04 Mar 2015 11:51:53
Following on from the post below relating to signing potential, isn't that what our history was built on getting young players with potential and nurturing them into great players? There are a few I think with the right tutoring and guidance could become fantastic players. The time to sign them is when they are young so they buy into the culture and direction the manager wants to go.
Right wing: Felipe Anderson - quick tricky winger, two footed who can score and create.
Left wing: Memphis Depay - Quick, direct, powerful tricky. Can score and create.
Forward: Paulo Dybala. Quick, great at dribbling, great at holding up the ball and also very good at passing.
Excellent 18 year olds: GONCALO GUEDES - left wing & GUIDO VADALÃ - Forward/right wing.
Long term sustained success comes from both your youth system and the transfer market. Our brightest periods over the last century have always involved very talented young players who had been nurtured by the club. The strive for instant success and some poor decisions by the club have resulted in us having an ageing squad that is the most highly paid in football, and yet the price doesn't match the performance. The issues with the back line, midfield, non scoring forwards and manager are well debated but at least a large influx of young, hungry player that are quick and have high levels of potential capability would offer hope and excitement to the team.
04 Mar 2015 12:21:23
Exactly right Rewz, unfortunately some of the posters only like to quote "The UTD Way" when it can back up their own theories.
04 Mar 2015 12:23:22
Rewz - You are right mate, it was what we were all about and I would like us to maintain an element of that, but we can't rely on that and we need to change the percentages. The game has moved on so quickly with the TV money and Sponsorship, if we want to be winning in Europe and domestically the vast majority of our squad need to be readymade because clubs like Bayern, Real, Barcelona, City, PSG, Chelsea will simply buy them and improve immediately, whilst we wait for talent to "hopefully" come good, suffering as we go.
It is very rare for a young player to come in and be doing it consistently for a long time - whilst we should have 2 or 3 of those prospects. Our rivals have 7 or 8 World class players starting every game. We can't afford to risk grooming 2-3 players each week because we have 3 or 4 world class players and the rest are squad players that wouldn't get near our major rivals starting 11.
We need to invest heavily in proven talent, then start the cycle of introducing 2 youngsters to the starting 11 so they learn and it doesn't hurt the team, as the older players retire the young ones are ready and the cycle continues - but you have to start from a position of power now otherwise it breaks down like it has with us.
At the moment we are doing neither effectively, we are not playing youth enough because we lack the quality to cover for it and we have too many squad players playing because we lack world class players.
We have a lot of catching up to do. Our next investment should be on world class readymade players or we will be forever playing catch up.
04 Mar 2015 12:38:44
I don't think anyone is against signing young players and developing them. I for one would welcome them at the right price of course but we need to add experience along with youth. Would I rather Bale or Depay? Bale of course but if we got Depay as well then marvellous.
For instance say Madrid sign Muller, Bayern sign Benzema, Chelsea sign Reus, Liverpool sign Isco, Arsenal sign Cavani, City sign Suarez and we sign Depay. Would everyone be pleased with that?
No one is saying we don't want players like Depay we just want experience along with them but given the choice between one or the other we would rather take the latter at the moment.
04 Mar 2015 13:11:41
4 of your 6 there are strikers not wingers, that is obviously a different department that needs addressing Depay would not fit into that category
04 Mar 2015 13:47:34
Have Chelsea, City, Liverpool or Arsenal got 7-8 world class players starting every game? No chance. Barca and Real and Bayern might have but no team in our league has 7-8 world class players starting every game.
04 Mar 2015 14:50:02
Juan, I would be happy to take £20m Depay who has scored or assisted every 90mins, that's far better than £100m Bale has achieved this season. Depay is also far younger and hungrier than Bale. It's a risk yes BUT he's an international starter with a couple of seasons of sustained levels of achievement so technically fairly low risk.
Would you sign Ronaldo or the kid matching/surpassing the level he was at as a teenager? It depends on if you want the short term benefit of Ronaldo or the potential long term benefit of having a lad who could be a similar level to him.
05 Mar 2015 03:08:30
Rewz are you trying to tell me you would rather sign Depay than Ronaldo or Bale at the moment? If so I cannot even begin to comprehend that.