Not even Arsenal. Bournemouth, pretty football, young manager who could go to a bigger club.So basically the question is "Would you be ok being Arsenal?".
When have we signed ready made stars? The one season we spent according to our wealth? Pogba? 2016, when we spent almost 150m is the one window where I thought the Glazers understood. After years of under investing I thought they realized we needed to buy proper world class players. We should be doing that every window. If we'd done it since 2009 we would be at city's level now.If it meant exciting attacking football and the young players such as Tuanzebe, Garner, Gomes, Chong and Greenwood all got a proper chance in the first team?
Personally I would take that happily. The approach of signing ready made stars and safety first football we've had since Fergie retired has been awful to endure, despite relative success on occasion.
I know it's easy to get carried away with young players, but it feels like we have a real crop of talented youngsters coming through and it'd be great to see them get a proper crack and playing the right way, even if it means finishing 5/6/7th.
Unfortunately there are 6 teams that can say the same thing and 3 others (Wolves, Leicester, Everton) with a similar quality to our best 11 who won't be far behind.We must finish top 4.
Last season we were nearly there. That was with Mourinho sabotaging the season and De Gea brain farts at the end of the season.
There is no valid reason why we should finish outside top 4.
Sarcasm I hope??Only if we win the Europa League.
Plucky losers?I’d take a mid table finish if it meant having a group of players that fight for the shirt and stick together, that care for and have pride in their performances.
I can cope with losing but not lack of effort, players sulking about the pitch and talking crap in the media.
When you read that you can really see how the Glaziers have succeeded in lowering the expectations of the fans so far.Liverpool have proved you don't need to finish top 4 to progress.
Who gives a feck about top 4 tbh? I don't get the obsession with it. 4th place for what? So we can just get knocked out of the CL in the round of 16? Fat load of good that did Arsenal.
We should be building something for the future with the potential to win trophies. I want that to include the likes of Mason and Angel and other academy lads. If it means coming 5th before reaching the potential then so be it.
Seriously? Finances aside (we're stll rich enough even without the CL money), it's a question of prestige. Top clubs compete in Champions League, no exceptions. Not qualifying for the tournament once in a while can be considered a temporary crisis, but failing to do so repeatedly signifies fall into irrelevancy - just look at AC Milan, they're pretty much a forgotten club now, no one cares about their history anymore. We were already punished for it this summer. Instead of getting De Ligt for 65 million, we're forced to pay more for an older and inferior centreback. Lack of CL also means we can't sign Sancho for example, who would solve our long-term RW problem for a decade.Liverpool have proved you don't need to finish top 4 to progress.
Who gives a feck about top 4 tbh? I don't get the obsession with it. 4th place for what? So we can just get knocked out of the CL in the round of 16? Fat load of good that did Arsenal.
We should be building something for the future with the potential to win trophies. I want that to include the likes of Mason and Angel and other academy lads. If it means coming 5th before reaching the potential then so be it.
It's not our wealth that's the problem, it's our total lack of competence, particularly in senior management levels. They simply are not capable of running a football club to a high standard, which is what finishing top four regularly in the Premier League demands. Fans accepting that 5th/6th is our new reality is simply a reflection of this.For someone who went through the Utd-Arsenal rivalry from 98-05 it’s hard to imagine this kind of post on a Utd forum let alone having Arsenal and Utd in 5th and 6th place respectively.
Can’t imagine any situation where a club with the wealth and profile of Utd should be happy outside the top 4. That kind of shit belongs to Spurs and Pool.
Senior Management do what they are told by the owners, you are blaming the middlemen.It's not our wealth that's the problem, it's our total lack of competence, particularly in senior management levels. They simply are not capable of running a football club to a high standard, which is what finishing top in the Premier League regularly demands. Fans accepting that 5th/6th is our new reality is simply a reflection of that.
De Ligt said all along Barca then Juve because of Ronaldo, his idol. Never mentioned once he wanted to come here and thats probably why an half assed attempt to appease the fans wasnt done. Everything else you said I agree with. If we had have finished 4th Sancho probably would have wanted to sign, if we could have agreed a fee with Dortmund, but I doubt the owners would have stumped up over £100 million for him. We would probably still be haggling around £10-15 million short of the mark, bit like Maguire, so Woody could say, "well I tried".Seriously? Finances aside (we're stll rich enough even without the CL money), it's a question of prestige. Top clubs compete in Champions League, no exceptions. Not qualifying for the tournament once in a while can be considered a temporary crisis, but failing to do so repeatedly signifies fall into irrelevancy - just look at AC Milan, they're pretty much a forgotten club now, no one cares about their history anymore. We were already punished for it this summer. Instead of getting De Ligt for 65 million, we're forced to pay more for an older and inferior centreback. Lack of CL also means we can't sign Sancho for example, who would solve our long-term RW problem for a decade.
The owners are culpable too, of course - Joel and Avram in particular are intimately involved in the running of the club.Senior Management do what they are told by the owners, you are blaming the middlemen.
it is 100 % the owners.The owners are culpable too, of course - Joel and Avram in particular are intimately involved in the running of the club.
100% but remember Woody is paid to do exactly that by the GlaziersDe Ligt said all along Barca then Juve because of Ronaldo, his idol. Never mentioned once he wanted to come here and thats probably why an half assed attempt to appease the fans wasnt done. Everything else you said I agree with. If we had have finished 4th Sancho probably would have wanted to sign, if we could have agreed a fee with Dortmund, but I doubt the owners would have stumped up over £100 million for him. We would probably still be haggling around £10-15 million short of the mark, bit like Maguire, so Woody could say, "well I tried".
Yeah, but we would still be in much better position to compete for his signature with CL football - it's not just about De Ligt though, but the best available transfer deals in general. They won't come to play against FC Traktor on a Thursday night.De Ligt said all along Barca then Juve because of Ronaldo, his idol. Never mentioned once he wanted to come here and thats probably why an half assed attempt to appease the fans wasnt done. Everything else you said I agree with. If we had have finished 4th Sancho probably would have wanted to sign, if we could have agreed a fee with Dortmund, but I doubt the owners would have stumped up over £100 million for him. We would probably still be haggling around £10-15 million short of the mark, bit like Maguire, so Woody could say, "well I tried".
Yep, they recently changed his job description as you weren’t saying this when we were breaking spending records.100% but remember Woody is paid to do exactly that by the Glaziers
Average it out over their tenure and it isn't at all impressive.Yep, they recently changed his job description as you weren’t saying this when we were breaking spending records.
I guess. I was more speaking of Woody’s tenure, but I guess over the Glazers reign as a whole, you’re right. Tbh, I won’t defend those leeches anyway.Average it out over their tenure and it isn't at all impressive.
Then contrast it with the money the club has made over that time and it is truly a scandal.
Yes. The dominant premier league team not making CL repeatedly since Fergie left is crazy. It's like Juventus/Real/Bayern etc not making CL. It should be unthinkable.Seriously? Finances aside (we're stll rich enough even without the CL money), it's a question of prestige. Top clubs compete in Champions League, no exceptions. Not qualifying for the tournament once in a while can be considered a temporary crisis, but failing to do so repeatedly signifies fall into irrelevancy - just look at AC Milan, they're pretty much a forgotten club now, no one cares about their history anymore. We were already punished for it this summer. Instead of getting De Ligt for 65 million, we're forced to pay more for an older and inferior centreback. Lack of CL also means we can't sign Sancho for example, who would solve our long-term RW problem for a decade.
