What would you have done had you taken over from Sir Alex (£300m budget)

[Red_toad]

Simple really, I'd have bought all the players United tried to sign that weren't for sale or didn't want to join. But with me as boss they'd have been far more attracted to the club

So
De Gea
Rafael, Smalling, Ramos, Shaw
Herrera, Bale, schneiderlin
Muller, Martial, Neymar

 

[Amar__]

Considering that they were horse shit soon after SAF retired and irrespective of the manager managing them than I guess they were.

TBF they were overrated

Yeah, all our other players were world class under van Gaal and Moyes.

 

[Eugenius]

The biggest mistake was made in the transfer windows when Moyes was here. I think the squad was in a similar situation to 06/07 where we won the league easily but definitely needed some fresh bodies at the end of it.

It wasn't exactly rocket science either. We needed two CMs, a left back and another world class attacker since we relied heavily on RVP's form. There were other things to manage like phasing out Rio and Vidic, but Rio was in great form the previous year and we already had Smalling and Jones at the club. Those 3/4 signings would have been enough.

In fairness to Moyes he sussed it out - we went for Baines, Fellaini, Fabregas and Bale for those positions. The issue was he fecked around with the two former, both not really being good enough for us, and went balls in on the other two who never were going to join us. He then went for Mata who was the wrong fit, and who he had no idea how to use, as the attacking signing.

So basically we didn't improve our squad under Moyes, and by the time we signed Shaw, Herrera and Di Maria for those positions under LvG the whole squad was basically coming apart and we had to make wholesale changes to personnel and tactics.

So in short, Moyes's transfer market stupidity basically turned a relatively simple transition into a rebuilding job under LvG.

In terms of signings, I think Shaw, Herrera, Blind, Martial and Memphis are the exact type of signing that have been the most successful in the past. We could have done with getting them a year earlier and basically not bothered with Falcao, Di Maria and to an extent Rojo. We also should have kept Welbeck (laugh about his finishing, but his pace and power are sorely missed), Hernandez, Rafael, Evans and Nani. We got rid of these proven players who loved the club and were happy to sit on the bench from time to time if given a fair chance otherwise, and replaced them with more expensive players who aren't even any fecking better.

 

[f_to_z]

I would say some players that have been bought already are good and I would do the same such as :

Herrera, Schneiderlin, Depay, Martial, Shaw.

The players that I would have not bought are :

Schweinstiger, Rojo, Blind, Fellaini, Romero

Instead I would have bought :

Sanchez, Vidal, Hummels and (Higuain or Dybala)

They were all available at some point and the right offer to the club and player would have brought them in.
I think at that time the priority was to build a team ready to compete for all competition. After getting some consistency then start buying young players and building on them.

 

[SambaBoy]

Moyes tried too hard to revamp the club and have his own style when that wasn't necessary. But in terms of the squad, he trusted them too much and didn't invest enough to make us competitive again.

Fergie mantra was always to strengthen heavily after you win something if you want to compete the next year, which he didn't do, a last minute signing of an average midfielder is not enough especially when you consider a world class manager has just left and many players are ageing. I would of brought in 2-3 top class players an two for back-up or wonderkids. We should of been in for the likes of Ozil, Thiago etc.

I would of kept the same backroom staff to keep continuity at the club as Moyes changed all that and IMO it affected the club.

 

[17 Van der Gouw]

Butland
Darmian
Smalling
Pique
Shaw
Carrick
Hererra
Depay
Bale
Mata
Austin

Merry bardatd chrudgmas you straw hmping wanklers

 

[Stack]

I would have bought back Anderson and Cleverley as everyone knows they were just 1 game away from becoming our greatest ever cm partnership

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

Anyone putting Martial in (and there's a few)... just

Very few people had even heard of him before we signed him. So much so, that when we did sign him, I did a forum search of all the previous mentions of his name and there were about 20 or maybe even fewer.

 

[Macern]

I'd sell Rooney and keep Kagawa playing him in the #10 role.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Anyone putting Martial in (and there's a few)... just

Very few people had even heard of him before we signed him. So much so, that when we did sign him, I did a forum search of all the previous mentions of his name and there were about 20 or maybe even fewer.

yeah this, get a grib if you think you would have signed martial

 

[kundalini]

Anyone putting Martial in (and there's a few)... just

Very few people had even heard of him before we signed him. So much so, that when we did sign him, I did a forum search of all the previous mentions of his name and there were about 20 or maybe even fewer.

That's nothing compared to the squads including Bale, Varane and a whole list of players who United tried to sign, only for the players to go to Real Madrid, Bayern or similar.

I think it is interesting that some people think we would have done better with minor changes to the squad Sir Alex left, while others have gone the LVG route of ripping that squad to pieces and buying lots of glamorous names.

 

[devilish]

Yeah, all our other players were world class under van Gaal and Moyes.

I'm not referring to the ones remaining at OT but those who left the club. Apart from Chica whose doing well in a league were Kagawa seemed world class in it all those players played shit

 

[Amar__]

I'm not referring to the ones remaining at OT but those who left the club. Apart from Chica whose doing well in a league were Kagawa seemed world class in it all those players played shit

Yeah, bundesliga is shite, premierleague is much much better.

 

[devilish]

Yeah, bundesliga is shite, premierleague is much much better.

There's no question that Bayern is a head above anything that the EPL can throw at it. However the rest is inferior and far less competitive. You won't find clubs like Chelsea lying at the lower end of the Bundesliga. Prior to that clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool had their own slip ups. The only league I can think off who was superior in terms of competition than today's EPL is the Serie A of the late 80s and early 90s. That was an anomaly of a league were even the smaller sides could afford players like Dunga, Maradona, Hagi, Laudrup, Careca and co

 

[Mrs Smoker]

Dortmund were just recently at the bottom of Bundesliga.

 

[Sandikan]

In fairness to Moyes he sussed it out - we went for Baines, Fellaini, Fabregas and Bale for those positions. The issue was he fecked around with the two former, both not really being good enough for us, and went balls in on the other two who never were going to join us. He then went for Mata who was the wrong fit, and who he had no idea how to use, as the attacking signing.
.

The bit that didn't make sense with Baines/Fellaini was knowing they wouldn't want to lose both together, yet trying to package deal them.

Obviously with Fellaini having the clause, going just for Baines would have been the sensible thing, get him sorted, then steal in and get Fellaini with no answer for the clause.

I remember all this "first transfer" is the key business, and then making it Fellaini. Genius work.
Mouthing off in the press with the big talk wasn't the best either. Who can forget all that Woodward is on urgent transfer business flights nonsense

 

[McK@n]

Kept on vida, evra til 2014/15, rafael, hernandez, nani in the squad. The rest cleared in about the same time

Bought herrera in first season with strootman. Cleared alot in the squad

Second season. Shaw, griezman, clyne, blind.

Third, depay, martial, otamendi, schnederlin.Phazed out carrick, rooney, nani.

2016/17

Barkley, mahrez.

Line ups:

DDG

CLYNE/RAFA SMALLING/JONES OTAMENDI/BLIND SHAW/BLIND

SCHNEDERLIN/STROOTMAN/BLIND
BARKLEY HERRERA/STROOTMAN

MAHREZ/LINGARD DEPAY/GRIEZMAN

MARTIAL/HERNANDEZ/GRIEZMAN


A 4-3-3 with a attacking or defensive point.

#WINNINGBYAMILEANDAHALF#

 

[pacifictheme]

Like anyone would have bought Herrera

 

[Amar__]

You won't find clubs like Chelsea lying at the lower end of the Bundesliga.

You mean like Dortmund last year?

Or teams like Leicester sitting at top of the table in premierleague? Yeah, you won't find that anywhere else either.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

I'd have spent it all on Messi.

 

[devilish]

You mean like Dortmund last year?

Or teams like Leicester sitting at top of the table in premierleague? Yeah, you won't find that anywhere else either.

Dortmund was a one of a thing which is different. I'm talking here about a league which is so competitive that even the strongest teams can easily find themselves at the lower end of the EPL table. This year its Chelsea's turn, last year it was Liverpool, the year before it was us and the year before it was Liverpool again.

Also its normal in a league were nearly everyone seem to able to spend ridiculous amounts of money to have surprises like Leicester. At its peak, the Serie A saw clubs like Parma and Napoli doing that which believe me, they were nowhere near in terms of spending than the Milanese clubs + Juventus. That further support my argument that the EPL is highly competitive, were each game is becoming a battlefield.

Seriously if you're a betting man whom would you bet upon?

Shitty vs Wolfsburg
Arsenal vs Monchengladbach
Man United vs Leverkusen
Spurs vs Augsburg

 

[devilish]

Like anyone would have bought Herrera

I would. Back when Athletico Bilbao thrashed us, I suggested Javi Martinez and Ander Herrera as the ideal players to start rebuilding. Unfortunately very few people supported it with many saying that that year would have been Anderson/Cleverley year.

 

[wiz4231]

2013-14

GK - De Gea, Lindegard
CB - Vidic, Smalling, Jones, Hummels
FB - Evra, Rafael, Buttner, Valencia
CM - Carrick, Strootman, Herrera
#10 - Rooney, Kagawa
FW - Nani, Zaha, Young, Bale, Januzaj
ST - Hernandez, RVP, Wilson.

Sell/Let go - Rio, Evans, Cleverly, Anderson, Fletcher, Welbeck
Loan - Powell, Macheda, Bébe
Add to coaching staff - Giggs, Scholes
Buy - Hummels, Strootman, Herrera, Bale
Promote - Januzaj, Wilson.

2014-15

GK - De Gea, Lindegard
CB - Hummels, Smalling, Jones, Stones
FB - Valencia, Darmian, Rojo, Shaw, Janko
DM - Carrick, Schneiderlin, Pearson
CM - Strootman, Herrera, Goss, Pereira
FW - Nani, Zaha, Kagawa, Bale, Januzaj
ST - Hernandez, RVP, Wilson

Sell/Let go - Vidic, Evra, Rafael, Buttner, Rooney, Young
Promote - Pearson, Goss, Pereira, Janko
Buy - Darmian, Rojo, Stones, Shaw, Schneiderlin

2015-16

GK - De Gea, Perin
CB - Hummels, Smalling, Jones, Stones
FB - Darmian, Rojo, Shaw, Janko
DM - Schneiderlin, Pearson
CM - Strootman, Herrera, Goss, Pereira
FW - Bale, Januzaj, Reus, Martial
ST - Wilson, Jovetic, Depay

Sell/Let go - Lindegaard, Carrick, Valencia, Nani, Kagawa, Zaha, RVP, Hernandez
Buy - Perin, Martial, Depay, Jovetic, Reus

Feck me this is hard

Starting 11

..........................De Gea........................
Darmian...Smalling....Hummels...Rojo
.....................Schneiderlin.....................
..............Herrera..........Strootman........
Bale...............................................Reus
..........................Jovetic........................

 

[Raees]

Like anyone would have bought Herrera

Players like Shaw, Herrera and Martial are long term targets which I assume the scouting team were already aware of. I doubt anyone would pick Martial themselves without scout team recommending him. Thats why I included him in my side.. I assume as a manager I'd be informed of him.

 

[Eugenius]

The bit that didn't make sense with Baines/Fellaini was knowing they wouldn't want to lose both together, yet trying to package deal them.

Obviously with Fellaini having the clause, going just for Baines would have been the sensible thing, get him sorted, then steal in and get Fellaini with no answer for the clause.

I remember all this "first transfer" is the key business, and then making it Fellaini. Genius work.
Mouthing off in the press with the big talk wasn't the best either. Who can forget all that Woodward is on urgent transfer business flights nonsense

It's just mind boggling to be honest. The whole approach trying to low-ball Everton and publicly belittle them into selling only ended with us and him looking like complete planks.

I think the only reason he wanted them too was because he wanted to surround himself with players and staff loyal to him (see firing Phelan, Rene etc) because it's not like they would have substantially improved us. I have no idea why he wanted to sign Fellaini to play him in a midfield two, because taking one look at Fellaini it's pointless having him in a position where he can't use his height & chest control further up the pitch. It's not like he's going to spray 40 yard passes from deep. With Baines, he's just turned 31 so was hardly a spring chicken at the time, and he's never truly established himself as a top FB (his good left foot masks a few deficiencies in his game IMO). Let's not forget as well we had Coentrao all lined up on loan, only for that to fall through because we were still trying to get Baines.

I reckon a lot of our issues started from Moyes's mistakes very early on re: transfers and staff.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Id have signed Garay, Matic, Thiago Alcantara, Turan and Fellaini like Fergie planned. Signed Serge Aurier. Would have bought Ozil whilst selling Rooney too. Id also have added Coentrao to the list and would have made better use of Nani.
Then the following season Valdes, Herrera, Schneiderlin, Shaw and Benteke would have been my buys. Plus Falcao on loan


Lindegaard, Rio, Vidic, Butner, Evra, Valencia, Cleverly, Fletcher and Chicharito.

 

[Invictus]

Like anyone would have bought Herrera

Loads of people would have bought Ander because he was a really fancy player at that time for United supporters:

1. He was one of the best players for Spain's 2011 U-21 team with De Gea (there was a lot of speculation about him joining United after Neuer signed for Bayern Munich), Mata, Thiago, Muniain (who didn't perform so well), Javi. That tournament was top notch, and Spain were the show-stoppers - defeating a Swiss team with Xhaka, Shaqiri, Sommer, Mehmedi in the final where Ander scored; and an England team with Jones (had just signed for United from Blackburn), Smalling, Welbeck, Cleverley. Their midfield of Ander, Thiago, Javi was seen as something United should be replicating in the midst of Barcelona's tiki-taka peak, and from there on out - the trio of Javi, Ander, Thiago were known to pretty much everyone.

2. He was also one of the best players for Bielsa's Athletic team that knocked us out of the Europa League. Javi was there too (albeit in defense), plus we were linked with both Llorente and Muniain.

When we were linked with him in 2012 and later 2013, a lot of supporters would have paid his buyout clause immediately. Not just his, but Javi's (who we should have signed IMO, instead he joined Bayern Munich under Heyneckes); and Thiago's (who should have been signed as soon as his clause came into effect, before Bayern even came in with a formal offer). So the suggestion isn't as laughable as it seems.

 

[paulscholes18]

2013 in
Higuain
Schneiderlin
Herrera
Bale
Dinge

Out
Valencia
Rooney
Giggs
Scholes

Starting 11
DDG
Rafael Smalling Vidic Evra
Schneiderlin Herrera
Bale Kagawa Nani
Higuain

2014 in
Lacazette
Sanchez
Vidal
Barkley
Stones
Shaw
Blind

2014 out
Carrick
Rio
Evra
Vidic
RVP
Evans
Young
Hernandez

Starting 11

DDG
Rafa Smalling Stones Shaw
Schneiderlin
Vidal Herrera
Bale Higuain Sanchez

2015 In
Martial

Out
Welbeck

Starting 11 shames as last season

 

[sajeev]

That's due to saf superb man management and tactics. Most of that junk proved to be shit after he was gone

By your logic all our current players ate junk too. Which of course I am more inclined to believe than players who actually won stuff. We have replaced winners with highly paid mercenaries in most of the cases.

 

[devilish]

By your logic all our current players ate junk too. Which of course I am more inclined to believe than players who actually won stuff. We have replaced winners with highly paid mercenaries in most of the cases.

Quite the contrary. Most of our current players have done well elsewhere (Schneiderlin, Depay, Bastian etc) and are doing shit under this system. Hence its suggest that the system/manager is what is wrong and not the players. On the other hand the likes of Rafael, Welbeck and Cleverley had been shit ever since SAF left them. They had been shit with United (under Moyes) and they repeated their performances wherever they went.

I believe that SAF made this team great. His extraordinary man management skills and his unparallel knowledge of the EPL allowed him to fine tune a squad in such a way to be able to win with a squad that lacked quality. In some ways it reminds me of the AC Milan of Zaccheroni who was able to win the league by squeezing every ounce of talent out of an ageing squad. He achieved that by playing work horses such as Bierhoff, Helveg and Guillimpietro. Similarly to what happened to SAF's squad once there was little juice left out of the old guard to squeeze the squad suffered a meltdown and ended up first 6th the year after and 4th the year after that.

Kindly also note that years of underinvestment is what got us were we are. While others were busy adding players like Neymar, Benzema, Suarez, Ronaldo and co we were busy stocking up with the likes of Valencia, Young, the crocked twins and the most overrated striker in recent football history (the one with Philip Neville's finishing). To cut the story short a winning team can spend 3-4 year of under investment by relying on poor quality players with loads of heart. However at one point reality will catch that team up and that would be painful

 

[sajeev]

Quite the contrary. Most of our current players have done well elsewhere (Schneiderlin, Depay, Bastian etc) and are doing shit under this system. Hence its suggest that the system/manager is what is wrong and not the players. On the other hand the likes of Rafael, Welbeck and Cleverley had been shit ever since SAF left them. They had been shit with United (under Moyes) and they repeated their performances wherever they went.

I believe that SAF made this team great. His extraordinary man management skills and his unparallel knowledge of the EPL allowed him to fine tune a squad in such a way to be able to win with a squad that lacked quality. In some ways it reminds me of the AC Milan of Zaccheroni who was able to win the league by squeezing every ounce of talent out of an ageing squad. He achieved that by playing work horses such as Bierhoff, Helveg and Guillimpietro. Similarly to what happened to SAF's squad once there was little juice left out of the old guard to squeeze the squad suffered a meltdown and ended up first 6th the year after and 4th the year after that.

The players we have bought after Fergie have mostly been unproven at the highest level or past it. It is not just the manager, must of his decisions regarding players have begun wrong and expensive.
Depay, Blind, Schneiderlin, Darmian, are not good enough to be part of a title winning team and Schweinsteiger, Falcao are/were past it. Only ones worth buying were Herrera, Shaw and Martial. On top of that most of the actual deadwood is still here. Young, Valencia, Felliani, and of course someone we should have got rid of in 2011, Rooney.
And the ones we sold performed much better for us and elsewhere. You have only quoted the ones who have been injured. Making a case which is not really there.

 

[devilish]

The players we have bought after Fergie have mostly been unproven at the highest level or past it. It is not just the manager, must of his decisions regarding players have begun wrong and expensive.
Depay, Blind, Schneiderlin, Darmian, are not good enough to be part of a title winning team and Schweinsteiger, Falcao are/were past it. Only ones worth buying were Herrera, Shaw and Martial. On top of that most of the actual deadwood is still here. Young, Valencia, Felliani, and of course someone we should have got rid of in 2011, Rooney.
And the ones we sold performed much better for us and elsewhere. You have only quoted the ones who have been injured. Making a case which is not really there.

Can you kindly name the players we've sold that had performed much better elsewhere? I can only think of Chicarito and Nani who did that and they achieved that in a weaker league. The likes of Welbeck, Cleverley, Buttner, Zaha and co had hardly set the world on fire

Regarding Darmian, Depay, Schneiderlin and co only time will tell if they are good enough. They have shown they got quality elsewhere and its not their fault that the system we're using isn't working. I still think we need to add more quality to the side. Having said that I'd rather have the likes of Blind, Schneiderlin, Martial and Herrera than the likes of Rafael, Cleverley and the most overrated striker in football history

In few words SAF + this side = win the league
LVG + SAF's side = we end up 7th

 

[sajeev]

Can you kindly name the players we've sold that had performed much better elsewhere? I can only think of Chicarito and Nani who did that and they achieved that in a weaker league. The likes of Welbeck, Cleverley, Buttner, Zaha and co had hardly set the world on fire

Regarding Darmian, Depay, Schneiderlin and co only time will tell if they are good enough. They have shown they got quality elsewhere and its not their fault that the system we're using isn't working. I still think we need to add more quality to the side. Having said that I'd rather have the likes of Blind, Schneiderlin, Martial and Herrera than the likes of Rafael, Cleverley and the most overrated striker in football history

In few words SAF + this side = win the league
LVG + SAF's side = we end up 7th

Welbeck has begun injured. And I would rather have a fit Rafael over even Luke Shaw.
Blind is mid-table at best, and Schniederlin is a squad player at a team aiming for fourth

 

[devilish]

Welbeck has begun injured. And I would rather have a fit Rafael over even Luke Shaw.
Blind is mid-table at best, and Schniederlin is a squad player at a team aiming for fourth

A fit Rafael is like watching a unicorn or a pegasus. It just won't happen. Also Welbeck has a record of 4 goals in 24 EPL games at Arsenal which kind of says it all.

Schneiderlin and Blind are much better players than Cleverley, Evans, Welbeck and all the work horses crap SAF was able to win the league with

 

[GimmeAKitKat]

I thought at the time and still think, a lot of our problems stem from poor decisions made at the end of Fergies reign and shortly after, that have snowballed.

Always thought it was silly to let Vidic and Evra leave so early. Every effort should have been made to keep them on, even if not playing much as they were both declining, but to give Shaw/Smalling etc another year training with them.

Allowing the Pogba situation to come about was ridiculous.

Once Fergie was gone, the opportunity should have been taken to cash in on Rooney and buy younger and better.

And probably the biggest issue for me, was sticking with this ridiculous notion that Man United can play by the same 50 year old rules as before and still dominate.

Fergie got away with running things the way he did because he was there so long. When a new manager comes in you cant pretend nothings changed and try to carry on as if Moyes is going to have a 20 year reign, bringing through youth and getting away with not spending money, and being overly sentimental with players. Pogba leaving should have been a kick up the arse, but instead they ignored it and blamed the whole thing on "greedy Pogba" and his agent. They just lost one of the biggest prospects in world football through arrogance, and when he could have potentially held our midfield together, it instead crumbled to dust.

All this has now snowballed. Big names dont look at United as one of their best options now, our board and organisation as a whole look a bit naive and shambolic, and having a massively declining Rooney as captain and apparently un-droppable doesn't help incoming players feel they have a fair crack at things. Everybody slates Chelsea when things go wrong and suggest its player power. Well, United are no different, if they were, Rooney wouldn't be at the club.

 

[Needham]

You should just have called it The hindsight thread.

I bet, looking back, he wishes he had.
With that money Shaw, I think, was correct. If a Bale or Neymar or -for shits and giggs- a 150 million Messi were possible then why the hell not. That kind of lift raises everybody's game. And persuade Xavi not to take the sand dollar? I would have gone full blown computer game.

 

[starman]

In 2013 this is probably the team i would have aimed for, Reus, Cavani, Greizmann, Gundogan & Schweinsteiger as alternatives

.........................DDG......................
Coleman (25m).......Smalling.....Godin (25m)........Shaw (30m)
................Carrick.....................Vidal (40m)
Bale (80m).................Kagawa.....................Sanchez (36m)
...................Lewandowski (40m)

 

[Munich_1958]

Agree we are seeing the fruits of a average managers labor and its not impressive. SAF would have spent big on the best young British Talent. IMO if SAF was there Bale would be his no 1 target. He would also be paying 40m for John stones and we would be winning the league this season.

yes without a doubt