

One answer, sustained results. I say this as an Ole fan. Ignore the needlessly harsh critics, but the rest recognize the positives and good he has done. The question mark remains over whether or not he can be a consistently good manager sustaining good results and not purple patches. He can do it I think but we will have to see.

Yup. This run we are on will end, they always do. It then becomes a case of the results after that. Can he get them to come back from a bad result and go on another run. This is what wins league titles. I really hope he can. I feel he is getting rid of the inconsistencies and now it seems he has the tactics and first team in which he can keep the good results rolling.

 

[ruskyline]

I would expect us to challenge the title if we win all of our remaining fixtures including Europa League.

 

[SirScholes]

I think it's a somewhat realistic timeframe in which good teams are built. Also, you are saying about mounting a challenge whilst I was talking about winning the league - I think 3 years is slightly optimistic in all honesty.

I think by year 3 at minimum I’d expect us to be missing out by a point or two if not actually winning it
There is a lot of foundations already in place and a solid recruitment would see us close the gap next year
We should have a squad that’s more than capable the year after
No reason why it should take longer other than poor recruitment or tactics

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Yup. This run we are on will end, they always do. It then becomes a case of the results after that. Can he get them to come back from a bad result and go on another run. This is what wins league titles. I really hope he can. I feel he is getting rid of the inconsistencies and now it seems he has the tactics and first team in which he can keep the good results rolling.

There is no tactic will work in consistent basis with Pereira & Lingard as your attacking mid not even Pep can make it work. He always have the same tactic & concept but doesn't have the right players to execute.

 

[ManRed]

Winning the league next season is quite possible if we take this seasons momentum into the next. 2nd half of the season we have matched all top sides in points and only have the issue of depth.

If we can add players like Sancho and Grealish/VDB then surely anything is possible.

 

[Isotope]

United 2007-2008. Carlos Tevez was the oldest of the trio (started the season as 23, but became 24 during the season).

Dang. You're right. That's when Ronaldo hit 42 goals.

 

[shamans]

this wont happen but if we somehow landed Sancho, Graelish and Rice we would be favorites.

 

[NinjaZombie]

United 2007-2008. Carlos Tevez was the oldest of the trio (started the season as 23, but became 24 during the season).

That's crazy. We even won the CL that year. Damn that was a good couple of years.

 

[Pav1878]

this wont happen but if we somehow landed Sancho, Graelish and Rice we would be favorites.

I really dont think grealish and rice are gonna win anyone the league.

I like grealish as a player but rice is so overrated on here its beyond belief

 

[NinjaZombie]

this wont happen but if we somehow landed Sancho, Graelish and Rice we would be favorites.

Rice? I'd question Grealish and Sancho's league winning credentials, not their abilities. Rice ability wise, I'm not so sure, let alone league winning mentality.

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

I do.

Shaw hasn’t been the same imo since the serious injury that kept him out for about a year. He takes less risks, has lost a yard of pace and gives the ball away so frequently. Keep an eye vs Bournemouth if you’re watching how often he gives away possession. I don’t think you realise.

Williams isn't going To be the next Bale but I think there’s a lot of talent there

I’ll be watching him carefully, I seen enough to see I don’t think he’s lost any pace, I do think he needs to use it more though.

Giving possession away is difficult to gauge someone on though as it depends on each situation but I’ll keep my eye out for it. A lot of players give it away plenty of times though.

I’m going for a Shaw hat trick in this one haha

 

[wolvored]

Our main striker needs to be hitting 20+ goals in the premier and I dont think Martial is that man. You need at least 45 from all the other attacking players and at least 15 from the rest. I dont think we will be bringing in a big striker if we get Sancho thi summer. If we can be finishing comfortably in 3rd next season and within touching distance of the leaders even up to the last few games then we will have dramatically moved forward. The season after is when I would expect us to challenge, once Ole has another 2 transfer windows to get another 3/4 top players in and the youth to have more experience, Greenwood Williams McTom etc.

 

[SirScholes]

Our main striker needs to be hitting 20+ goals in the premier and I dont think Martial is that man. You need at least 45 from all the other attacking players and at least 15 from the rest. I dont think we will be bringing in a big striker if we get Sancho thi summer. If we can be finishing comfortably in 3rd next season and within touching distance of the leaders even up to the last few games then we will have dramatically moved forward. The season after is when I would expect us to challenge, once Ole has another 2 transfer windows to get another 3/4 top players in and the youth to have more experience, Greenwood Williams McTom etc.

This is the most realistic post
Add to that Greenwood williams will hopefully continue development and be solid first teamers with our youth prospect filling their space and then we’d finally have some depth.

 

[johnny1980]

personally i think we are getting very close to a title challenge maybe next season defo season after that
getting in quality players who want to play for the club makes a massive difference and shifting out the ones who dont care same as
maybe 2 or 3 quality signings over the next 2 windows bringing in the youngsters and the team gelling more and i think we are there
more importantly i think we are entertaining to watch for the first time in ages and that brings a buzz around the team,fans and hopefully the moneymen to encourage them to dip into there pockets a bit more

 

[DRM]

It's a shame we didn't get haaland as he wouldve been perfect for us

 

[JPB]

Why are people saying we're missing Sancho? Greenwood seems to be the best talent we've had in a long time. Also, I'm sure his last season in the youth team he scored more goals than he had games. I don't really watch the youth team and I don't know the numbers of goals players usually score there, but the numbers Greenwood produced seemed special. wasn't it more than 50 goals in 50 games or something like that? I can't imagine many other players produce numbers like that. Why would we replace him with Sancho?

 

[SadlerMUFC]

This year has reminded me a lot of the year that Leicester won it. It's not the they were great, it's that everyone else was shite and they were the best of the shite. This year everyone is shite again and our worst nightmare came true. Liverpool stepped up.

But I don't expect that to happen again next year. Not even close. I fully expect Liverpool to be a challenger because as much as it pains me to say, they do have a great team. Mind you, they have also been very fortunate with injuries, or lack there of. They rotate their midfield quite a bit, but for the most part, Klopp plays their best 11 for pretty much every EPL and CL game. So they haven't had to rely on their depth because their front 3 has been available pretty much every game. Imagine they get hurt and all of a sudden it's a front 3 of Origi, Shaqiri and Llalana?

So bottom line is, Liverpool is a very good team, but I will take our strongest 11 against theirs any day. Problem is, we are only now seeing our strongest 11. Of course the signing of Bruno has made a huge impact. An impact not felt at the club since we signed "the king". But we are firing on all cylinders now and looking pretty damn good. Are we going to win the title next season? I'm not sure. If we don't make anymore signings, is this team good enough to compete for the title? Damn straight it is.

Remember, we didn't have a lot of trouble with the top teams this year. Our trouble came with dropping points to the shite teams like Burnley, Villa and Arsenal (had to slip them in). Now with Bruno in, everyone looks better and I will put our midfield 3 of Bruno, Pogba and Matic up against anyone.

So I can't say that we will win the title next year, but we will definitely be in contention. In fact, next year could be the craziest title race yet as us, Liverpool, City and Chelsea could all be in contention...

 

[Gasolin]

I think Sancho would address the RW, and maybe we need to think about a DM to challenge Matic, a CB to challenge Lindelof, a CF to challenge Martial, and someone to challenge Bruno and Pogba for the AM/CM roles.

But after that, it's a matter of staying fit and focused so maybe it's not that far away.

 

[Red Star One]

Quite a way off winning the league I think - I think we will be third, perhaps fourth favourites next season, not sure if I'd rate our chances higher than Chelsea. As much as I love Ole, he didn't show enough yet to convince me he's a title winning manager and capable of keeping the team motivated, fresh, flexible and well coached throughout all season. Take Bruno out of this starting XI and we no longer look as strong. I don't think our bench is long enough, we need a top striker/forward to provide us easily and reliably 20+ goals and another class defender - I only rate Maguire and Wan-Bissaka as title-level players at this point. We are surely on a good way and since the transfer of Bruno everything seemed to click, but to mount a real title challenge we need at least one or two more boosts like Bruno gave us - either by a new player that instantly gets us better, or by one of our lads stepping up to the next level - it's not impossible that next year Rashford or Martial would have a complete freak of the season, with plenty of luck they could be up there with the best players of the league. We are not a title-challenging squad yet, though and I think it is time to focus on continuing the recent improvement we are seeing. This summer will be quite crucial

 

[James Ward]

I think the current starting 11 is good enough to win the league but the squad is no wear near good enough. Great to see Greenwood maturing.

I'd sign Grealish due to his versatility.
I'd sign Sancho.
I'd sign a DM to rival Matic.
I'd sign a center back.

Attackers: Grealish, Sancho, Mason, Martial, Rashford, James.

Midfielders: Grealish, Pogba, Bruno, Fred, Matic, New DM.

Defenders: Williams, Shaw, Maguire, Victor, New CB, AWB, Dalot

Probably throw a few heads leaving Scott out but just don't think he's any good. Anyone I left out should be sold.

 

[Isotope]

I think it's a somewhat realistic timeframe in which good teams are built. Also, you are saying about mounting a challenge whilst I was talking about winning the league - I think 3 years is slightly optimistic in all honesty.

WHy? Klopp and Pep didn't need that much time to build a League title winning side. And it's not like we're penny pinching also.

 

[Class of 63]

I agree. I've recently read the book of US Navy Seal, Jocko Willink and he talked about a story that in one of their training, there was a team that almost always finished last and there was another team that almost always finished first. After a few months, the Navy Seal decided to do an experiment and rotate the team leader of the two teams. The results was incredible! The last team finished first and the team that always won finished some where in the middle. You just can not underestimate the power of a leader in a group. If a team is not performing, to me after reading Jocko Wilink's book, it's always the leader's fault. I highly recommend you guys to read Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win.

That sounds like one of those made up names in a April fools wind-up.

 

[treble_winner]

WHy? Klopp and Pep didn't need that much time to build a League title winning side. And it's not like we're penny pinching also.

Klopp is a top, "proven" manager. And it took him 4 years (From 2016 to 2020) to actually win the League in a season when they have massive luck as well.
Compared to Klopp, Ole is still pretty much unproven except for his Molde stint. So if you expect Ole would require less time than Klopp to actually win the League, especially with the bad luck Manchester United often get, that is wildly optimistic. Not to mention our owners and board have a tendency to stop investing heavily when we seem to be safely guaranteed for Champions League qualification. The years when they have invested heavily were the years we got knocked out of Champions League spot.

 

[ruskyline]

That sounds like one of those made up names in a April fools wind-up.

Are you kidding me? He's one of the most badass top influential people online. Feel free to Google him, maybe you'll learn something

 

[Class of 63]

Are you kidding me? He's one of the most badass top influential people online. Feel free to Google him, maybe you'll learn something

My mate David Boreanaz goes on and on and on about the Seals every single time we meet up for a Sesh, it's all he talks about, and Toni Trucks is the same, so i'll give it a miss if that's okay

 

[tenpoless]

Before you learn to run, you have to learn how to walk and before that, how to crawl.
Unless if you're Leicester.
You can jump from learning how to crawl to driving an F1 car in an instant.