Match Day Thread Manchester United v Brighton

What Keane's said is exactly my sentiment. It's piss poor yet again.

 

So, your sentiment now is that we shouldn't have got rid of the Matic, Mata, Lingard, Pogba's of this world?

Let me know which hat you're wearing today if you could, as I thought one of the priorities of this summer was getting this lot off the books?

Window open till end of August, if we sign a midfielder and forward in that time it's five signings.

So not one, like when we signed Fellaini.

 

Not sure you've read what Keane's said properly. Of course we had to get those players off the books. But that was known for months. Like he says "it’s not as if it’s just hit them now.” He's right.

Despite the 3 signings we've made, the planning for the replacement of those players has been below par. Right from the Darwin Nunez attempted transfer, to Timber, to De Jong to Antony. All 4 non-existent, which can happen but the lack of planning in several top tier targets or those who could be considered diamonds ready to be cut.

Instead we start the season with a weaker squad and scratching around for players like Arnautovich and Rabiot.

 

Yes, but surely people understand and accept that we are at a point of a complete and utter rebuild? And that's what is required.

Surely.

It wasn't all going to happen in one window, I'm completely baffled by how people's attitudes and perceptions have changed over a matter of weeks.

Hysterical, self entitled piffle, the lot of it.

Give ten Hag the time he deserves.

 

Of course it's not going to happen in one transfer window.

But there were certain positions that were the priority right?

Given the players that have left/are leaving.

I'm baffled by the fact that people's position on needing a CM as our #1 priority has changed. Instead threads and pages dedicated to Ronaldo ffs.

A CB (or two but one will do for now which we've bought). We needed a decent CF.

The rest we can manage. So I'm certainly not asking for a complete overhaul. I never have been and my position hasn't changed. 3 positions is not hysteria at all. Out of those, we've addressed 1.

 

The only silver lining in all this is that Martial's injury + the weak performance of our midfield came in our first game. And maybe it's set alarm bells ringing in the boardroom and with the Glazers who were at the game.

But really none of that should be necessary if proper planning was done to begin with, because those things should've been foreseen anyway.

 

Yeah, agree that this hopefully pushes plan B (whatever the **** that means) into action by how ****e Rashford and McTominay are.

Penny will drop with Ten Hag now as well, hopefully.

I can just picture McTominay hiding behind the nearest Brighton player while shouting and waving his arms about, like he always does. Complete fake.

At least Rashford doesn't pretend he doesn't want the ball, he literally asks to not be passed to.

 

I have a soft spot for both but McTominay is simply not good enough though I'm still hopeful that Rashford will regain his form.

He had two great chances to score, although one would've been offside.

The reason I say this btw is that the likes of Sancho and Bruno were also poor so I think the midfield problem's impacting on a few players. It just effects everyone not just the defence.

Martial made a big difference in pre-season. Van der Beek surely has to start next game as well.

 

I thought Ronnie van Si Park was rubbish and has been all pre-season. He runs into space - the one space where the ball can't be played to him, He is full of movement, in fact, twice yesterday he blocked the passage of play because he received a pass on the edge of their box but it wasn't intended for him - he is a headless chicken who runs his heart out, desperate to impress, but has no positive impact on the game. Talk about flattering to deceive let's offer him to barca as part of a swap deal.

 

Slightly off tangent but I can see Graham Potter as an excellent replacement for Southgate as the England manager.

 

I was at McTominay's debut, last game of the season under Jose against Palace few seasons back.

Looked a real prospect, my eldest even said as much not long back (he was with me).

I can honestly say hand on heart I've seen zero improvement or development from him since.

None.

 

So you wanted Ralf to buy players for the new manager?
ETH has been with us 5 weeks and brought 3 players in, he has 4 weeks left to get others.

 

Exactly - there seems to be some idea that we should be in the CL final already - matchday one FFS, everyone chill out and wait and see.

 

Your maths is a bit off mate...

16th May 2022

"There's a lot of work to be done there [at United]. Of course. There's a lot of work at every club. A manager's job is especially focused on the preparations for next season. And there's a lot of work to be done in that regard.

"Regarding the staff, there are several things that need to be organised. And also regarding the team and over the next several days, or actually as of tomorrow [Monday], we will be focusing on that intensively."

The board, the sporting director, the new chairman could've all started then.

https://www.skysports.com/football/...ussions-over-plans-for-summer-and-next-season

 

So when did he meet the players and start training/assessment?

 

But you've said countless times Rangnick was doing the assessment on players for him. That was his remit right?

Keane btw is not pointing the finger at Ten Hag here. He's aiming it squarely at the club. The only group who have any continuity in any of this.

 

Yes Ralfs remit was to assess the squad and pass his findings on, that doesn't mean that any new manager worth his salt would just take that as gospel. I think the main job Ralf had (or at least performed) was to identify dressing room bad eggs and their followers.

I am fully aware of what Keane was getting at and have always backed his view.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong and I'm just spit-balling here, but do you think, I don't know, that maybe just maybe the board might have had some idea that Pogba, Matic and Mata were leaving come the end of the season and may have passed that information on to Ten Hag when he arrived on that Monday in May, considering he said he will be focusing on the team intensively?

Or are you suggesting he needed to meet with them 3 after they'd left the club. Maybe for an exit interview or something?

 

I think they were out of contract

 

Oh so they all knew then? You know, that Monday in May, almost 3 months ago not 5 weeks. Cool