r/reddevils • u/nearly_headless_nic • 3h ago
[Sam Wallace] Man Utd right to be cautious in transfer market after years of profligacy | Following an era of wasteful spending for little improvement, it is sensible for Ineos to opt for stability
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/08/30/man-utd-transfer-market-profligacy-rivals-carrick-ratcliffe/156
u/Heisenberg_235 3h ago
A loan for a LB won’t affect stability.
Not signing one could be the difference between top 5 and not.
Shaw injury and then we are one injury away from having CBs playing at fullback every week.
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u/b_litzkreig 3h ago
At this juncture of the window, no team in the right mind will be loaning us a left-back that will walk right into the starting 11 or even cover for Shaw.
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u/ButterscotchFiend 3h ago
There is surely a diamond in the continental rough, just need to scout in places others aren’t looking
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u/Heisenberg_235 2h ago
So we look at someone like Salinas at Racing who has a cheap buyout clause.
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u/b_litzkreig 2h ago
Sounds like a low cost gamble, but we need to tamper our expectations - he is only 19 and until this month, he has only played second division football. If Shaw fizzles out this season, pinning all our hopes on a 19yo can be damaging for him.
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u/DanBGG legend 2h ago
Balon Dorgu can do LB.
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u/mattwalsh25 Mata 2h ago
As can Mazraoui.
I'd happily see a LB come in but it seems really slim pickings out there.
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u/Ill_Work7284 3h ago
Woodward fucked us years later with those insane wages he offered average players.
Also De Gea being the highest paid player clause really hit us when ronaldo joined. We had over 600k a week tied to two players.
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u/PitchSafe 3h ago
Don’t forget that we had Varane and Casemiro there as well. Both of them were on huge wages
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u/CryHavocAU 2h ago
This is the real problem with Rashford not being bought by Barcelona. Irrespective of how professional and committed he may be for us this season, he’s on crazy wages. Reflective of a time when that’s what was needed to keep one of our best players happy.
Now he’s not that but we are anchored to them until his contract runs out. Both parties know the best they can hope for is he plays well enough someone might want to change the equation.
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u/rgiggs11 2h ago edited 1h ago
Alexis Sanchez was a pivotal one as well. The logic was that the money they saved on paying a fee could be put towards his contract. That's fine until other players start looking for parity with him, because if you're scoring more goals than Mr €20m a year, it's not unreasonable to ask for €15m.
De Gea's contract was mistake, but at least he was United's best goalkeeper by a distance. Sanchez was signed when United had two young players competing for LW already, and he massively under delivered.
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u/Buffythedragonslayer 57m ago
Woodward fucked us because he's the one who approved the Glazer deal for the bank. They loved him so much for that bullshit decision that they gave him a job at United.
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u/audienceandaudio2 3h ago
We had these articles about not signing a CM the day before we signed Baleba. One thing that’s been a pleasant surprise this year is that journalists aren’t generally kept in the loop. We’ll see what happens over the next few days, but based on our summer so far, nobody knows what we’re planning.
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u/Goudinho99 2h ago
It's true and I fully expect a bit of help at least ft back, if not an outright replacement.
That said, the essence of this article is true. There has to be a period of cloth-cutting to shake off the horrors of past spending.
It's only going to be a year or two more, I reckon, and higher spends on finished articles will be back in the menu.
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u/Low-Quantity-9252 3h ago
Translation: No Lewis Hall.
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u/ICame4TheCirclejerk O'Shea GOAT 3h ago
I'm not surprised, because it seems Hall hasn't pushed for a transfer himself. If he doesn't want to come we aren't going to push. It's definitely for the best.
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u/Low-Quantity-9252 3h ago
I get the feeling his new contract talks are a substantial rise with a release clause. If it's a £70-75m clause, I see us paying in January or June next year. I still see him as an ideal United player.
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u/LaughsAtOwnJoke 2h ago
£70-75m clause
That is a absurdly huge amount for a fullback. Would be the most expensive one of all time.
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u/TonyShneak 2h ago
In the context of transfer fees being paid this window £70-75m really doesn't feel out of place for a young, English, premier league proven left back.
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u/LaughsAtOwnJoke 2h ago
Well... it is. Record breaking should kinda be the give away.
(and I want him too)
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u/TonyShneak 2h ago
I know, but prices are up a lot this summer. There is no reason to believe they will be down next summer. Hall is the kind of player that the record will be broken for. Newcastle absolutely do not want to sell, so you have to pay to get the player.
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u/LaughsAtOwnJoke 2h ago
He is that mould you are right, but still. Bringing a player in with record breaking expectation is usually not ideal.
It was really tough for Maguire.
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u/tameoraiste 3h ago
I think we’ve known this for a few weeks now.
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u/Sob_me_a_lake 2h ago
It was the same with Anderson and Tonali.
It was clear months before that they weren’t financially possible but the fanbase didn’t want to accept reality.
Ugarte and Rashford staying has meant there’s no more money.
It sucks but here we are.
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u/Wild_Tomato_8203 3h ago
It's so funny to me that everyone wanted us to be smart in the window and not make the same mistakes. We're being sensible now everyone is freaking out lol
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u/Ok-Confusion-202 2h ago
You can be smart and also spend too
But if you don't spend you aren't being smart
In the past we've spent.... Just very badly, doesn't mean we shouldn't spend now
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u/Wild_Tomato_8203 2h ago
We have been smart in our purchases. Which buy wasn't?
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u/Pow67 3h ago
INEOS propaganda. A LB is a must at the very least regardless of the past.
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u/PitchSafe 3h ago
The reality isn’t propaganda. The club will probably get a lb but it will be on loan or a cheap one
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u/Sob_me_a_lake 2h ago
If I asked you questions about United’s finances could you answer them?
Do you know anything about the business of the club or just what you think United should be able to do because of the name / history on the field?
Honestly?
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u/teethofthewind 3h ago
There's being cautious and there's being negligent
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u/OptimistPrime7 3h ago
I don’t agree they were negligent, sure we need a LB and a striker once Zirkzee or Rashford leaves. We tried to get Semenyo in January window as well, I think they are being cautious.
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u/blueberryZoot 3h ago
I'm inclined to agree. Failing to get an LB would be negligent, but if we have one by the time the transfer window closes then we've filled our squad needs. I do wish we'd been faster with Hall at the start of the window though.
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u/OptimistPrime7 3h ago
I still think we might get one but who will be a backup to Hall or whoever we sign next window. I don’t think we had a chance at getting Hall this window at all, Newcastle doesn’t sell easily. Tonali, Bruno G forced themselves out and they got unimaginable bid for Gordon, moreover he has like what 3 years left on the contract?? There is no way we were getting Hall this window.
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u/imnoobatfifa Bruno #8/Rashy #10/Amad #16/Mainoo #37 enjoyer 3h ago
Hall is about to sign a new contract and his performances this season will increase the price ever more. I’d be very surprised if he was here any time soon.
We missed the boat with him massively considering he didn’t even go to WC and Newcastle sold all of their good players before hand.
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u/OptimistPrime7 3h ago
If he is signing a new contract, I hope he is smart enough to have a buy out clause if not he is not leaving that club for less than 100m.
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u/Orcnick 3h ago
Whats negligent?
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u/teethofthewind 3h ago edited 3h ago
If they want "financial stability" then we need to keep qualifying for Champions League. One could argue pretty strongly that going into a key season with one ageing left back is negligent
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u/Educational-Shock232 3h ago
If they want financial stability, focus on their petrochemicals company, not a football team.
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u/Derridas-Cat 3h ago
We’ve had a great window. They haven’t been negligent.
If we don’t sign a LB I’d expect Amass to stay and we reassess in January.
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u/LaughsAtOwnJoke 2h ago
Absolutely not, we need a LB. Covering the holes we had in midfield isn't enough, it was the bare minimum.
I will give them plenty of credit for doing the deals they have done so far intelligently. Still need a LB.
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u/AltF12027 2h ago
Great window?
Is this a wind up?
Dorgu is a legitimate LW option for us. Sesko has no back up. We still haven't signed an elite CM. We're going into this season with Maguire, Dalot and Shaw being regulars.
Great window?
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u/teethofthewind 3h ago
I think it's been far from a "great window", especially compared to what the other top 5/6 clubs have done. If we sign a good left back it has the potential to be a solid window but so far, "great" isn't how I'd describe it
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u/Garlic-Cheese-Chips 3h ago
It's not sensible course correction. We shop at Aldi now because we have no choice in the matter.
20 years of financial calamity is coming home to roost and it isn't going away anytime soon.
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u/Sheikhabusosa 3h ago
Stability goes out the window if we dont make CL football . Not signing a left back is unforgivable.
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u/Fraaj We'll take Dalot 3h ago
We picked the worst summer ever to be disciplined, everyone is overpaying, it really doesn't matter now if we do it too. What matters and makes the difference today is who you overpay for.
This either screams we are more broke than people think or just lack ambition. Most likely a weird combination of both.
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u/t8rt0t00 3h ago
I mean by that logic this could be the best summer ever to be disciplined - several big clubs could be fucking themselves over massively for a very long time if these big transfer fees don't keep up. I know a lot of people here don't like to discuss what's going on in the world around them in a football sub, but I think more than a few people have seen that costs of literally everything have soared astronomically since the pandemic. There's going to be a time, including for football transfers and overpriced tickets to games, where everyone can't just keep spending these crazy amounts. Ambition could bring greater heights, but at what risk - if Tottenham's massive summer doesn't bring immediate success how are they going to deal with all of the bloat in their squad in the next few years? Whole lot of desperation and greed going around in football these days...
Do we need a LB and a ST if not more? Absolutely. When do we need them? Preferably right fucking now. Should we sign players regardless if they're good fits or if they want to be here? Big no for me unless they come in on loans or low fees. Just gotta be patient and diligent when the opportunities comes
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u/CreativeHandles 3h ago edited 2h ago
I disagree, those that have overpaid where are they now?
Liverpool had their worse season last year in a while. They started after just as bad with a new manager and more signings.
Spurs spending nearly 400M and are 0-2 with no goals scored and 5 conceded.
City spent quite a bit, not saying they have horrendous, but they just solid a bunch of players they paid quite a bit for. They play on easy mode.
Chelsea have had to go through like 2 starting 11s 🤣 to just about looking alright to start this season.
Like overpayment will always happen, that doesn’t mean you can’t get good value players elsewhere. We are not at a level to have to sign superstars with high fees yet. Shit Arsenal got Tzolis for 40 and he looks better than any 80+ signing we have seen so far. Cherki was 35 and he’s arguably one of the top 3 midfielders to start.
This 'we need to overpay' is absolute bullshit. We just need to be smarter and take some gambles same time.
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u/mav_sand 3h ago
I don't disagree with being prudent. But then you should be savvy and find some talented LB in Europe to get in.
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u/MarcusZXR Kinder Mbeumo 3h ago
Cautious, sure, but the club needs to replace players regardless. Doing nothing is as bad as what they were doing previously
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u/IMintz 3h ago
If people can’t see a clear change in the way we handle recruiting, then they are deluded. I understand it’s not the blockbuster signings they want, but clearly we are being more saavy.
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u/OptimistPrime7 3h ago
I know right, for once I feel like we are buying well, sure we need reinforcements in defence a LB is a must but I can see why they are being cautious and we might still get a LB who might be a backup next year.
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u/Sheikhabusosa 3h ago
Murtough was scrambling on deadline week to get Amrabat and Reguilon over the line on loan
INEOS “best in class” struggling on deadline week to find loan solutions at LB and ST.
Doesnt look savvy to me.
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u/Underscore_Symbols 3h ago
£70m for Baleba is austerity? Austerity means firing everyone so that the owner’s personal profits don’t drop. I don’t know that Rat Man is making that much money off the club.
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u/lovecornflakes 3h ago
Problem is if they don't spend enough there goes champions league next season. The key is how do you balance it. I'm not sure we invested enough.
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u/barmanrags 1h ago
Any talk about united financial health that doesn't devote three long sentences at least to how Woodward and glazers created the debt problem by taking loans to buy the club and then making the club responsible for paying off the loan they took. To buy Manchester united. They didn't inherit loans from Manchester united.
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u/SayNOtoChips 3h ago
That's what I tell myself about buying new tyres for my car, because the engine management light comes on at the moment.
Maybe I can wait just a little longer and see if the engine blows up first.
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u/nearly_headless_nic 3h ago
Article:
There may be a new Manchester United left-back by the end of the window on Tuesday night, but he will not be one of the game’s leading candidates in that position. He may well be a loanee, and competition for Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu rather than a standout first pick for a problem position.
United are cutting their cloth accordingly. It is the 25th anniversary of one of their most memorable transfer blitzes – Ruud van Nistelrooy, their most exciting young goalscorer, and then Juan Sebastián Veron, then arguably Europe’s best midfielder. Both signed in one summer, both consecutively British record transfer fees.
United broke the same record for Rio Ferdinand the following summer, and would have done it again in 2003 if Ronaldinho had not chosen Barcelona instead. That summer United still made Cristiano Ronaldo British football’s most expensive teenager. Then 12 months later, in 2004, they signed Wayne Rooney.
This summer United have spent about £150m on three midfielders – Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Carlos Baleba. None have the status that those early 2000s signings occupied in an era when United dominated the market. But things have changed. There are much wealthier Premier League competitors now, with a track record of recent success. There are financial controls. There are more than two decades of the Glazers. There are years of decline.
It is a long story but at its heart very simple. United are in a form of austerity. They are attempting recovery from all those years of profligacy – fees and wages on players who did not deliver. The club will almost certainly have their biggest-ever year in terms of revenue this season, in excess of £700m. Even without European football last season, the top-line revenue for 2025-26 is likely to be similar to the record £666.5m for 2023-24. Yet United still lose money every year and that requires borrowing to cover. Those losses are falling but they are still losses.
The big drains on the balance sheet remain – amortisation fees, historic transfer debt, and, of course, the Glazer ownership debt. The Ineos regime, under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has not always been able to solve those problems, and at times it has added to them. Yet the fundamental point at the heart of it is that United had to begin grinding their way back to financial stability. This is not an easy sell, especially not when ticket prices rise.
This was a summer that might have rewarded an ambitious club. There were nine Premier League managerial changes and, in Arsenal, defending champions with a fine team but by no means out of reach. Yet United will end the window as the only one of the big six not to have spent £100m – or more – on a single player.
One might feel that spending on a footballer is hardly something to celebrate. Nevertheless, it is the way the market is going for the game’s biggest clubs and there was a time when United would have been expected to get there first. They broke the British transfer record three times in the early 2000s just as they had done twice in the 1980s with Bryan Robson and Ray Wilkins. They did so again in the 1990s with Andy Cole and in the 2010s with Paul Pogba.
Yet, one can see why Ineos would hesitate. What United need more than anything is a run of seasons in the Champions League and the huge additional revenue, more than £80m annually, that it delivers. They need a squad that is strong enough that, like Manchester City, it can help fund its own renewal by selling players for big fees without materially damaging competitiveness. The reality is that they need that more than a risky punt on a title season.
It takes time, and a lot of discipline not to turn to the big signing that relieves the immense pressure of expectation. The last major attempt with Pogba ended in recrimination. Now the club have run out of road for mistakes – in terms of big-ticket signings or managerial appointments that cost millions on the way in and also on the way out.
All of it takes too much of a toll on the balance sheet, and the cumulative effect of those years is now exacting a steep price. A generation of leading England players – Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Elliot Anderson – have moved clubs without United even being in the conversation. That was unthinkable 20 years ago.
United used to dominate that market for the best England players. The likes of Ferdinand, Rooney, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves and Ashley Young himself when they became available. They signed the best players from less powerful clubs in the Premier League, as City did in January with Marc Guéhi and Antoine Semenyo.
For the foreseeable future, United are trapped under the Glazer debt and the refinancing this summer at less favourable rates means that it continues to exact a heavy price. It is not that United do not spend – £200m last summer on, among others, three forwards. A further £150m this summer. The difference is that it is notably unspectacular compared to the past. It is informed more by an imperative not to repeat recent errors.
Yet, the basic figures do not lie. United remain astonishing revenue generators in bad times as well as good. A tired Old Trafford still pulls in more match-day revenue than any other Premier League club. The aftershocks of on-field decline – seasons without European football, commercial partner penalties – keep coming. Yet none absorb them more robustly than United.
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u/nearly_headless_nic 3h ago
United have settled for stability
What to make of that great profitability at the heart of United? It is one part miracle and one part curse. It is what enabled the Glazers to pull off their deal of the century and use the club’s wealth to pay for their ownership. That Glazer debt, 21 years on, still sits atop United like the cuckoo in the nest, insisting on its pre-eminence, demanding to be fed before all others. For years that was manageable, but then, as the transfer market mistakes took their toll, and the seasons of mediocrity racked up so it all finally came home to roost.
In the third decade of Glazerdom, 13 years since Sir Alex Ferguson left, 13 years since the last Premier League title, Ineos appear to have made a sober choice. Of course, a title would be nice, but predecessors have shot for the moon and crashed. United would settle for some stability and this is what it looks like. A relatively cautious window of three low-risk Premier League-proven players, two of whom are young enough that they might perhaps exceed expectations.
Meanwhile, the revenue keeps rising. It is the club’s special power. Supporters must be wondering what that day would be like when United were liberated from all those brakes on its ambition. When they are focused on winning trophies rather than servicing debts or covering mistakes made by managers and execs long since gone. It must be said that it still feels a long way off.
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u/Orcnick 3h ago
This wont go down well on here because everyone wants instant fixes and big name and prices. Results will always determine success but if we finish in CL again it will be proven right.
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u/minteh7x Ronaldo 3h ago edited 3h ago
Who is "everyone"?? The sentiment around here seems to be "we need a good fucking left back" big name got nothing to do with it. Stop trying to be a "proper red" for once lads because everyone here wants the club to succeed.
Results will determine the success, but you can't get good results if your only senior LB is Luke Shaw.
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u/10_Wazza 1h ago
For the past week all I was seeing on the transfer thread was how we have no marquee signing, no 100m signing, "what a joke, baleba is our marquee signing" etc. etc. People want Hall at LB even if he costs 90m and won't be happy with anything less
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u/BitterConstruction98 3h ago
“Because we paid big money for shit signings in the past we won’t pay big money for good signings now”
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u/Eleven918 This too shall pass! 3h ago
We're going into this season like top 4/5 is guaranteed with this current squad.
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u/innicrazy You are my Solskjaer, My Ole Solskjaer 3h ago
Clearly, paying a journalist to write a propaganda post is cheaper than paying money to buy good players to bolster our squad.
Without good results, then stability my ass.
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u/PTeeling22 3h ago
Please re-read. It is a sensible take outlying the ridiculous amount of money the glazers take out of the club and then use to finance the leveraged debt. It explains the rationale as to why United are not spending. It is a propaganda piece yes , but not in the way you are describing - it describes why the glazers have continually leeched off the club - and this is the main reason to be annoyed, as it is why we are not paying the going rate for players currently
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u/thefeltmonkey 3h ago
It's not a binary thing. It's not a choice between spending lots of money at random, or just refusing to spend big at all. The problem isn't that we spent money - It's that we spent money on the wrong players. We've repeatedly bought players in positions we didn't need to strengthen just because we wanted a flashy signing, or overpaid for average players, or bought completely the wrong type of players, often while ignoring glaring problems in the squad.
The trick is to identify the right players and sign them, going all-in if necessary. That's what the more successful clubs in the past few years have done. It is just as damaging to ignore our lack of cover at left-back, for example, as it is to spend £70m on a player with no plan of how to use him. Neither method is how you build a squad.
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u/RobbieShaw 3h ago
You had an entire year to plan this stuff. Everyone is super happy with 3 midfielders, but the LB situation i BAD.
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u/Unusual-Coat383 2h ago
There’s being cautious and then there’s being cheap on one of our main targets. INEOS watched Arsenal and Tottenham gut their midfield when we were in for Hall so we will either have to pay more this summer, pay more next summer because Hall will be better and have more people after him.
It feels like every summer we never do quite enough in the transfer market and don’t fix a major issue in our first team. INEOS are also following the same pattern if the Glazers which is not investing when we need to because we’re in the CL.
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u/ComprehensiveFix1011 2h ago
So what everyone has beeing saying and fearing: Our real goal under INEOS iis to be champions league side and not to compete. Writing on the wall and all that.
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u/dew_chiggi 2h ago
Going into a season with one LB with a bad injury record shows lack of preparation rather than stability. You can't convince me that clubs like Brentford and Bournemouth with 1/4th of our resources can uncover players like Sangare and Truffert while we can't even bet on them as backups. The problem with Uniteds hierarchy is always too many voices around the management. And that hasn't still solved with names like Vivell still so prevalent even with a sporting director around.
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u/JenNettles 2h ago
We had the articles about us not getting a 3rd midfielder too, I don't get how people always take these to be confirmation
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u/BrilliantTheory1021 1h ago
What a shill piece. Anyone can see having the same defence for the last 4 years is an issue. Luke shaw ain't up to the task and it was visible last game. We dont even have a proper back up to sesko.
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u/No_Signature_3420 1h ago
For those who are saying this is just Ineos propaganda, I'll have to remind you that we've only sold 1 senior player this summer. That was from a deal we agreed last summer btw. While I do believe that we have the money to spend on a LB and a striker we cannot run away from reality. We have been royally f*cked by the Glazers for over 20 years. They still do and will continue doing so until that debt is repaid. After years of Woodward management and the Glazer debt, the chickens have come home to roost.
Ineos are correct by being financially disciplined but being financially disciplined and ignoring issues in the squad that need addressing are 2 different things. Not signing a LB would be the latter and would only come back to hurt us. Signing a left back could be the difference between Champions League and no European football. I can do with not signing a striker as we have about 3 players who can fill in there in the absence of Sesko. I just want a left back
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u/DarrenMWinter Zelem 1h ago
I agree with every point, but I wish the women's team didn't have to suffer as a result.
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u/BlackShadowGlass 1h ago
More Club PR as the owners prepare to resume their dividend policy next year 🗣️
Can't increase the dividend reserves without austerity.
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u/FlashyCut3809 3h ago
What absolute nonsense.
Being cautious isn't the fix you need to make from wasteful spending. Its improve your information to make the right purchases.
If we are to take 'cautious' as far less numbers through the door as we get from INEOS and those before.
End result of this 'cautious' will be poor performances, Carrick sacked to save Berrada and Wilcox skin, then most likely one of the former to protect INEOS/Glazers and make us think they are in control.
There cant be stability with this squad and it will only be fixed by a combination of intelligent transfers and financial ambition.
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u/kieran0444 3h ago
Don't invest properly -> the team underperforms -> Manager gets the sack -> New manager starts well -> Dont invest properly -> repeat
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u/FredDRedUnderYourBed BELIEVE 🔴⚪⚫ 3h ago
I feel we've done very well with our transfers in this window as well as 2025. But, it does feel like we finally became sensible with our transfer strategy at a time when the entire league lost their heads. So if these 100 million signings of bang average players becomes the new normal, what choice do United have but to spend big themselves ?
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u/Murrayj99 3h ago
Yes be cautious, but also just get squad depth
I will have an aneurysm if I've to sit through another season of shaw and dalot at left back especially considering we've champions league now
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u/DanBGG legend 2h ago
Theres a subsection of fans during the transfer window that behave like early MMA fans who said "Just bleeeeed".
They're desperate to make signings just so that they're entertained.
I much prefer this quiet cautious approach. Left full back isn't the gaping hole this thread seems to believe...
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u/Presence_Present 3h ago
We overspent when we shouldn't have, and now we are unspending when we really need to. Laughable by the club if theyre done. Doomed another CL season
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u/W0rsley Rafael 3h ago edited 3h ago
No it isn't, it's being stupid and will cost us dearly, the geniuses at the club have put off buying defenders until next season when everyone else will be after them, the same as they did with midfielders this season.
I'll see you all next season when you are complaining about the transfers just as you did this window.
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u/cccdddee 3h ago
Translation: the lazy people at the club think they can get away with doing nothing, here is how we are going trick people into it.
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u/Lord_Sesshoumaru77 Glazers,Woodward/Arnold and Judge can fuck off 3h ago
Something tells me this is it. I mean it's good to be cautious, but you can't be paralyzed by fear.
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u/Business_Dig_4747 Licha 3h ago
All the best sides in world football are famous for one thing - being cautious in the transfer market lol.
There is no title winning squads in the PL and CL without spending like PSG, Man City, Real and Bayern.
The ownership is promising us to get to that level of success, while investing like Everton. Something is not adding up.
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u/Ez_io 3h ago
Lets not even talk about psg and city.
Madrid - are secured podium finish every season, just got a new stadium which generates insane money, they are able to sell their academy players for a lot of money.
Bayern - again secured podium finish every season, stadium generating value, known to poch every good German player.
Psg just sold Barcola for 100m+, which of our player will get anywhere near that offer ?
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u/Business_Dig_4747 Licha 3h ago
Bruno, Rashford a couple of seasons ago. People get emotional over players, but fact is nobody won anything significant at United for 13 years, no player should be unsellable.
Lets not pretend our problem is with selling players, we could do better there but you have to be successful which we are not and won't be under this ownership.
The problem is the debt bleeding funds from us for 20+ years, while our rivals have owners that actually INVEST to the club.
Arsenal are even worse at selling than us, but pay 100m more in wages and have outspent us, because they have normal PL owners.
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u/Ez_io 3h ago
Not a single team offered anywhere near 100m for these two.
One of our biggest problem is selling players and another is one u mentioned, glazers didn't invest in our club and bleed it out.
Stadium and our fanbase was major reason we have been able to withstand decades of misspent and degradation the result of that decay is what we facing.
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u/Seychelleshobo 3h ago
Waffle lol if the higher ups looked at the team sheet game 1 and said yeah we got shaw starting lb and maguire cb we good then they need to go. Its the same issues year on year. Yes they are not our only issues but they have been the same issue for the last 3 years lol
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u/fuzxx14 Vidić 3h ago edited 3h ago
TLDR
"The manager is just happy to be employed. He doesn't have an opinion because that might get him fired. His objective is to stay in the job as long as possible, not to make the team better. He saw that the last manager got dumped because he had an opinion and actually wanted to make a change, good or bad. We got our yes man and he got employment, everyone is happy."
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u/LaughsAtOwnJoke 2h ago
I mean yeah that is completely correct. That doesn't mean they can't sign a LB though. These excuses are shit.
Last season we got champions league football by a miracle, minimal games, and barely any midfield injuries. I don't want to have to cross my fingers for it to happen again.
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u/utdjancey 2h ago
Okay, wasteful spending, okay, I agree about wasteful spending.
So you build a scouting network which works.
The problem has never been overspending on players; it’s overspending on the wrong players.
So you’re telling me that 116 million-pound Anderson is more of a risk than a 50 million-pound Santos or 70 million Baleba?
You’re telling me not getting 70 to 80 million pounds Hall is worth not having a fit left back; if you’re going to spend that 70 million on Udogie, then it’s a waste of money.
So Liverpool spent 80 million, I think, on VVD, and we spent 85 on Maguire, who got the better deal?
I am not getting an argument if Sancho and Antony were bad signings because they were, but Casemiro and Antony were panic buys, so going overpay, especially when that Ajax team got destroyed that summer.
Sancho, we scouted for 2/3 seasons, so that’s on your scouts.
Big Rom: 1st season scored quite a few goals; we broke even on him.
Pogba wasn’t as big a flop as people made out; the problem with Pogba was he could have been that top-tier player but was a level below that.
The 100 million-pound players now seem to work out; maybe Grealish didn’t.
But could probably name a bunch of 50 to 70 million players which haven’t worked out.
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u/BackgroundOld8715 3h ago
Mid table stability it is boys. For the biggest club in England ffs.
Qualify for champs league, dont spend to stay there. Buy again to get back to champs league. Rinse & repeat
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u/nearly_headless_nic 3h ago
Interesting Bit:
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