17 Aug 2022 09:15:17
The longer this transfer window trundles on the more obvious it becomes just how right Ralf Rangnick was in his previous comments.
We do need open heart surgery, but in typical Glazer fashion we are just getting a couple of shots of Botox to dress things up and make us look pretty. Although they have even decided to scrimp on that and instead of going to a well respected clinic with qualified doctors we are going to some dodgy backstreet set up with the procedure performed by someone who got a "qualification" via a one day internet course.
I feel sorry for EtH as what has transpired cannot surely be what was promised. While there are problems all over the pitch, the reality is that addressing them takes knowledge, planning, contacts and a vision.
It does feel like currently our targets are either names pulled out of a hat, or conducted by some teenager "scouting" via Football manager or FIFA, just searching a few parameters then selecting the highest ranked player that comes up in the search.
Initially it seemed it was players who EtH knew and trusted, players he had either managed previously or who his teams had played against multiple times and who his backroom staff would have scouted as part of their job creating opposition scouting reports.
Yet now I'm not sure where the names are coming from, EtH has never worked with Rabiot for example, so who put that name forward?
City and Liverpool employ analytics teams to deep dive and provide highly advanced statistical reports on players, rather than just sending a scout to give them the eye test. Supposedly it is something the club is now looking at. Which is further proof why we will struggle to get back to the top, instead of being innovators we are reactive, following in the footsteps of other years after they have blazed the trail. We'll never catch up let alone overtake with this approach.
Rangnick identified the players the club should be looking at, players with a high ceiling between the ages of 20-23, who see United as a step up, technical, intelligent players over physically impressive players.
Hire a coach known for their ability to develop players and who has a distinct style of play, with recruitment lead by bringing in players that fit that coaches vision.
We could have brought in 6, 7 or even 8 players who fit that criteria this summer, they wouldn't have been big names and many fans might not have known who they were, players like Amadou Haidara, Moises Caicedo or Juilan Alvarez where all players identified by Rangnick.
That's the level and type of players we should be targeting. Players like that who cost less than 30m would allow the club to make the number of changes needed quickly enough to complete the open heart surgery.
17 Aug 2022 09:50:26
It boils down to one overriding factor………we are skint.
We need open heart surgery but we can’t afford to pay the health insurance and there’s an 18 month waiting list on the NHS!
17 Aug 2022 09:51:44
spot on shappy, that how you rebuild a team, culture and change things.
17 Aug 2022 10:46:51
Fireman,
You can literally view the accounts mate, no matter how many times you type on here we are skint it doesn’t make it true, we are not.
17 Aug 2022 11:49:05
Fireman
We are not skint. We had an offer of 75 mill on the table for fdy. We need to move some players and their wages whilst bringing in new players.
17 Aug 2022 12:04:24
Fireman we are not skint by any stretch of the imagination. Financially we are in fine shape as a business but the owners are not going to change 10 players this summer.
17 Aug 2022 12:34:19
Fair do’s if we’ve still got the cash. I’ll bow down to better business brains than mine! I was going off what I perceived as behaviour suggesting we were operating off a very limited budget plus references made by Gary Neville.
17 Aug 2022 12:44:46
No such thing as below 30 million prospects for us. As soon as we bid the cost jumps up as proof positive that they are one of the best players to have ever walked the earth.
If wolves, everton, newcastle sign someone they are still a prospect. If city, Chelsea, its sign someone they must be special, so the process jumps up.
17 Aug 2022 13:06:39
We are not skint, but we are in a far worse financial position than any of our major EPL rivals, none of whom are in need of the major surgery we apparently need. If we had the money why did we not buy Nunez and Antony immediately? Why are we not renovating the stadium and training facilities? The CEO admitted it. The money's not there. The club is no longer generating much free cash flow and it's in danger of it getting worse not better. Can you really see the Glazers underwriting £1bn in debt?
And while the club may be worth £3bn to a white knight if the Glazers keep control it's worth what it can generate internally. The debt is almost what it was when the Glazers bought us 17 years ago but now, rather than being one of the best teams in the world in an expanding market we're now a sad disorganized also ran with little prospect of returning to the top in the immediate future.
17 Aug 2022 13:15:29
Dodgy, what was the fee for Malacia?
17 Aug 2022 14:25:57
Im not sure RR ment 10 players in one window. He said over a couple of years, in which by current records he’s probably not far wrong with 3 in now and probably 2 more before the window shuts. However the players will be nothing close to the ones he would’ve chosen.
17 Aug 2022 14:31:56
GDS I'm not sure what you mean by the word "skint" or "not skint". If you borrow a big chunk of money and can afford the debts and current and future investments while paying the interest and reducing the debt, then we're "not skint".
Unfortunately, we can just about pay off the debts and even that is not entirely true as the debt is rising and share price has dropped substantially. In addition, the investments in stadium, training facilities and playing staff is on hold it seems. So, on that basis, and turn it any way you want, but the club IS SKINT. Sorry to burst all the optimists bubble, but I'm afraid our club is in deep trouble financially, organisationally, and our playing staff is in tatters.
The sooner the Glazers can leave the better, because until then, we can have Pep and klopp managing and nothing will change.
17 Aug 2022 17:15:28
AAA,
We aren’t mate, most of that post is nonsense.
17 Aug 2022 17:57:50
There is no point arguing with United fans who have decided we are skint and the Glazers have financially ruined us, they will never listen no matter how much we spend on fees and wages.
I got mates who will tell me Nunez and Frenkie didn't sign because the Glazers never authorised its fake news to appease the fans it it's the same for x y z every season. You see stuff like that on here. Is it not a possibility that players won't come here cause we are run by incompetent AssClowns who couldn't run a tap never mind a football club.
Now if these people would argue that its the Glazers fault because they keep appointing AssClowns to run their club they would have a point. But to many people spout this nonsense and then protest against the wrong thing. Don't protest against the Glazers debt, protest against their appointments all the while the noise is about the debt stopping us buying players they can ignore it, cause the protesters don't know what they are talking about.
Protest against the idiots running the club and needing proper competent experienced football guys in place of the AssClowns and maybe they look at the real issues.
17 Aug 2022 18:57:58
AaA go and read the accounts. We have zero issue with debt repayment at all the owners keep the debt level as it is for their own reasons you don't really understand what your talking about that's clear to see.
17 Aug 2022 22:53:26
We are not skint we are just milking every transfer story for clicks attention and to stay in the public eye.