Seriously? There was no decision. We tried pretty hard to recruit those positions - frustrating for everyone.
Then why let the only natural back ups leave then?...that was a poor and costly decision IMO. Valery in particular had already had good experience in the first team. The results since January back this up.
They were considered good enough at the start of the season?, if not then there has been plenty of time to replace them. Using square pegs has hurt our momentum albeit we have been unlucky with injuries to Bertie and particularly KWP but it has been poor foresight to not have natural replacements and it has cost us with a poor second half of the season IMO. I can remember saying back in January that it could cost us dearly so it's not hindsight on my part. I can't believe that the results would've been any worse with those two playing.
Having Valery and Vokins here wouldn't have made any sort of noticeable difference to our results IMO.
Ralph covered this in his press briefings. He had other option to cover LB and RB which he preferred.
Ok so it was Ralph's decision, still doesn't make it the right one (although he might've had his hands tied financially). Those back up options haven't been good enough and it has be proved by the poor results IMO. Plus he has tried several different options there which suggests that he can't decide on the best one.
Not what I said at all. Ralph did not decide against replacing Vokins or Valery but the club failed to secure his targets. After that he felt he had preferred back up options and saw no reason to stop them playing regular football elsewhere (which could see the coming back stronger)
One of those targets being Brandon Williams, who Solskjær decided at the last minute not to let go out on loan.
Do you think that the subsequent results and experimentations in defence make that decision a sound one? I think that they took a chance on Bertie and KWP not getting injured and thought that we had enough points in the bank to see it through to the end of the season. I think that i'm more frustrated that we went into the season with them as the only back up FBs when it was clear that Ralph didn't think that they were up to it and used those "other options" even before January but we were luckier with injuries then.
Valery (particularly) and Vokins were simply not good enough. Valery looked more comfortable in a midfield berth but we have plenty of cover there and he was adrift at full back. Hopefully, both will learn from their loan spells and come back stronger. I still just Ralph’s judgement, though some don’t .......
What part of “failed to secure his targets” do you not understand, SA? We could have kept 2 back up full backs who weren’t good enough and the fans would have moaned about playing them ......
Yes, they probably aren't good enough Dave, but my real frustration is that we had TWO transfer windows to replace them but have left it to fate and the gods and pray that KWP and Bertie avoided injury (which they did in the first half on the season). Ralph has used many other options as back ups but none have been comfortable there.
That's not my main point (read above) We have left things to chance all season. I'm a big believer in players playing in their natural positions and it is no coincidence that we missed KWP particularly badly when he was out.
I imagine (and none of us know) that they were trying hard with a very small budget to get replacements, but, clearly, it didn’t work. Hindsight is great, but, having watched both Valery and Vokins play, I agree with Ralph that they would have got taken apart by any decent attack. Consequently, it was potentially a gamble worth taking - quite possibly to try and reduce some of the wage bill. We don’t know what goes on behind the scenes ....
I've already said before that it is a mistake to experiment with the defence and there has been too much of it in the last two seasons noticably at the start of last season and since January in this one when the results have not been so good. Why did we go into this season with them as the only back ups then? I'm not moaning in hindsight as I have expressed my concerns about this all season.
Lack of funds? Why did we sell Targett? All hypothetical questions ........ Perhaps, if we can shift the dead wood, sell Lemina for £7 mill and hang on to Ings and Vestergard, plus get some money from our owner, we may be able to get a couple of decent understudies. OR we get V & V back from their loans and they show us how much they’ve learned from regular play. Guess we just have to be patient ...... not something fans are renowned for .......
Too much is left to chance, it can't be that difficult to get a couple of half decent FBs in, Matty Targett left 2 seasons ago. I'm just offering reasons as to why our form may have been so poor since January when the solution may have been not all that complicated.
Personally I’d be disappointed if we spunked our limited funds on two ‘half decent’ full backs who would have tied up wages for two or three years at least. That’s exactly what got us where we are. Stephens, JWP as options on the right and Diallo, Salisu on right not perfect but more than ‘adequate’ stand ins. Better than Valery / Vokins for sure.
