Man Utd Thread:

[TabClear]

One positive recently is Ole has shifted some of that dead wood: Smalling, Darmian, Sanchez, Lukaku. A few more to go though.

Well you take that into account plus Herrera and a couple in the door, the clear seems to be well and truly under way.

As we all know it was never going to be done in one or even two transfer windows, even in January I wouldnt expect much movement, so it will be into next summer before we see what Ole really has planned for the recruitment side of things.

How has Jones remained though?  Should have been first out.

Other teams  have seen Jones play

[magpie seanie]

One positive recently is Ole has shifted some of that dead wood: Smalling, Darmian, Sanchez, Lukaku. A few more to go though.

Well you take that into account plus Herrera and a couple in the door, the clear seems to be well and truly under way.

As we all know it was never going to be done in one or even two transfer windows, even in January I wouldnt expect much movement, so it will be into next summer before we see what Ole really has planned for the recruitment side of things.

How has Jones remained though?  Should have been first out.

Other teams  have seen Jones play

The lad gives his best when he plays. He's never short of effort. There have been times throughout his career when he has actually looked decent. Started about half the league games when United last won the league and has 27 caps so he's nowhere near as bad a player as he's made out to be. Smalling is similar. Worth having around as squad players.

[Cunny Funt]

The problem with Jones is he can't stay fit and while he can look decent at times his next big error isn't far away.  Smalling was better and more reliable option than Jones IMO but he was awful with the ball at his feet.

I'd agree on the loss of Herrera he had leadership that this United squad is lacking, not replacing him was a big error in the transfer window.  The likes of Wolves,Everton.Leicester have better midfield options than McTominay,Pereira,Lingard. A Proper re-building would be trusting younger players (Garner,Gomes) than playing Mata,Matic who have no future at this club as both are finished as top level footballers.

[BennyCake]

One positive recently is Ole has shifted some of that dead wood: Smalling, Darmian, Sanchez, Lukaku. A few more to go though.

Well you take that into account plus Herrera and a couple in the door, the clear seems to be well and truly under way.

As we all know it was never going to be done in one or even two transfer windows, even in January I wouldnt expect much movement, so it will be into next summer before we see what Ole really has planned for the recruitment side of things.

How has Jones remained though?  Should have been first out.

Other teams  have seen Jones play

The lad gives his best when he plays. He's never short of effort. There have been times throughout his career when he has actually looked decent. Started about half the league games when United last won the league and has 27 caps so he's nowhere near as bad a player as he's made out to be. Smalling is similar. Worth having around as squad players.

Yeah, so did Ali Dei. You know, George Weah's cousin.

As for Smalling, I never want to see him in an United shirt again. He is an absolute clown.

[Look-Up!]

Given United are light up front with no big signing looking likely, why didn't they buy back Javier Hernandez? West Ham let him go.

I like Hernandez as a player but if united fans are worried that Ole did not sign someone West Ham did not want things must be bad.

I actually think the doom and gloom is overstated. As seanie said United have had no luck so far, dominated against CP, should have beat a Southampton side that, bar a shocking miss from Ings could easily have drawn with Liverpool a week earlier and had two missed penalties. Forgetting about all the nonsense about who is the designated penalty taker its unusual for a club to miss two on the bounce and Rashford's in particular was unlucky. If both of those had went in (as you would generally expect) things would look very different.

James and maguire have both settled in well and look like  good signings. I do think they are short of cover in midfield and a couple of key injuries could leave them really exposed but overall I expect them to be comfortably top six and probably top four. A lot will depend on how they handle the Thursday/Sunday fixtures. Given their reasonably kind draw they should get Greenwood/Gomes etc some minutes which they will probably need between now and Christmas in the premier league.

I'd agree that they have been unlucky so far but unfortunately that is the story for most teams outside the top. I'm not saying they are mid table but the difference between the top teams and the rest is that if you don't have a 20+ goals a season proven striker you are going to drop points. Whether United have this striker in their ranks at the moment is up for debate and we won't know till May but Rashford (as great and all as his potential is) has only hit the 10 mark once. Same with Martial and as someone else said they are more wide type of players. James looks a talent but again it's a long season and 20+ goals is a very tough target. United's progress up through the table this season will be hugely affected by the final tally or combined tallies these guys can come up with and so far they are unproven in this regard. So there is a bit of pressure on them because they will have to produce a career best return in order for United to be pushing for top 4.   

[Joeythelips]

This 'it'll take several transfer windows to sort out the squad at United' line is a bit perplexing. What do those coming out with it actually mean? If they're on about rebuilding the squad to the point that challenging the top two for titles again is a realistic goal, then of course there's a lot of work to be done. But the immediate concern should have been with establishing the club as at least the best of the rest. And some big steps in that direction could have been made with appropriate recruitment over the course of just one transfer window, this summer.

United are short quality in midfield and attack. This was abundantly clear long before the end of last season. At least one more player should have been recruited in each of these areas. Foresight and finance should not have been issues. It has been a failure of management, at some or all levels within the club, to go into this season with such glaring squad deficiencies. Falling short of CL football again next season is now a strong prospect, which would in turn create difficulties recruiting future preferred targets, which in turn slows momentum and sees the club continue to stagnate 'two or three transfer windows' away from challenging again. United fans should be angrier about what went on this summer. The road back to the top is long, but the club could and should be further down that road by now.

'Falling short of CL football again next season is now a strong prospect,' it's more than a strong prospect it's almost a certainty in my book. Falling outside the top 6 is a strong prospect.

The reason some of us think it will take several transfer windows to sort united out is that to get the missing pieces of the puzzle we need to attract some top quality players, having champions league football would really help this and thats unlikely for next summers window. Also whatever you think of uniteds team, take a look at their bench (v Southampton it was Lingard, Rojo, Romero, Greenwood, Matic, Tuanzebe, Chong) the squad really lacks the depth needed to get top 4 IMO.

[magpie seanie]

I don't believe Martial and Rashford are wide players. I think they have predominantly played wide as there has been a (static) big name centre forward like Rooney or Lukaku there most of the time who has always been picked to play through the middle. One upside of how the squad is this year is we'll see them get a good few games through the middle or when they play wide they might have a "9" who works and moves. You see at Liverpool how important Firmino is to Mané and Salah.....they wouldn't get the goals they get without his work. United haven't had that so my hope is that with a more mobile front three, Martial and Rashford can get more goals. I don't expect James to keep up this scoring rate but he has looked better than I'd hoped so far.

[Look-Up!]

I don't believe Martial and Rashford are wide players. I think they have predominantly played wide as there has been a (static) big name centre forward like Rooney or Lukaku there most of the time who has always been picked to play through the middle. One upside of how the squad is this year is we'll see them get a good few games through the middle or when they play wide they might have a "9" who works and moves. You see at Liverpool how important Firmino is to Mané and Salah.....they wouldn't get the goals they get without his work. United haven't had that so my hope is that with a more mobile front three, Martial and Rashford can get more goals. I don't expect James to keep up this scoring rate but he has looked better than I'd hoped so far.

It's a hope more than a concrete strategy though and really at the moment Utd don't have a recognized striker. Henry at Arsenal is a great example of a wide man going on to make a prolific striker but failure is more often than not the norm. Pogba is their top PL goal scorer from last season and if they had held on to Lukaku, Pogba would still be their top PL goal scorer from last season. So it's not as if there hasn't been opportunities or a need for someone to step up before this. Maybe some at the club believe their hold up play or finishing or both were not good enough for a central role. Time will only tell but the likes of Martial and Rashford really need to step up this season. They're at that stage where potential can no longer be talked about and what you see is in fact what you get. James looks very very good. Probably won't keep up this rate. If he does he's world class. But regardless Pogba, James, Martial and Rashford look like the bulk of where the goals will come from. Completely agree about Liverpool. That trio account for nearly 60 PL goals last season. It's why they drop so little points. City are another club with ridiculous combined tallies. Kane can hit 20+ injury free. Son and Moura can pitch in. Arsenal have Lacazette and Aubameyang with decent track records. Assuming Pogba can hit close to 15 again this year that still leaves a massive order for the other three combined to fill up. At least one of them is going to have to have a season to write about. Either that or they're relying on Arsenal or Spurs to regress this season or maybe get someone big in in January. But at the moment they're really slugging it out with Chelsea, Leicester, Everton etc. and hardly clear favourite.

[trailer]

I don't believe Martial and Rashford are wide players. I think they have predominantly played wide as there has been a (static) big name centre forward like Rooney or Lukaku there most of the time who has always been picked to play through the middle. One upside of how the squad is this year is we'll see them get a good few games through the middle or when they play wide they might have a "9" who works and moves. You see at Liverpool how important Firmino is to Mané and Salah.....they wouldn't get the goals they get without his work. United haven't had that so my hope is that with a more mobile front three, Martial and Rashford can get more goals. I don't expect James to keep up this scoring rate but he has looked better than I'd hoped so far.

It's a hope more than a concrete strategy though and really at the moment Utd don't have a recognized striker. Henry at Arsenal is a great example of a wide man going on to make a prolific striker but failure is more often than not the norm. Pogba is their top PL goal scorer from last season and if they had held on to Lukaku, Pogba would still be their top PL goal scorer from last season. So it's not as if there hasn't been opportunities or a need for someone to step up before this. Maybe some at the club believe their hold up play or finishing or both were not good enough for a central role. Time will only tell but the likes of Martial and Rashford really need to step up this season. They're at that stage where potential can no longer be talked about and what you see is in fact what you get. James looks very very good. Probably won't keep up this rate. If he does he's world class. But regardless Pogba, James, Martial and Rashford look like the bulk of where the goals will come from. Completely agree about Liverpool. That trio account for nearly 60 PL goals last season. It's why they drop so little points. City are another club with ridiculous combined tallies. Kane can hit 20+ injury free. Son and Moura can pitch in. Arsenal have Lacazette and Aubameyang with decent track records. Assuming Pogba can hit close to 15 again this year that still leaves a massive order for the other three combined to fill up. At least one of them is going to have to have a season to write about. Either that or they're relying on Arsenal or Spurs to regress this season or maybe get someone big in in January. But at the moment they're really slugging it out with Chelsea, Leicester, Everton etc. and hardly clear favourite.

Paragraphs are your friend.
DO NOT FEAR THEM!

[trailer]

People actually advocating holding onto Lukaku? The man has the first touch of a concrete wall. He has been replaced with fresh air and that's good enough for me. A shitebag. Not a Manchester United player.

[magpie seanie]

People actually advocating holding onto Lukaku? The man has the first touch of a concrete wall. He has been replaced with fresh air and that's good enough for me. A shitebag. Not a Manchester United player.

I don't think anyone is saying he should have been kept. It's just worth pointing out that while (in my opinion and no doubt yours) he's not a top level player, he did get goals (mostly against lower ranked teams) which still need to be put away this term. A replacement would have been desirable.

I see he's got a bizarre letter from his new supporters about how monkey chants aren't, in fact racist and that really there's no racism in Italian soccer. After this clarification I'm really looking forward to seeing white players receive monkey chants. I know we live in times where people tell lies blatantly all the time but this is unbelievable stuff.

[Look-Up!]

People actually advocating holding onto Lukaku? The man has the first touch of a concrete wall. He has been replaced with fresh air and that's good enough for me. A shitebag. Not a Manchester United player.

Haven't read anyone on here advocating holding onto Lukaku. Utd's top goal scorer from last year was a midfielder. That's Utd's big problem at moment, goals. People in charge of team selection at the club last season saw a shitebag of a striker as a better central option than what their only options this season are. 

[trailer]

They tried to replace him but it was going to cost the GDP of an African nation to do so and for once Utd made the right decision and said no. And if they have to say no in the next two transfer windows then that's fine.

Recruitment has been a mess since Ferguson left remember Moyes' first window when Fellani was signed for more than his release clause on deadline day? And then they didn't get that left back who's name I can't remember also from Everton. Took the pens, had a shit haircut. That was the start of the decline, right up until JM was told to check out of the Lowery Hotel.

A line had to be drawn in the sand. Paying over the odds for shit just because they're Utd and they can does not build a successful team. Off loading bad players, on high money is good business irrespective if they're replaced.

[BennyCake]

Leighton Baines.

[Boycey]

They tried to replace him but it was going to cost the GDP of an African nation to do so and for once Utd made the right decision and said no. And if they have to say no in the next two transfer windows then that's fine.

Recruitment has been a mess since Ferguson left remember Moyes' first window when Fellani was signed for more than his release clause on deadline day? And then they didn't get that left back who's name I can't remember also from Everton. Took the pens, had a shit haircut. That was the start of the decline, right up until JM was told to check out of the Lowery Hotel.

A line had to be drawn in the sand. Paying over the odds for shit just because they're Utd and they can does not build a successful team. Off loading bad players, on high money is good business irrespective if they're replaced.

I'm surprised MOTD haven't been on looking u...