Hindsight will see what happens, but I'm happy to bed Maguire doesn't go for 30m before he retires.....
Pin-seeker
Well-known member
Imagine going into work today,boss says “look it’s not working out,you’re sacked”
Here’s £7m ??
Bless him. A pauper compared to Steve Bruce and his £8m payoff. I'll start a just giving page ?
Not sure I entirely follow, but my point all along was that Sancho would have played wide right, Rashford left, and either Cavani or Greenwood through the middle.
Because of the last minute Ronaldo signing and Solskjaer’s frankly unfathomable fascination with playing Greenwood, even out of position, it has meant the best out and out winger of the last eighteen months hardly getting a kick. That was never Solskjaer’s plan in the summer. Never in a month of Sundays.
Solskjaer, for reasons best known to himself, very clearly had favourites in that squad. Greenwood is a prime example of someone whose form has been patchy at best, and yet he kept getting picked, out of position, in favour of a player who cost £73m. And don’t even get me started on Van de Beek.
Olé’s insistence on picking the same players, week in, week out, regardless of performance was absolutely baffling given the talent he had sitting on the bench.
D
Deleted member 1740
Guest
????? yeah alright, its his teamates fault??
??When things are going wrong 1st and foremost you take responsibility for your own actions and performances.
It's basic stuff like controlling the ball. His 3rd touch on saturday was a real heavy one that led him to foul Cleverley. He does it so often. You can't blame Fred for that?
I think your Yernited bias is clouding your judgement on his actual ability.
D
Deleted member 1740
Guest
I find it funny how players who arent getting a game suddenly become world beaters.
I've seen it at Liverpool with Robbie Keane. Rafa wouldnt start him, and all of a sudden he'd be the best in the world??
I dont think his team selections were that bad, it was the dismal tactics he was deploying and surely that comes as a collective from the coaching staff too.
I’m not sure there’s even a debate to be had about Harry Maguire. United paid £40m too much for him, at least. He is nowhere near the quality of VVD, and there are any number of central defenders about who I would currently pick ahead of him.
In a fully fit, in form squad I would perhaps opt for Varane and Bailly as my first choice pair. The latter is so injury prone he’s never had a proper run in the side to iron out the confidence issues which lead to occasional mistakes. But he has pace, and he reads the game exceptionally well. It would be interesting to see how he would develop playing a run of games alongside a top CB like Varane.
I have a couple of Leicester season ticket holders who are mates, and they take the rise out of me repeatedly about the fee we were stupid enough to pay for Maguire. United were mugged.
In a fully fit, in form squad I would perhaps opt for Varane and Bailly as my first choice pair. The latter is so injury prone he’s never had a proper run in the side to iron out the confidence issues which lead to occasional mistakes. But he has pace, and he reads the game exceptionally well. It would be interesting to see how he would develop playing a run of games alongside a top CB like Varane.
I have a couple of Leicester season ticket holders who are mates, and they take the rise out of me repeatedly about the fee we were stupid enough to pay for Maguire. United were mugged.
He hasn’t become a world beater, Stu. Nobody is saying that. But he had that reputation in Germany, which is why he commanded the fee United paid. To not be given a run of games is mystifying and, when he has played, it has often been out of position on the left so Solskjaer could accommodate Greenwood.
You simply don’t pursue a signing for eighteen months, pay £73m for him, and then utilise him as a squad player unless someone above you has ripped up your plans at the eleventh hour to bring in a signing you never contemplated.
I say again, Ronaldo was never part of the plan, and his arrival caused Solskjaer a real headache.
D
Deleted member 1740
Guest
VDB may well be a world beater. Problem is none of us has been given a chance to judge! It’s utterly baffling treatment of a player who cost nearly £40m.
Swango1980
Well-known member
The truth is, there is no doubt Man Utd have the best squad in the world, and with a half decent manager will probably dominate every competition they play in
Bdill93
Undisputed King of FOMO
The truth is, there is no doubt Man Utd have the best squad in the world, and with a half decent manager will probably dominate every competition they play in
clubchamp98
Journeyman Pro
Does this just show the manager wasn’t in charge?
Buying players he dosnt want is a massive problem, worse than not buying ones he does want.
But OGS should have grown a pair and left CR out and played the team he wanted to.
By not doing that it cost him his job.
But the compo wasn’t to bad and will ease the pain.
Bdill93
Undisputed King of FOMO
I think consistently United's problem since Fergie/ Gill left has been Ed Woodward.
The man has no idea how to run a football club. In the time since he took over from David Gill you've made more steps backwards than forwards.
There is no clear structure at united, no clear transfer policy and about 10 players collecting salaries who produce nothing.
Greenwood and Rashford have stagnated, they have not progressed at all.
Big mess to sort out!
The man has no idea how to run a football club. In the time since he took over from David Gill you've made more steps backwards than forwards.
There is no clear structure at united, no clear transfer policy and about 10 players collecting salaries who produce nothing.
Greenwood and Rashford have stagnated, they have not progressed at all.
Big mess to sort out!
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
My take on the players
Maguire - vastly overrated, mid table CB the same as the likes of Ben Mee etc , over priced because of the World Cup. Players like Tarkowski are better than him
Van Der Beek - at Ajax he was very tidy on the ball , complimented De Jong well but needs a ball winner , he didn’t suit Utd but would the top 3 clubs
Sancho - he was superb for Dortmund, did well for England but once Ronaldo was signed they didn’t know what to do with him
Would take both Sancho and VDB at Liverpool
Maguire - vastly overrated, mid table CB the same as the likes of Ben Mee etc , over priced because of the World Cup. Players like Tarkowski are better than him
Van Der Beek - at Ajax he was very tidy on the ball , complimented De Jong well but needs a ball winner , he didn’t suit Utd but would the top 3 clubs
Sancho - he was superb for Dortmund, did well for England but once Ronaldo was signed they didn’t know what to do with him
Would take both Sancho and VDB at Liverpool
Bdill93
Undisputed King of FOMO
I do disagree about Maguire. I think hes a top 6 CB - certainly better than who youve mentioned, just not worth what they paid for him. Give him a proper top manager and he will come good.
The price makes people compare him to VVD - no one in the world comes close
best business Liverpool have done for years.Swango1980
Well-known member
Certainly indicates OGS was not in charge of transfers. De Beek is the biggest indicator of that. It is also clear that Ronaldo was a sudden purchase. So, perhaps that is the reason Sancho warms the bench (as OGS loves Greenwood), or maybe Sancho was not an OGS buy. It is all very well saying Ronaldo was not part of the plan, but if Kane or Haaland had been available and wanting to go to United, I'm pretty sure United would have tried to bring them in to the club. I reckon they'd also try and convince Cavani to stay, as he is a fantastic pro and did really well for us last season.
It is all very well saying he should have left Ronaldo out, as if United would have been a much more successful team. I still personally 100% disagree. If a manager does not know how to accommodate possibly the best No.9 in the world, then that is pretty shocking. And, Ronaldo has dug him out of a hole time and time again. Potentially Ronaldo is the only person at the club who has come away with any credit this season, yet ironically people point the finger towards him as if he is the problem. Really? Look at the stick OGS got from his own fans when he left Ronaldo out of the starting line up, and they were shocking without him.
Let's look at Greenwood instead. Love the guy, and he has shown some great potential in his early days. But, he has been shocking this year, he does nothing. He may or may not be out of position on the right, but he was able to do well there last season. But, opposition have figured him out, and he has not developed his game to find other ways to contribute. I don't really blame him, as it is the coaches that need to help develop him as a player, and it is not working. Had he been a No.9 this year, I seriously doubt he'd have set the world alight. He has a good left and right foot, but there are a million things he does not possess that Ronaldo does with ease. In my opinion, he should have been taken out of the firing line a while ago, and Sancho given a good run of games to get to know his team mates. De Beek / Lingard should have been given more opportunities, many more. OGS obsession with Fred and McTomminay as the defensive midfielders is crazy, and Bruno needs a rest / a kick up the backside every now and then by being left out. None of the United midfielders show any ability to control the tempo of the game, by keeping the ball moving and keeping possession. Most players need time to control the ball, then decide what to do before executing, rather than it being second nature where a pass should go before they even get the ball. Bruno is best on the ball, but he tries the Hollywood ball so often, thus giving the ball away regularly. It seems to be that this may be less of a quality issue (although I question the quality of several of the players), but more of a "I have literally no idea where my team mates will be or where they'll run" mentality.
Bdill93
Undisputed King of FOMO
Greenwood has certainly never lived up to his hype. Id argue Rashford the same.
United fans mention them all the time like they're world beaters - far from it - but had they had a Klopp/Pep level manager for 3 years it could have been a different story.
Not too late for either with the right appointment.
Swango1980
Well-known member
Agree, I'd definitely put Rashford in the same category. Even Martial. They show so much potential, and then simply stall in their development. Had Sancho been given a chance, there'd be a good chance he'd stall as well. We have seen this pattern time and time again. Players show individual talent, and the coaching staff seem to think that will win them matches. However, they forget how to stitch that quality together to play in a team, and provide sustained quality during a match, rather than hope for flashes in the pan.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Greenwood has loads of time, he's only 20 still. His problem though is that to me it looks like his best position is out-and-out striker, but he's hardly going to get any minutes there. Shoving him on the left or the right to crowbar him in isn't doing him that many favours. With his finishing and two-footedness, I think he needs a loan move where he can play up front week in week out, and then we'd see what he's capable of. Doing a job out wide to accommodate the 36 year old they're paying silly money to isn't helping him in any way.
So often a young player coming through at a big club doesn't get the minutes they need to develop. The ones who do make it are the ones who start out at smaller clubs, get themselves on the pitch and work their way up. Only exceptions are proper generational talents like Foden really.
So often a young player coming through at a big club doesn't get the minutes they need to develop. The ones who do make it are the ones who start out at smaller clubs, get themselves on the pitch and work their way up. Only exceptions are proper generational talents like Foden really.
