Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 26.09.24

Mantis Toboggan

4 games in and already 8 points behind Liverpool, time to end this nightmare

FourFourRED

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816403#Comment_123816403

I don’t think it’s right to say that people convinced themselves that nobody could have done any better than that. What happened was people (myself included) believed Amorim when he said things would get worse before they get better - accepting that results would be bad at first, on account of changing the system to something completely new to the players, but at some point it would come good. There was also the ‘sacrificing the league to focus on the EL’ narrative which was another gamble that didn’t pay off because we were awful in the final - saying that though, maybe that was just a excuse to try and deflect from the regularly poor league form in and around the EL knockout games.

People wanted to believe in Amorim. Believe that things would change and that we would be competitive again. All of the right noises were being made but ultimately as of right now, it’s still a mess and it’s very disheartening for people. You saw right through the noise and fair play to you on that but none of us are any better off for it, including you.

Iseedeadpixels

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816403#Comment_123816403

And for the 2nd time I'll admit you were absolutely spot on the whole time.

Ninthlife

One of the big misakes of the summer was not going all out for Donnarumma

Ive hope Lammems will prove a solid keeper and Sesko will come good but "the system"has me just as confused as "the process" theres zero improvement

If he stays or goes theres still a glut of players need selling, Shaw, Maguire, Zirkzee, Bayindir, Ugarte, Casemiro

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816443#Comment_123816443

Not taking the 100 million for Bruno is by far the biggest mistake IMO.

BenK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816455#Comment_123816455

Yeah seems like a sliding doors moment. While I'm a fan of Bruno, he's 31 now and sometimes you have to be ruthless with these things and take the money and reinvest in the team.

Like Fergie before with Hughes, Ince, Van Nistelrooy, Beckham etc.

DataDude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816443#Comment_123816443

Yep massive rebuild still ahead.

If you were to take a very optimistic view. What players here now can realistically be top 4 level in a 433

Lammens

New RB Yoro New CB New LB

New CDM Mainoo

Mount

Cunha Sesko Mbuemo

So that’s 4 new starts needed next summer at a minimum. And that’s assuming

Lammens comes good, Sesko comes good, Mainoo comes good and Mount stays fit.

It really is a huge rebuild still. Thankfully the finances should start to look pretty rosey next year when Bruno and Casemiro go.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816475#Comment_123816475

Keeping him is one thing but then deciding he's your man in a midfield 2 is absolutely wild to me. If he needed an 8 or one for a midfield 2 and you've gone and bought Cunha and Mbeumo then just move him on.

He might get till Christmas but he's going to have to make a big call with Bruno and I just don't see it happening. Even when he moved to the 10 position today he kept trying that stupid cross from the edge of the box to nobody.

Sand

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816455#Comment_123816455

Agree. Bruno has been the best signing of the post Fergie era. But he is 31, and if a Saudi club comes in offering you 100m or anything close to it, you take that money and go buy at least one but more like two central midfielders. Our midfield is arguably the weakest in the Premier League. It not just the system, it is the players too.

With Amorim - it is on INEOS. They brought in Amorim, known for his three at the back system, to coach a squad which for the past decade (at least) has been built for 4-2-3-1 or some other variation of 4-3-3. It was a weird decision unless they were going to somehow rebuild the entire squad in one or two transfer windows. Maybe that is what Amorim was told.

Amorim probably does need to adjust his system to account for reality. But that brings problems too - I remember ETH getting absolutely destroyed for publicly saying that he couldn't have the Man United team he had play like his old Ajax team, that he had to work with what he had. It also opens the question of what is the point of bringing in a 3 at the back coach to play a 4 at the back system? Even if Amorim goes to 4-2-3-1, the 2 is going to be two of Casemiro, Mainoo or Ugarte. None of whom have been ripping up trees.

We just don't have solid PL level midfielders. And its going to be a very long season without them.

54and56

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816455#Comment_123816455

This, particularly when he's being played out of position under RM's system.

NITRO95

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816495#Comment_123816495

Josh Brownhill is a free agent. Can we sign and register him? I'm only half joking and that's making me feel worse

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816428#Comment_123816428

But they weren't the right noises, that has been the most frustrating thing.

It was never the right approach, but instead of looking at things subjectively a lot of fans took a fanwank approach of justifying everything no matter what.

To pick one example of many, no it was never a good idea to call your team the worst team in the clubs history. But people claimed that was a good thing to do!

This period has been bizarre quite frankly, and hugely frustrating. We had a manager who openly tried to force a system onto a squad that absolutely did not suit it. He did not coach anybody into adapting to the system, he hasn't improved anybody, and he did not get any results while doing it. Then when the time for transfers came, he did not address the gaping issues with the team.

Every concern with Amorim today was a concern with Amorim last December, so how in the hell is this still a conversation!

Oh well. On they go. Perhaps Bruno in midfield can unlock the best of Sesko against Chelsea.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816495#Comment_123816495

I genuinely don't think it's a system issue. His system just needs passable players in midfield to link the ball to the 5 attackers. What we have is pure chaos in midfield brought to us by a player that has absolutely no business playing there and every bit of evidence we've seen when he's played there backs it up.

Our midfield isn't great but in no way should it be as bad as we keep seeing.

y0ssar1an22

dont think he will adjust to the reality:

“I accept, it is not a record you should have at Manchester United. There are a lot of things you have no idea what has happened.

"But I am not going to change my philosophy. I play my way and I am going to play my way."

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816321#Comment_123816321

How ye didn't sack him at the end of the season, I'll never understand. Showed absolutely nothing, no bounce, aside from amad who was criminally under used by eth not a single player improved under him. Completely out of his depth and the most stubborn manager I've seen in the league.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816495#Comment_123816495

Ten Hag was never destroyed for saying that he couldn't play like Ajax.

Like everything else, thats just a stick used to beat him when he wasn't getting results or performances.

Get a tune out of the players and the manager can play 442 for all anybody really cares.

KH25

If he refuses to change the system, he has to go. The system doesn’t suit the players he has. At the very least it doesn’t suit the ones he insists on playing in it. This is just head in the sand stuff.

numbnutz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816299#Comment_123816299

I still cant get past the opening line of this….

y0ssar1an22

this is like a comment someone here would post.

Did you think we were the better team against Arsenal? They had Odegaard, Rice and Zubimendi.

Mantis Toboggan

Is Southgate available..?

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816517#Comment_123816517

Yeah, the fine, play whatever system you believe in, I'm all for it. But do not keep picking underperforming players and then hide behind nonsense comments. His stubbornness to certain players rather than a system is what's hurting the team this season.

y0ssar1an22

we have also failed to score in 13 out of his 31 PL games (42%). dismal

Green&Red

So much for saying he'd go himself, not a chance he'd turn down the wedge he'll get when hes sacked. Hard to see how people believed he would

el Fenomeno

He's begging to be sacked.

**** do it.

Whatsisname

I see he’s up to his ‘I won’t change so change the man’ shite again in his post match interview. Never has a United manager spoken so openly about not wanting to be here anymore than this guy. Get rid.

Zeek12

He apparently keeps inviting Ineos to sack him. It's not the first time we've seen comments like this. And I really dis-like it.

I mean say what you like about ETH and Rangnick, and they sure had their critics for a reason.…but at least they had some steel, some backbone and they came out fighting during the difficult times.

What we need more than anything now is leadership and strength of character.

Seattle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816606#Comment_123816606

Amorim is being honest about how he sees things, whatever anybody thinks of them or him.

ETH deflected and treated the media like fools. His answer to every question was a tetchy 'two trophies in two seasons'. Give me Amorim's honesty everyday of the week over that absolute crap.

Sand

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816511#Comment_123816511

Well, its even worse again. JB is unavailable - signed for a Saudi club a few days ago.

loyatemu

If we're looking within the EPL, Glasner or Iraola are the obvious choices but the club really needs a big personality given the amount of scrutiny involved. Has ZZ learned English yet?

Zeek12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123816616#Comment_123816616

If you want to discuss deflecting, this comment from RA today definitely fits in that bracket. And a silly comment imo (like what Utd manager over the past decade hasn't faced challenges?)

"There are a lot of things, you have no idea what happened during these months"