1.) 08 Nov 2019
08 Nov 2019 17:03:23
Midfield is the priority agreed. Then a right sided forward. I think a striker isn't as important if martial can stay fit and rashford gets a little more consistent

The defence still needs work. Smalling looks to be gone permanently and none of jones, rojo or bailly can stay fit. Lindelof looks to have gone backwards. Tuanzebe is the long term solution but given the faults of the others we're light.

Regards left back Williams looks to be the long term solution but I would replace Shaw as again he just can't stay fit.

2.) 08 Nov 2019
08 Nov 2019 17:32:57
This type of post has been done multiple times before every transfer window going back years. We're always a decent transfer window or two away from getting back to challenging but what makes you think we will get the job done?

We all make our list of players to improve our squad like kids writing to Santy, but inevitably we end up with disappointed hoping next Christmas we will get what we want.

I agree we shouldn't buy flr the sake of it. No one is expecting a one window turn around especially not in January. My hope for the rest of the season is to see an improvement on the pitch. If we can start getting a few results, climb up the table, let's see where we can go.

{Ed047's Note - shappy only said the other day that you needed 2 players to transform your team, now I see it’s 7 and 4 immediately. 🤔

3.) 08 Nov 2019
08 Nov 2019 17:57:51
I think you're under cooking it Shappy. We have a 29 man squad and the only players in the squad I would like to keep for sure are DDG and Romero.

I would also keep AWB, Dalot, Williams, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Gomes, Lindelof, McTominay, James, Greenwood, Rashford and Maguire for the time being. That's not because I'm convinced they are really good but because they have shown some promise and at least they have the potential to be the standard required at Manchester Utd.

A 29 man squad is probably a bit bloated but with a squad of 24/ 25 we still need 10 or 11 players in the short term and possibly more in a year or two if some of these unproven players don't push on to become good enough.

City have set the benchmark with two top quality players for each position. It's no longer good enough to have a first team and some half decent squad players. Liverpool have been lucky because their best players are very durable and don't often pick up injuries. Even then they have better strength in depth than we do.

4.) 08 Nov 2019
08 Nov 2019 18:25:28
Ed047, two players if all of our players are fit and on form would transform this side. We do okay against the bigger sides but come unstuck playing against sides that don't set up to play football.

I said we need 7 new players to challenge on all fronts, 4 to challenge for top four/ title push.
Two new players though would put us in contention for top four.

{Ed047's Note - I think they have to be two pretty special players Shappy as in my opinion maybe 56 at most of your squad are what I’d consider as genuine 1st team material.

It’s hard to see beyond De Gea, AWB, McGuire, McTominay and Rashford and 3 of those still have to show consistency at this level.

You have some young guys with what looks to be potential including DJ.

5.) 08 Nov 2019
08 Nov 2019 18:32:27
Lol Ed 😂😂👍👍

I think we might need to approach Arsenal again and try and buy Ozil and Lacazette/ Aubamayeng from them and we should be sorted for AM/ ST.

We should try and get Sancho from Dortmund or else we should get Dembele.

In the perfect world i would go for Sancho, Havertz and Lewandowski for RW/ AM/ ST position.

CM - Sell Matic and Pogba and buy SMS and Niguez (most likely one is possible) .

CB - Ruben Dias.

6.) 08 Nov 2019
08 Nov 2019 19:50:55
Mbappe, Saul, Sancho, Maddison and Ruben Dias well I can dream can’t i.

7.) 09 Nov 2019
09 Nov 2019 10:41:07
Ha Singh.

8.) 09 Nov 2019
09 Nov 2019 10:55:01
Ed047, two first team quality players would bump this side right up the league not because it's a great side, but because bar City and Liverpool every other side has clear an obvious issues.

Arsenal and Spurs seem to have decent sides but can't string some performances together. Chelsea and Leicester are doing well, but they don't have the squad depth, a few injuries over Christmas will see them drop points.

Historically, teams that have a good defence finish higher in the table.

With DDG, AWB, Lindelof, Maguire and Shaw with youngsters like Dalot, Williams and Tuanzebe we have a solid enough defence. Which the stats back up. Most goals we concede are from silly mistakes, if we can cut those out, maybe by shielding the back four more so they have less to do we could have one of the best defensive records in the league. Don't concede means your at least gaining a point every game.

Whilst are record against the better teams is good. A draw against Liverpool, beat Chelsea twice and Leicester. It is the smaller teams that sit deep where we struggle. We haven't got that creative player in the No.10 area of the pitch who can do a little magic to open up a side and create a goal when teams are sitting deep compact and in numbers.

Add Rice and Maddison to this side, while getting Pogba back to full fitness and in form and suddenly we will have a side that is difficult to score against, has serious pace on the counter plus can break down teams when they sit deep.

Not a world beating team, but a team good enough to to pick up 9 points against the likes of Bournemouth, Newcastle and West Ham, and turn 1 point against Southampton into 3. Then we would be 11 points better off.

Where in the table would we be if we were 11 points better off?

{Ed047's Note - I’m yet to be convinced by Lindelof or Shaw but AWB and McGuire (I’m not totally sold on him) are a solid enough foundation and clearly your defence is doing ok now.

We all seem so far off from the top two, our squad is being wasted on Emery, Chelsea are a little up and down, much like Spurs but they could at any time get their act together and be back up there.

Leicester I think I’m right in saying don’t have European football, so is squad depth a major issue, they didn’t have squad depth when they won it but they do have that confidence about them again.

We 100% need to offload Emery if we want any hope of top four and a decent January window could like you say help you but Pogba for me is an issue as is Ollie.

If I was to put money on it now I’d see Spurs and Leicester filling the top four spots, Chelsea 5th and us two after that somewhere.

9.) 09 Nov 2019
09 Nov 2019 11:26:15
ED047,

I'm not convinced my Maguire too. I find him rather flat footed. I think that when he played at Leicester, he wasnt under pressure from the media etc like he is at UTD.

I'd prefer UTD had signed Dias. It would be nice for Bailly to return and find form again but he is so injury prone I can't see it happening.

{Ed047's Note - He does get turned easily and has very little pace for me, the kind of player who’ll get found out in the really big games.

Trouble is top quality defenders are like the proverbial rocking horse..

10.) 09 Nov 2019
09 Nov 2019 11:36:07
Ed047, I agree our defence could still do with a couple of upgrades. Lindelof was very good last year, as was Shaw for most of the season. Both were contenders for our player of the season (not that it means much considering the season we had) . However, a good defence is better than the sum of its parts. Plus Tuanzebe and Williams have looked very good when given a chance so the upgrades we might need could be closer to hand than we think.

Leicester don't have European football and that could be to their advantage. Yet, take three or four players out of the first 11 and they don't have the quality in depth to replace them. Ndidi and Maddison are vital to them. As is Vardy in attack and Evans in defence both are 32.

Spurs have deeper issues, half the squad wants to leave and the manager doesn't look fully committed. That will make it hard to turn around.

{Ed047's Note - I think the same about our defence in relation to the sum of its parts, they are so badly organised it’s impossible to know whose, good, bad or atrocious! At the moment they all look atrocious. 😩

Too finally have a pretty decent DM in Torriera and not even play him there is for me a hanging offence!

Leicester with injuries is an unknown but without the constant turn around of that European football for me they’re far less likely to get injured.

11.) 09 Nov 2019
09 Nov 2019 12:13:09
Ed047, true. I just think that two of their four key players are in their 30's, still expected to play 90 minutes in every game for what is still likely to be 50 games a season with cups. That would still be 4500 minutes, while on average most players clock up between 3000-3500 a season.

It depends whether Brendan goes all out in the cups as well.

Emery strikes me as a manager trying to be too clever. That's fair enough in the big teams where your either evenly matched or out gunned (excuse the pun😁) . But not against teams where you are clearly better. Just play players in their best position and let them do what they do best.

Torreira at DM, Ozil in the No.10 etc.

{Ed047's Note - Emery just isn’t good enough fullstop Shappy, even if he did play them in the right positions 18 months down the line he’s shown nothing to indicate he’s the right man.

We for me are worse than Wengers final years, I don’t think it will be long before he’s off.

As that more in hope re Leicester? 😉

12.) 09 Nov 2019
09 Nov 2019 12:50:37
ED047,

Maguire is an improvement o what UTD had, but there again most defenders would have been.

I have high hopes for Tuanzebe. Even Rojo has surprised me this season. He does owe UTD a great season or two of football.

{Ed047's Note - definitely an improvement mate and you’ve got enough defenders to hope someone else comes good.