What do we need to do to win the league?

justsomebloke said:
You forget one important reason: Newcastle didn't want to sell him.
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It seemed pretty clear to me that Newcastle did want to cash in on him this summer. And Villa didn’t want to sell Tielemans, but had to because of the release clause, which is one of the reasons I already gave. So not sure what your point is.
 
Trigestis said:
I listen to fans' of other clubs' opinions on their players, of course. Why would that be concerning? When we wanted Hojlund out, do you think other fans were begging for him to join their club?

Why are you making things up? He played in 25 games in the league (almost 2000 minutes) and nearly every game in Europa League. How is that basically all season? Enlighten me
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I am not making anything up, It is part of public record that he missed total of 112 days in 25/26 season. Premier League season is about 280 days so that is 40% of the season missed.

25/26Ankle injuryJan 25, 2026Mar 22, 202657 days
25/26Calf problemsSep 13, 2025Nov 6, 202555 days
 
NewGlory said:
I am not making anything up, It is part of public record that he missed total of 112 days in 25/26 season. Premier League season is about 280 days so that is 40% of the season missed.

25/26Ankle injuryJan 25, 2026Mar 22, 202657 days
25/26Calf problemsSep 13, 2025Nov 6, 202555 days
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So he wasn't "basically injured all season" then. Thanks for confirming.
 
NewGlory said:
I am not making anything up, It is part of public record that he missed total of 112 days in 25/26 season. Premier League season is about 280 days so that is 40% of the season missed.

25/26Ankle injuryJan 25, 2026Mar 22, 202657 days
25/26Calf problemsSep 13, 2025Nov 6, 202555 days
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So he played in 66% of the games in the league, and nearly all in Europa League. You said he was injured basically the entire season. So you're very wrong.
 
Zumbi said:
So he wasn't "basically injured all season" then. Thanks for confirming.
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If that's what makes you happy, for a player that was injured half of the season - sure. With that kind of logic, Mason Mount is a huge asset for us, Champions League winner, was only officially injured 53 days, so half of that of Tielemans :)
 
NewGlory said:
If that's what makes you happy, for a player that was injured half of the season - sure. With that kind of logic, Mason Mount is a huge asset for us, Champions League winner, was only officially injured 53 days, so half of that of Tielemans :)
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Why do you always feel the need to massively exaggerate and get all dramatic about everything/make things up? Does that make you happy? It’s a recurring theme in your posts.

Players gets injured. He was injured last season but still played over half the season, and Villa were much better when he played than when he didn’t. We’ll see how he does for us this season.
 
justsomebloke said:
I think Arsenal provides an interesting case. They finished 8th in 20/21. In 21/22, they brought in Tomiyasu, Lokonga, Ramsdale, White and Tavares - a group of players without much lasting impact, most of whom were relatively cheap, but they plugged holes and addressed obvious problems. That let them move from 8th to 5th.

Then in in 22/23, they brought in Jesus, Zinchenko, Vieira, Trossard, Jorginho and Kiwior. Not one of those players are still in their first XI (or really ever were), but they plugged the remaining holes and addressed obvious issues. They were all significant signings, but not really big ones. That allowed them to make the jump from 5th to 2nd.

It was only after that they started adding the pieces that became integral to their championship team. Rice, Havertz, Timber and Raya in 23/24. Calafiori and Merino in 24/25. Zubimendi, Eze, Gyokeres, Madueke and Hincapie last summer.

I think there are some interesting takeaways from that story. I was always mystified by their transfers in 21/22, because it seemed obvious that the players they bought were not of a calibre that could make them important pieces of a future contender, which is what they were building towards. But what they seem to have done, and which seems to have worked, is to progress in stages. Their 21/22 additions helped make them a more functional and complete team and to regain competitiveness. Their 22/23 additions then built on that to upgrade in key positions, bringing them much closer. And from there on it's been a question of marginal improvements in already strong positions, and expanding quality depth, culminating in last season's title.

If you place United in that trajectory, I would say we're at more or less the same stage Arsenal was in 22/23, and perhaps even a bit behind that. We are still plugging holes and fixing issues rather than upgrading an already functional and balanced squad that is competitive but not quite a title contender. Entering this window, we did not have a credible backup goaltender, were a man short at LB, three men short in central midfield, had a rather unsettled central defence (anyone want to bet which two CBs are the regular starters two seasons from now?) and had obvious issues at the RB and Striker positions. Our transfer activity must be expected to be geared towards addressing those multiple issues, which in practice means it's not going to be big money star players, and not not necessarily players with a long and important future at the club either. This is what building in stages looks like.
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I do hope this is the way we're going about it and it looks to be the case.

Plenty of us here will admit that we're a ways off from the title, though my definition is, "Look at the league. A few lucky breaks and we can challenge for it now." But I'm an optimist. And we were on top for the second half of last season.

But the thing I like most about what you said is that at each stage, we're stabilizing the situation and giving ourselves room to correct mistakes along the way. We need a LOT of improvement in depth to keep four competitions going. Our purchases last year and this seem to be moving in that direction. One or two huge purchases don't guarantee anything, introduce a lot of risk, and force us into prioritizing one competition or another, rather than being able to push for two, three, or all four.

The economics of the game have changed, too, and a lot of folks here refuse to accept it, even when they admit it.

Maybe in next year's transfer window, or the year after that at worst, we'll be in a position to make a splash signing or two that will put us over the top. We're not there yet.
 
A huge and serious recruitment drive for first team players.

ST, LW, CDM, LB are needed for the first team.

CB if De Ligt and Martinez can't be relied on to be fit the whole season.
 
Overhaul FC said:
A huge and serious recruitment drive for first team players.

ST, LW, CDM, LB are needed for the first team.

CB if De Ligt and Martinez can't be relied on to be fit the whole season.
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Still think we need a much better RW and RB too.
AM too slowly phase out Bruno Fernandes

We really need some luck mostly. Tynan Thompson, Noah Ajayi or JJ Gabriel coming through can help with filling up the squad.
Harry Amass, Jaydan Kamason and Jimmy Thwaites I am quietly confident on.
 
RedKnight88 said:
Still think we need a much better RW and RB too.
AM too slowly phase out Bruno Fernandes

We really need some luck mostly. Tynan Thompson, Noah Ajayi or JJ Gabriel coming through can help with filling up the squad.
Harry Amass, Jaydan Kamason and Jimmy Thwaites I am quietly confident on.
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Who would you like to see signed at RW and RB, could Palmer or Gibbs-White be possible Bruno replacements or did you have someone else in mind. My gut feeling is that some of those players could really benefit with a loan to Championship maybe even lower Premier League
 
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