02 Sep 2015 16:17:53
Well I for one am glad that transfer window is finished. I am undecided on how I feel the window went. For instance bringing in Depay I felt was a good move. I don't think we will see the best of him for a year or two yet. Still very raw. So I wouldn't be expecting a lot from him. Then we sign the midfield SCH's and both IMO are good signings. Darmian I knew nothing about but have been very impressed with. Probably the best of the lot so far for me. Finally have a worthy RB after Neville left.
So the widow started well. Then comes the Ramos fiasco, chasing an impossible signing which was never ever going to happen. Everyone could see he was using us for a bigger contract yet for some reason we chase it. In the mean time Otamendi signs for city, a CB who would improve is so much. There were many CB out there to improve is, Laporte. Godin, Miranda, Garay, even some PL CB's such as Stones, Ashley Wiliams and Ryan Shawcross. We let Evans leave which IMO was a good thing, but not bringing in a CB will cost us this season. It did against Swansea as Blind got caught out all day long by Gomis.
We allow Di Maria, Nani, Rvp, Falcoa, Henandez, Henriquez, Janazaj all to leave, and bring in a 19 year old un proven French kid. Don't get me wrong, I know little about him. He could go on to great things and be worth every penny. But IMO he will need a year or two like Depay. Where does that leave us this season? Crying out for goals again. We spent £36m on him. I think we could of got Lacazette, Lewandowski, etc for that kind of money and almost guarentee goals. Even Benteke or Berahino would of scored plenty for us.
Next all summer we have insisted that De Gea won't be sold to Madrid unless we sign one of their top players. Navas is not a Galactico, only to then end up with this mess on deadline day. If we were going to sell him it should of been done early in the window allowing us time to bring in a replacement. Cech moved for £12m. Lloris, Leno, etc etc could all of been targeted.
Where does this leave us and De Gea now? It's a pathetic situation. He is going to be gutted, Well and truly pissed off. How can he just come back into the fold at United like nothing has happened? He doesn't want to be at United any more. Simple as that. So how can he play to the best of his ability with this heart fully committed when he wants to be somewhere else? Romero isn't good enough to be a number one for us. De Gea won't suddenly decide he wants to stay as some posters have said. He will either leave in Jan for half the agreed fee, or leave for nothing in the summer. We would of been better off getting the deal done.
I think the window started great and ended in a farce.
I still think, after spending a quarter of a billion in 18 months, we are short in the GK, CB, RW and CF position. Incredible to be weak in 4 positions after that expenditure.
With this current squad now the window is finished I'll stick with my prediction of a fight for 4th with Liverpool.
02 Sep 2015 17:04:19
Stand, I agree with most of your post but in terms of the forwards, none of those you listed had much impact last year. They have moved on and we have added 2 youngsters with huge potential.
At CB, we still have Jones and Rojo to come back to replace Blind but I accept a top notch CB was a priority.
As for the GK situation, I' m not sure how we could have played it other than rolling over. RM are a nightmare for this behaviour, unsettle the player, agree terms and then at the last minute make an offer. I think DDG isn't daft and will knuckle down. He will want to be in the Dpain squad and Del Bosque has already said he won't be picked if he isn't playing.
I agree about the £36M, it does seem perverse given what else was out there for that money. However, I believe we have a strong team and a good squad that should be pushing forwards. Mother only team that has strengthened is City, I think they may well walk it this year but 2nd is up for grabs. The issue I have is whether LVG is getting the best out of these players. So far it appears not,
02 Sep 2015 17:08:30
Great post and summed it up perfectly - nobody expected us to be this weak this far down the line.
02 Sep 2015 17:25:27
Stones wasn't for sale. Nor was Lewandowski.
Shawcross? Really?
02 Sep 2015 17:28:00
I don't think its a point of been weak, our first 11 is much stronger than last year, its more a point of numbers, we are very thin on squad players,
Its a very risky gamble especially with our injury prone players.
02 Sep 2015 18:42:30
Regarding De Gea, United's official statement states there was no formal offer for him until the day before the deadline. If they were so keen, why? The only conclusion one can come to is that they never intended to go through with it, at least not at United's price. They just wanted to unsettle the player. I'd like to see United sue Madrid on the grounds of tortious interference.
I also hope the rumour that they now have to pay him compensation is true. If so I hope they then don't pay it and show De Gea what a bunch of jerks they really are, and that he decides he'd rather stay with us, where he will be truly appreciated.
Next time he steps on the field for us, show how much we love him. He needs to know you can always get a new girlfriend, but there's only one United.
02 Sep 2015 21:42:06
Shawthing if Real only wanted to unsettle him then they went about it the wrong way as they've unsettled Navas just as much. I'm sure both players will just get on with it but I think Real wanted him and gambled on the price dropping as the window edged towards shut. I will be delighted if DDG signs a new deal but I fear the best we can hope for is a new deal with a Madrid clause but if that gets us one more season, time and a decent fee to replace him then great.