12 Nov 2019 09:21:13
It is good to see the acknowledgment Martial has contributed to the team improving, I think he is a year behind where he should be due to not getting a chance at no9 since lvg until ole came in.

That being said he is contributing with goals and assists, regardless of the opposition he has made the difference.

I think the team is 4 players from having a real go next year at the title.

CM
AM
RW
ST

Williams and shaw is enough for LB.


1.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 10:00:31
Same speech since Moyes and we still here.


2.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 11:02:37
Big V don't forget young and Dalot can also cover LB.


3.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 12:19:13
Williams and shaw are not enough for left back.

If you offered me a left back, centre mid and right winger such as chilwell, maddison and sancho every fan would bite your hand off.


4.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 12:30:19
Full back I think is covered, between AWB, Dalot, Shaw, Young and Williams we have enough young hungry talent to cover those areas.

I feel we need three midfielders. Our current options are:
Matic who's legs have gone.
Fred who is improving but there are still question marks over his ability.
Pogba who doesn't want to be here.
McTominay who is fast becoming our most reliable midfielder, but maybe lacks the quality on the ball to really hurt opposition.
Then we have Garner who is a young lad and should probably be used sparingly for a year or two.

Four senior midfielders of which two are looking to leave. We could be left with just Fred and McTominay after departures.

I think we need a a proper holding midfielder to replace Matic and offer us the option of a player who can shield the back four. A creative box to box player to replace Pogba and offer some creativity to go with McTominay's destructive presence. Then Finally and most importantly we need a number 10 who can play between the midfield and the forward line and offer the brains and ability to unlock low blocking teams who sit deep.

We do need a back up/ rotation option at centre forward. Rashford is showing that he plays best from the left and we really struggled when he had to play at CF for a extended period of time. Martial's ability to play with his back to goal, link up with his team mates and occupy one or both centre backs has created so much more space for the other players allowing them to play better. The question is what sort of striker do we buy? Good arguments can be made for signing an older more experienced head, a young up and coming striker or indeed a top class player in their prime. I think until we see how Martial does over the course of a whole season it will be hard to really nail down what we need from a new striker.

I'm not so convinced we need a RW player, James has been improving on the right in recent weeks, even putting in some lovely crosses. While Rashford seems to be starting to nail down that left wing position. Also we have Dalot and Greenwood who can fill in at RW and offer something different. So with three young and improving players all able to play that position I don't see it as a vital signing, certainly not as important as the midfield or back up striker positions.

So, for me it is DM, CM, AM and ST.


5.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 12:34:32
4 players maybe for a top 4 challenge.


We are 5 years behind a title challenge.


6.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 12:53:32
Bolger, I wouldn't necessarily say we are five years away from a title challenge. Chelsea and Leicester are currently closer to challenging Liverpool than the reigning champions are.

If Liverpool keep up this form for five years then yes it will be five years before we can challenge them. Yet Man City's form over the last two years was considered too good for anyone to challenge them, yet there are three teams ahead of them currently. So did Leicester and Chelsea surpass City or have they just not been able to keep that sort of form up for 3+ years?

If for whatever reason BOTH Klopp and Pep leave their current clubs in the summer then would you still say we are five years away?

My point is that all teams have peaks and troughs in form, teams go through cycles with few teams able to maintain a peak over a 4 or 5 year period. Often desire, drive, concentration, or fitness just drops and with it so does the form.

So, if we bring in the right players, continue to develop our current young players then we might be in a position to challenge sooner than you think.


7.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 13:33:22
Young, Shaw, Dalot are Fullbacks who can't offer anything in attack.
Pool's fullbacks shared 22 assists between them last year so do you think us having just numbers for that position is enough? What about the quality?


8.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 14:46:02
Becks, Dalot is pretty good in attack. While no player has played more crosses into the box than Young in the United side this season.

Not all teams rely so heavily on their full backs to create, Liverpool do because they lack that midfielder to unlock teams. Instead preferring high energy all action midfielders who can press and hassle the opposition off of the ball.

You will struggle to name many teams other than Liverpool where the teams full back contributed more than 12 assists across a season.

Often high pressing full backs aren't necessarily to put balls in the box, but to drag the opposition full backs out wide to create spaces in the middle for other creative players.

AWB will lock down the RB position this season, while it will be an interesting battle between Williams and Shaw (when he's back fit) for left back. Dalot offers cover and competition for both sides, while could be an option on the RW if needed.


9.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 15:59:33
shappy, in my opinion city will still finish 2nd, if not win it, don't discount them just yet bigger leads have been caught and they have a fantastic team.

pressure is on Liverpool now they were 7 points clear if i remember but it might have been more last year and still finished 2nd.

city have just hit a bad patch they are still a top class team

and if they can close the gap before January they have a chance.


our squad is miles away even if pep and klopp left we still wouldn't be any closer. we are heading in the right direction but a title challenge is way off.


10.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 16:30:57
City's summer recruitment wasn't good enough and they're paying for it but I wouldn't discount them.

Teams may figure Liverpool out. Sit on the fullbacks and crowd the midfield whilst intercepting the brown envelope to the VAR.


11.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 16:53:17
Shappy, just something i picked out from your post and wanted to ask. Did Jose with Chelsea wait for SAF to retire to win their first league title. Or did City say that we should wait for SAF to go out and then we can win the league. If you say no, would it not be prudent that we focus on ourself to strengthen ourself rather than wait for others to weaken. My point is that there is more credibility of a team who beats you when you are on the top. Suppose Klopp and Pep go out and we win the league, how would we know if we were good enough to challenge the best. I want us to beat city and pool under pep and klopp.


12.) 12 Nov 2019
12 Nov 2019 17:19:34
Bolger, City will bounce back no doubt. I agree with Mort, they didn't recruit well enough in the summer. Kompany left leaving them with only one top quality centre back in Laporte, while Stones and Otemendi aren't anywhere near good enough. They are now weak at the back, while they don't seem to be quite as lethal yet in front of goal this season. I expect they will come back but they need to shore up their defence and they can't do that until January at the earliest, which means they can't afford to drop further behind by then. If they are 10 or more points behind Liverpool at the turn of the year they will struggle to claw it back.

Shan, I'm not suggesting we wait until other managers have left. Merely pointing out that neither will likely be at Liverpool and City in 5 years time. We need to focus on us, and what we are doing. That should be to turn over the squad, bring in the right blend of players with the correct attitude and fight while developing the players we have to rebuild our squad into one capable of winning the league.

However, if while we are doing that an opportunity opens up for us to challenge before we have fully completed the rebuild then we should try and grasp that with both hands. For as much as you need to focus on ourselves, what others are doing will directly impact our ability to win the title. Last year Liverpool came second with a points total that would have won them the title in nearly every other year of the EPL. They focused on themselves and they did exceptionally well, but despite that they didn't win the title because someone else had a record breaking year.

It happens, Leicester man for man weren't the best team in the league the year they won it, but if other teams have an off year then that opens the door for a team not quite ready to challenge.


13.) 13 Nov 2019
13 Nov 2019 06:20:07
We have too many young players with potential at the moment.
In the upcoming transfer windows, we need proven players who can hit the ground running.


14.) 13 Nov 2019
13 Nov 2019 09:14:48
TrueRedDevil, in an ideal world we would be signing world class proven EPL players who are 25-26 years old. Players like Kane.

However, the reality is that everyone is trying to sign those players. With the club where it is currently we will find it hard competing for those players with the likes of Juventus, Bayern, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and City also likely to be in for those types of players.

We might have to look at either slightly older or slightly younger players. My preference is to go for the younger ones as they seem to settle easier and we have more success with them generally than the over 30 players.

Maybe we should be looking at players between 22-26, young enough to grow and develop with us, but close enough to their peak years to have an immediate impact.


15.) 13 Nov 2019
13 Nov 2019 13:03:12
Yeah Shappy.
But we may break the bank for the right signings, provided they are interested in joining us.