Sorry to break this to you but £50m is the new £20m. If even that. Compared to just two years ago.
Why did we buy Fred?
- Thread starter Josep Dowling
- Start date
I find it hilarious that some people are already writing him off as a flop. How the hell can you be a flop if you havn't even been given a proper chance? I still firmly believe that after Pogba he is the best centre mid we have in our squad. Every single match he played albeit not setting the world alight you could see every time he got the ball he had the intent of going forward that is exactly what we need. He also looks energetic and always tries to help regain possession when we lose the ball. Under the right manager he would be a key player for us in the middle of the park, not for some clown who benches him for Fellaini and a 30 year old Matic who is in absolutely shocking form. Once we signed him everyone on here thought for sure he was going to be a starter especially with the price he had so why is he warming the bench? Exactly what did he do in the games he played that was SO bad he became a bench player? We need more pace in our midfield and the anawer is right in front of our eyes and the manager constantly starts with 2 snails. 
No it isn't. £20m on Dalot is acceptable - if he comes good. Otherwise it was a failed experiment, but not one that will define any manager or any season.
£53m on a player that isn't currently good enough is absolute madness, especially when not having a central defender is supposed to be the cause for all of our troubles.
To put in into context:
Chelsea highest ever signing: £60m
Arsenal highest ever signing: £55m
Many City highest ever signing: £57m
Tottenham highest ever signing: £44m
It doesn't look good for us when we bleat about other clubs spending when we have just dropped that amount on our 5th choice central midfielder
I see several reports say that lukaku is closer to 90m, how true I don't know with add ons. Zlatan and Sanchez were brought here for eye watering wages
Fred did not come in to replace Carrick, Fred is a completely different player, more box to box, tackling is not his strongest suit, but does have a knack for making intercetpions and playing defense splitting passes, either over the top or on the ground.
Currently he loses the ball alot and it's a little counter productive to have him and Pogba in the midfield, until he adjust to the speed of the premier league.
Currently he loses the ball alot and it's a little counter productive to have him and Pogba in the midfield, until he adjust to the speed of the premier league.
He’s a quality footballer, perfect place for him in England would be Liverpool. Perfect balance of technical ability and physical attributes for what Klopp wants in a midfielder. He’d look good at every top 6 club bar the one that he’s at sadly. Mourinho in his current mould was never the right guy for him, as has been proven by the abomination he put together and called our midfield on Sunday. Sad inditement of what we are now.
The club has become a graveyard for the talented players. I don't know how many top players will arrive here and be written off after 2/3 months. It's quite sadI find it hilarious that some people are already writing him off as a flop. How the hell can you be a flop if you havn't even been given a proper chance? I still firmly believe that after Pogba he is the best centre mid we have in our squad. Every single match he played albeit not setting the world alight you could see every time he got the ball he had the intent of going forward that is exactly what we need. He also looks energetic and always tries to help regain possession when we lose the ball. Under the right manager he would be a key player for us in the middle of the park, not for some clown who benches him for Fellaini and a 30 year old Matic who is in absolutely shocking form. Once we signed him everyone on here thought for sure he was going to be a starter especially with the price he had so why is he warming the bench? Exactly what did he do in the games he played that was SO bad he became a bench player? We need more pace in our midfield and the anawer is right in front of our eyes and the manager constantly starts with 2 snails.
Last edited:
I think he'll be a very good signing eventually, certainly has a knack of making interceptions and is excellent at closing down opponents. He's just not been to productive in possession, given how haphazard we've been its not that much of a surprise. Technically he's far superior to Herrera.
Well, consider this.
We previously bought Pogba, as a starter for £89M. That was when players were cheap (don't laugh). Had we bought him 2 years later, maybe we'd have paid £130m or slightly higher.
Matic arrived a year before Fred, for £40M and he is quite old, so his resale value is low.
A year later, we paid £50M for Fred, who is a young guy, good enough to play in the first team, but not a starter.
If you want to buy a CM, who can start games regularly, then you will need to pay around the £70M mark, in today's market.
I'm not sure about rival teams, and quite frankly I don't care, but £50M for Fred - a squad player who is still young and needs time to adapt, is about right. And let's not forget that Woodward wanted to get a Brazilian, to target the south American market.
He cost broadly the same fee as Kieta & Jorginho. You don't have to pay £70m or even that close to it to sign a ready made midfielder. There is value out there.Well, consider this.
We previously bought Pogba, as a starter for £89M. That was when players were cheap (don't laugh). Had we bought him 2 years later, maybe we'd have paid £130m or slightly higher.
Matic arrived a year before Fred, for £40M and he is quite old, so his resale value is low.
A year later, we paid £50M for Fred, who is a young guy, good enough to play in the first team, but not a starter.
If you want to buy a CM, who can start games regularly, then you will need to pay around the £70M mark, in today's market.
I'm not sure about rival teams, and quite frankly I don't care, but £50M for Fred - a squad player who is still young and needs time to adapt, is about right. And let's not forget that Woodward wanted to get a Brazilian, to target the south American market.
For me its not even really about what we paid for Fred - I've never been particularly hung up on fees. My issue is that, quite clearly, we had a limited budget this summer for whatever reason. Either because we didn't have the funds available or because the board wouldn't sanction it. For whatever reason we chose not to go big this summer. I have to hope that Mourinho had the goalposts moved along the way, because if his main concern was to get in a midfielder that needs work over our glaring need for a right winger or any other position in far more need of strengthening. then he made a massive error that may cost him his job. Should cost him his job.
Not we, mourinho is wasting 50 million. By saying we you’re implying the club has wasted 50 million. Also by that logic I’m guessing we are wasting millions not playing the other players not even in the starting 11?
Also we do know some part about him from the little he has played. He has been good in the games featured and has shown a willingness to play on the front foot which the manager constantly ignores.
The club are just as culpable in this. They signed the cheque. I can't help but wonder how often we really scout the players we buy, or to what extent. It seems to have fallen off a cliff since Ferguson and Gill departed.
Is he injured? If not it's looking like he's going to be an expensive substitute.
More millions down the drain. It is so blatantly obvious what the main problem is. At times you have to wonder if Mourinho is on a mission to ruin this club.
I really don't know WTF people are judging Fred on. He's hardly kicked a ball for us. I feel he needs a run of 10 or so games in the team before we can even begin to figure out what he'll bring.
Jose admitted after the game we played an unfit Fellaini over his £50 million summer signing. Now, this can happen, the great Pep brought in Claudio Bravo who was a total disaster. However this isn't new with Mourinho.
My cocker spaniel has more chance of starting at CB than Eric Bailly. Mhki was hopeless and swapped for Sanchez who looks a shadow of his former self. Pogba has been quite good but we all know how much more he can do.
My cocker spaniel has more chance of starting at CB than Eric Bailly. Mhki was hopeless and swapped for Sanchez who looks a shadow of his former self. Pogba has been quite good but we all know how much more he can do.
I always thought he might end up as the Mascot.
Add Perreira to the mix here
Don't think people are judging Fred so much as wondering why Mourinho spunked £50m on him only to leave him on the bench when our central midfield is so obviously dire.
True.. he needs some time to get used to the pace of the premier league. He can play right now but the fragile state of the team means Jm is having to resort to Herrera.
The trick JM misses and it’s frustrating is there’s no way an unfit Fellaini or a tired Herrera we’re a better choice over Fred in the city game.
It’s done now. You can’t really say much about Jose going with experience in the city match and it not clicking. I don’t get why he’s not playing his own signings though! Fred will be a starter for us by the end of the season.
This reads like the Luke Shaw thread before the summer.
The argument that he is getting used to epl doesn't really hold water when he was not used in city game as they are the most European style team in the country who play on the ground, unless he was injured and not fit benching him made zero sense to me.
Last edited:
This. Give it a full season and pass judgment his second year.
it's genuinely difficult to make any assessment of players cause it must be so difficult joining this team and I'm sure there's a good few that wished they hadn't.
Chelsea spent the same amount on Jorginho. If given a chance I know who I'd have signed. Although I do agree that Fred hasn't been given a fair chance yet
Last edited by a moderator:
We bought Fred because City and Pep wanted him, same goes for Sanchez. Just shows you how pathetic Jose and Ed are thinking by paying a fortune to sign a player that City wanted is a victory.
Are they though? Pogba would obviously cost more and I guess he might make up the difference, but everyone else there has probably gone down.
Did anyone see that quote from the Shakhtar manager? Said they couldn’t believe it when the fax came through from us offering £50m plus, that they would have accepted half that and they were laughing and opened a bottle of champagne!
Yeah sounds like a legit quote.
No I didn’t it because he didn’t say it, Fonseca said he had the ability to become one of the best players of the world in his position after leaving for Utd.
He would be a different player for City. So would Sanchez. If we signed Mahrez, we would have a thread on here, "Why did we buy Mahrez?"
I think Fred has been unfairly treated from all angles. Mourinho won't give him a proper run. This leads to some fans dismissing him early as flop. Quite a few outlets in the media are dismissing him as a mistake signing.
Hope he gets a run. When or if he does, I hope has thick skin and a prove them wrong type of attitude and uses this his advantage.
Hope he gets a run. When or if he does, I hope has thick skin and a prove them wrong type of attitude and uses this his advantage.
I saw the quote but I have no way of verifying whether he said it or not. Not sure how you were able to verify that he didn’t say it.
If he can’t break into the team or stay in the team, that does suggests he was a mistake signing, given the cost.
Finally someone who gets it.
It's no coincidence that everyone we buy looks rubbish. It's not the players who suddenly forget how to play football, it's the bloody awful team they are playing in. And for that we have three negative managers to thank.
A figure of about £53m got City the current second best centre-back in the league in Laporte, and a former POTY and a very talented player in Mahrez in the last 12 months alone... I really like Fred and think he’ll prove to be worth the fee but this isn’t the way to go about defending it.
Thats not true at all. Pogba is a star player he's not the norm.Well, consider this.
We previously bought Pogba, as a starter for £89M. That was when players were cheap (don't laugh). Had we bought him 2 years later, maybe we'd have paid £130m or slightly higher.
Matic arrived a year before Fred, for £40M and he is quite old, so his resale value is low.
A year later, we paid £50M for Fred, who is a young guy, good enough to play in the first team, but not a starter.
If you want to buy a CM, who can start games regularly, then you will need to pay around the £70M mark, in today's market.
I'm not sure about rival teams, and quite frankly I don't care, but £50M for Fred - a squad player who is still young and needs time to adapt, is about right. And let's not forget that Woodward wanted to get a Brazilian, to target the south American market.
There are teams above us in the league who have bought CMs playing better than ours for much less than £70 million and who would cost a lot less than £70 million if we wanted to buy them now.
One example is Jefferson Lerma who signed for Bournemouth this summer for £24 million. One of Bournemouth's best performers this season helping them to 6th in the league. They also signed Brooks for just over £10 million and he's been one of the best young midfielders in the league this season at 21 years old.
Barkley was signed for £15 million last Jan. Jorginho, a midfielder Chelsea are building the team around was £50 million.
Thats where Fred's signing is at £52 million. Somewhere between a CM to build the team around like Jorginho and a star player that any team would want like Pogba.
But what hes been so far is a sub.
Where are the examples of CMs costing £70 million to perform better than ours? Some £50 million CMs at Liverpool arent starting at the moment and might need time to do so like Fred might need to. But they'd be in the same category right now as poor signings until they come good and become an important part of the team.
It's not only the players, but all other staff who underperform by their own standards.
Our coaches, manager, players - are all under performing by their own standards.
A quick google search will verify it.
Here’s my quote verified
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.givemesport.com/1357848-shakhtars-manager-delivers-his-verdict-on-Fred-ahead-of-his-man-united-debut?amp
Find it strange how you said they laughed and had champagne after he saying this.