23 Aug 2023 17:04:42
So United lost a behind closed doors friendly against Burnley 3-0 and it could have been more. I'm not saying it's panic stations but it clearly highlights how poor our squad is and that there's huge gaps to fill. Players like pellistri, martial, mctominay, evans all played and some of them are the only backup we have in certain areas. (Midfield) it truly baffles me when I look at how much we've spent that our squad is so wafer thin and devoid of quality.

1.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 17:42:43
But the fans are crying out for these players to replace our starters and solve our issues.

2.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 18:07:34
I would replace Antony with Pellistri but Martial and McTominay definitely not. I have nothing against McTominay tbh, just not a good enough starter. Squad player he is ok. Martial though is just a no.

3.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 18:17:49
Hey there, Oakbark. Just you tell me who has been crying out for Pellestri, Evans, Martial and McTominay to replace our current starters, and I'll give them a piece of my mind.

PS. I don't use the piece I'm contemplating on giving them much any more, so I probably won't miss it.

4.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 18:19:41
Some were quick to laud Murtough and Arnold earlier in the window but it’s been another shambles for a Club the size of Man Utd.

Sold no one, Henderson, Maguire, Mctominay, Williams, VdB even Bailly all still at the football Club as we enter the final week of the window. Biggest sale around £15m for Elanga. They’ve not even generated £30m in sales.

£60m on Mount with no obvious position for him in the staring 11.

£70m on a highly rated prospect but still no recognised senior CF apart from the hapless Martial and a sulking Marcus Rashford.

Onana looks a decent acquisition but the way they treated De Gea was distasteful. I don’t mind the Club being ruthless but why has Maguire not been booted out?! Pay him off and boot him out but we can’t do that because we’re owned by the Glazers.

Two of the three summer signings now injured.

Richard Arnold’s handling of the Mason Greenwood case yet more evidence of indecision and incompetence.

If some believe that is good enough to chase down treble winners just wait until reality bites.

The Glazers, Arnold and Murtough have all presided over a decade of failure with no evidence they’ve actually learnt anything or proved they even know what they are doing. They are not serious people compared to other competent and ambitions owners, CEO and DoF.

Until the sale is complete and we all need to prey the Glazers actually sell; The Club remains in purgatory.

5.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 19:21:35
Few silly comments in the above to be honest. We can’t make other clubs buy our cast offs! If you were in charge of a top level club would you buy DVB or Maguire!? Plus, we can only move players on who want to be moved. Maguire’s case in question

Mount will be a good signing, and Onana looks just what we need. If Rasmus hits the ground running then we’re laughing.

6.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 20:09:09
Williams off to Ipswich apparently.

7.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 20:19:15
Pellestri? What has he done to deserve a starting position for Man Utd on the right wing? Open my eyes and point me in the direction i should be looking to check out the brilliance which deserves all the praise.

8.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 20:26:21
understand the frustration but Bailly, VDB, Williams will be gone next week - telles and elanga jones and Degea gone, Obviously he wants maguire gone and mcT possibly Martial and Sancho out but if no one wants them or they won't go then what can we do.

We might possibly be in a position in January whereby if new (wealthy) owners are in they might take 40m for Maguire and MCT just to get them out but won't bank on it.

9.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 20:35:55
Agree fireman, 3 good signings, two potentially very good and the gk looks like he could be an excellent addition! We need more and I hope we get them! Far too slow but clear we are relying on sales and I agree that we can’t make people buy our rubbish! Also not as simple as paying them to leave because again our owners are penny pinching leaches!

10.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 20:48:50
Oakbark

Mejbri played tonight and thoroughly deserves a crack as No8 against Forest. I know some will disagree, but to them I present just the one name - Nicky Butt.
When Butt first appeared at senior level he was very much like Mejbri - raw and talented with a good deal of bite - and took 2 years to cement his place in the picture at age 19/ 20. Butt was deemed not good enough by plenty, but he went and shut them all up.
Mejbri will soon be 21, but has never been given a real run.
Would it be fair to continue keeping the never-quite-good-enough McTominay or the not-a-No8 Mount ahead of him?

The reality is simple, fleeting minutes in the odd game only offer insight, fitting into a system of senior level football and the confidence to apply their brand of football comes only from regular games working with players they know.

As for Burnley - I believe they'll be this year's surprise.

11.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 21:38:45
Over-reaction after 2 games. No wonder we are always in crisis mode, the fans and podcasts crew with megaphones and so called pundits just will not let anything go and make a story out of it.

If i was running the club and looking at all this toxicity and none sense, I would also treat people like mushrooms as they don't deserve better because we are always looking for what is wrong with things. I would ignore all the noise and get laser focused on whatever they are trying to do. Trying to explain every decision is so cumbersome and at some point becomes pointless.

Wait and see where things are after 15/ 20 games before you pass judgement so quickly.

after 2 games last year Brentford were 3rd, spurs were 4th and leeds 5th, Chelsea 7th in the table. United last.

I read many posters here panicking and saying we are finishing bottom half. Get a grip we did not turn into a Pumpkins overnight. We have added quality across the board but not playing well and don't look match sharp.

From the manager down to players let them get on with their jobs and pass judgement after you have seen enough.

Who cares we lost a pick up game with reserves and players coming back from injury, its meant to get people match fit/ sharp and the result means nothing.

One thing whether we like it or not is we have some restrictions in terms of spending and it ahs not been easy moving players on.

its not fantasy pl football where we can just buy or trade our way out of this. its not what anyone wants but it is what it is and can't rid of all your sins from the past in one go. Okay rant over:)

12.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 21:49:46
It is entirely fair to not play Hannibal if the manager thinks he has better options.

The history of United is littered with prospects who didn't quite mak3 the grade.

The manager played Garnacho because he felt it was better than othwr options. He hasn't yet played Hannibal, and given he works with him daily as do coaches he trusts then i assume there is a good footballing reason.

I don't really get the logic of naming Butt all that proves is that Nicky Butt could make it. We can find 100s of academy graduates that didn't make it, that doesn't mean Hannibal wont.

13.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 22:25:45
The surplus and unfit players get beat in a friendly and it's the end of the world. We all know there is a massive drop off in quality from the 1st 11. The game was more about getting minutes in the legs and building fitness.

14.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 22:28:41
Remember when Tom Cleverley was the new Paul Scholes.

15.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 22:47:26
Ahmad our midfield options are poor so in what way have we improved in that area. Last season after Xmas we had sabitzer and Fred who have now gone. Mount is injured as is mainoo who’s only a kid and never played a number of competitive games for us. So our options are Casemiro, mctominay, eriksen and Bruno. 2 of those are the wrong side of 30, are injury prone and need rest. Eth is trying to play a certain way but doesn’t have the personnel to achieve it so unless we spend a bit in this area and bring 1 or 2 in, then we will have issues. Sorry that I don’t share your optimism that’s just how I see it.

16.) 23 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 22:59:15
Ahmad - We want to improve, we want to get better, we must have high standards. We can’t just be satisfied with top 4 and a League Cup. It was a very promising first season by EtH but where’s the ambition to improve?! Mount, Onana and Hojlund is not enough. We haven’t improved across the board as you suggest. We can’t expect Hojlund to carry the goal scoring burden of a Club the size of Man Utd and Mount already looks like a jigsaw piece that doesn’t fit. Do you honestly believe he’s going to inject the steel and character so badly needed away from home?! Can we really go to City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa, Brighton and be successful with a midfield of Casemiro, Mount and Bruno. We’ve already lost at Spurs.

The Spurs defeat wasn’t a one off but a continuation of an appalling away record where we didn’t win a single game away from home against top 10 opposition all last season. I’ve not read anyone saying we’ll finish bottom half but genuine concern that this is going to be another season fighting for 4th place. To get closer to the likes of City you must show consistency and determination and we’ve fallen short already.

You can bury your head in the sand all you want but we must keep standards and expectations high.

If the Glazers are to stay then expect more of the same. The only light at the end of the tunnel is they might just sell and maybe then we can’t start to dream.

Don’t tell me it’s an over exaggeration when we haven’t come close to a title challenge in over a decade. This isn’t a blip, or a slow start we sometimes had under SAF. This is how we’ve started most seasons for over a decade and before you can blink we’ll be 10 points behind!

You can only judge a transfer window in relation to your rivals and we haven’t had a better window than City, Arsenal or Chelsea. You could also argue Liverpool, Newcastle even Villa have all improved their squads just as much as us.

Anyway I appreciate i’m polluting these pages with negativity so let’s see what happens before the window closes next week I’ve said enough!

17.) 24 Aug 2023
23 Aug 2023 23:49:44
Are we seriously judging on a behind closed doors friendly? How do you know it could have been more? It was behind closed doors.

18.) 24 Aug 2023
24 Aug 2023 05:30:02
It's weird to see that some people think a youngster only deserves an opportunity if they arrive with fire in their boots.

Not everybody will do a Garnacho who, by the way, looks pants this season. Yet, I can only assume that some fans still think he's fully deserving of further opportunities.

Oakbark
The reason I presented Nicky Butt in my point is that he was given the opportunity to grow into the first-team picture, perhaps if those who don't rate Mejbri were Butt's coaches he'd of had a lesser career because he wouldn't tick all the boxes immediately.

Young players do not always work like that. I'm not saying Mejbri is the next Nicky Butt or anything else quite as stupid, all I'm saying is that he's earned a look, and I'm pretty sure ten Hag can see the potential of Mejbri, Mainoo and Gore growing into better options than McTominay.

I might well be wrong about Mejbri, but I'd rather give him a go than pick McTominay or Mount, primarily because his confidence will be increased which might, potentially, unlock another layer from within.
He might be garbage, but I do thoroughly believe he deserves a crack.

19.) 24 Aug 2023
24 Aug 2023 08:34:04
TIM

everyone/ most wanted fred gone and he is gone. we are light is terms of a box to box midfielder and i hope we bring someone in. I also hope we bring a CB in and right winger but my guess is as good as yours and if it happens great and if does not i will tune in every weekend anyway.

DLIB

i think everyone sees areas that we need players to come in and pretty sure the club is working on things. The point was as a fan base we seem to fuel every bs story written in the media and it must be such poor experience for the manager and the players to read the stuff written about the club and themselves and not a great environment for them. We are target number one for the British press.

what we saw in the first two games is not us and we are a lot better than that imo. even if we go and smash forest on saturday the press and some of these podcasters will find something negative about the performance, that's just how it is. No need for us to join the charade imo and maybe i am too loyal and head in the sand.

20.) 24 Aug 2023
24 Aug 2023 08:58:00
Whilst a few 1st team members playing in yesterday's friendly, am I right in saying that 8 out of the 15 players involved yesterday had never played for the first team?

21.) 24 Aug 2023
24 Aug 2023 08:58:00
The manager and his coaching staff must have their reasons for not playing a kid.

The basic fan argument is we don't know if he is good enough so let's play him. Of course the manager and coaches who do know that have decided not to play him.

Of course its only the manager and the coaches who lose their jobs over results. I rather fancy the only reason they don't play him is that what they see from him every day tells them United are mote likely to get a worse result playing him than not.

They don't pick a team to appease fan curiosity at a fact of something they already know.

22.) 24 Aug 2023
24 Aug 2023 09:36:56
Speaking of academy players, which I have rarely seen play and tbh don't know much about them. Is there anyone close to greenwood type in the ranks.