01 Oct 2019 10:31:11
Another dreary performance lacking any signs of talent of momentum.

I don't see this rebuild continuing when we miss out on top 4, maybe even top 6 and have no European football of any description to offer.


1.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 11:31:14
I think the key thing is balance Fresh.

We can’t compete this season, so the conventional wisdom is to write it off, give Ole time to bring in more players, etc.

This is fine, to a certain extent, as we can all see that the squad is lacking in every area. But, the club also has to be in a position to convince the right players to join.

Over the last few seasons our transfer strategy has been to convince players by throwing money at them. This has resulted in players joining for high wages, not due to any real desire to win trophies. The nick on effect to this is lack of motivation, effort and commitment throughout the squad.

The new strategy is to convince young, hungry players to sign. In other words, players looking to make the step up to a top level club - Sancho, Maddisson, Rice, etc. The issue with this is that these players have to be convinced that moving here is the right step up. If we continue with the current form, results and performances, why would a hungry young player want to sign for us?

Now we’re in a weird catch 22 situation: our squad is poor and unable to compete, but we won’t be able to convince hungry young players to sign if we don’t improve our performances and give them some indication that moving here is the right thing for their career.

At the top of the club, it doesn’t matter. They’re making record profits, and will just pin the blame on Ole if things don’t improve. The reality for Ole is that these performance won’t cut it. He’ll lose his job, and the club will bring in another stooge to start the process again.


2.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 11:55:25
maybe a season out of Europe may suit the squad

i can't see us buying 5 or 6 players next summer, players will leave as well

a not so loaded schedule might be best.


we just have to try and convince players other than just using the name of the club, that will only take us so far.


3.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 11:59:44
The difficulty is that the players we need to improve us like Maddison, Rice and Sancho are either playing in the CL, pushing for top four or pushing for Europe themselves. They’re also of sufficient quality that our rivals will want them - Maddison could replace Silva for example. Unless they are life long United fans why would they join? If you could play with Sterling, Aguero, Silva etc why would you rather play with Lingard, Pereira and Rashford?


4.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 12:13:04
Rashford looks knackered to me.


5.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 12:15:36
we do not have to worry. woodward will be telling them its like never never land where you never get older.


6.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 12:42:18
ERIC- don't think there is a player in his early 20's in the epl who can reasonably justify being knackered. I reckon his confidence is blown, he may have come back from a previous injury too soon (and not the groin strain) and he just hasn't kicked on progression wise. The one thing he hasn't lost is pace but he seems to be just that, pace without direction or purpose- and let's be fair : who is convinced by his dead ball play- rojo might be better lol.


7.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 12:45:01
Spot on that Danny. However the financials look to be sliding as well. If any of you have twitter check a guy called Swiss ramble. He did a good break down of it yesterday. Things look good at the moment but the downturn is there. No champions league less money from adidas. This prospect may prompt a January spend.


8.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 13:05:55
The decision makers will be rueing about not getting 2 more signings in.
I just didn't understand what Lingard did or tried to do yesterday.
DJ looked like the leader of the attack.


9.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 13:43:26
He’s really good Mort.

I think that’s the reason that Ole’s likely to be sacrificed. The club is focused on maintaining profits, and another 6th place finish won’t cut it if they want to keep attracting sponsors. There’s only so much trading on the legacy of the brand that they can do.

But the issue in January is that the players Ole wants won’t be available. Leicester and West Ham won’t sell halfway through the season, and Dortmund are building up to a bidding war for Sancho next summer. Dembele is a possibility, but Lyon will be looking for big money in Jan.

The other option is to bring in players that aren’t top of the manager’s list, and that’s back to the disastrous strategy that put us in this position.

So ultimately, I’m not sure if buying in January will actually help Ole do enough to keep his job.


10.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 14:33:50
I think they've finally realised it takes more than a magic wave of the sacking wand to fix things. There's no outstanding contenders to replace him and if we can't attract the top players without champions league would we be able to attract the managers? I think they'll stick with him unless it gets really bad. We may need to unearth another dab James or 3.


11.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 15:23:24
ole won last till January.


12.) 01 Oct 2019
01 Oct 2019 15:55:18
That's what I like to see. Good healthy optimism.