Indicative of true change and a new era of zero tolerance and desire to move in a different direction to what we've been mired in for years now?
What/who is the biggest statement player sale the club could make this summer?
- Thread starter Fortitude
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In before Bruno or Rashford 
Bruno or RashfordIn before Bruno or Rashford
Are Bruno and Rashford a problemIn before Bruno or Rashford
Selling Mainoo to Liverpool would be quite the statement.
Rashford I reckon. Home grown hero and probably seen as untouchable.
I don't think there is one, and there doesn't need to be.
There can quite obviously only be two answers. Rashford is probably the right answer but Bruno for me would send the better signal, seeing as you’ll simply never play controlled possession football while having an agent of chaos as your playmaker. Bruno is a good player but we need to move on from him.
Martinez? A future of pace, power and desire.
Yeah I've never heard of a club making a statement sale.
Maguire
Probably getting rid of Antony for peanuts. The club isn't going to sell Bruno or Rashford.
We continue to play forms of 4-3-3 and that leaves us so exposed in Midfield when you have Bruno.
Whenever I draw up a fantasy United team, I always struggle, or find it impossible to put Bruno in unless it's a Midfield 4, otherwise the team is so unbalanced.
Having said that, Rashford has absolutely disgusted me this season.
All players lose form & confidence, but there is never any excuse to put in feeble half arsed performances that lack the very basic levels of effort.
The only players that are generally expected to have an important role here over the next 3-4 years that haven't really carried their weight this season are Bruno and Rashford. You could also argue that it would be a big statement regarding injuries and availability to get rid of Shaw.
There are two obvious ones, both predictably on fresh whopping contracts in Bruno and Rashford.
I will say that Bruno is the most obvious one who I just can't see how he fits into a system where you want any kind of midfield control unless he plays as a false 9 and I don't think he's good or mobile enough for that. He's also at an age where you might realise £30m or so for him but it will decline rapidly - he's got good stats but I can't really see where he'd go, maybe Serie A?
I will say that Bruno is the most obvious one who I just can't see how he fits into a system where you want any kind of midfield control unless he plays as a false 9 and I don't think he's good or mobile enough for that. He's also at an age where you might realise £30m or so for him but it will decline rapidly - he's got good stats but I can't really see where he'd go, maybe Serie A?
Unless the new manager absolutely can't stand Bruno for whatever reason, there is 0% chance of us selling him. His workrate, fitness and overall professionalism is top tier and he's also among our most skilled players. The only statement we're making by selling him is that we're dumb or delusional (try to behave like big dogs even though we're far from it).
Rashford makes more sense, but there are just too many attackers that need to go before him. Greenwood, Sancho, Antony and Martial have no business here and Amad still needs to prove himself.
Ultimately, "statements" are for winners. And we are not winners.
Rashford makes more sense, but there are just too many attackers that need to go before him. Greenwood, Sancho, Antony and Martial have no business here and Amad still needs to prove himself.
Ultimately, "statements" are for winners. And we are not winners.
Rashford.
Poor attitude, poor performances, lack of effort, huge contract, believes his own hype, sulks when things don't go his way, poor professional and just not that good at football.
The main point, for me though, even allowing for all of the above, is that it signals a change in attitude. The club are culpable when it comes to Rashford because, rather than protect him, we actively encouraged the hype at a time when we our team of floundering executives / managers desperately needed good news stories. The club effectively created the monster that he has become.
Selling him would send a message. No special treatment, no exceptions, it doesn't matter what your passport says, what postcode you were born in or what you did in season 2018, 2020 etc....
Excellence is demanded every game and if you can't be excellent, you should 'die' trying as a bare minimum. If you can't meet those standards, goodbye.
EDIT : Oh....and he'd be great for the balance sheet, since he's 'homegrown' and counts as pure profit.
Poor attitude, poor performances, lack of effort, huge contract, believes his own hype, sulks when things don't go his way, poor professional and just not that good at football.
The main point, for me though, even allowing for all of the above, is that it signals a change in attitude. The club are culpable when it comes to Rashford because, rather than protect him, we actively encouraged the hype at a time when we our team of floundering executives / managers desperately needed good news stories. The club effectively created the monster that he has become.
Selling him would send a message. No special treatment, no exceptions, it doesn't matter what your passport says, what postcode you were born in or what you did in season 2018, 2020 etc....
Excellence is demanded every game and if you can't be excellent, you should 'die' trying as a bare minimum. If you can't meet those standards, goodbye.
EDIT : Oh....and he'd be great for the balance sheet, since he's 'homegrown' and counts as pure profit.
We should be focused on putting the new structure in place, and then decide the manager. If that's done, we can start assessing the squad.
If someone departs, it should be because they aren't good enough, or they don't fit our system, or we have a good opportunity to cash in on them, and not because we want to make a scapegoat out of them by this weird "statement sale" thing
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Yeah if we continue to rely on Bruno there is no chance of it changing anytime soon either .
Mctominey for me. Would mean we’ve moved on from him
And that style
Of play in midfield
And that style
Of play in midfield
This is based on one of those impossible to prove hypothesises that are equally impossible (and draining) to argue against. Feel free to live your life thinking that Bruno is so destructive that it's impossible to win anything meaningful with him.
For the record I think that there are plenty of players in our squad (some far worse than Bruno) that it's possible to win the league with.
Manchester United are a weird bunch. These guys have spent the best part of this season crying about the lack of structure that goes behind our decision making.
Yet they want the club to do the same sort of emotionally charged decision making that's landed us in this mess in the first place. There's no hope for our fans and our club.
Agreed it's like putting on clothes back to front, doesn't address the fundamental issue. The club seemingly don't have a manager who has the capability to take the team in the intended direction the co-owner outlined within 36 months, so true change will start at the helm of the coach and depending on what the hierarchy intend in terms of the philosophy, player acquisitions cannot be attributed for until that dynamic is resolved.
We have a style of play?
Rashford or Bruno. Preferably both.
Rashford.
Antony
Wouldn't sell Bruno. Be more of a statement by stripping the captaincy and giving it to someone who isn't a complete and utter fanny.
Anthony Martial. Apparently he has a contract with no end date and I really want him to leave
Serious answer would be selling Varane and Casemiro and replacing them with two players no older than 22. Would show that we're trying to build to the future.
Serious answer would be selling Varane and Casemiro and replacing them with two players no older than 22. Would show that we're trying to build to the future.
Sancho.
He's the epitome of what's been wrong with the club. A player who openly defies the manager, gives no effort and leaves on loan hoping we sack the manager and he can waltz back in to his salary when the manager is gone. Then what happens is the new manager gives him a chance, he plays decent for a month and we give him a new deal with improved wages, only for him to act like a clown again when he doesn't get his way.
He's the epitome of what's been wrong with the club. A player who openly defies the manager, gives no effort and leaves on loan hoping we sack the manager and he can waltz back in to his salary when the manager is gone. Then what happens is the new manager gives him a chance, he plays decent for a month and we give him a new deal with improved wages, only for him to act like a clown again when he doesn't get his way.
Rashford. Won't happen though. It's an area of the pitch where we're not blessed with talent/replacements, he's a back up number 9 striker, and there are probably more pressing issues across the squad.
Surely someone is looking at his career trajectory from the past three years and seeing one appalling season, one fantastic season, and then another appalling season and thinking there's something not right here? The managers can't just be to blame for the workrate/discipline issues. He's probably at the highest value he'll ever be too.
Surely someone is looking at his career trajectory from the past three years and seeing one appalling season, one fantastic season, and then another appalling season and thinking there's something not right here? The managers can't just be to blame for the workrate/discipline issues. He's probably at the highest value he'll ever be too.
I'm glad others have spoken about players not named Rashford and Bruno. There are plenty of statement sales to be made, and contrary to clubs 'never doing it' clubs do it all the time and it has nothing to do with emotions, necessarily, rather matter of fact changing of guard or going in wholly different directions as a club or culture within a club.
Greenwood
Sancho
Antony
Bruno
Rashford
Martial
Casemiro
Eriksen
Varane
Maguire
All come to mind for differing reasons and obviously, some make louder declarations than others, not all purely about the pitch.
Greenwood
Sancho
Antony
Bruno
Rashford
Martial
Casemiro
Eriksen
Varane
Maguire
All come to mind for differing reasons and obviously, some make louder declarations than others, not all purely about the pitch.
Bruno Fernandes/Marcus Rashford. If even one of them goes then you know the club is serious.
For me, @Fortitude , we've already made our statements last summer - Lingard and de Gea are still without clubs which is utterly, utterly damning of both them and our club, in part because clearly they weren't good enough and it was clear for a LONG time, and they were kept around as charity cases for their loyalty. There's no point being loyal to declining players - they'll let you and the next guys down, Alex Ferguson did it with his riddance of Jim Leighton, Beckham, etc and never looked back as he iterated and improved out side endlessly. Phil Jones new contract under Solskjaer and the administration was representative of the failure of standards at our club.
But for Ten Hag, or whoever the next manager may be, more culling would be needed. Probably Antony, Sancho and Maguire next. Massive wages and nowhere near the talent we need.
But for Ten Hag, or whoever the next manager may be, more culling would be needed. Probably Antony, Sancho and Maguire next. Massive wages and nowhere near the talent we need.
I think when ETH goes, his cult status will soon disappear and United will look for two mobile 6’3 plus CB’s.
Rashford without doubt and I think it should happen.
Rashford. He deserves to be sold for his lack of effort (and quality) especially considering his pay.
Bruno at least leaves everything on the pitch and is a good example for everyone else. He is lacking in some areas ability / tactical fit wise but he always works for the collective.
Bruno at least leaves everything on the pitch and is a good example for everyone else. He is lacking in some areas ability / tactical fit wise but he always works for the collective.
Hoepfully our best CB also doesn’t go as that would be daft
It's a trick question if you sell one of Bruno, Rashford, Casemiro, Varane, Shaw or whoever else but don't drastically modify our tactical setup and pick players based on their actual ability to elevate the team. Then you made no valuable statement.