Jose asking for more signings as answer to defeat

It did work out.

Scored goals (loads), won stuff, got injured.

He made a mark. He's got massive balls, the current first team do not.

Thanks big man.

 

I said before that we could have done with Zlatan 5 years ago. He would have been a United legend. The one player who didn’t feel intimidated by OT or the weight of expectations.

 

Yep.

It's a shame he couldn't get even 80% fit and stick around on the scene kicking everyone's arses and leading by example.

I didn't rate him ten years ago and will happily accept I was completely wrong. You could see it from the minute he pulled on a United shirt he was the real thing.

Proper footballer. Puts most of our first team to absolute shame.

 

Perhaps my expectations were too high.

When he arrived, I thought he'd bring goals but also orchestrate our attack, pulling the strings to make the players around him look better. I expected a jewel in the crown and there was also the promise of a Cantona effect to raise the team. And I think we expected a couple of seasons out of him.

He got goals, though I think any centre forward in our system will get the lions' share of goals. And what we saw for most of the season is a lone, isolated striker - I don't think that allowed Zlatan to show his best at United. Perhaps the manager should share the blame for that. The Cantona effect was also nowhere to be seen, rather he blocked Rashford's passage to the first team.

Yeah he helped win the Europa League, League Cup and secure 6th, but I expected United to do better with the new players, manager and 'God' onboard.

Then of course he's been picking up his pay whilst only making one start all season.

I don't regret the signing but I couldn't say it worked out the way I hoped.

 

A plus? A minus point I would have thought and made no difference

At this age and as a free transfer it was always a gamble. At least he did much better than Falcao. I had such expectations of that recruitment and was disappointed it turned out to be such a damp squib.

 

Falcao never raised any expectations in me, that injury was always going to be a killer. If only we had got him 3 years sooner.
Can't fault the effort the man put in though.

 

Exactly, not a plus! I was just listing our record while Zlatan was playing and saying I had expected us to do better.

Falcao went back to France and has scored 53 goals in 72 games (including 10 goals in 15 Champions League games).

It makes me wonder whether it was the injury, or actually Van Gaal and Mourinho not getting the most from him in England.

 

Or that the French league is piss weak?

He's also two full season on towards getting fit. We took him too soon after his 'recovery' from a cruciate injury. He wasn't ready.

 

Agreed Ligue One is weak compared to the Premier League but not so much to explain Falcao's huge discrepancy in goals between here and there. That's why I also included his Champions League goals return. He even scored a couple against City last season in the knockout round, would have been a hat-trick if not for a missed penalty. His goals helping Monaco to the French title and CL semi final got him on the Ballon D'or nominations list.

I'm not sure we took him too soon after his injury. At the beginning of the season in which Falcao came to United, he had already scored against Arsenal in a preseason game and had 2 goals in 3 league matches for Monaco. He also completed a medical at United which obviously showed no issue. Then we are supposed to go back to blaming the injury for two whole **** seasons under Van Gaal and Mourinho? And he suddenly makes a full recovery the moment he returns to Monaco? It's a bit dubious.

 

It must be a mixture of both but mostly the manager. The manager was hopeless and never played him to to his strengths. The same disappointment with Di Maria. Just couldn’t get the best of him. Sanchez and Pogba seem to be going that way. We just seem to find it impossible to get even 50% of an expensive player’s potential.

 

Giggs knows how. Following Bale's hat-trick against China last week: -

“Gareth is a special talent. You try and give him the freedom to damage teams.

“In attack you can set things up and have special instructions, but it’s about getting Gareth on the ball as much as you can and giving him that expression and freedom."

Creative talents like Bale, Di Maria, Sanchez and Pogba need to be given expression and freedom.

 

There is a rumour that JM wants a swap between Martial and Bale. Bale would be valued at £80m. Would Martial go for less? Probably but surely Martial is the future and I fear Bale’s best years are behind him.

 

The problem for Martial is that he will never be a Mourinho player or improve under him. So let's hope Mourinho is out the door first!