**Official** English Football Season 2024/25

[flibbertyjibber]

Man Utd need to move on at least 10 players in January/summer window but who would be bonkers enough to take them?

Being serious here, are Man U going to get sucked into a relegation battle? Be glorious if they are.

 

[sledger]

Man Utd needing the proverbial "rebuild" has been a thing for every season for about ten years now. It's become plain that there are systemic problems that run deeper than roster management.

Though admittedly, the way they've already gone through several rebuilds, each with the resulting iteration of the squad being worse than the one that preceded it, is incredibly funny.

Allowing ETH to continually buy players from the Dutch league on the basis that they were good-ish on the previous year's versions of Football Manager probably my ultimate favourite.

 

[Ali TT]

Ineos seem to more worried about sacking long-standing stewards and cutting donations to the charity that supports retired players than what to do with the team.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Well not being football people they wouldn't have a clue what to do.

 

[andruid]

Goodbye Rooney.

 

[Tangles]

Man U would not be an ideal club for many players at the moment. So they either pay stupid wages again and take risks that it’s a slacker waiting for a payday or they need to innovate and moneyball their way up the table.

The summer looked better with players moved on and the new guys not just being older names to sell shirts. Hasnt really paid off though. That was better window than the Glazers though. Signing aging stars to high wages to sell shirts was dumb.

They need to play the younger players and to bring in a mix of proven premiership players and guys with something to prove. There’s a real lack of work rate, caring and accountability that’s been there across multiple managers.

There’s no way Amorim knew how toxic the culture is.

 

[CartyDurham]

Re Man Utd they are returning to the period between 1972 and when Alex Ferguson took over in the late 1980s

their fans have been spoiled by the Fergie era but as it currently stands , they are a cup team now and a long way from being a champion again

they even got relegated in 1974 and if this current trend continues , they may be a bit to close for comfort come may

one possible irony could be if Man City get heavily penalised with point deductions , imagine if that saved Man Utd from relegation

 

[Skipper Pup]

Man Utd need to move on at least 10 players in January/summer window but who would be bonkers enough to take them?

Being serious here, are Man U going to get sucked into a relegation battle? Be glorious if they are.

I don't think they'll have too many issues getting players off the books, it's quite clear some of the non-performance is a result of the club culture and poor tactics rather than individual ability.

There will be plenty of suitors, the problem will be wages and like what happened with Maguire and West Ham last summer, some players won't be keen to walk away from their current salaries that are setting up generations to come. There will be a handful that are looking to re-build their careers and will take the hit, I could see guys like Mount, Rashford and Dalot going to mid-tier European sides that are happy to gamble (we've seen it with McTominay and Sancho). Casemiro, Eriksen, Evans etc will end up in Saudi or retired, so there will be natural attrition anyway. It's the players in between that they need to be ruthless with - Bruno, Martinez, Onana, Shaw, Garnacho, Hojlund, Zirkzee etc. Some will naturally have to stay to ensure squad depth but there has to be a longer term plan to phase them out.

Even if they cant 'upgrade' them on paper with stars, they need to at least sign alternative PL quality players that suit the system and that don't carry the toxicity and laziness of the current squad. An example would be Schar on a free transfer to replace Martinez. He might be 34yo and only a stop gap for 12 months while looking for longer term options, but at least you know he's going to set standards in the dressing room, is a leader and will mentor the academy prospects. He's also not 5 foot 7. That's the sort of player Yoro can look up to.

I alluded to it in my previous post but as a club they will have to humble themselves in the market and look for bargain signings. There are plenty of players out there that would love the opportunity to play for United even without European comps.

I just can't see them doing it because the media and more importantly the fan base will tear them from pillar to post if they don't sign the big names.

 

[grecian]

I don't think they'll have too many issues getting players off the books, it's quite clear some of the non-performance is a result of the club culture and poor tactics rather than individual ability.

There will be plenty of suitors, the problem will be wages and like what happened with Maguire and West Ham last summer, some players won't be keen to walk away from their current salaries that are setting up generations to come. There will be a handful that are looking to re-build their careers and will take the hit, I could see guys like Mount, Rashford and Dalot going to mid-tier European sides that are happy to gamble (we've seen it with McTominay and Sancho). Casemiro, Eriksen, Evans etc will end up in Saudi or retired, so there will be natural attrition anyway. It's the players in between that they need to be ruthless with - Bruno, Martinez, Onana, Shaw, Garnacho, Hojlund, Zirkzee etc. Some will naturally have to stay to ensure squad depth but there has to be a longer term plan to phase them out.

Even if they cant 'upgrade' them on paper with stars, they need to at least sign alternative PL quality players that suit the system and that don't carry the toxicity and laziness of the current squad. An example would be Schar on a free transfer to replace Martinez. He might be 34yo and only a stop gap for 12 months while looking for longer term options, but at least you know he's going to set standards in the dressing room, is a leader and will mentor the academy prospects. He's also not 5 foot 7. That's the sort of player Yoro can look up to.

I alluded to it in my previous post but as a club they will have to humble themselves in the market and look for bargain signings. There are plenty of players out there that would love the opportunity to play for United even without European comps.

I just can't see them doing it because the media and more importantly the fan base will tear them from pillar to post if they don't sign the big names.

The bolded part seems utterly contradictory to me, the fact is wages, like with Maguire won't allow them to get rid. with Psr they are ****ed unless those players want to take a massive pay cut, they've spent roughly 500 million recently to have a squad who are practically unsellable.

The Saudi thing maybe their saviour though, Think Liverpool got lucky with a couple of past it players, giving them a lot of cash,but even so Casimiro, and Erikson will make a small dent in it really,but it's almost there only hope of getting revenue, playing-wise.

 

[Skipper Pup]

The bolded part seems utterly contradictory to me, the fact is wages, like with Maguire won't allow them to get rid. with Psr they are ****ed unless those players want to take a massive pay cut, they've spent roughly 500 million recently to have a squad who are practically unsellable.

The Saudi thing maybe their saviour though, Think Liverpool got lucky with a couple of past it players, giving them a lot of cash,but even so Casimiro, and Erikson will make a small dent in it really,but it's almost there only hope of getting revenue, playing-wise.

Maguire is on £180k a week. There will be English clubs prepared to get close to that to take him imo. West Ham weren't bothered by it, he simply thought he was above going there and wanted to fight for his place at United.

Rashford they'll have to take a hit and that's already accepted. Saudi will save them when it comes to Casemiro and potentially Bruno (although I doubt he's ready to go there).

Mount is on about £250k so that's most likely a loan they'll have to subsidize but I could see a Brighton/Brentford/Fulham/Spurs taking that risk. Antony £200k is a problem because he's simply not good enough, I don't know what they do there.

The rest are pretty reasonable wage-wise it'll just be about convincing players to go. De Ligt's on close to £200k but he only just arrived.

Also Chelsea were the ones saved by Saudi. We only really flogged off Fabino there, Henderson we didn't want to sell.

 

[Niall]

The bolded part seems utterly contradictory to me, the fact is wages, like with Maguire won't allow them to get rid. with Psr they are ****ed unless those players want to take a massive pay cut, they've spent roughly 500 million recently to have a squad who are practically unsellable.

The Saudi thing maybe their saviour though, Think Liverpool got lucky with a couple of past it players, giving them a lot of cash,but even so Casimiro, and Erikson will make a small dent in it really,but it's almost there only hope of getting revenue, playing-wise.

Maguire is on £180k a week. There will be English clubs prepared to get close to that to take him imo. West Ham weren't bothered by it, he simply thought he was above going there and wanted to fight for his place at United.

Rashford they'll have to take a hit and that's already accepted. Saudi will save them when it comes to Casemiro and potentially Bruno (although I doubt he's ready to go there).

Mount is on about £250k so that's most likely a loan they'll have to subsidize but I could see a Brighton/Brentford/Fulham/Spurs taking that risk. Antony £200k is a problem because he's simply not good enough, I don't know what they do there.

Onana is another in Summer who may want to get out of dodge in the Summer and I do think their will be teams interested in him that have some money.

The rest are pretty reasonable wage-wise it'll just be about convincing players to go. De Ligt's on close to £200k but he only just arrived.

Also Chelsea were the ones saved by Saudi. We only really flogged off Fabino there, Henderson we didn't want to sell.

I think he rates Mount, its a monumental if obviously but a fully fit Mount could be a big player for Utd, but I suspect his body is totally broken now unfortunately.

Amusingly the other sicknote Shaw is someone who Ruben would love to have fit also.

Garnacho is another that could fetch a good fee and he has been linked with a move away. He has a lot of potential, but I don't think Ruben rates him and it was always inevitable he would return to Spain.

Antony , sweet Jesus. A midtable Italian or Spanish side may take a punt on loan, but Utd would have to subidize the wages which is obviously not ideal.

Casemiro looks Saudi bound which is a blessing for everyone, that's a lot of money saved in wages.

 

[Skipper Pup]

I think he rates Mount, its a monumental if obviously but a fully fit Mount could be a big player for Utd, but I suspect his body is totally broken now unfortunately.

Imagine how differently his career might have gone if he had joined Klopp instead of chasing the wages at United. Really poor career management by his agent and those close to him.

Would have been a pressing monster and creative weapon in our current system.

 

[Niall]

Imagine how differently his career might have gone if he had joined Klopp instead of chasing the wages at United. Really poor career management by his agent and those close to him.

Would have been a pressing monster and creative weapon in our current system.

Yeah very poor call especially as he would have made plenty of money with Liverpool. He probably would have broken down under Klopp, their was a few injuries in his final Chelsea season and he had a lot of football in those legs.

Obviously its a what if that should haunt him when he retires in a few years.

Hargreaves the 2nd .

 

[Furball]

Man U would not be an ideal club for many players at the moment. So they either pay stupid wages again and take risks that it’s a slacker waiting for a payday or they need to innovate and moneyball their way up the table.

I think it would be a great move, guaranteed stupid money and you can just point to crap management when people question how poor value for money a signing you've been.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

I think it would be a great move, guaranteed stupid money and you can just point to crap management when people question how poor value for money a signing you've been.

Bit like managing Watford and Chelsea has been like in recent times. Big money and sacked in 8/10 months.

 

[Skipper Pup]

A good win for set piece FC. Brentford is a tricky away game.

How far do Arsenal go in Champions League this season?

If they can't get themselves back into the title race it would make sense the priority shifts to Europe. Their defence is as good as any, they're a huge threat from set pieces and their style of play should suit knock out football (although I think they would be better off in the old away goals system).

In terms of teams they would 'fear' - I think they would struggle against Inter, R Madrid, Atletico and Liverpool. I think they would want to avoid Villa for obvious reasons too - Emery is a headache in Europe. I give them a punchers chance over two legs against both Barca and Bayern.

Otherwise, Atalanta would be an issue but I think their attention will shift to Serie A (the same might happen for Atletico). Lille and Leverkusen are exciting but Arsenal would deal with them pretty easily over two legs I think.

Dortmund, PSG, Juve and the Portuguese sides are all not really at it and Milan are rubbish.

 

[Himannv]

Rashford they'll have to take a hit and that's already accepted.

Rashford will be pure profit even if he goes for £20m or something.

 

[Skipper Pup]

Rashford will be pure profit even if he goes for £20m or something.

You actually think they'll sell him in January?

I'm betting its a loan with some sort of obligation to buy, similar to Sancho.

United should still be paying his wages for the rest of this season.

 

[Himannv]

You actually think they'll sell him in January?

I'm betting its a loan with some sort of obligation to buy, similar to Sancho.

United should still be paying his wages for the rest of this season.

Depends. He clearly wants to go and the club will want to sell. If he decides he's ok with a wage cut it will probably be to a European club, if not Saudi is the best bet but I think he doesn't want to go there.

It's a bit different to Sancho, who was being labelled a flop at the time. I think there'd definitely be clubs interested in Rashford if they can afford him. He'd probably suit some of them well enough.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Saudi isn't going to be the saviour for anyone. They have foreign player limits and only 4 or 5 clubs that actually have PIF backing. There's not that many spots left unless they unload players on Qatar or whatever. The time to cash in on Saudi clubs was the big first summer when Ney, Benz, Mahrez etc went there. You could see guys like Salah or whatever go there but the days of offloading your overpaid aging trundlers are gone imo.