29 Jul 2024 19:16:34
Hannibal may be off to rangers.
Pellistri? I think there is some interest
Sancho psg potentially
Mctom Fulham?
Awb West ham?
Ericksen ajax?
Lindelof? Not heard much
Clearing these players would be a lovely end to the window.
4 more in would be great. A cb rb and 2 xcm
If we do clear out those I think that will only leave dalot Shaw maguire bruno and rashford as players that eth inherited. 3 summer windows to get rid of nearly a whole squad is some going.
It really would be nice to see the above 7 go before the end of August . If we got fees in and around 85 to 100m between them all it would be decent imo.
Rb looks sorted fingers crossed.
1 x cm looks sorted with the Uruguayan chap from psg.
Hopefully 1 of jb challobah or deligt will come in at cb.
Ideally then we get another cm in although I think eth is looking at mount as a cm.
29 Jul 2024 20:13:43
Where is Casemiro!
He should be the first out of the door, his wages vs what he brings represent the worst ratio of any player on our books.
Yes worse than Eeyore and the petulant child Sancho.
In order of priorities out the door.
Casemiro
Sancho
Maguire
AWB
Hannibal
Pellestri
Lindelof
Anybody else that isn't viewed long term.
29 Jul 2024 20:57:29
Casemeiro is on big wages and understandably no elite team will need him and middle tier teams could not afford him. So difficult to move on.
Likewise Maguire and Lindelof.
29 Jul 2024 22:44:37
I forgot Eriksen and Anthony!
We are still a mess.
Top 4 whilst not necessarily out of the question this year, you have to say if the majority of the above players are part of the squad, somewhere between 4th and 8th is a reasonable prediction.
Not being a doomsdayer, more so realistic about our current squad.
You could replace
Eriksen with Collyer
Maguire with MDL
Pellestri with Lacey
Casemiro with Ugarte
Lindelof with JB
AWB with that Maz. Guy from Bayern
That leaves Hannibal Sancho and Anthony. I would say Rashford, Amad and Garnacho offers us quite a bit on the wings, plus Lacey to be integrated wherever possible. So what to replace those three with from the youth setup, or any shrewd signings available. there's been quite a few names mentioned on here about potential youth players, it isn't the worst strategy!
29 Jul 2024 21:58:11
Unless a saudi league team comes in for him Casemiro is going nowhere, Lindelof will go before the window shuts but i think Maguire will be staying.
29 Jul 2024 22:05:17
Casimero imo is much more valuable to the team than the likes of mctom or ericksen jimbob imo. Good experience in a squad not blessed with that.
He is also a lot harder to move due to the finances. We cannot suffer big losses on assets and nobody will pay enough for us to avoid that.
Maguire and cas are not going to walk away from millions.
If he stays casimero will make a positive contribution imo.
Lindelof might get a suitable offer.
29 Jul 2024 23:23:10
Let's pray for the Saudis to take Cas.
PSG to take Sancho
Ajax to take Eriksen
Anyone to take Maguire
Someone to take AWB
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.
.
.
30 Jul 2024 06:03:18
Have a feeling Ten Haag will want to hold onto a few of the players you listed. He loves peddling excuses and so will want to keep at least five or six pre-Ten Haag players around so that he can blame the squad he inherited when things inevitably go pear-shaped.
30 Jul 2024 08:52:46
This has reminded me, what happened with Hannibal?
He looked really promising not long ago, and I thought he looked pretty good at the start of last season, then he left on loan and suddenly his time at Utd seems to be over.
Did he just peak early and not expected to reach the level we need? Are there personal issues?
30 Jul 2024 09:19:46
Simply over rated over hyped.
30 Jul 2024 12:18:45
Hannibal has many good aspects of his game, technical skills, physically strong, reasonable quick and is seemingly a hard worker in the pitch.
But all of that is let down as he seems to lack the cerebral capacity to apply himself in a way that is beneficial to the team.
He runs around like a headless chicken, chasing the ball like a dog chasing a carrier bag in the wind. While he doesn't have the emotional intelligence to manage his emotions, leading to flashes of anger and petulant behaviour. Making him a red card waiting to happen.
Those drawbacks make him a hard player to fit into the line up. His most natural position at United would be in the No.10 as he isn't disciplined enough to play in the pivot. That means he's competing with Bruno, who has some of the same drawbacks (uncoordinated pressing - dragged out of position, and petulance) but without being able to have the same kind of impact on games. While Bruno is seemingly never injured.
We also have Mount, Eriksen and Amad who can all play there and are ahead of him.
Time to move him on and create space for younger lads who have a chance of making it, as long as there is a pathway for them.
Was he overhyped/ overrated? Well he's certainly never lived up to the hype. He has the talent, but is lacking between the ears. Something that is never considered when young players are rated. I keep saying it, but talent will only take you so far, mentality/ attitude are what makes the difference.
Have they got the right attitude to learn, to push themselves, to work hard, to look after themselves away from the pitch, the resilience to see setbacks as challenges and to relish those challenges.
Or do they let ego take over, get ahead of themselves, think they've made it, get distracted by all the things that easily distract teenage boys with money to burn.
Being a professional footballer is harder now than ever, the expectations, the pressure, the social media element, the need to not just be good with the ball but to train your mind, marginal gains.
If a professional at the highest level drops their level by 2-3% that has a massive impact on their performance.
Staying up late playing computer games so you haven't had enough sleep can be the difference between a good performance and an awful one.
While I'm not saying it isn't worth it, the sacrifices that these young lads need to make to make that leap from youth to professional level are massive and significant.
While they are also too young to have enough life experience to fully understand the impacts of their actions. They need to have enough trust and belief in those older adults around them to follow what they say and not question it or think they know better. Anyone who works with teenagers or has had teenagers knows exactly how hard (almost impossible) that is.
I'm a massive advocate for the club creating pathways and giving opportunities to youth players. For me that is an integral part of the Manchester United identity.
However, I also know that at best only 10% of the lads in the academy are ever likely to get a real chance in the first team. While less than 10% of those who get that chance will actually make it in the first team for a multitude of reasons.
So out of 100 lads in the academy, 10 or so might actually get some games in the first team. Of those ten you'll be lucky if one of them turns out to be good enough to play regularly for the first team. Maybe a couple others might be okay as squad players for a year or two (but will eventually have to move on to have a career) .
Look at United over the past decade. McTominay and Rashford are the only ones to have actually made it at the club. Rashford being good enough to be a regular starter, while McTominay is a solid squad player.
Last season we had Mainoo and Garnacho really step up and look to readdress that and get more youngsters in the first team squad.
Hopefully there are a few more to come from a super talented group of players currently in the academy.
Collyer looks like he might be the McTominay replacement as one who goes on to become a good squad player. Although fingers crossed he kicks on and proves me wrong.
For most of the lads in the academy, becoming a solid squad player is likely the best they will achieve at our club (that isn't an insult, but is actually a compliment. The standards for our club need to be sky high, even for those on the bench) .
Maybe there is the chance that one or two of them possess the right level of ability, mentality and temperament, while also getting the luck they need to step up and make it as a starter. From what I've seen of the academy lads there are three who for me have the best chance. Harry Amass, Shea Lacey and Ethan Williams.
They all seem to possess that higher level talent, while they also play in positions both where there is potentially chances opening up with players leaving/ declining over the next couple of years, and in positions where it is easier to give young players a chance (wide rather than centrally) .
I think it's particularly hard for players who play down the spine of the team to make the jump up and breakthrough into the first team. Be that keeper, CB, CM or CF. These positions are too key to performance and results. Fullback and playing on the wings are much easier positions to breakthrough in.
30 Jul 2024 23:52:55
Thanks, that's a shame, I remember seeing him a few times a couple of years ago, and thinking he might end up in a similar mold to Ander Herrera, who was a big favourite of mine. But if he doesn't have the mentality, not much that can be done. Maybe he'll discover it as he matures.
31 Jul 2024 10:30:38
Agree there Shappy: Gary Neville has always said he was never the most talented, but made up for it with hard work and intelligence.
31 Jul 2024 11:36:48
Thorne, it's always a shame when a talented young player falls short of making it at our club, for whatever reason.
Hannibal I think is a classic case of a young player relying too heavily on their natural talent and not developing the rest of their game.
The tactical demands of the modern game at the top mean players cannot rely on individual brilliance if that isn't paired with the intelligence to follow tactical instructions and work as a team.
Players need to know how and when to press, where they need to be during different phases of play. While also having the reading of the game to know which phase they are in and what they need to do next depending on what happens.
For Hannibal I think it came too easy for him at youth level, he never had to move outside his comfort zone and push himself to develop all areas of his game.
He always looked like a player where it was a question of "when" will they breakthrough, rather than "will" they breakthrough.