And now they have. We have the weakest squad of the top clubs, been that way since we won the cl and again it was clear to see that was the case after and prem win too. Fsg/edwards/klopp even... All have collectively done the absolute bare minimum in terms of strengthening that squad imo. Cant wait til ox and naby are out for months, not to mention bobbys recent injury. We can put the new stand and training complex on the bench i guess
Not too long ago, we were lauding our staff for sanctioning contracts with low bases but heavily incentivised with bonuses which are linked to success. So now we are winning, we have to spend more money on wages / bonuses. Did the ownership not expect this to win anything, and for us to keep paying low wages lol?
Are we in our prime though? Robbo hasn't been able to attack for about a year, and Mane and Bobby have regressed. Hendo is injury prone and no longer the fixture in the team he once was, and now we've lost Gini.
That remains to be seen. Eleven great players does not necessarily make a great team. We'll know in 9 months or sooner. Thing is, we could improve our squad, but we couldn't necessarily improve the players who play every day. Not within our means. Do you remember when United used to be a big deal? We would outspend them more often than not in the transfer window because we had to play catch up... (We also almost went bankrupt because of that) Still didn't break them until Klopp came along and did targeted transfers instead of spending every quid in the kitty each window.
The future is always a scary unknown thing. City fans know if they lose G they have unlimited funds to tie them over. So do Chelsea. United may worry a little but they always have a sizable revenue because they've been so well marketed as a commodity for decades. Us. Yeah, our future is pretty uncertain. I'm fairly sure FSG won't let us skirt bankruptcy danger like our previous two owners, but we could spend a long time in the doldrums again if we don't get the right manager. Not spending now when we don't have to is a GOOD thing for our future. Within a few years though we're going to have to start spending again because players will be aging. Klopp will probably leave us right as this team gets too old and the next manager will have a huge rebuilding task on his hands.
We've not had a weak bench bar when we've had injuries. We've not got great depth but we usually have 15-16 quality players
We arguably still have the best (or one of) 11 in Europe. It’s just that the second 11 is up there with Burnley.
Harsh on Robbo. He was our only defender for about 75% of last season. I’m pretty sure he was told to maybe protect a bit more so wasn’t playing on natural instinct going forward.
I dont agree at all. Naby is **** Ox plays 10 games a year Curtis and Elliott are kids. Well pay for our lack of activity this year. And last year, and the one before that 4th is the best we can hope for imo
Maybe - maybe not. We'll have to wait and see won't we? Spending money is no guarantee of success. It helps, of course - but look how much money Utd have spent "improving" their squad since the last time they won the league. A ****load of "marquee" signings, so many of which were complete duds. Their expensive scattergun might hit the target occasionally, and they may have finally got it right, but that is more luck than judgement. It's been said so many times - we can't (or won't) compete with the spending of some other clubs, so what's the point of expecting us to?
I dont expect us to play with the sort of dosh city and the chavs do - they dont have to play to the normal rules like most clubs. But last year we sold lovren and desperately needed def cover. So we scrape the barrel and get davies and loan kabak. Brilliant. We all know we need a winger. Who have we got?... Probably "like a new signing" Minamino. Gini gone, and now we're relying on curtis and elliot to replace him, again thats brilliant. A midfielder, a cb and a winger were essential buys this summer for me. We got one.
A few items I have with your argument You ignore the impact of the pandemic on our business model Our revenues were on the rise until we were taken a few dollars back When we signed these players, they were not worldclass now they command a higher base salary on renewals as they are some of the best in the game We do not dope in our financials and as such we are showing the true reflection of how most clubs should be struggling in light of the pandemic The only other option is to load debt on the club sign players to make the fans happy and hope we do not have another hicks amd gillete moment Barcelona have been forced into a sell off due to ignoring financial realities and having gone through seeing LFC almost bankrupt, I am okay if they withold short term spending if it means we get the right players. The next part of out teams evolution is replacement of the current team and the way it looks like, it will be a combination of academy graduates, young signings with a high upside and ofcourse there will be a star here and there. This is Klopps 2.0 squad and it is one where you will have to expand your time horizon. FSG have done a stellar job to turn around this club and if you think throwing money at it is the problem look no further than Arsenal. All the money but no clear strategy to execute. I am all for wanting trophies but so what if we do not win one ? Enjoy the football and hope at the end of it we have a few trophies to celebrate. We have become so engrossed on the end objective that we cannot even enjoy the journey. I was mad happy when we won the CL but the Barca game is what I will remember to my grave. We won the league but those games in the ridiculous run will live long in my memory.
