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

It may be a mad aim, but if we don't get it then the season must, overall, be considered a failure (unless we get 7th and FA Cup, maybe).

The club has stated, internally at least and then reported by the Athletic, that their budgets are based on Europa League qualification minimum. At a base level, with no cup place shenanigans, that requires 6th place.

So if the club don't get top 6, they have failed to meet the target.
If the club don't feel top 6 is realistic with the squad we have for any reason, then they have failed in building a squad to meet the goals they have set.

Top 6 isn't a mad aim imo! We're in serious trouble if we can't get in or around that.

I think there's a big gap to Arsenal, Liverpool, City, and (maybe) Chelsea as the top 4. So Top 6 probably just means a fight for 5th and 6th.

But it really should be all to play for. I can't see last year's 5th and 6th (Newcastle and Villa) having as good of a season.

I would expect that us and Spurs should be at least in contention for those spots.

United are betting market favorites for 5th. Which I think is about right. Newcastle and Villa have both had poor starts and their squads are likely to be stretched in Europe. Spurs look in reasonable shape but also have to juggle the CL. Arsenal, Liverpool, City and Chelsea are all better positioned but it's a regular occurrence that at least one of the 'favorites' for the top 4 blow up during the season. On the other side of the coin, it's not uncommon to have an unlikely challenger ala Forest last season.

So yeah, just how 'good' we have to be to get into the top 5 will largely depend on the performance of other teams and that's just about impossible to call. Given that, top 5 is obviously viable. As it is for quite a number of teams.

Sad to see United fans revelling in a former manager having a tough time.

He's obviously a good manager if the circumstances suit. If he didn't try, if he didn't care, if he slagged off the club after being sacked then maybe I could understand it.

The culture of blaming everyone who was here before has to stop if we're ever going to get out of this sh*t.

But the club have stated EL qualification is a minimum expected result - so that is the bar to hold them too.

If we can't do it, there are failures.

To be fair to ferguson, he probably would've made a midfield out of those and done something with the goalkeepers too!

Teams that finish 4/5/6th always have issues in their teams, that's why they finish in those spots. The target this season has to be Europe. Not actually being in Europe this season is also a huge benefit in trying to achieve that aim.

I agree that there are clearly glaring issues. In addition to the GK and CM situations, I'm not comfortable with the wingbacks and what they add to the team, and the role of the wide CBs.

In saying all of that, our competitors do have big issues also which we can't discount. I do think if we can keep Mount, Mbuemo, Cunha, Amad and Bruno fit for most games, they have the potential to keep us competitive for top 5. Imo they are 5 outstanding attacking players that fit together quite well. I also like Zirkzee as a link player and it's early days with Sesko.

Yep.
I think the club are trying to outscore the issues, basically. and for top 6/7, outscoring your isssues can get you there. for top 4 you need to have no glaring issues, imo, but top 6 vs Villa, or Spurs? C'mon. Lets not pretend they are unbeatable. Our attack could carry us just far enough IF they play well. Which they may not do - a lot rides on Sesko.

Yep, depending on how teams do in europe and who wins the cup competitions the placing needed for the EL could go very low .

In fact, I thought the PL got two EL places by default, (which is why I say 6th target), but it is actually 1.

And the Conference League place goes to the League Cup.

So as things start off, only the top 5 PL spaces get european football.

If England win the 5th CL spot, then it is top 6 (6th gets EL).

If the winner of the FA Cup finishes in a CL or EL place in the league, the FA Cup spot goes to the league (so 6th or 7th?)

If the winner of the league cup finishes in the CL or EL places, then that place goes to the league so it could go down to 8th?

Not sure how an English team winning a european competition while also finishing in a qualifying league place changes anything.

The signing of Cunha and Mbeumo, and Sesko, is to score more than 44 goals in the league.

Bruno creates chances, there was just nobody capable of regularly scoring them.

6th Place should certainly be do-able for United. A lot will depend on how well the attack clicks and can we cut down on the silly GK and defensive mistakes? Nonetheless we have to target and expect a place in the EL.

You could see both Forest and Aston Villa having a challenging season this time round. The Villa squad is looking a bit light and the prospect of European games every week adds a new challenge for Forest.

We out played Arsenal on the first day of the season, that is what this team is capable of, it wasn't a plucky defensive display, it was dominating the ball and the chances. Therefore, if we could be consistant we should be competing towards the top. It's a sample size of one, but it shows the ceiling. Teams that finish 8th or 9th might beat Arsenal or Liverpool on a given day with a goal and solid defending but they won't fundamentally out play them like that.

It's up to the manager to get it out of them consistantly.

It's nice to be bullishly talking about a hypothetical top 6 finish at least before reality sets in and we're just trying to better 15th place in a few months time…

It's the EFL Cup and the EFL make the rules. The punishment has always been a fine. Besides, it's not like he was a banger drafted in for the game like you get down the park on a Sunday. It was a 60 seconds late technicality, not Mo Salah wearing a Scooby Doo mask.