The Manchester United Thread

[Scouseinthehouse]

Top quality bargains are still there to be had if your set-up is right robbo.

We’ve a team packed out with them.

 

[steveorobbo]

Im not saying the owners will spend. Im just saying that with the way the market is going, and what smaller clubs can now spend, its all relative. If Fulham, a newly promoted team can spend £100m, there is no way we can't spend £200m if need be. Even over this season on both windows we have a net spend of around £40m which is nothing. If players are available in the summer we need to sign them.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

Top quality bargains are still there to be had if your set-up is right robbo.

We’ve a team packed out with them.

Look at Paredes to PSG 35m absolute bargain I n today’s market. Reports in Italy that Roma would let Pellegrini go for around 45m. Even less for Cengiz Under. Fiorentina want a fee of around 50m euros for Milenkovic. These are the sort of signings I expect us to make. Serge Bander fee rumoured to be around 25-30m. Chiesa for around 50m.

Not Koulibaly or Skriniar for 80-100m. Then people saying Neves on top of that which your looking at what between 60-70m maybe more. Alex Sandro for about the same. Then a Odoi who Chelsea will absolutely have our pants down and shafted 10 times over. To much gaming going on lately me thinks.

 

[RhQQ]

Look at Paredes to PSG 35m absolute bargain I n today’s market. Reports in Italy that Roma would let Pellegrini go for around 45m. Even less for Cengiz Under. Fiorentina want a fee of around 50m euros for Milenkovic. These are the sort of signings I expect us to make. Serge Bander fee rumoured to be around 25-30m. Chiesa for around 50m.

Not Koulibaly or Skriniar for 80-100m. Then people saying Neves on top of that which your looking at what between 60-70m maybe more. Alex Sandro for about the same. Then a Odoi who Chelsea will absolutely have our pants down and shafted 10 times over. To much gaming going on lately me thinks.

None of these guys bring us to the next level, whereas the likes of Koulibaly/Skriniar do significantly improve us - that's why they're 2x the fee, and that's who we need to sign. Majority of the bolded players are who you'd expect the Everton, West Ham's to target.

I appreciate most people's wishlists are 200/300M and that may seem FM-esque, but that's what we need to spend to continue to progress/jump to the next level. We only spent around 20-25% of our total turnover the last few seasons I read somewhere, so even though to the naked eye our investment looks heavy, there's a lot more room for it & it's sustainable at a club/franchise like Manchester United... the Glazers need to ******* dip their hands in. Liverpool spent close to 50% of their turnover on players, and look where they are now from that investment.

We are a football club. That money is for our football club. We can easily challenge the PSG's, Madrid's etc. for world fees in this inflated market, so why not ******* flex it?

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

Mitten has posted an update on DOF: Doesn't look like it's Paul Mitchell



It's not just a new first-team manager that Manchester United will be making a decision on this summer. If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keeps winning games and manager of the month awards as he did for January, United won't have far to look. Yet the search for their first sporting director, someone independent of any manager, is different and will be far from straightforward.

For a start, United's eventual sporting director won't be a buffer between Ed Woodward, United's executive vice chairman, and the manager, but rather someone who will work alongside any manager and Woodward. Various names and options have been looked at internally and externally, though ESPN understands that the sporting director is unlikely to be Paul Mitchell, the Mancunian who was at Tottenham and who has been linked to the job.

United made the decision to seek and appoint a sporting director while Jose Mourinho was in charge. He never warmed to the idea while at United, but his view obviously no longer counts. Initially, the club wanted to appoint a director of football who would take into account the increasing administration needs, handling club operations, but that role was not going to have any say in transfers and would be more focused on governing body regulations, registrations and general day-to-day business. The new appointment will have greater involvement in this and several other areas.

The club are calm about the search as they look at what they want from this position, one that, as Arsene Wenger pointed out last year, is without any clear job description. United will look at how these operate at different clubs, as well as what kinds of remits and roles they have. United will scan the available talent beyond the club but there already are well-respected football people at Old Trafford like Tony Whelan or John Murtagh, who've been involved coaching, recruitment and admin, while Matt Judge is the man who negotiates United's player contracts.

Just as they brought Solskjaer in as someone who fits in with the culture, they want someone who understands Manchester United's DNA. Jordi Cruyff, someone with experience of being a sporting director, was in Manchester with his former teammate Solskjaer on Thursday. The pair joined United in 1996 and became close friends. Cruyff is currently managing in China's Premier League, but he twice turned down the chance to be Barcelona's sporting director, in 2017 and 2018.

I met him recently in Barcelona and asked him what being a sporting director entails.

"A good sporting director should identify who you are as a club, the type of people you need, what the fans want and what type of football should be played. Everyone wants offensive football, but that's not always possible," he said.

Cruyff even talked through me the DNA of several clubs.

"Atletico Madrid's DNA is about character. It's [Diego] Simeone now. At Barcelona, everything is with the ball," he explained. "Size [of the players] doesn't matter; it's all about top-quality talent. Barca are obliged to play a certain way, to occupy spaces, to be neat and tidy. And when you have [Lionel] Messi, the best player in the world, you adapt a little for him.

"Barca should also give youth players a chance. Man United used to have that ... That has been quiet for a while. Sometimes you need to be lucky with the generation of players coming through; sometimes you need the person in place who gives young players a platform like [Sir Alex] Ferguson did.

"Man United was about winning and they had such a good reputation that if both Manchester clubs wanted a player five years ago, players would go to United. Now that has changed, but football clubs always go through good and bad spells and United are capable of getting back to the best. They've got the ingredients, the huge fan base and now with Ole in charge, it looks like they're trying to become the real Man United once again."

Ed Woodward, left, and club owners like Avram Glazer, right, are determined to sort the structure above the manager but are still figuring out what the director of football will do. Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images
Solskjaer is now part of the decision-making process at Old Trafford, but at most clubs, the sporting director helps recruit a manager.

"Some guys are called sporting directors but they're glorified head of recruitment officers -- in other words, the CEO still does the negotiating of the player contracts," one leading agent, who deals regularly with sporting directors, told ESPN. "A true sporting director will do 90 percent of the contracts, though the biggest may need the CEO.

"The sporting director should be putting a recruitment team [structure for scouting future signings] in place. A well-run club will have a head of recruitment reporting to the sports director, something the first-team coach should do. He would also have the head of academy reporting into him."

"It wouldn't be wise for Man United to promote from within," opined the agent. "Clearly they've made a lot of mistakes over the last few years, so all they will be doing is perpetuating those mistakes. At United, a giant club, you need the right cultural fit.

"Look at Monchi, the most famous sporting director now with Roma but formerly with Sevilla. Would he fit into a situation at United with Judge and Woodward, plus the American owners? I don't think so. [Txiki] Begiristain does well at City because of the mix of him Pep [Guardiola] and Ferran [Soriano, Manchester City CEO]. Why, at Arsenal, did Raul Sanllehi recently get rid of Sven Mislintat? Perhaps because he was on a different wavelength to him and [Unai] Emery.

"For me, someone like Michael Zorc [at Borussia Dortmund] would be excellent for United. He's bought well and sold superbly. He picked a team up from a club that was in financial ruin."

That said, a sporting director isn't just about recruitment.

"While the sporting director doesn't need to be the coach's guy, a sporting director should be responsible for having a large input into who should be coach, because a coach should report to a sporting director," the agent explained.

"United should do it properly or not do it at all. You can't be half-committed. You either make a sporting director in charge of all on-field things including the contracts, which Judge could execute. But a sporting director should have good experience negotiating contracts too."

United will take their time. After all, it's a major change for a club that has always given all the power to their manager. But it's a change that, given the experience of the past seven years after Ferguson, United badly need to bring them up to date as the role of an all-encompassing manager becomes all but impossible.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

None of these guys bring us to the next level, whereas the likes of Koulibaly/Skriniar do significantly improve us - that's why they're 2x the fee, and that's who we need to sign. Majority of the bolded players are who you'd expect the Everton, West Ham's to target.

I appreciate most people's wishlists are 200/300M and that may seem FM-esque, but that's what we need to spend to continue to progress/jump to the next level. We only spent around 20-25% of our total turnover the last few seasons I read somewhere, so even though to the naked eye our investment looks heavy, there's a lot more room for it & it's sustainable at a club/franchise like Manchester United... the Glazers need to ******* dip their hands in. Liverpool spent close to 50% of their turnover on players, and look where they are now from that investment.

We are a football club. That money is for our football club. We can easily challenge the PSG's, Madrid's etc. for world fees in this inflated market, so why not ******* flex it?

Dont Agree sorry. Them so called bolded players are sort after by top clubs you claim we need to be seeking to get to. They are top young players that in a year or 2 will get huge moves. And most fans will be why didn’t we go for them. There far to good to be at clubs like Everton lol. There already proving good enough in Europe.

 

[Quasit]

Mitten has posted an update on DOF: Doesn't look like it's Paul Mitchell



It's not just a new first-team manager that Manchester United will be making a decision on this summer. If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keeps winning games and manager of the month awards as he did for January, United won't have far to look. Yet the search for their first sporting director, someone independent of any manager, is different and will be far from straightforward.

For a start, United's eventual sporting director won't be a buffer between Ed Woodward, United's executive vice chairman, and the manager, but rather someone who will work alongside any manager and Woodward. Various names and options have been looked at internally and externally, though ESPN understands that the sporting director is unlikely to be Paul Mitchell, the Mancunian who was at Tottenham and who has been linked to the job.

United made the decision to seek and appoint a sporting director while Jose Mourinho was in charge. He never warmed to the idea while at United, but his view obviously no longer counts. Initially, the club wanted to appoint a director of football who would take into account the increasing administration needs, handling club operations, but that role was not going to have any say in transfers and would be more focused on governing body regulations, registrations and general day-to-day business. The new appointment will have greater involvement in this and several other areas.

The club are calm about the search as they look at what they want from this position, one that, as Arsene Wenger pointed out last year, is without any clear job description. United will look at how these operate at different clubs, as well as what kinds of remits and roles they have. United will scan the available talent beyond the club but there already are well-respected football people at Old Trafford like Tony Whelan or John Murtagh, who've been involved coaching, recruitment and admin, while Matt Judge is the man who negotiates United's player contracts.

Just as they brought Solskjaer in as someone who fits in with the culture, they want someone who understands Manchester United's DNA. Jordi Cruyff, someone with experience of being a sporting director, was in Manchester with his former teammate Solskjaer on Thursday. The pair joined United in 1996 and became close friends. Cruyff is currently managing in China's Premier League, but he twice turned down the chance to be Barcelona's sporting director, in 2017 and 2018.

I met him recently in Barcelona and asked him what being a sporting director entails.

"A good sporting director should identify who you are as a club, the type of people you need, what the fans want and what type of football should be played. Everyone wants offensive football, but that's not always possible," he said.

Cruyff even talked through me the DNA of several clubs.

"Atletico Madrid's DNA is about character. It's [Diego] Simeone now. At Barcelona, everything is with the ball," he explained. "Size [of the players] doesn't matter; it's all about top-quality talent. Barca are obliged to play a certain way, to occupy spaces, to be neat and tidy. And when you have [Lionel] Messi, the best player in the world, you adapt a little for him.

"Barca should also give youth players a chance. Man United used to have that ... That has been quiet for a while. Sometimes you need to be lucky with the generation of players coming through; sometimes you need the person in place who gives young players a platform like [Sir Alex] Ferguson did.

"Man United was about winning and they had such a good reputation that if both Manchester clubs wanted a player five years ago, players would go to United. Now that has changed, but football clubs always go through good and bad spells and United are capable of getting back to the best. They've got the ingredients, the huge fan base and now with Ole in charge, it looks like they're trying to become the real Man United once again."

Ed Woodward, left, and club owners like Avram Glazer, right, are determined to sort the structure above the manager but are still figuring out what the director of football will do. Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images
Solskjaer is now part of the decision-making process at Old Trafford, but at most clubs, the sporting director helps recruit a manager.

"Some guys are called sporting directors but they're glorified head of recruitment officers -- in other words, the CEO still does the negotiating of the player contracts," one leading agent, who deals regularly with sporting directors, told ESPN. "A true sporting director will do 90 percent of the contracts, though the biggest may need the CEO.

"The sporting director should be putting a recruitment team [structure for scouting future signings] in place. A well-run club will have a head of recruitment reporting to the sports director, something the first-team coach should do. He would also have the head of academy reporting into him."

"It wouldn't be wise for Man United to promote from within," opined the agent. "Clearly they've made a lot of mistakes over the last few years, so all they will be doing is perpetuating those mistakes. At United, a giant club, you need the right cultural fit.

"Look at Monchi, the most famous sporting director now with Roma but formerly with Sevilla. Would he fit into a situation at United with Judge and Woodward, plus the American owners? I don't think so. [Txiki] Begiristain does well at City because of the mix of him Pep [Guardiola] and Ferran [Soriano, Manchester City CEO]. Why, at Arsenal, did Raul Sanllehi recently get rid of Sven Mislintat? Perhaps because he was on a different wavelength to him and [Unai] Emery.

"For me, someone like Michael Zorc [at Borussia Dortmund] would be excellent for United. He's bought well and sold superbly. He picked a team up from a club that was in financial ruin."

That said, a sporting director isn't just about recruitment.

"While the sporting director doesn't need to be the coach's guy, a sporting director should be responsible for having a large input into who should be coach, because a coach should report to a sporting director," the agent explained.

"United should do it properly or not do it at all. You can't be half-committed. You either make a sporting director in charge of all on-field things including the contracts, which Judge could execute. But a sporting director should have good experience negotiating contracts too."

United will take their time. After all, it's a major change for a club that has always given all the power to their manager. But it's a change that, given the experience of the past seven years after Ferguson, United badly need to bring them up to date as the role of an all-encompassing manager becomes all but impossible.

Monchi would actually fit perfectly at Arsenal now with Sannlehi and Emery.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

Monchi would actually fit perfectly at Arsenal now with Sannlehi and Emery.

Agree. Hope we are looking at Berta as is being widely reported. He’s been around and at the top level. And has done a fantastic job at Atletico.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

For me even more important than any signings this summer are getting the appointments of the manager and especially DOF/Technicall director spot on and that structure in the club right.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

#MUWomen team to face Leicester (19:45 GMT kick-off): Chamberlain; Smith, A. Turner, M. Turner, Greenwood (c); Zelem, Green, Toone; Hanson, Sigsworth, Galton.


Subs: Ramsey, Harris, Hartley, Palmer, James, Arnot, Devlin.

 

[zzeezzy]

For me even more important than any signings this summer are getting the appointments of the manager and especially DOF/Technicall director spot on and that structure in the club right.

Undoubtedly, we're in for a tricky end of season and I really hope we can make top 4 but if not then maybe it's the kick up the **** this club needs once again.

 

[RhQQ]

Dont Agree sorry. Them so called bolded players are sort after by top clubs you claim we need to be seeking to get to

Cool, rumours. I'm not going to entertain silly paper-talk. Come back to me when more than half of them are playing for an elite club.

There far to good to be at clubs like Everton lol.

Everton/West Ham have signed Mina, Digne, Andre Gomes, Felipe Anderson etc. and you honestly think majority these guys are out of their reach? You're either underestimating their strong current stance in the market, or overrating these guys.


Not denying these are talented young players that MAY hit high levels in the future, but we can't & don't need to take risks. We have plenty of young players like Martial, Rashford, Dalot etc. so we don't have to gamble like say a Liverpool (who with all due respect, aren't even half as strong financially) in picking out well pre-peak players or little bargains, hoping they work out well for the first team (Robbo, Firmino, Mané, etc.) or to sell on (Suarez, Coutinho) to continue to build a PL + CL challenging team - as we already have the funds, and the talented youngsters with more coming through, we don't need that model. We're in a luxury position alongside PSG & Madrid in which we are, or should be, able to sign peak/near peak world class players at will (within FFP restrictions) to blend in with our young, talented bunch. Glazers are ******.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

Cool, rumours. I'm not going to entertain silly paper-talk. Come back to me when more than half of them are playing for an elite club.

Everton/West Ham have signed Mina, Digne, Andre Gomes, Felipe Anderson etc. and you honestly think majority these guys are out of their reach? You're either underestimating their strong current stance in the market, or overrating these guys.


Not denying these are talented young players that MAY hit high levels in the future, but we can't & don't need to take risks. We have plenty of young players like Martial, Rashford, Dalot etc. so we don't have to gamble like say a Liverpool (who with all due respect, aren't even half as strong financially) in picking out well pre-peak players or little bargains, hoping they work out well for the first team (Robbo, Firmino, Mané, etc.) or to sell on (Suarez, Coutinho) to continue to build a PL + CL challenging team - as we already have the funds, and the talented youngsters with more coming through, we don't need that model. We're in a luxury position alongside PSG & Madrid in which we are, or should be, able to sign peak/near peak world class players at will (within FFP restrictions) to blend in with our young, talented bunch. Glazers are ******.

Not overating then at all. Pellegrini, Under have been superb for Roma this season especially in the CL. And Milenkovic has been one of the best defenders in serie A despite playing out of position. And Chiesa looks a **** of a lot better than Odoi who many are creaming over. Serge Bander most probably the least talented out the lot. Mina and Digne did naff all at Barca or Roma in Digne case. Gomes was ***** at Barca also. And massively inconsistent at Valencia despite early promise and he’s been poo at Everton also.

I would love to go all FM and get Koulibaly, Neves, Sandro, Sancho in the same window but it’s not realistic and not gonna happen. It’s gonna take at least a couple of windows according to Ole to get us back at the top. For me coaching is massively important just as much as money spent. Which has worked out **** for us in all honesty. But right not but big!

 

[RhQQ]

Still give me a CB who's significantly better than what we have, a Van Dijk type of upgrade. Don't like Under tbh, think he's overhyped. Gomes has been good when I've seen him for Everton, Digne been v.good too.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

3-0 Hanson scores just after HT. game is on YouTube channel if anyone interested.

4-0 Greenwood with a superb freekick into the top corner just mins after scoring the 3rd

5-0 Ella Toone gets her hat trick from the peno spot.

6-0 OG from a Lauren James cross.

7-0 Ella Toone score her 4th with and absolute screamer from 25 yards out in the top corner.

FT 7-0

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

Still give me a CB who's significantly better than what we have, a Van Dijk type of upgrade. Don't like Under tbh, think he's overhyped. Gomes has been good when I've seen him for Everton, Digne been v.good too.

Dont get me wrong mate I would love to go out sign that type of player in one window to take us straight to the elite. Challenging teams like City, Bayern, Barca, Madrid etc. It’s just not realistic in anyway. Koulibaly, Neves, Sandro and a top RW your looking at 400m let alone 200m. It’s gonna take a couple windows at least.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

For me even more important than any signings this summer are getting the appointments of the manager and especially DOF/Technicall director spot on and that structure in the club right.

If the whole structures not altered and Woodward is involved, as Mitten noted, it won’t make a blind bit of difference who gets the DoF gig.

He’s yiur biggest issue by a Country mile but the Glaziers are never stepping on his toes and hes never relinquishing his power.

 

[Theatre of Dreams83]

If the whole structures not altered and Woodward is involved, as Mitten noted, it won’t make a blind bit of difference who gets the DoF gig.

He’s yiur biggest issue by a Country mile but the Glaziers are never stepping on his toes and hes never relinquishing his power.

Honestly don’t think he will have as much say now when it comes to football side of things. Think he’s realised the need for change hence the complete restructuring on that side of things. And his constant talks with Ole about what we need to progress also shows he’s willing to adapt.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

..... so we don't have to gamble like say a Liverpool (who with all due respect, aren't even half as strong financially) in picking out well pre-peak players or little bargains, hoping they work out well for the first team (Robbo, Firmino, Mané, etc.) or to sell on (Suarez, Coutinho) to continue to build a PL + CL challenging team -

Do people still naively think that’s how L’pool Football Club operate?

Not only ******* on-line L’pool ‘fans’ with their anti-FSG agenda’s that can’t distinguish between the owners pre-Klopp to post it seems. But at least you have the excuse of not being close to the club. Those cretins don’t.

 

[brunoh]

People need to be realistic with regards to the summer we ain’t gonna buy a top starting FB, CB, DM, RW. Absolutely living in cloud cuckoo land if you think that’s the case. Your looking and 200m+ right there lol.

Well, if the most valuable team in the world can't buy at least 3 top players to raise the squad to the next level, we can throw the towel right now. We won't be able to compete against the likes of Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool for some time. Not even to mention UCL.

We don't need any more rotation player/promising youth. That we got plenty. We need starters. We need to raise our level.

If we paid £75 mi for Lukaku, why the **** can't we spend that money in a actual world class player?