01 Sep 2026 10:26:40
On a scale of 10, this transfer window cannot be rated more than a 4. No matter how much you hype the ones we signed, bar possibly Baleba, none of them are taking us closer to the summit. We will be doing another midfield rebuild in 2 years from now, like we will be doing a defence rebuild next year, when in fact we did one just a year prior.
Buying second grade players just for the sake of it and not strengthening positions that were required.
01 Sep 2026 10:56:23
Wow, UA.
Belgium captain and Europa League winner is second grade.
A CM that Chelsea fans are universally livid at losing for 50M is second grade.
And we'll be doing another midfield rebuild despite having those two, Baleba, who you like, and Mainoo, who appears to have taken another step forward.
Man alive. If you'd expressed disappointment that we may not sign a fullback, then ok, but that angle you took is mad.
01 Sep 2026 11:12:14
DonRed, we won the Europa League with Eric Bailly. Does that make him a good player? Tielemans is slower than Maguire. He was robbed of the ball 7-8 times in the first 2 matches against Hull and Ipswich, not considering the misplaced passes, and was nutmegged twice. Imagine what would happen when we play against quality opposition. A Chelsea reject for 50m is money wasted. He was so good that Chelsea didn't plan on keeping him, even when they knew Enzo would be leaving.
He is so good that he had to be hacked off against Hull. He was one player who should have been the fittest and most ready to play, given that he wasn't at the World Cup and played all pre season games. Mainoo did more in his cameo than Santos did in his stay.
Do you think this midfield gets us top 2-3 or a decent run in the CL, let's say semis?
01 Sep 2026 11:23:01
Tielemans is not pacey, but in the second half, against Ipswich, we saw what he can do. He's a quality player. Santos is far from a Chelsea reject. That's some spin.
I think our midfield gets us top 4 and a run to CL knockout phase. I believe the choices made complement well with each other and our forwards.
Where we're weak is fullback, and with our first choice players out at CB. But I only see Arsenal and City as clearly better than us. We're in a group, then, of maybe 3 or 4 clubs that are close.
01 Sep 2026 11:39:58
You want to see a midfield rebuild. Look out the window and see the Etihad. They lost Rodri and Bernardo, and they went and smashed it. We were once the biggest club in the world; now we aren't even the biggest in our neighborhood.
And the worst part is that it has been accepted by many that this is our level. We should have recruited to close the gap to top 2, and we went ahead and recruited to close the gap with the chasing pack below us.
01 Sep 2026 12:11:25
Does the squad have the depth to compete in four competitions? Probably not.
01 Sep 2026 12:15:57
Agreed, UA. Very poor window. Not only net spend being what it is, we have positions that needed addressing, which has not been done up to now.
For all those that believe we are in better hands with Ratcliffee mob, this has been as bad as any Glazer window. Scattergun approach, looking for a LB with hours left, no backup striker with 50+ games to play.
01 Sep 2026 12:47:12
During the entire window, we heard the phrase "if opportunity arises" from the management team. It clearly shows they were looking for the cheap options. They never even tried for the cream. Well, if that opportunity didn't arise in 2 months, I am not holding my breath for it to happen in the last few hours.
The only positive from this window could be that they have saved enough money to do a proper rebuild next year.
We are essentially standing still, and inviting teams below us to overtake.
This season will be more hope than expectations.
01 Sep 2026 13:47:47
I think you have to accept the board are happy to fight for 5th or 6th place. They are businessmen. We have spent fortunes and got nowhere. Money does not guarantee success, but to be a successful business, 5th or 6th place with less outlay is great for them.
01 Sep 2026 14:30:25
I'm with you UA, and have been banging on since they were signed. Santos and Tielemans don't take us forward. Both together are not as good as Cass, with no legs.
Tielemans looks like he's running in treacle, clutching at straws, saying he won a Europa! Whatever way you look at Santos, he has been at 5 clubs and he is only 22, which doesn't bode well.
Poppycock that Chelsea are spitting any feathers about losing him; he was a squad player at best.
Both these players will not take United where we want it to be. Waste of 85 million in my book. Might as well have kept Colyer.
{Ed077's Note - someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed ?}
01 Sep 2026 14:38:10
Chelsea getting Kone, who we apparently dithered over for weeks. I reckon that's a steal at 50m.
01 Sep 2026 15:07:32
I think we've made some good signings. Unfortunately, we haven't made nearly enough of them.
The lack of investment in seasons after we qualify for the Champions League shows a complete lack of ambition.
With the right signings, we could have challenged for the title this season. Unfortunately, the amount of revenue that winning the league would generate is less than it would cost to seriously compete, so the owners are content to do the bare minimum while all of the clubs around us strengthen, in the hopes that it will be enough to keep the fans quiet and secure another top four finish.
6/10 window.