Which one player gets us 2 wins and 2 draws?

[clean-sheet-culkin]

Thought I'd post a slightly different take on the normal "who do we need?" thread to get you lot thinking a bit harder.

Considering historic Prem winning form, for me we have to be running at around 2.2-2.4 Points Per Game before I usually consider us contenders. Obviously, I've not had a chance to have that feeling in the past few years...

We want to win ALL the games, but a more realistic W27-D6-L5 season would put us at around that average. If we extrapolate out our current season (ignoring recent form), we'll end up as W25-D6-L7, just shy of where we need to be but, arguably, only by small margins.

So...which one, realistic player (please no Mbappe) could tip just a small handful of those games to be slightly more favourable?

Would we be better off not conceding silly goals through mistakes? Or do we need to be putting away the chances we're already generating? Or do we just need a player who will get us through the annoying bottom feeder games which often trip us up?

 

[VivaObertan]

Mbappe

 

[Jc1988]

I think Osinhem or another top striker could easily make that difference.
There's been a few games this season where we would've won of we had someone to put the ball on the back of the net.

 

[Galactic]

The big question is: who do we need?

 

[Tom Cato]

Martin Ødegaard would have been brilliant

 

[The Corinthian]

SAF's consistency is unreal.

So my answer is SAF.

 

[charlenefan]

Kane and a backup to Casemiro

You look at a game against Palace for example, Kane likely increases our lead while we're ahead rather than dropping 2 points in injury time defending a 1 goal lead

A backup to Casemiro as the difference in midfield in the games against Arsenal away and Leeds at home is stark

We beat Palace and Leeds as we should have and hang on for a draw at worst against Arsenal and them the 5 points we're behind (I think you just write off those early defeats due to it being so early into ETH's tenure and him getting to know the players and implementing his ideas)

 

[onemanarmy]

Easy, a top striker.

 

[Galactic]

We won’t get Kane, guys. Drop it

 

[Scandi Red]

Love that graph and the pictures

Mourinho's second season is kind of underrated. Not a fun watch of course, but 2.13 PPG is quite good with that team. We kind of gave up on the last 3 games since we had nothing to play for, so the "real" number could be around 2.2 or even 2.3.

 

[Member 125398]

R. Morrison because he's an exG.

 

[Steve Bruce]

I think the obvious position is Striker. We don't have a reliable or good enough striker at the club.

You then have to look at areas that aren't as good as you'd like.

For me this season RW hasn't been great albeit not poor either but can be improved upon.

Our bench could also do with extra options although apparently our club have scored the most from players coming off the bench.

After that I think your talking fine margins. Any of the back 5, there may he better players but are they better enough to see a discernable difference?

 

[Varun]

The thread is an excuse to post that admittedly excellent chart

 

[Borys]

We don't need anyone, we can do it with current squad...
...if everyone is fit.

so I'd go with Kane, I think he's a perfect match for current United team. And we need Casemiro backup since our midfield is non-functional without him, we should know as it was non-functional for the last 10 years.

Goalkeeper as well.

Doable in one window with some support from the owners.

 

[mshnsh]

We need to give a very good partner to Casemiro. Someone like Enzo Fernández would have been ideal. But as of now, Rice would be a good option.

 

[clean-sheet-culkin]

The thread is an excuse to post that admittedly excellent chart

Shhhhhh...

 

[Skills]

A witch doctor that can get Martial playing all 38 games

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

A flux capacitor and a 32-year-old Luka Modric - god I love this player.

In reality it is a fit striker who can score 15-20 league goals in conjunction with the 15-20 Rashford is getting and hopefully continues to get. Combined with say Bruno getting 8-12, Sancho/Antony getting 6-10 and you have 50-60 goals across the front line which will go a long way to getting the wins needed.

 

[mjstokes85]

If you take that we need 2 wins and 2 draws, surely look at the first 2 games of the season against Brighton and Brentford that under any other circumstances wouldn't be defeats.

 

[bosnian_red]

Just a good striker would get us the required points to challenge for the title properly. He'll it's arguably that even a Martial who could keep his fitness and play to his 19/20 level could do it.

A striker doing enough for us to challenge isn't the same as not having gaps though. We can improve in GK, CM, CB depth, DM depth, get some other attackers finding some form.... But a striker is the single biggest thing that would make a big points difference. We can sign GK/CM/DM backup and CB backup and end up with fewer points than this season, as points totals don't always show if one team is better or not. Can have better performances but still win the same amount. Genuinely think none of these positions would have a big difference on our title challenging capabilities, though they'll need to be addressed all the same.

 

[Loony BoB]

A witch doctor that can get Martial playing all 38 games

This isn't a bad shout, really...

We definitely need a striker that can stay fit. Who that is with a caveat of being realistic leaves us wondering what we should deem as realistic. Personally? I'm always fond of finding a younger striker and bringing them in and watching them bloom as opposed to buying the finished product. If I knew who that hidden gem was, I probably should be taking up a job as a football scout. Most top young talent are already famous and hugely expensive.

 

[Mickeza]

Martial being fit and Casemiro from the start of the season probably gets us 1 win and 1 of those draws!

 

[GMoore23]

A younger Eriksen type and a world class striker. We'll be unstoppable next season.

 

[alquemyst]

Answer: a Qatari owner.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

One player? I'd say Kane!

 

[Denis79]

We can't rely solely on Rashford. We need a proper striker. Would love Osinhem.

 

[SAFMUTD]

The obvious answer is a world class striker which is the glaring hole in the squad.

But we need depth at midfield as well, inevitably we'll have to play without Casemiro and we've seen how bad the team drops without him.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Either another top midfielder or striker. Either one would have swung it enough. It can’t be understated how undermanned we’ve been at both positions which is why we’ve dropped the points we have in certain games (Arsenal away, Leeds at home).

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Playmaking CM
Centre forward
Right back

I have no idea who though. They all need to help us play possession footy

 

[Globule]

A striker that can be relied on would help us win those games where we've failed to take chances.

Another solid midfielder alongside or as cover for Casemiro would help protect us in those games we've let slip because we've lost the midfield battle.

Our defence I'm fairly comfortable with. Even the maligned players like Lindelof, Maguire and Wan Bissaka can contribute if they're not automatic starters.

It's midfield and up top where our biggest issues lie.

 

[eire-red]

You could argue we just needed the players to buy into EtH from the get-go, and for the guys behind the scenes to have backed him 100% with signings prior to the season kicking off.

4 games have cost us big time: Brighton at home, Brentford away, Leeds at home and Palace away. 4 points from our opening two, and 4 more points from Leeds/Palace has us sitting top of the table. For Leeds, the Casemiro red was huge. For Palace, a mix if bad luck with a worldie and not getting that blatant pen.

I don't think EtH had the standing to drop Maguire and give Ronaldo the boot in August, so those drastic results were the catalyst for Martinez-Varane partnership, Maguire getting benched and Ronaldo plotting his exit.

But basically, we don't need meteoric change from what we currently are now. Strength and depth in midfield is a must, along with someone to shoulder the goalscoring burden with Rashford.

I don't know who they realistically are, but for the first time in a long time I'm looking at a United squad and I'm thinking: We have all the ingredients, we don't need wholesale changes. We just need to add to a couple very specific situations, a little more strength in depth, and we're right there.

The margin for error is so slim now. Whatever business we do in the summer, it should be done well before pre-season.We started off 6 points behind after 2 games. If you're going to challenge, that can't happen. Imagine we had Antony and Casemiro from June. Giving EtH the time to figure out what he wanted, how we play, who he likes and how we can win has transformed us a hundred times more than any personell we could have signed.

So for me, having the ownership sorted before the summer window, and having our business done early is just as crucial as who we sign. As for who we sign, that one player is Kane if I was pressed to choose. Realistically, I think we need Kane and a ball carrier, metronome-type CM to transform us to a top tier team.

 

[KikiDaKats]

Ward-Prowse and his free kicks. Just like Mikhailovic used to for Lazio.

 

[Zed 101]

Palhinha would definitely be a player to look at

 

[surf]

It just needs someone to score the 4 goals that would turn the 4 draws into wins and put us top of the table. Kane, or someone like that who will usually chip in with a goal.

 

[Lentwood]

I think our best XI, if available every single week, would be capable of posting those sort of numbers with ETH as manager.

Our problem is the drop-off in quality, particularly at CF and in CM, when a first XI player is unavailable.

So for that reason, I'd go for Rice/Bellingham for the CM position and Osinhem at CF

 

[elPampa]

Osimhen is likely to become a difficult name. Same as Erriksohn

 

[meamth]

I don't want Kane as I don't think he will last at the top level physicaly until 35.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Martin Ødegaard would have been brilliant

Not really needed though?

If we’re looking at the squad and have to pick one single position we are short, it’s CF. Kane would be the obvious answer for me.

 

[Bwuk]

Striker.

Ronaldo was rubbish the first half of the season.