This is the team.

Olecurls99

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I have been saying that for the majority of the season. Our team is quality and should be ready for a title challenge.
We've missed one of our best players for half of the season though. Paul Pogba has started 18 games this season.

If our first 11 stays fit we should challenge but that's a big if.

Amazing job by Ole to have moved the train this far. It was pointed in the wrong direction 2 years ago.
 

RedBanker

I love you Ole
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Agree about Cavani Pogba Fernandes Rashford Shaw and Greenwood.

Question marks over AWB, Maguire and the goalkeepers.

Big upgrades required on Lindelof, Fred, McT, Martial. People who can be starters. Finished products who can help us compete with City.
 

Longshanks

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Yep we are beginning to see the fruits of Oles labour, not the finished article yet though.

Big summer coming up, a DM and a CF are the priorities. Rice with lingard going the over way is a possibility for DM, and for CF it's got to be Haaland or Kane, have we got the money? Are we willing to spend that money? Time will tell.
 

Dr Foo

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The board has to properly back Ole now and build on the momentum, otherwise we could continue fluctuating like previous years. Ole has exceeded expectations based on what he has - despite gaping holes calling out for a starting 11 signing for RW, ST, DM. Amad may be the long term one for RW, so that leaves us with at least needing a ST and DM, if we are to signal that we are ready to climb back to the top again
 

SER19

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Think we're only a top right winger and a little depth away from competing much more seriously.
 

davidmichael

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Our summer business should be Sancho, Rice with Lingard going the other way, a centre back with pace, a new contract for Pogba and an extension for Cavani for another year and then I think if we have better luck with injuries next season we will realistically challenge on all fronts domestically as our core group of 15-16 is as good as anyone in the league but it’s the quality in depth when we’ve got injuries that’s where we struggle.
 

OleTheGreat

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I have a feeling Pogba will sign an extension because Ole has worked in harmony with him and the 2 have been aggressive in their approach with this team. Secondly, we're lucky to have Cavani and I think we can easily win the league with Cavani. El Matador is magic through and through. We need a right sided attacker preferably Sancho but I would also be perfectly happy with a signing like Neto or Adama Traore because I think they're fantastic and will not cost much plus the added PL experience. The best part about signing someone like Neto or Traore is that we can invest in a player like Declan Rice to sit in front of defense and allow players like Pogba and Bruno to play as #8s. We also need a CB unless Bailly keeps himself in shape. I highly doubt it and therefore need a CB. I would also appreciate a second RB but I think that be asking too much of this board.

Before all this, #GlazersOut
 

Polar

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We need one more offensive capability, either a RW or a striker. We also need another alternative to McFred and a more speedy CB.

If we manage to close our above mentioned gaps, I think our squad is complete (at least in a real life perspective).
 

Polar

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Possible to get three reinforcements for approx £150m?

£150m should be realistic if we manage to offload Lingard (£25-30m), Pereira (£10m), DDG (£15m), Matic and Mata (free).
 

Borys

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We have a good squad and we can play much better football even with current personnel.

Midfield needs more quality, I'd prefer a proper DM because that gives us stability and allow to play the second midfielder more offensively-oriented (like Leicester with Ndidi and Tielemans).

I don't know if we can get a proper striker this summer (Kane would be my dream signing), so if not then I'd give Rashford a chance up top and sign a winger.

We don't have a natural and quality winger in the squad (Rashford isn't one). Greenwood is OK right for now.

2 new quality signings would be a great summer. If Pogba leaves then we need 3, we can manage without him if we get a replacement.
 

sglowrider

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Team in : Kane, Grealish, Phillips

Team out : Pogba, Martial, Lingard

Result : First League title in 9 years.

Grealish, Bruno vs De Bruyne , Gundogan.

Would be quite a match if we had the balls to do a double pivot

————————Rodri—————————
————-De Bryne—-Gundogan————
Mahrez————-Sterling————Foden

Rashford———-Kane———-Greenwood
——————Grealish—-Bruno——————-
————————Phillips——————————

We should get these players, I wouldn’t play like that all the time because it isn’t our style but we certainly can if chasing games.

We must get Kane and Grealish and finally add some proven, hit the ground talent who although are costly maintain motivation to win something.
We lost £100M last year. Do you think we have the money to buy Kane (£120M) and Grealish (£80-100M)?? Plus Philips? Who's going to pay or really, can afford to pay what we want from the sale of Pogba, a player who's now heading into his peak years? Sell him just for the sake of it?

YOu will be heading into a massive disappointment come August/Sept when the transfer window closes.
 

dal

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We lost £100M last year. Do you think we have the money to buy Kane (£120M) and Grealish (£80-100M)?? Plus Philips? Who's going to pay or really, can afford to pay what we want from the sale of Pogba, a player who's now heading into his peak years? Sell him just for the sake of it?

YOu will be heading into a massive disappointment come August/Sept when the transfer window closes.
In finance there is such a thing as deal structuring, I’m sure we drew down £300 million from a revolving loan facility.

That team would be brilliant and would solve a lot of problems. Grealish and Phillips would still have sell on Value.

The endorsements from signing Kane aswell should be fairly lucrative.

This isn’t a one year plan, We easily have the capacity to pull this off if we aren’t shortsighted.

Obviously the transfer window won’t go as I’ve described however if there ever was a year to spend big it’s this summer, especially if you can afford it like us.
 

Annouchez

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Sancho is not going to take the team to the next level but not sure who will.
I seem to remember everyone saying the same about Cavani not too long ago and now the general opinion seems to be that keeping him allows us to compete next season - as long as we make the right moves in the market in the summer.

Have faith.
 

Polar

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Kane and Haaland are great, but in my opinion it’s space between Martial/Greenwood and the best of the best. Cavani is on example. Should be possible to reinforce our squad by aiming at some kind of middle ground which wouldn’t break our neck economically.

Suppose it also exists players with quality between VVD and Lindelof or between McFred and Gündoğan or prime time Modric.
 

Shiva87

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In finance there is such a thing as deal structuring, I’m sure we drew down £300 million from a revolving loan facility.

That team would be brilliant and would solve a lot of problems. Grealish and Phillips would still have sell on Value.

The endorsements from signing Kane aswell should be fairly lucrative.

This isn’t a one year plan, We easily have the capacity to pull this off if we aren’t shortsighted.

Obviously the transfer window won’t go as I’ve described however if there ever was a year to spend big it’s this summer, especially if you can afford it like us.
You don't draw down a revolving loan facility during a pandemic to spend it disproportionately on depreciating assets (players). The facility will be used for cash management and paying running costs (salaries, up keep, funding payment delays from sponsors, advertisements, distributors etc.).
 

dal

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You don't draw down a revolving loan facility during a pandemic to spend it disproportionately on depreciating assets (players). The facility will be used for cash management and paying running costs (salaries, up keep, funding payment delays from sponsors, advertisements, distributors etc.).

Well let’s say we sold those three players
and for arguments sake the wages of the three net off against the outgoing players.

Id assume Pogba’s transfer value has now amortised to around £15 million, Martials around £10 million and Jesse was academy so £0 including wages.

If we now sell them that should be a net income in 2021 of £100 million right.

Now if we amortise £230 million over 5 years that’s say £50 million a year.

if we are weakening a champions league rival improving the profile of our squad and adding proven goals in Kane and match day revenue should rebound in 21/22.

Then considering our long term goals of consistent champions league football I’d assume it’s a no brainer.


Kane would have a transfer value at 31, he doesn’t rely on pace, Grealish should as well at 28.

Considering we pay respectable fees and transfer inflation resumes after covid which are reasonable assumptions then now is the most opportune moment to invest, undoubtably.
 

Rozay

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It's revealing that Pogba is a world class midfielder and yet only third choice at United. Goes to show how strong we are in that part of the pitch.
Indeed, never thought of it like that.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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He's clearly neither yet, if we're serious about winning the title.

Greenwood has scored 5 league goals and assisted 2 all season, and 5 of those 7 contributions happened in the last four games. That's not a fabulous job by any stretch of the imagination.
He’s 19..:
 

Shiva87

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Well let’s say we sold those three players
and for arguments sake the wages of the three net off against the outgoing players.

Id assume Pogba’s transfer value has now amortised to around £15 million, Martials around £10 million and Jesse was academy so £0 including wages.

If we now sell them that should be a net income in 2021 of £100 million right.

Now if we amortise £230 million over 5 years that’s say £50 million a year.

if we are weakening a champions league rival improving the profile of our squad and adding proven goals in Kane and match day revenue should rebound in 21/22.

Then considering our long term goals of consistent champions league football I’d assume it’s a no brainer.


Kane would have a transfer value at 31, he doesn’t rely on pace, Grealish should as well at 28.

Considering we pay respectable fees and transfer inflation resumes after covid which are reasonable assumptions then now is the most opportune moment to invest, undoubtably.
I don't think either of those two are reasonable assumptions. Transfer inflation would reduce largely because of the UEFA trying to avoid another ESL conversation and ensuring some sort of FFP reform. They can't afford clubs like Real and Barca going bankrupt because of these sorts of fees (largely driven up by billionaire owners in PL and PSG).

Also, you are assuming we off load Pogba which is looking very unlikely and may not even be in our interest of a title challenge next season.

Amortisation of the fee needs the selling club to agree to a staggered payment, which no selling club will accept in the current scenario. Any deal will involve a big chunk of cash upfront.

And if you are talking about amortisation of cost on the books, that's not relevant here as a revolving facility is taken for cash management, and amortization doesn't help with that if we are paying out everything up front.

Whether or not you like it, United are very unlikely to spend 100 million on one player this summer. They may spend 100m overall with a net spend of 50-60 million assuming they decide to move on de gea.
 
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He’s 19..:
Yes, which further highlights the stupidity of having him as the only viable option on the right, and the desperate need for reinforcement - which the poster I was replying to doesn't seem to think there is.

Greenwood's not going to play at the level we need every week yet, and he shouldn't be expected to. His job at this point is to keep developing and make an impact when he can, and not be run into the ground or overplayed when he's clearly not in form (as he was for most of this season).
 

Rozay

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Yes, which further highlights the stupidity of having him as the only viable option on the right, and the desperate need for reinforcement - which the poster I was replying to doesn't seem to think there is.

Greenwood's not going to play at the level we need every week yet, and he shouldn't be expected to. His job at this point is to keep developing and make an impact when he can, and not be run into the ground or overplayed when he's clearly not in form (as he was for most of this season).
So who should we get? A 21 year old, because 19 is too young?
 
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We should get someone capable of producing more goals and assists than the one player we have right now. Their age is irrelevant.

Did you think that was a clever response, or something?
 

Rozay

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We should get someone capable of producing more goals and assists than the one player we have right now. Their age is irrelevant.

Did you think that was a clever response, or something?
Just answer the question or don’t.

Football teams are not built solely based on ‘right now’. The player we have ‘right now’ is getting better and better, and is already contributing respectably. The one we have behind him is about 2 years behind where he is now. What happens if we get someone who is a year or two ahead of where the current one is now? What happens in a year when they are both there? You don’t spend £100m to replace someone who you feel is a long term solution with another long-term solution. And I presume you are not advocating we buy a 33 year old winger in saying all this, and probably want us to buy the same winger everyone else does. One who is 18 months older than the current one we have. Then we can have first, second and third choice all 30 months apart in age.
 
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The player we have ‘right now’ is getting better and better, and is already contributing respectably
No he's not, which is entirely my point. He's contributing respectably for a teenager, not a first-choice attacker at a top club, and he needs someone to take on the load.

Football teams are not built solely based on ‘right now’. The player we have ‘right now’ is getting better and better, and is already contributing respectably. The one we have behind him is about 2 years behind where he is now. What happens if we get someone who is a year or two ahead of where the current one is now? What happens in a year when they are both there? You don’t spend £100m to replace someone who you feel is a long term solution with another long-term solution
What happens if we get someone who's only a year older than Greenwood and has been performing at a higher level for multiple seasons? We improve as a team. And if that means Greenwood isn't a guaranteed starter, so be it. 1) the onus is on him (and Amad) to prove he's good enough to play at a team contending for the biggest trophies, not on the team to fit him in even when he's not performing. 2) he doesn't need to be a guaranteed starter to develop - don't need to look much further than his England buddy across the city for an easy example.

This is the same argument loads of people here were making against signing Sancho last summer, and I found it equally ludicrous then - mainly because it was always going to be unlikely for Greenwood to maintain his level of overperformance from 19/20, and therefore stupid to go into the season with him and James as the right-wing options. Anyone who's watched United this season (or for the last ...five? six?) can see how lopsided the attack is with everyone piling up on the left.

There's absolutely no reason having two incredible talents in the same position is going to hinder one's development, especially when we already know they're both versatile. Play Greenwood up front, move Sancho to the left (and give Rashford a f*cking break while we're at it), do what it takes to win more games and more points.
 

dal

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Amortisation of the fee needs the selling club to agree to a staggered payment, which no selling club will accept in the current scenario. Any deal will involve a big chunk of cash upfront.
I’m talking P&l not cash.
 

Olecurls99

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No he's not, which is entirely my point. He's contributing respectably for a teenager, not a first-choice attacker at a top club, and he needs someone to take on the load.



What happens if we get someone who's only a year older than Greenwood and has been performing at a higher level for multiple seasons? We improve as a team. And if that means Greenwood isn't a guaranteed starter, so be it. 1) the onus is on him (and Amad) to prove he's good enough to play at a team contending for the biggest trophies, not on the team to fit him in even when he's not performing. 2) he doesn't need to be a guaranteed starter to develop - don't need to look much further than his England buddy across the city for an easy example.

This is the same argument loads of people here were making against signing Sancho last summer, and I found it equally ludicrous then - mainly because it was always going to be unlikely for Greenwood to maintain his level of overperformance from 19/20, and therefore stupid to go into the season with him and James as the right-wing options. Anyone who's watched United this season (or for the last ...five? six?) can see how lopsided the attack is with everyone piling up on the left.

There's absolutely no reason having two incredible talents in the same position is going to hinder one's development, especially when we already know they're both versatile. Play Greenwood up front, move Sancho to the left (and give Rashford a f*cking break while we're at it), do what it takes to win more games and more points.
Yep, agree with this.

There's no harm in having more options up top. The fact that the lads we have can play in different positions means it's easier to accommodate everyone. Signing Sancho or preferably Grealish would mean we have 6(Cavani,Rashford, Pogba, Greenwood, Grealish and Fernandes) top choices for 4 positions, with Martial and Donny fighting their way into the reckoning.

That's a perfect amount to allow for injuries and form and won't impede Greenwood's development in any way.
 

justsomebloke

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There is now a critical mass of title-winning quality in this squad. If we manage to keep Pogba and Cavani, we will be looking at:

Bruno Fernandes: one of the best and most productive #10s in the world
Paul Pogba: one of the best midfielders in the world
Luke Shaw: currently the best LB in the world
Rashford, Cavani, Maguire, Wan Bissaka: all players whose quality would not look at all out of place in a CL final
Greenwood: one of the most promising young players in world football

Like any team, we have clear areas for improvement, and if we want to have a good chance at the title or the CL next season we need to make serious purchases in two out of these three areas, at least. Players like McTominay, Fred and Lindelof would look more impressive as options off the bench replaced with top drawer/more suitable starters. But the bulk of the side is here already. We are no longer 'in transition'. The progress has already been made. We need to win the Europa League and then we need to go into next season with the unequivocal target of winning the league and competing for the Champions League.

Football teams are subject to entropy like any other system. This side will not hold together forever without success. Pogba and Cavani will only be with us for one more season if we don't win something big, and Bruno is rightly ambitious too. Others will lose form, get serious injuries, decline with age.

So yes, we absolutely have to make some quality signings, but this right here is already the team.
I think still not quite. But I agree we seem to be closer than I'd expected. Another 2-3 major signings should do it.