The United way

We need a proven striker desperately to perform well this season but the current market for it doesn't fit into our transfer strategy that's trying to avoid making the same old mistakes of the past (old players on medium term contracts with outrageous wages, superstar players that don't gel)

This transfer window suggests we're focused on building for the future and forward line is the one with the most expectations put on unproven youth (and one confidence player that's been beaten down by the media and fans for years), I have to have faith that the transfer strategy is right for the future but today was a very sobering reality check, we're far off it and we won't score much

Three games:
2 losses
1 win
0 signs of improvement

Every position has serious problems

Defense: slightly improved - at least “on paper”

Midfield: Casemiro needs a Saudi deal badly, Mount as well, the wingers are decent at best

Strikers: Young and unproven, I’m not even sure any of them will ever be world class

Spineless today

Saudi window is still open right?

Out of the players expected to play often, the top 4 team quality players imo:
Fernandes
Mainoo
Martinez

Inconsistent but thereabouts:
Onana
Dalot

Unproven in Prem:
De Ligt (been decent)
Ugarte
Mazraoui (very promising)

Unproven youth (would not start for challengers):
Hojlund
Zirkzee
Garnacho
Amad

Injury/confidence issues (play good but far too inconsistent):
Shaw
Rashford (he would play for challengers)
Mount
Maguire
Malacia

Past it (has a good game one in every 4, at best):
Casemiro
Eriksen
Antony

that's at least 8 players expected to play often that you can't really rely on when taken into account the whole team, with a whole front line of youth players that can't be expected to work miracles

getting rid of McTominay, Sancho, Varane, Martial, van de Beek is a good start as the list of 8 was 13, but it's grim viewing

8 with unproven (based on different leagues) and thereabouts included I think could be enough for top 4 if the injury/confidence players played and performed but the negativity around the club (and manager potentially) is too much for it to come together

agreed but we could have signed Toney on low wages. He’s never had a premier league contract

would he have taken 2 + potentially 1 years on reasonable wages for us over 3 years at 327k a week, if he was committed to his career and playing for England perhaps but we can't know for sure, putting in a bid would've been nice optics but I can't see us getting him without breaking our rules that I think are good

yeah ultimately up to him and his ambition. He’s been underpaid his whole career so can’t fault him for going to Saudi but we could seriously use a player like him in the squad.

Between the cups and European there will be a lot of matches for seemingly Hojlund and Zirkzee to carry us through

its hard because you're right and a Zlatan/Cavani/Toney type would help sooooo much make the season much more bearable but it's the exact signing that leads to perpetuation of the cycle of mediocrity across the rest of the pitch, giving them and Amad/Garnacho game time to develop is not gonna give us Rashford (at his best) results but long term its the right thing to do

Yes and no.

I appreciate they want to build a team of young players but you need a balance of potential and experience, especially in a team like ours.

I wish Cavani had come after the Ronaldo saga, it could’ve gone so much better for him.

Also don’t think Toney would have been as much of an ego issue as a Ronaldo or a Zlatan. But he chose to go to Saudi I suppose, so that says where he is mentally.

People in here begging for Liverpool fan Toney 😭

Christ I miss Cavani

Just a premier league proven striker really

I agree to some extent, teams like City and Arsenal could sign Toney and have him score 30 goals a season because he would slot in amongst 15 surefire starters (potential and youth not included), I think at best we have 8 and we're slowly building towards it and after next years window we could have 12, but we're not there yet and Toney is too old to be counted on to perform once we have 12+

I still think he might've even scored 30 this season by sheer will and ability but it doesn't make sense long term

The squad is in a much better place than last few seasons but so much dead wood is still around, I think we have enough quality to get top 4 if we get it together but it's hard with so many things pulling in different directions, signing Toney would add to the confusion

This was a Man Utd loss not a Liverpool win btw

we dominated possession as well

Makes no sense

However will ten hag win games without his get out of jail free card, scott mctominay?? No wonder he wanted to keep him so badly, covered up 90 mins of s***e coaching

Ugarte over Casemiro in midfield would allows us to defend higher up and minimises the issue of being one man down in defence with our defence being higher up and less of a gap

Build up deep is what he wants to do ideally long term once players develop but with Rashford (confidence player) and Garnacho (lacks quality) starting and it being against Liverpool, I think we could’ve focused on going long more to get more chances but we had better xG so our chance creation wasn’t awful it was lack of quality that got us

I’m not sure how much it changed but would like to see this for the second half, this tweet is a bit dramatic for a game where we had level chances and conceded 3 goals from shots worth 0.90 xG, felt mostly down to quality and legs not chance creation or tactics but open to counter

The sooner we sacked this guy the better