Manchester United Seasonal Blog 2018/19 - Ole Ole Ole Ole

[Darbyand]

As touted in the Transfer Window thread, a new blog for 2018/19. Fred is confirmed alongside a young Portuguese full-back Diogo Dalot.

Fred to MU 15 goals in 155 Apps

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44380621

I think he's seen as a Carrick (who got 24 PL goals in 481 appearances) replacement so Fred is a veritable goal machine with 1 in 10. . I'm guessing it'll be 433 next season with Matic and Fred as Pogba's enablers and in that case he'll have no excuses left. On that point, it might be time to set up the "2018/19 Jose's last season" blog thread...

[Darbyand]

Fellaini stays Like Alan Partridge driving round the ring road, we're going nowhere. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/football/44659159

My take on this is he touted himself around Europe as a big wages but free Bosman signing, didn't get a decent offer so has slunk back into Jose's grateful arms.

[Tacalabala]

To be fair, if we get two cut price seasons of sub appearances and League Cup, it's not a disaster. He'll end up in MLS no doubt.

[thebillfella]

The only real positive for me is that he now has a residual value again.

As I've said many times, Fellaini is good to have on the bench for plan B if needed but should never be part of plan A for a United team.

[Tacalabala]

Maguire to United got any legs?

[blahblah]

Maguire to United got any legs?

Could zap Mahrez to Citeh, subject to Contract lengths?

[Tacalabala]

Not sure, I suspect Leicester are getting to the stage where it makes sense to cash in, Vardy isn't going anywhere and they should be able to get decent replacements with the money.

[blahblah]

Not sure, I suspect Leicester are getting to the stage where it makes sense to cash in, Vardy isn't going anywhere and they should be able to get decent replacements with the money.

Not the Thread, but are MU toxic for certain sorts of players, in which I would include him.

Shaw, Bailly having "crisis" talks, allegedly; Blind (what is wrong with him?) Rojo(OK a card magnet), Lindelof (who), Smalling (the next Bobby Mooore?), Darmian......

Jose needs some focus and to erm focus on it,

[Tacalabala]

He'll be focused alright, if United don't mount a proper challenge this season, considering the spending, the calls to get rid will be deafening. Is Rashford going to be happy to not be in the XI? I could see him taking a move abroad actually.

[blahblah]

He'll be focused alright, if United don't mount a proper challenge this season, considering the spending, the calls to get rid will be deafening. Is Rashford going to be happy to not be in the XI? I could see him taking a move abroad actually.

Darby has started a "Jose's Last Season" thread

[thebillfella]

He'll be focused alright, if United don't mount a proper challenge this season, considering the spending, the calls to get rid will be deafening. Is Rashford going to be happy to not be in the XI? I could see him taking a move abroad actually.

Darby has started a "Jose's Last Season" thread

I'll have some of that!!! Linky please?

[blahblah]

He'll be focused alright, if United don't mount a proper challenge this season, considering the spending, the calls to get rid will be deafening. Is Rashford going to be happy to not be in the XI? I could see him taking a move abroad actually.

Darby has started a "Jose's Last Season" thread

I'll have some of that!!! Linky please?

As if by magic

[Darbyand]

He'll be focused alright, if United don't mount a proper challenge this season, considering the spending, the calls to get rid will be deafening. Is Rashford going to be happy to not be in the XI? I could see him taking a move abroad actually.

Darby has started a "Jose's Last Season" thread

I'll have some of that!!! Linky please?

Read the title again, this is it!

As for Maguire, Mourinho accused him of diving for a penalty Vs Colombia even though Maguire clearly jumped up and said there'd been no contact. The MEN journalist wryly summed it up as "United rule out Maguire bid".

[Tacalabala]

Did not know that, I despair when he does things like that, Mou must have looked a right plonker on Saturday.

[Maldini]

Just because he jumped back to his feet doesn’t mean he didn’t dive in the first place.

He either jumped up in embarrassment for diving (badly) or because it was so obviously a dive, he wanted to avoid a booking.

Either way, he dived.

[forestfan]

The noises coming out of Old Trafford certainly don’t seem particularly positive ones at the moment... whether or not they bring in a high profile signing or two, it’s hard to see them moving on from what they were last season, i.e. a collection of good/expensive players but not a team, producing the sort of joyless football that’s become synonymous with Mourinho in recent years.

I wonder what the minimum requirement is for this season? Winning a big trophy or feeling more like the “old United”? Not sure either looks likely right now.

[Tacalabala]

If United aren't challenging, it'll fall apart and he'll be gone before the end. If United don't win the Prem or CL, he'll be gone at the end. What I'm saying is I can't see Jose being there in 19/20.... Zidane?

[Darbyand]

The noises coming out of Old Trafford certainly don’t seem particularly positive ones at the moment... whether or not they bring in a high profile signing or two, it’s hard to see them moving on from what they were last season, i.e. a collection of good/expensive players but not a team, producing the sort of joyless football that’s become synonymous with Mourinho in recent years.

I wonder what the minimum requirement is for this season? Winning a big trophy or feeling more like the “old United”? Not sure either looks likely right now.

We've all seen how this one ends. He's throwing players under the bus (Valencia, Martial) and looks like he's ready to vent at Woodward's failures any time now. Chelsea fans will remember his eggs and omelette moan....he didn't last long after that.

If I have one scrap of sympathy it's this: Problem seems to me the board say "you have to sell to buy". He says "fine here's a list of 10 players I'm happy to let go". And they go, "ok but we're going to quote prospective buyers £20m" for some turd like Darmian. So stalemate. City don't piss around when someone has to leave, free transfer and golden handshake. When people say united spend as much as city a) they don't and b) they won't take a penny loss on an un-needed player.

People will say United have spent this and that since 2013 but when they spent the previous 5 years replacing Ronaldo with Valencia, Tevez with Owen etc etc etc it was a massive rebuild which went even worse in the hands of Moyes and LvG.

I think we'll do well to get top 4 this season. I'm not sure the owners see 4th place as a failure. It earns pretty much the same amount of money as winning. It might take another £200m to bridge that gap so why bother. Trophies seem to mean little. Mourinho unlikely to settle for that so will probably talk himself out of a job with another colossal payoff.

[Tacalabala]

No one is beating City, that's a given, United supporters know that. And 2nd is still second. But United should be able to compete in the Champions League, and City are being allowed to gain a march in terms of youth development, it's not what it was or should be at United. Kids are choosing to go to City, and you have to ask why, and our style of play is going to be a part of that.

[Zimmerman]

Yes and when people criticise City for spending big... they had to get from Shaun Goater and Stephen Ireland to Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.

Forgive me if I lack sympathy

United have spent royally in the last 5 years.
Isn't their net spend around £10m a year less than City?

So however you cut it (united not selling cheap or City giving golden handshakes) theres not much between them.

I assume the reason City give the golden handshakes is because they have players on ridiculous contracts and have to do that in order to move them on?

[Darbyand]

Yes and when people criticise City for spending big... they had to get from Shaun Goater and Stephen Ireland to Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.

Forgive me if I lack sympathy

Using UAE sovereign wealth of what.... £2bn? £3bn*? You're either ok with that or you're not but in either case it's artificial, not a building process like, say, Spurs. And it's looking likely to cost your club its second title in 5 years.

*Whilst our owners' takeover model has taken about £700-800m OUT of the club.

[Zimmerman]

However it has happened has been discussed to death.

Football has always been dominated by who spends the most.
Whether that is Fergie and United's global brand or Jack Walker's passion or Fulham or Wigan buying their way to the PL.

Self generated or not - its still being spent.

As for City - are they not relatively self sufficiently nowadays?
Winning titles and getting to the quarter finals of the CL must be generating a fair amount of dough?
Im sure the money they charge the ladies team is fully justified

[Darbyand]

Yes, like Chelsea they've spent outside money to become a 'big club' at least in terms of turnover. Funny how they often want to pull up the ladder after that i.e. Abramovic (sp) was a big fan of FFP IIRC.

Like Blackburn, I'll enjoy the slump when the sugar daddy gets bored but looks like it'll be a long wait.

[Zimmerman]

Yep, Roman, City and PSG having muscled their way to a place at the top table have all of sudden got very strong opinions on FFP.

One caveat is that Chelsea had manage to gatecrash the upper echelons before Roman started wafting his wallet around.
Sadly he enabled them to become a fixture rather than a failed assault ending in ruins a la Villa or Leeds.

[Darbyand]

Once again, IIRC, Cuddly Ken had saddled them with massive unsustainable debt that would had them on the brink of bankruptcy. Roman came in, wiped it out at a stroke and ploughed hundreds more millions in.

[Zimmerman]

Yep, that was my point; sans Roman their tilt for the top could have ended in bankruptcy and maybe relegation (who knows).

[forestfan]

That last day win over Liverpool to get them a CL place made his mind up about investing didn’t it? Without that they may have followed a very different path.

[blahblah]

Once again, IIRC, Cuddly Ken had saddled them with massive unsustainable debt that would had them on the brink of bankruptcy. Roman came in, wiped it out at a stroke and ploughed hundreds more millions in.

Didn't Harding step in first?

There has been a huge change from (usually local) people "investing" in the local Club for regional morale eg Cobbold in my once beloved; or the munitions factory in Woolwich, which isn't even in N London; the Iron works in WHam etc or Walker giving something back in Blackburn and wotshisname in Wigan to nowadays making money.

I'm genuinely not throwing stones re posting here: but M Edwards tried to sell 9.9% (?) to Sky before floating? And caused loads of Clubs to hit the Stock Market: are any still listed?

English Football is part of the Global Economy and the start of a World\European League, imho, and watching the Owners\Clubs make sure they are going to be in it has a certain appeal as Ipswich won't - but 30 odd years ago may have been

[blahblah]

That last day win over Liverpool to get them a CL place made his mind up about investing didn’t it? Without that they may have followed a very different path.

Newcastle were trying to sell themselves to him too?

Aside from that: on such margins lay SAF and the sack?

[forestfan]

That last day win over Liverpool to get them a CL place made his mind up about investing didn’t it? Without that they may have followed a very different path.

Newcastle were trying to sell themselves to him too?

Aside from that: on such margins lay SAF and the sack?

Exactly, and it was us that could supposedly have shown him the door by knocking them out of the FA Cup that they went on to win that year. “Three years of excuses and we’re still crap” said the banner, nobody gets away with three years of crapness these days...

I couldn’t remember who the other club Abramovich was considering was, if Liverpool were also on his shopping list had they made the top four instead.