03 Mar 2021 09:07:48
Accidentally his send too soon.

Either way now Ole has come out in the press and said that the C.V. has affected everyone and the club will need to dial back on spending this summer.

He went on to say it's a great chance for some of the academy lads to step up and make a push for the first team.

So with that pretty much confirmed what is everyone's view on the summer transfer market, maybe 1 or 2 key signings, 3 at most by the looks of it. What it the priority and what positions can we afford to delay a signing in?

1.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 09:22:25
Theres more issues than just signings.
A CB is a must, Ole has to play x2 DM because he doesn't trust his CB, s, I certainly don't, so a top class CB would be 1, who I don't know.
DdG out, Deano in, or very least Deano starts every week.
Sort out the Pogba situation, personally sell, would rather see Donny in there, 5 mins here and there or the odd game in a much changed line up is hardly enough to see the best of DvdB, wouldn't touch Grealish with a bargepole.
I think Cavani stays another year so we won't purchase a CF, not sure we could get Haaland now anyway.
Leaving the RW position, as it is I think Greenwood is the best one out there but he should be learning off Cavani, so we need balance there, Sancho being the obvs one we have been after, Dortmund will likely sell.
Martial needs moving on.

{Ed077's Note - am I the only one who doesnt see much sense in pursuing Sancho for around 80m without even taking into account the huge agent fee?}

2.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 09:37:52
Not saying we will spend a fortune by any means- but I always take what a manager says in the press with a huge pinch of salt. Just a week ago he was talking about the backing he has in the market. I like the idea of some of the kids being promoted to the squad but IMO they’ll take the squad role of someone like mata, lingard and anyone else we can move on.

3.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 09:40:31
If Varane can be persuaded (only an year left on his contract), I'd swap him with Pogba.
Get Declan Rice with Lingard and some money.
Then go all out for Haaland.

4.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 09:58:54
GK - Covered - Two first team Options
LB - Covered - Two first team Options
RB - Half Covered - 1 first team and a lot of "potential cover"
CB - Overstaffed and under-skilled - Get rid of 2 bring in 1 - Must Recruit
CDM - 3 options, none are top level but good enough for now
CM/ CAM - enough cover and options here
LW - Rashford and Martial - Covered
ST - Cavani/ Greenwood/ Martial - Would let Martial go and have someone to replace
RW - Greenwood/ James/ Diallo - all Young and raw

If we could only bring in one or two this summer, I'd say we need a CB and then an attacker atm.

Martial/ Jones/ Bailly/ Mata/ Lingard/ Andreas/ Romero to go.

I'd look to bring in De Vrij at CB and Sancho at RW/ LW.

5.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 10:06:35
Ed077,

I'm glad Utd didn't buy him last Summer. He has a attitude problem aswell.

Diallo, Pellestri and Greenwood can play RW. i'd would make more sense to sort out defence once and for all.

Would you sell Maguire? I think he has been a very poor signing.

{Ed077's Note - no. Not now. Maguire is the only CB currently at the club who doesnt have any injury issue. At least he stays fit and available for most games. It doesnt matter how good a player is if he struggles to even play 5 games at a time without getting ruled out for 2 months

But I dont rate Maguire at all. But the club wont want to sell him at a massive loss and I dont see anybody coming in for HM even at 40m(half of what he was bought for).}

6.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 10:36:13
Caolan, Ordinarily I'd agree that what a manager says to the press needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. In this case however I think it makes a lot of sense. When you think about the huge sums of money lost due to a lack of match day revenue, the fact the club is cancelling contracts to save what is in the grand scheme of things a pittance to a club our size, suggests that purse strings will be kept tight this summer.
On top of that historically we spend significantly less money when we qualify for the UCL than we spend if we don't. Which suggests the club is happy to invest to get us to a certain level, but once there sees little point in further investment. We have never spent more than 100m for example in a season where we have made top 4. So will we spend more than 100m this summer if we finish 2nd or 3rd and with the impacts of C.V.?

{Ed077's Note - Shaps the club has cancelled contracts of players who were never getting played. You seem to bring that up like they've gone on cancelling contracts of half the club.

Phil Jones and Sergio Romero are earning somewhere around 150-200k a week combined without even making the bench all this season.

BTW I am not saying C.V hasnt caused big financial impacts all round.}

7.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 11:03:02
We will see Shappy. Off course there will be implications but it will be interesting to see. The club need to be creative and potentially more open to swap deals like Ed2 has told we haven’t been interested in. As mentioned above a pogba/ varane swap could suit both parties and really improve our side. Huge summer ahead where we need to show some ambition.

8.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 11:03:11
Forward positions - Get rid of Martial who will easily get you 40 million plus. Then go all out for Haaland. Keep Cavani for another season and keep developing Greenwood.

Midfield - we need a top class midfielder. We need a clever midfielder that is able to keep the ball and is able able to create chances and open up defences. They don't necessary need to be great at tackling and have to get up and down. You look at City's midfielders and they are all clever players with the ball. They very rarely give it away and most of them are not great tacklers like Mahrez, B. Silva, KDB and Foden. It's all about getting the right balance.
I am still keen on Sancho but that's just being greedy and i doubt very much that Dortmund would sell both Sancho and Haaland to us.

Defense - If we can maybe steal Varane and swap Pogba (if he still wants to leave) i would take that in a heartbeat.

9.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 11:04:16
When looking at the accepted positions most fans feel the need for investment in (CB, CDM, RW, ST, RB) and looking at which younger players could be asked/ expected to step up and play some minutes there is Williams and Laird at RB. Greenwood, Diallo and Pellistri at RW. maybe Garner at CDM, although I think he needs another year on loan, same foe Laird if I'm honest.

The young players we have could mostly cover RB and RW fairly easily. Then if we extend Cavani's contract then we have Martial, Rashford, Cavani and Greenwood who can play as a ST then maybe that is a position we could delay for a season.

I think we need to seriously look at CB and CDM, our big weakness is in defence. Second most goals scored after City scored 4 last night, but only Liverpool and Everton in the top 10 have conceded more. Considering we have only conceded 2 goals less than a Liverpool side who have had nearly every CB out injured for the whole season is a concern. We need a top class CB and a top class CDM, and we can't afford to scrimp or go for our 4th or 5th choices because they are cheaper. There should be no compromise in these positions.

If there is any money for a third signing then I'd look for a creative player who can play RW and No.10. I am concerned that Bruno is the main source of creativity in the final third, so having someone else who can create and/ or cover for him if needed would be great. There is no sense in going for someone like Jadon Sancho, but there could be sense in going for someone cheaper if the budget could stretch that far.

10.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 11:46:36
I woukd guess C. V will have some effect on transfers.
How much was spent in January?
Can teams expect massive sums for their players like in previous seasons?
Can agents expect as much if there isn't as much money knocking about?

11.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 11:55:24
Second most goals scored in the league and most conceded out of the top 10 . And people say its dull watching united . 😉.

12.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 12:29:28
When you give some stats you must make a conclusion too. So what's the conclusion? We play attacking entertaining free scoring football and because we are so open we concede a lot too? So is it a case of us being like Bielsas Leeds?
It reminds Joses interview, when his Real team broke the record for most goals scored, when he tried to defend his defencive play and said that "look how many did we scored".

{Ed001's Note - they still trot out that statistic in defence of Jose's dire football on TV. It is an anomaly, nothing more, which is why stats are so difficult to use in football, there are simply not enough games played over the course of a season to iron out statistical anomalies. That is why players and even teams can have flash-in-the-pan seasons.} Become a Patron!

13.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 12:23:57
Ed077, I've made a lot of it because it's something we have never seen before from these owners.

Ed Woodward has been reluctant to sell "assets" below their spreadsheet value as that is bad business, even if that means keeping a player who rarely plays on a big contract draining wages.

The club have extended deals for players like Jones and Rojo even giving them pay rises even though they rarely play, but to make sure a club asset doesn't leave for free.

So to go from that mindset to agreeing to pay up so much of a players contract so they can leave on a free is a massive change in mentality. Especially as the player involved had a deal agreed t move to Everton for around 16m which then fell through when United demanded an extra 2m apparently. Suggesting they valued Rojo at 18m. So to pay him to leave to save a few hundred thousand maybe a million shows a very drastic change in stance.

{Ed077's Note - I dont think the decision to let Sanchez leave on a free was dictated by the economic strain caused by C.V.

Rojo wasnt even in England for months/years before he was allowed to join Boca Juniors for free this past window.

Am I missing someone else?}

14.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 12:57:06
That there are a lot of goals scored in our matches.

15.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 12:48:32
Ed001 you put words in my thoughts. Thank you, that's what i was thinking.
Additionally i would say that you can score a lot of goals in a single season without being entertaining, not even attacking. I think of that Real team as the best counter attacking team with Ronaldo Di Maria Benzema Higuain and Ozil pulling the string if i remember correctly. Lot of quality pace and good passes there. And that season i think it was the last season (or one of last) that Ronaldo played more like a pacey inside forward than a striker.

{Ed001's Note - he did have one hell of a team there. It was capable of playing breathtaking football but instead it bored the fans so much Jose was hounded out.} Become a Patron!

16.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 13:12:11
I too believe he had a fantastic squad and (for me) maybe the best version of Ronaldo. I know he scores a lot of goals but i liked him more when he scared defenders with dribbles pace and tricks. Thanks a lot Ed001. Jred you didn't said that but its ok.

{Ed001's Note - it is one of the best ever assembled. Ronaldo was devastating and he wasn't needed to be the sole focal point of everything, which gave him more time and space. Such a waste of a great squad to put it in the hands of a manager like Mourinho. You are very welcome Herrera.} Become a Patron!

17.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 13:26:25
I'm with True. Varame and Rice in, Pogba and Jesse out. Then try amd find a proper goalscorer.

18.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 13:40:42
Couldn't care less who we sign or don't sign to be honest. I'm not sure it will make any difference.

19.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 14:06:21
Ajh
I think we either need to keep pogba or find another creative player.
Someone else to pull the strings because there is to much emphasis on bruno .
Popgba and bruno in the team means more room for one of them, teams can't single out pogba it leaves room for bruno and vice versa.

20.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 14:31:17
Ken, you mean like how Bruno has made no difference?

21.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 14:43:36
Shapps and jred, Mejbri is a creative gem who is promoted to first team.
I think we should groom him and spend mainly on fixing the leaky defense.

22.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 14:55:10
TrueRedDevil, I wouldn't be in support for "grooming" any of the kids in our academy.

23.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 14:57:17
Mijbri
Looks a talent lad but still a bit off imo . Fingers crossed tho.

24.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 14:58:16
True
I should add that I'm not sure if mejbri would bd thd answer next season if pogba leaves.

25.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 18:45:26
Agree it looks to me like mejbri looks a bit off just now but at his age 6 months can show huge improvement. i'd not be looking at him just yet. With any luck he will show the patience of the likes of foden who is a great example of a talented lad giving himself time to mature and gain experience.
Will pogba leave? Who knows he might sit tight for a year and sign a pre contract with somebody in Jan. Will the club offer him a new contract? Not too many will fork out a big fee this summer. Nor can many afford his wages.
Jred pointed out how easy it is to shut us down by shutting bruno down. We lack another creative player is harder to shut 2 creative players down. Pogba was being squeezed into the team in odd positions at times but he did open doors at times when bruno was shut down.

26.) 03 Mar 2021
03 Mar 2021 19:13:02
1.) RW
2.) CB
3.) Backup RB

If donny steps up or pogba stays, makes the need for a midfielder less important.

If cavani stays and is at the same level, makes a ST less important.

We still have the likes of dalot, pereira, lingard, williams, axel who could be sold to make space on the wage bill.

Its going to be an interesting summer as everyone knows CV will affect finances. Its not just you shappy that is clairvoyant lol.