United thread 2018/19

[mccity]

Seems appropriate

 

[Neville Kneville]

1- As he should have. Why would we begrudge them signing young English players with the potential to be stars? That's what we did for stones and I think more teams ought to go for young up and coming players rather than established players on the verge of a decline.

2- That's sort of in line with what I was saying. 1m for the best player they'd had in 26 years and the man who would lead them to 4 league titles in 5 years after a 26 year drought was insane business.

Their best player cost a million and their second cost half a million. I'm all for critizing anything United but I'm going to strongly disagree here. You don't buy the league if your most influential players were relatively cheap.

3- That's a preposterous statement. United of today have the highest wage bill in the history of the English top flight. They broke the world transfer record for a player when they got Pogba. They offered the highest wage in the history of the English top division to Alexis Sanchez. I remember Ferguson falling out with their chief executive (who's name eludes me now) back in 1998 because they were refusing to sanction the Dwight Yorke buy and instead insisted that he should buy John Hartson and be happy with it. They went after Marcelo Salas and Gabriel batistuta before the 98 world cup and he wasn't given the money to sign either.

They wanted Shearer in 1996 they wouldn't break the transfer record for him. So he went and bought Ole Solsjaer for 1.5 million from Norway while Newcastle spent 15 million on Shearer.

Like I said, I don't see the comparison. They're a much more established brand now than they were back then and can spend (and have spent more relative to the market ) now than they did back then.


Ferguson spent money but he didn't buy their success. That's what they're trying to do now and the difference is palpable. That approach doesn't guarantee success and they're learning it the hard way now.

There is too much wrong with that lot, to discuss. I'd be here all night.

Utter nonsense.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Their first team when they won the 96 double was:

Schmeichel (500k)
Neville (academy)
Pallkster
Bruce
Irwin
Beckham (Academy)
Keane (3.5 m after influx of cash having won the 2st ever epl)
Scholes (academy)/ butt (academy)
Giggs (academy)
Cantona (1m)
Cole (7 m)

That most Defintely didn't require more than their club's value. I'm all for criticism but this is ridiculous. I'm not going to let myself get bitter enough for the facts to get cloudy. I'll let the rags do that. Just like they currently do with Pep.

Please pretend I never said anything.

 

[mccity]

If they were intelligent, the second they decided Mourinho wasn't worth backing (end of last season or so); for whatever reason that may have been; they should have cut their losses and sacked him.

Then, they should have hired an interim manager for the season on a decently moderate wage. Someone to steady the ship in the short term. They have a strong enough squad that a decent manager should keep them in the top 6 at worst. And unfortunately, there are plenty of high-end managers that would love the opportunity to manage United for a season, especially if the possibility to go on further existed.

All the while, the higher ups could plan ahead. They could set out a five year plan, figure out the brand of football they want to be playing and which manager they want to bring it. They could work on hiring such a manager for the subsequent season, and once they've done that, they can work with him on figuring out exactly which players in the squad are worth keeping and identify targets for a future setup under such a manager (Similar to the rumoured arrangement we had with Guardiola and KDB + Sterling). Hopefully with a revamped scouting team that does their research. This gives them plenty of time to work on bringing in these players, so come the new season a new manager will be in place with all the players he needs will be at hand early into preseason to give them the best headstart possible.

And then, serves to be the beginning of the renaissance of the Manchester United of old. It might take a couple of years of patience, but soon enough, with their financial power, the glory days can finally come back to Old Trafford.


Fortunately though, it seems upper management is not intelligent.

 

[mad4city]

So we know that they offered Blackburn 15 million pounds? That they gave Ferguson that fee? Where did that come from?

They were defintely after him and I think he preferred Newcastle because he was a Geordie but given that Martin Edwards (If I'm not getting people mixed up, I think he was their ceo) constantly kiboshed big money moves, I don't know for an absolute fact that they offered 15 million there.

Having said that, I'm glad he didn't go. For some reason, I think my memories of Shearer wouldn't be the same were he wearing red. Even if he's a special player, you harbor some resentment when a great player plays for a rival.

My recollection was that it was Blackburn rather than Newcastle who won Shearer's signature ahead of the rags - and for nothing like £15m?
Were they ever even in the running when he left Ewood Park? Again, totally as I recall it but I think most fans didn't take any of the reports of their supposed interest at that time seriously because Shearer's dislike of the rags was pretty well known at that stage.

You might we'll be right but I think it was the earlier if the two deals when they came closest.

As for your general argument that United didn't buy success. It's a well worn tale but one that consistently avoids the inconvenient truths. Things such as fielding the most expensive side in British Football history in 1989 and breaking more British transfer records than anybody else during Ferguson's reign.

To be fair, their record of promoting from the academy was about on a par, number-wise, as everyone else at that time. Everybody did so because there wasn't enough money to do anything else. What they did do differently was promote a top standard of player - from the only elite academy in English football - into a well stocked team.
There are two elite academies in English Football now (City and Chelsea). They will never promote the same volume of players into their first teams though. Neither will anybody else. This is because the money is in the game (at the top end, obviously) to buy ready-made players and the demand for success is such that clubs can't afford to fall away from the top end of the game.

So, I guess they'll always have that little boast and fellows like you will forever glibly accept and promote it. That's your prerogative, of course.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Why do you hate Forest Green Rovers so much... ;-)

Okay, fine . . . Mushy Pea Albion then. :)

 

[sir baconface]

The now bit, isn't really working at the moment.

That’s what is so delicious. They bought short term success and didn’t get it. Now they’ll reap the consequences in terms of tarnished reputation, big bucks compo and a seriously flawed squad.

My heart bleeds.

 

[crazyg]

If they were intelligent, the second they decided Mourinho wasn't worth backing (end of last season or so); for whatever reason that may have been; they should have cut their losses and sacked him.

Then, they should have hired an interim manager for the season on a decently moderate wage. Someone to steady the ship in the short term. They have a strong enough squad that a decent manager should keep them in the top 6 at worst. And unfortunately, there are plenty of high-end managers that would love the opportunity to manage United for a season, especially if the possibility to go on further existed.

All the while, the higher ups could plan ahead. They could set out a five year plan, figure out the brand of football they want to be playing and which manager they want to bring it. They could work on hiring such a manager for the subsequent season, and once they've done that, they can work with him on figuring out exactly which players in the squad are worth keeping and identify targets for a future setup under such a manager (Similar to the rumoured arrangement we had with Guardiola and KDB + Sterling). Hopefully with a revamped scouting team that does their research. This gives them plenty of time to work on bringing in these players, so come the new season a new manager will be in place with all the players he needs will be at hand early into preseason to give them the best headstart possible.

And then, serves to be the beginning of the renaissance of the Manchester United of old. It might take a couple of years of patience, but soon enough, with their financial power, the glory days can finally come back to Old Trafford.


Fortunately though, it seems upper management is not intelligent.

And the rest. They need to start again, basically as City did. As you say, a 5 year plan. But will the fans, and, more importantly, their sponsors and overseas "followers", accept that. I doubt it, they're only interested in the reflected success it brings to their sad lives.

Good post, though.

 

[aguerrrroooooooooooo]

So apparently united want to renew Martial's contract.
Pretty telling seeing as his relationship with Mourinho appears to be nonexistent

 

[I'm With Stupid]

If they were intelligent, the second they decided Mourinho wasn't worth backing (end of last season or so); for whatever reason that may have been; they should have cut their losses and sacked him.

Then, they should have hired an interim manager for the season on a decently moderate wage. Someone to steady the ship in the short term. They have a strong enough squad that a decent manager should keep them in the top 6 at worst. And unfortunately, there are plenty of high-end managers that would love the opportunity to manage United for a season, especially if the possibility to go on further existed.

All the while, the higher ups could plan ahead. They could set out a five year plan, figure out the brand of football they want to be playing and which manager they want to bring it. They could work on hiring such a manager for the subsequent season, and once they've done that, they can work with him on figuring out exactly which players in the squad are worth keeping and identify targets for a future setup under such a manager (Similar to the rumoured arrangement we had with Guardiola and KDB + Sterling). Hopefully with a revamped scouting team that does their research. This gives them plenty of time to work on bringing in these players, so come the new season a new manager will be in place with all the players he needs will be at hand early into preseason to give them the best headstart possible.

And then, serves to be the beginning of the renaissance of the Manchester United of old. It might take a couple of years of patience, but soon enough, with their financial power, the glory days can finally come back to Old Trafford.


Fortunately though, it seems upper management is not intelligent.

Isn't that what they have supposedly been doing for the last 5 years though? Moyes flopped, so van Gaal was brought in as an experienced manager to steady the ship until they could bring in the one that would make them into a great team, and Mourinho was supposed to be that manager. We were promised that Mourinho would win the league in his second season, and it's not as if he hasn't been backed to the hilt buying him exactly the players he wants to play the kind of hoofball that he likes. So many people actually thought that this would be the time that Mourinho would actually stay somewhere for an extended period and build a long-term legacy. But then again, they said that in his second stint at Chelsea too.