27 Jan 2018 19:44:24
81 years. 1937 to be exact. That was the last time we don’t include a home grown player in our squad. Last night we had Rashford starting, with Lingard, MCTominay, and Gomes coming on. The definition of home grown may have changed but it is still a record that no other club can match and one we should be immensely proud of.

Jose arrived with a suspicion that he doesn’t trust youth. Yet he has played Rashford in pretty much every game, made Lingard a starter, given McTominay his chance and seems to have understood what we are about.

History cannot be bought by Russian or Arab billions. It is earned over time and there are very few clubs that can match us in terms of developing our own players. In this world of irrational transfer fees let’s show the rest we can still produce our own. I like McT, he looks assured and would perform well in a 3, Gomes is gifted although still very young, and as per my previous post, I think Rash has a bright future.

It’s interesting that early on in the season many posters (possibly me too) questioned Lingard’s value but look at him now. I am proud of how we bring players through, long may it continue. 81years, well on the way to a century.

1.) 27 Jan 2018
27 Jan 2018 20:08:27
The moment a player has a bad spell people want him sold and some fancy name bought.
Young players need to be given a chance to play and players don't become bad players over night .
People want Shaw sold, wanted martial sold in the summer talking about moving rash on .
Last season I was sick of reading linders wasn't United class . What did he really do wrong?

Not all about fancy names and mega money .
As well as the players above we have TFM, tuanzebe and Pereira who should be around the squad next year.

2.) 27 Jan 2018
27 Jan 2018 20:31:21
Spot on jred. I think it’s worth reminding people of our history and commitment to our own. I am so proud of our history, no other club can match it. Liverpool may be close in terms of trophies but not in terms of growing your own. Lingard is a shining example of a player who many wrote off but is now showing his quality, he’s not the first and will not be the last. I take more satisfaction from Linard’s contribution than anythng Sanchez might do.

3.) 27 Jan 2018
27 Jan 2018 21:53:57
I think I get what you boys are saying, but it sounds to me like you want your cake and eat it.

Are you saying you would happily play lesser players because they are home grown, even if that means our opponents can potentially take advantage and beat us to titles?

If a players is good enough he should play, if he isn't he shouldn't - it doesn't matter where they were born to me. It's the same in other sectors, where they are now sacrificing the best candidates for the job on account of skin colour, gender or any other conformist PC BS. The best people for the job are those most able to perform it, not tick some boxes that are suddenly irrelevant when the SHTF!

It's nice to take pride in our history and these little stats all add to that I suppose, but in this day and age I wouldn't pay them much attention. The only benefit to home grown is the rules for home grown, not too sure anything else factors into the decision making of the club (obviously money does but that is less important as we spend fortunes on foreign players) .

4.) 27 Jan 2018
27 Jan 2018 22:21:11
Beast
No beast it more about a player looking a good player even if many can't or don't see it .

Think about yourself and welbeck .

Sick of reading this squad isn't good enough our players aren't good enough .

We seem to be doing pretty well tho?

5.) 27 Jan 2018
27 Jan 2018 23:06:50
When Welbeck was sold and very few people gave a damn I gave up giving a damn about our pedigree for youth development and what it stands for.

The club don't care about it, only the financial and "rules" associated with it.

We do have a lot of average players, we have always had quite a few (just look at how players we have sold have fared once moved on), but we have lacked genuine super stars to carry those average players. People like Valencia, Young, Smalling, Jones, Blind, Rojo, Rash, etc, are needed but not to be relied upon - we have been relying on average for too long. That looks like changing now with some world class talent coming in where it's needed.

We have improved lately, we have added genuine quality in Sanchez and I am all up for signing Sanchez even if it means young potential gets hampered. I'm not up for signing players like Perisic to the detriment of youngsters though and that has been the problem of late.

Looking forward to seeing how things develop, but I still don't see the logic on some of the things being done like signing Lukaku.

6.) 27 Jan 2018
27 Jan 2018 23:25:50
Antonio Valencia hasn’t put a foot wrong in his entire time at this club. Young works his backside off and has been great for us. Willing to do a job anywhere. Guys like John O’Shea and Wes Brown weren’t stars but every side need them. Signings like Valencia and young have been worth their weight in gold.
Rashford has got so much talent and ability. He will be a star. Just needs to add some consistency, he just turned 20 remember. If we give up on him at 20 we may as well forget about talent like Angel Gomes.

7.) 28 Jan 2018
27 Jan 2018 23:41:08
I agree with a lot of that beast. Jose took over a terrible squad. Failing twice to get top 4. It's improved. No team that has to start blind darmian fellaini Morgan an aging Rooney 20 plus times a season could expect to win the league. Now those players are not starting that amount of games. We don't need to rely on them. Any of them can come in for a game or 2 surrounded by the right olayers and get away with it. But in the league when they have yo play every week they can't do it at a high level constantly.

Our forward line is full of young players with great potential sanchez adds great experience to that I think mata will do well with sanchez also.

A lot of credit goes to the manager who is getting Indian summer's from young and valencia both have excelled under him. As has Jones.
Has the manager helped shaw turn his career around? Many on here accusing him him of all sorts when the manager called him out publicly but yet here shaw is playing the best he has for 4 years.

Rash has appeared in every league game this season jessie is playing out of his skin and mctominay has come from nowhere gomes has signed and made a couple of appearances all for the manager that never gives home grown players a chance.
If you are good enough and prove you are good enogh every day in training and in every game you play then jose will play you. No matter where you come from. Younger players need to be patient under him. Embrace the challege earn your chances and deliver when you get the chance that's what its all about.

8.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 00:32:34
Lukaku has 11 goals and 5 assists in 2000 mins of prem football, in a team that has failed to pass to him when in clear positions countless times. At other times our crossing has been diabolical.

Lukaku has been an excellent signing, our options for a front 3 or 4 players is very good and I expect us to pressure City this season and certainly challenge next season.

9.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 00:39:41
You have misinterpreted my post Caolan. Valencia and Young have been fine squad players, just like Brown and O'Shea were. Difference being Brown and O'Shea didn't really stand out because we had a team full of superstars, Valencia and Young have been standing out because we haven't had a team full of superstars.

What many would call 'average' players for Utd have been relied on far too much in recent times. You need those squad player as reliable 7/ 10 performers, but when they are the ones putting in the consistent best performances you have a problem - which we have seen over the past 5 years!

I disagree about Rashford, he will be good but he won't be great. He doesn't have the X factor for me that is required in attacking players at this standard. Other things will come with time, but you can't teach killer instinct and he doesn't have it. Fair play to the kid though, hope he does well, but it will be mid-table EPL for him in a few years once we sign more World Class players, unless he is happy sitting on a bench and the club don't want to cash in on the hype. I was wrong about Lingard though it seems, so hope to be wrong about Rash as well.

10.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 02:37:26
When fergie brought in a youngster we believed but they all ended rubbish, class of Scholes was his bread and butter mourinho will join Ferguson’s legacy bide our time.

11.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 04:58:21
I’m not saying that Beast (your first reply) . I am as happy as anyone to sign superstar players and your point about ‘average’ players standing out because f the lack or world class talent is a good one. My point is that whilst we continue to attract the best let’s never stop investing time and patience in developing our own. And Rashford is long way from being average, but I guess we did that to death yesterday.