What do this sqaud lack that the 98/99 & 07/08 squads had?

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Defensively & midfield we are three steps behind (I’m being generous). Offensively we are one or two steps behind.

 

[beedoubleyou]

Several quality players.

 

[bonsaiboy]

We currently lack:

• Siege mentality. Every team is going to raise their game to try to beat us, we should expect it and work to stop it. It always seems to take us by surprise.
• Fitness. We struggle to maintain our intensity for 90 minutes.
• Strength in depth. When our first XI is disrupted, our options are poor.
• Leadership on the field. We need players who will motivate the rest of the team.
• Quality in all areas. Every player needs to trust his teammates to do their jobs. Forwards need to make runs knowing that the ball will be played to them. Midfield need to be able to leave the defense to clean up.

Other than that, the differences between now and then are that all the teams we're playing are at a higher level than they were. There aren't any easy games in the league. It's difficult to find fixtures where our first team can take a rest, particularly because we can't expect our rivals to slip up.

 

[Peyroteo]

You currently have a better midfield than in 2007/08 imo. Better goalkeeper too.

Defense and attack are miles away though.

 

[Makelele]

Balance. Several quality players but they are not integrated well because you are missing some key components to hold it all toghether. Its like a good FUT team with bad chemistry.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Wingers. Good defenders. Leaders.

This squad is talented, but the lack of leadership (prevalent in football may I add) is alarming. It doesn't take much to affect them mentally. They seem very weak.

I think the squad is in better shape than the squads of Fergie's latter years, but we don't have natural leaders to see their potential being met.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

You currently have a better midfield than in 2007/08 imo. Better goalkeeper too.

Defense and attack are miles away though.

Scholes and Carrick alone make the 07/08 midfield better in my opinion, while prime Park, Hargreaves and Fletch would also be huge assets to the current team. I agree with the below point:

Quality, is the answer. We lack quality. People refuse to believe it so often (usually when we win a couple of games), citing Fergie having John O'shea, but we had more quality throughout.

that the odd average player popping up to fill in didn't somehow make us a ragbag bunch of chancers, the quality and mentality oozed throughout that team and that midfield. Pogba's a great player, I like Herrera and Matic but as a unit have they shown us anything like their 07/08 counterparts in red shirts? It's not even close for me.

 

[bosnian_red]

It's missing quality and experience in key areas. We dont really have any properly experienced top players. Most of our older players were pretty average or squad players at their best. Also balance. This team has glaring holes. Those teams didnt. Sort out the right wing, sort out right back, sort out our depth all over, sort out the centerbacks of course, and with Rashford, Martial, Shaw and whoever else gaining more experience we can look to push on.

Pretty much all of Fergies successful teams had established quality at centerback and for the strikers. It's hard to be successful without sorting out those 2 areas. We have a young exciting player but still a way away from being established as a star player as the striker, and average defenders. Not to mention the other holes in the squad.

 

[Saffron]

It's difficult to find fixtures where our first team can take a rest, particularly because we can't expect our rivals to slip up.

Especially now that Gerrard is retired.

 

[Godfather]

Saha, Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo and Nani were in my opinion better than anything we currently have. That's almost funny to think about it.

Yep. The frontlines aren't even comparable.

 

[cyril C]

Scholes and Carrick alone make the 07/08 midfield better in my opinion, while prime Park, Hargreaves and Fletch would also be huge assets to the current team. I agree with the below point:



that the odd average player popping up to fill in didn't somehow make us a ragbag bunch of chancers, the quality and mentality oozed throughout that team and that midfield. Pogba's a great player, I like Herrera and Matic but as a unit have they shown us anything like their 07/08 counterparts in red shirts? It's not even close for me.

Agree on MF. Even when either 1 of Scholes or Carrick not performing, the other will move on. Unlike current squad everything depending on Pogba, with Matic and Herrera dare not running the ship.

 

[JPRouve]

Yep. The frontlines aren't even comparable.

And I feel that it's a pretty good thing because today our strength is in scoring goals. I think that we should do what SAF did and strengthen our strengths instead of prioritizing our weaknesses. We need to improve the right side with a better forward than Lingard, who would become a very good fourth man, and we need to bring an attacking right fullback that is in his prime and will hopefully be a bridge for Dalot. Then we need to improve our midfield and make sure that we can totally control games and put our forwards in positions to do what they are good at which is scoring loads of goals.

I get why people are tempted to spend big on central defense, we don't have a player that would be recognized as one of the best and it's disconcerting. But in opinion it's best focus on our strength and when these strengths are close to the max then we can look at other areas.

 

[RedorDead21]

And I feel that it's a pretty good thing because today our strength is in scoring goals. I think that we should do what SAF did and strengthen our strengths instead of prioritizing our weaknesses. We need to improve the right side with a better forward than Lingard, who would become a very good fourth man, and we need to bring an attacking right fullback that is in his prime and will hopefully be a bridge for Dalot. Then we need to improve our midfield and make sure that we can totally control games and put our forwards in positions to do what they are good at which is scoring loads of goals.

I get why people are tempted to spend big on central defense, we don't have a player that would be recognized as one of the best and it's disconcerting. But in opinion it's best focus on our strength and when these strengths are close to the max then we can look at other areas.

One world class quality CB and it can elevate the entire back line though up a level. Dalot might push on massively over the next 12 months if trusted and thrown in there. Especially on the back of the first sentence. I disagree and think we need to stop our midfield thinking about providing as much protection and a quality back line will improve us more than a world class RW. Lingard brings massive amounts to this team and people will find improving on him more difficult than it first appears.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

One world class quality CB and it can elevate the entire back line though up a level. Dalot might push on massively over the next 12 months if trusted and thrown in there. Especially on the back of the first sentence. I disagree and think we need to stop our midfield thinking about providing as much protection and a quality back line will improve us more than a world class RW. Lingard brings massive amounts to this team and people will find improving on him more difficult than it first appears.

I don't disagree there are several areas we could improve, and that priorities for such improvements are a matter of debate, but we can't avoid the fact our right side has been way underpar for years. The making-do-and-mending that has gone on at both RW and RB has been a disgrace in my opinion, and I would say both our midfield and our defence would feel the benefits of a functional right flank, let alone a great or WC one.

 

[JPRouve]

One world class quality CB and it can elevate the entire back line though up a level. Dalot might push on massively over the next 12 months if trusted and thrown in there. Especially on the back of the first sentence. I disagree and think we need to stop our midfield thinking about providing as much protection and a quality back line will improve us more than a world class RW. Lingard brings massive amounts to this team and people will find improving on him more difficult than it first appears.

And I disagree because we absolutely need depth in our frontline and there is zero point to spend big money on a player that isn't going to improve the starting eleven, that's a mistake that we have made too many times in the last 6 years. For me we are in position where we need to add depth and quality and you do that by the top.

Also one of the reason insist on the CB is because of Liverpool and Van Dijk but he was the last piece not the first. Klopp started with the strength of his team which was scoring goals and creating easy chances. If we were managed by Simeone I would agree with you but we aren't.

But of course if we have the opportunity to bring a top CB then we should do it, I'm just against the idea of putting it at the top of the list.

 

[tenpoless]

Experience and winning mentality. We've been dumbed down by Moyes, LvG and Mourinho and our club is still in building phase and not winning phase. Things started to get better when Ole arrived.

 

[L1nk]

Whilst you need some world class players in positions, what happened with the teams really was we managed to get a great group of players together that combined well to get more than the sum of their parts. Not every player was world class but every player served a purpose, generally there was no square pegs and round holes. For example, we always made sure we had players tailor made for positions, we weren't always using makeshift fullbacks, or central defenders, we've been missing a right flank for what seems like season upon season now, we weren't using players that generally didn't fit within the ethos as a whole, i could go on.

I mean I hate to heap praise on the man but Klopp is also fantastic at doing this, and i've not seen much better jobs than his Dortmund side of 2012 and the football they played, they had nowhere near a world class squad but the team played like it was world class.

 

[Josep Dowling]

Beckham was surely world class in the OP? He finished 2nd on the Ballon D'or that season and he assists that year was near 20. He seems to be such an underrated player due to his off the pitch lifestyle. I'm still yet to see a better crosser of the ball in my lifetime.

Add to that Scholes, effectively 4 world class midfielders.

 

[jderbyshire]

We lack proper fullbacks.

This is a major problem for me.

Young, Valencia, Shaw, Darmian - all not good enough, in my opinion. Dalot looks promising.

Remember when City spent what, a hundred mil on three fullbacks? Ridiculous wasn't it?

Well, no because they went and won the bloody title didn't they.

 

[Green_Red]

How anyone could say that anyone that played in that 99 starting XI wasn't world class is beyond me.

 

[matherto]

Leaders.

Big personalities to take over when the going gets tough and drag them forward. They have to be world class too to command respect.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Defence and true leaders on the pitch

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Beckham was World Class in 99, as were the combination of Yorke and Cole together.

Scholes was World Class in 2008, so was Rooney.

Exactly this, Beckham was more world class than Giggs/Scholes was in 98. Not sure why he isn’t getting that recognition.

 

[Gentleman Jim]

Defence not smart or athletic enough and your Manager is not savvy enough at the top level (though he may be in the future).

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Was Rooney not world class in 07/08?

 

[Eire Red United]

Saha, Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo and Nani were in my opinion better than anything we currently have. That's almost funny to think about it.

Not much shame in that. 5 serious players at their best there.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Not much shame in that. 5 serious players at their best there.

Did he leave out Berba, Rio, Vidic?

 

[SalfordRed18]

Bottle.

 

[Icemav]

Its not a matter of comparing individuals, the biggest issue is we lack is the ability to control games. In 99 we had a midfield of Scholes, Keane, Becks and Giggs along with Yorke as part of our front 6. All 5 of them could move the ball without having to carry it themselves. They could make the opposition come at them and break shape without having to do so themselves. Similarly in 08 we had Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Rooney, Giggs or Park, whoever played, even Tevez to a certain extent who were all adept at keeping the ball. This was well supplemented by the likes of Ronaldo and Nani who carry the ball at pace. In our current team, our attacking approach is based on unsettling the opposition into making mistakes and carrying the ball forward at pace. Our players like Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Lingard excel at this and hence we have been getting very good results against PL level opposition and I guess we will continue to get good results against inferior sides because they will make mistakes.

But against top sides who won't break shape or be forced into mistakes, we will struggle because our front 6 can't penetrate without the ball at their feet, they try to run at the opposition which is always easier to defend against(at least for top defenders) compared to having to chase the ball and shut out spaces for 90 minutes. Pogba is world class at what he does, but he is not someone who can control games, we need that player, someone like Scholes or Carrick who can recycle possession all day long and force the opposition to break lines. At present when the likes of Herrera and Matic try to keep possession it is easy to defend against without breaking shape because they don't have the skill set to be able to play those penetrating balls, which forces the likes of Martial or Lingard to come deep and try to carry the ball with them or try one-twos which is for top sides is easier to defend against.

Great post.

 

[Ecstatic]

Its not a matter of comparing individuals, the biggest issue is we lack is the ability to control games. In 99 we had a midfield of Scholes, Keane, Becks and Giggs along with Yorke as part of our front 6. All 5 of them could move the ball without having to carry it themselves. They could make the opposition come at them and break shape without having to do so themselves. Similarly in 08 we had Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Rooney, Giggs or Park, whoever played, even Tevez to a certain extent who were all adept at keeping the ball. This was well supplemented by the likes of Ronaldo and Nani who carry the ball at pace. In our current team, our attacking approach is based on unsettling the opposition into making mistakes and carrying the ball forward at pace. Our players like Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Lingard excel at this and hence we have been getting very good results against PL level opposition and I guess we will continue to get good results against inferior sides because they will make mistakes.

But against top sides who won't break shape or be forced into mistakes, we will struggle because our front 6 can't penetrate without the ball at their feet, they try to run at the opposition which is always easier to defend against(at least for top defenders) compared to having to chase the ball and shut out spaces for 90 minutes. Pogba is world class at what he does, but he is not someone who can control games, we need that player, someone like Scholes or Carrick who can recycle possession all day long and force the opposition to break lines. At present when the likes of Herrera and Matic try to keep possession it is easy to defend against without breaking shape because they don't have the skill set to be able to play those penetrating balls, which forces the likes of Martial or Lingard to come deep and try to carry the ball with them or try one-twos which is for top sides is easier to defend against.

Good post for many reasons.

Important to underline it's not mandatory to recruit players who look like Pirlo or Modric to control games.

 

[Jib]

We simply lack quality.
I don't even talk about world class player...

 

[JPRouve]

Not much shame in that. 5 serious players at their best there.

I'm simply pointed to the fact that these 5 players who are all attackers are better than what we currently have which points to an incredible depth. Shame never came into it.

 

[RedRob]

Easier and more forgiving competition?

The idea of a Top Six in 1998/99 was laughable. We had one significant opponent for the title in any given year (Liverpool/Newcastle/Arsenal, fairly interchangeably) and losing a few games was part and parcel of a season. Keane talks about anger throughout the club at a one game losing streak, but in 1996/97 we lost 6-3 and 5-0 to Newcastle and Southampton in consecutive weeks in the autumn and won the title at a reasonable canter. Your title shot is dead in the water if that happens now; it really was easier then.
Even in 2007/08, City were a How Not To Sugar Daddy example, by signing Santa Cruz, Vassell and Lescott as they attempted to follow the Abramovic model. You couldn't lose quite as many games around this tine, but it was more forgiving than it is now.
Then look at last season for us. Most fans abandoned hop of the title as soon as City beat us 2-1, because even if they weren't consistent enough to see it through (and everyone knew they would be), but Liverpool and Chelsea were looking strong too, and Top Four would be considered a success. I believe even Sir Alex would find managing in this era to be more difficult than 10 or 20 years ago, whichever players he managed to attract to the club.

 

[sam147]

You can have all the passion you want but it is quality that wins you games and trophies. Would PSG start a RW with that has around 45 Goals and Assists in 7 seasons and make excuses for him saying he is a late bloomer? No. What we lack is quality. Pogba is a class above any other outfield player we have on the pitch and it is as simple as marking him out the game to nullify our attack. That 08 team has game changers. Who is our game changer? The midfield options are solid passers of the ball. Whereas we have Herrera and Matic. Neither of them are good at driving forward with the ball or anything special on the ball. We had Evra who was small but a lion on the pitch whereas now we have Shaw who is timid. We are lacking leaders and quality. Van Der Sar could dominate the box which De gea cant do. Our defenders are timid and Young is way past it. We are in need of a major rebuild with players who have quality and players who can handle pressure.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

1. Sir Alex Ferguson missing, the biggest factor.

2. Driving forces for team "United" morale eg. leadership, experiences, maturity, United's mentality, etc -- Keane/Irwin/Schmeichel (98/99), Giggs/Scholes/GNev/Rio/VDS (07/08).

3. Matured many top quality match winning players.
98/99 -- Solskjaer, Sheringham, Beckham, Giggs, Keane, GNev, Stam, Schmeichel. *don't remember much the others, I think there's more.
07/08 -- Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs, Scholes, Evra, Rio, Vidic, Brown, VDS.

4. Top Clicks!
98/99 -- Yorke-Cole, Giggs-Scholes-Keane-Beckham, Beck-GNev, Stam-Johnsen.
07/08 -- Roon-Tevez-Ron, Roon-Ron, Scholes-Carrick, Evra-Vidic-Rio-Brown and VDS at their back.

---

The Current squad is still in its baby stage, Relax~
1. Ole and Phelan + some more to fill the gap atm.. not enough yet, maybe get more United staffs eg. Rene to help next season.. oh and if we could get a DOF that gets what United is all about, would be great.

2. ...none really fits the bill. But we do have players that get "it" what United is all about, so that's a plus eg. Young, Herrera, Mata, De Gea.. not enough, each of them have limitations. And our youths eg. Pogba, Lingard, Rashford who understand, but still not enough yet as they're still "maturing".

3. Just De Gea so far, full stop. Pogba next in line, but not yet.

4. Err... seriously no combinations have top clicks. There are potentials though... as they've showed in the past seasons eg. Martial-Lukaku, Martial-Shaw, Bailly-Rojo, Smalling-Lindelof, Lindelof-DDG. Also Herrera-Mata. We all know what the problems are.
Actually the best top clicks we got from this squad is these:

• Zlatan-Pogba
• Pogba-Carrick-Herrera
• Bailly-Rojo

Two of those are expired, and the last one...

---

Just to add more, which all the three teams had,
5. Hungry ("newer") players who are motivated wanting to prove themselves either because of new transfers or some circumstances/stories behind their motivations.

*not including the already motivated players who proved it already seasons before.*
98/99 -- C92, Yorke, Sheringham, Cole and Stam.
07/08 -- Ronaldo, Tevez, Hargreaves, Brown, Evra, Vidic.
Current -- Rashford, Martial, Lingard, Pogba. *the others are still finding their feet.​

 

[reddaz71]

That '99 team is the greatest club side of all time managed by the greatest club manager of all time with a phenomenal we won't ever give up attitude! 2008 side was a machine, great players all over the pitch!