⚽ Football (Soccer)

[Hunter Rider]

Looking at today's results it's starting to shape into a 2 horse race for the PL, City are starting to build some momentum, but I don't think Arsenal will ever have a better chance to win the PL than this season and i hope they do, but Arteta has turned them into a joyless side to watch. Obviously you can't rule out Aston Villa, and Liverpool have frustratingly steadied the ship lol, but I think it'll be the Gunners or 115.

The surprise of the season so far has been Sunderland, not only the excellent results, but the quality of the football the team is playing, it'll be interesting to see how Regis Le Bris deals with having so many players at AFCON.

The farce of the season has been Nottingham Forest, the owner sacks the most successful manager they've had since Cloughie because he wants more exciting football, replaces him with Postecoglou who he sacks after 8 games, only to replace him with Sean Dyche, one of the dullest managers in PL history, the heir to Tony Pulis long ball throne, and now they're getting solid results again and have got some breathing room between them and the bottom 3.

 

[BlackFox]

Yeah some tough games coming up for us now so its hard to see where the next 3 points comes from and without some of our best performers as well, not good timing. At least we dont just give up in games when things go against us like prior seasons but we need to make some changes in January if we can to improve on weak arears. Midfield needs urgent attention.

 

[Zantera]

Arsenal seem to have hit a rough patch despite picking up wins. Needed a penalty against Everton (who in their turn maybe should have had a penalty that wasn't ruled) and needed 2 own goals to beat Wolves. But their fixtures over Christmas look fairly decent so they can probably keep picking up some 3 pointers. City look quite good and not the team you want breathing down your necks.

My money would still be on City to win it. It's like the saying that history is bound to repeat itself. We've seen Arsenal crumble under pressure time and time again, similarly we've seen Man City become a machine during the 2nd half of the season year after year. They know how to win the titles and it's just what they do. It's just a difference in mentality. Arsenal can still win it of course but breaking those barriers and doing it the first time is a hurdle to get over.

Today will be the first game I can actually watch us for maybe a month? All these stupid Monday games don't gel with my work schedule very well. I wish I was feeling more hyped but we've pissed away unnecessary points against teams we should beat at home (West Ham, Bournemouth for example) and now we play Aston Villa in crazy form... away. Even a draw today wouldn't do much for us in the table so it's a weird one where I expect us to lose (playing a better team away) but we'd have to somehow take the 3 points to win some ground in the table.

 

[Hunter Rider]

No Kobbie even in the squad today, just a **** load of crappy defenders and Ugarte, who's barely a footballer. If Villa don't smoke us comfortably then questions need to be asked, our bench is like the Sahara desert.

 

[BlackFox]

Yeah no surprise at the loss today in the end at Villa, they are in far better form than us and without as many holes in their squad. Amorim is starting to look a little shaky again it seems. Not really working at the moment with whatever he is trying.

 

[B]

Truth be told, I think we played reasonably well today even with a depleted squad & an extremely youthful bench. A draw probably would have been a fair result if life was fair, but it isn't & 2 great goals from Rogers was basically the difference between the teams.

Fernandes's first real injury probably since he arrived at the club couldn't have come at a worse time with so many others going to AFCON. Not to mention Mainoo's injury which you couldn't write, kid's hardly had a kick all season & should be well rested, likely would have started today & allegedly picks up some sort of calf injury.

Martinez actually did very well as a CDM I thought when he came on for Fernandes, was neat & tidy with the ball, broke up play several times.. he actually put Ugarte to shame who had a poor game largely due to his persistent fouling. He does get about & puts himself in good positions for ground duels, but he just commits too many fouls in the process of competing in those duels to ever be truly depended on. Once he's booked he almost always has to be subbed immediately because he's such a red card risk. He was probably lucky to avoid a booking for as long as he did today as he must have had 4 or 5 fouls quite comfortably before being booked.

Martinez though actually looked quite composed overall, I think he made one error trying to be too cute with the ball but he actually seemed to provide some coolness & composure in the midfield under pressure that we've not seen since Matic played for us. I wouldn't honestly hate if Martinez started as a CDM against Newcastle after that cameo performances today. I'd probably pair him begrudgingly with Ugarte as Newcastle, until he picks up his obligatory yellow card anyway, as Newcastle are a very physical team & having those 2 would hopefully protect Yoro/Heaven/Shaw who are quite a technical & for lack of a better word, soft, back 3.

Cunha played well, not having Mbeumo or Fernandes available will likely mean our tactics for the next month will be, win ball, look up, pass to Cunha.. which he'll love as the second he picks the ball up he's looking to drive forward with the ball or if he can see daylight between the blockade in front of him towards the goal he immediately is looking to shoot.

I see the talk of Ruben Neves has resurfaced for a potential January deal, should have signed him before he went to Saudi, but if the deals £20m as reported, I think that's a very good deal considering he's still in his prime years. He'd need to take a massive paycut though to join, we shouldn't pick him up if he has to be made one of the clubs top earners & we end up with another Casemiro contract.
I'd also float the idea with Al-Hilal about maybe taking Ugarte or Casemiro, not in January unless we're signing replacements also now, but in the summer.

Regardless of what happens with Mainoo's situation, we should be in the market for 2 CM's in the summer. Neves, if available for £20m in January, would be a good piece of business IMO.

 

[Zantera]

I don't even think we played bad today, in fact I thought we were the slightly better team overall. At times we even looked good. But a game is decided in the final third (both ways) and Villa has Rodgers who is one of the best players in the league at the moment - scoring 2 great goals for them. Meanwhile we need so many chances to get anything out of them.

Don't want to slag off Dorgu and Dalot but like, I can't think of any wide players charging down the flanks that would strike less fear into the opposition. It's like 1 out of 10 crosses might find a teamplayer and most of the time they decide to stop dead in their tracks and pass the ball backwards because they don't have that "killer instinct" in their tool kit. They get into positions where you want to see them just drive past a defender, actually hit a good pass into the box resulting in a goal but it just feels so toothless.

Hopefully Bruno's injury isn't too serious. Could be Mainoo's chance to get some gametime unless he's already shot himself in the foot with his attitude off the pitch.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Truth be told, I think we played reasonably well today even with a depleted squad & an extremely youthful bench. A draw probably would have been a fair result if life was fair, but it isn't & 2 great goals from Rogers was basically the difference between the teams.

Fernandes's first real injury probably since he arrived at the club couldn't have come at a worse time with so many others going to AFCON. Not to mention Mainoo's injury which you couldn't write, kid's hardly had a kick all season & should be well rested, likely would have started today & allegedly picks up some sort of calf injury.

Martinez actually did very well as a CDM I thought when he came on for Fernandes, was neat & tidy with the ball, broke up play several times.. he actually put Ugarte to shame who had a poor game largely due to his persistent fouling. He does get about & puts himself in good positions for ground duels, but he just commits too many fouls in the process of competing in those duels to ever be truly depended on. Once he's booked he almost always has to be subbed immediately because he's such a red card risk. He was probably lucky to avoid a booking for as long as he did today as he must have had 4 or 5 fouls quite comfortably before being booked.

Martinez though actually looked quite composed overall, I think he made one error trying to be too cute with the ball but he actually seemed to provide some coolness & composure in the midfield under pressure that we've not seen since Matic played for us. I wouldn't honestly hate if Martinez started as a CDM against Newcastle after that cameo performances today. I'd probably pair him begrudgingly with Ugarte as Newcastle, until he picks up his obligatory yellow card anyway, as Newcastle are a very physical team & having those 2 would hopefully protect Yoro/Heaven/Shaw who are quite a technical & for lack of a better word, soft, back 3.

Cunha played well, not having Mbeumo or Fernandes available will likely mean our tactics for the next month will be, win ball, look up, pass to Cunha.. which he'll love as the second he picks the ball up he's looking to drive forward with the ball or if he can see daylight between the blockade in front of him towards the goal he immediately is looking to shoot.

I see the talk of Ruben Neves has resurfaced for a potential January deal, should have signed him before he went to Saudi, but if the deals £20m as reported, I think that's a very good deal considering he's still in his prime years. He'd need to take a massive paycut though to join, we shouldn't pick him up if he has to be made one of the clubs top earners & we end up with another Casemiro contract.
I'd also float the idea with Al-Hilal about maybe taking Ugarte or Casemiro, not in January unless we're signing replacements also now, but in the summer.

Regardless of what happens with Mainoo's situation, we should be in the market for 2 CM's in the summer. Neves, if available for £20m in January, would be a good piece of business IMO.

I don't even think we played bad today, in fact I thought we were the slightly better team overall. At times we even looked good. But a game is decided in the final third (both ways) and Villa has Rodgers who is one of the best players in the league at the moment - scoring 2 great goals for them. Meanwhile we need so many chances to get anything out of them.

Don't want to slag off Dorgu and Dalot but like, I can't think of any wide players charging down the flanks that would strike less fear into the opposition. It's like 1 out of 10 crosses might find a teamplayer and most of the time they decide to stop dead in their tracks and pass the ball backwards because they don't have that "killer instinct" in their tool kit. They get into positions where you want to see them just drive past a defender, actually hit a good pass into the box resulting in a goal but it just feels so toothless.

Hopefully Bruno's injury isn't too serious. Could be Mainoo's chance to get some gametime unless he's already shot himself in the foot with his attitude off the pitch.

I was pissed off yesterday as I thought we were definitely worth at least a point, we had 5 starters missing and no senior CB, but we controlled the bulk of the game, and while they were 2 good strikes from Rodgers, he never should have had acres of space and time to take the shots, Yoro was way too passive, and just trotted alongside him. Conversely I thought Heaven was good, there's obviously naive moments in his play, but he made a couple of excellent defensive blocks early yesterday, and he uses the ball well, once he gets more experienced and adds a bit of muscle, he's going to be very good Imo.

Can't solely blame Yoro though, Cunha had a good game yesterday but he missed an absolute sitter with that header from about 6-8 yards out. The other big performance yesterday was undoubtedly Martinez, listening to the clueless goofs on sky talking like they had no idea he's played DM regularly in the past, only Keane seemed aware, I swear they hire Merson just to keep his dumb ass off the streets. Martinez was excellent, both positionally, and on the ball, he's a quality passer, I'd definitely partner him with Casemiro on Boxing Day.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I see the talk of Ruben Neves has resurfaced for a potential January deal, should have signed him before he went to Saudi, but if the deals £20m as reported, I think that's a very good deal considering he's still in his prime years. He'd need to take a massive paycut though to join, we shouldn't pick him up if he has to be made one of the clubs top earners & we end up with another Casemiro contract.
I'd also float the idea with Al-Hilal about maybe taking Ugarte or Casemiro, not in January unless we're signing replacements also now, but in the summer.

Regardless of what happens with Mainoo's situation, we should be in the market for 2 CM's in the summer. Neves, if available for £20m in January, would be a good piece of business IMO.

I just wanted to reply to this separately, I agree with you on Neves, as long as it's £20M and a reasonable contract, nothing silly. He also should only be considered a preemptive signing to replace Ugarte, who should be sold next summer, he shouldn't count as one of the 2 premium CM's we need to buy in the summer.

Speaking of which, I really hope we don't go for Baleba, we've had too many players with weak mentalities, and he's been crap for Brighton this season, after not getting his move in the summer, if he wilts that easily, then he'll get cooked in the fishbowl pressure of United. We should be going all out for Elliot Anderson, then look at possibly Wharton or Stiller.

 

[Zantera]

I think the first Rodgers goal kinda sums up what we miss in our team. He just barely kept the ball alive from going out of play, then he just barrels forward, goes inwards and takes a shot with confidence that is just unreachable for any goalkeeper. It's the kind of confidence and quality you want in a wide player (yes I know Rodgers sometimes plays more centrally) to just take players on and go for a goal and hit it like prime Bale would do (but with his left foot).

And I don't even want to say Dorgu or Dalot were bad yesterday but I get so frustrated when they bomb forward along the flank because it never results in anything at all. It's like 4 out of 5 crosses either hit the first defender or goes to China, and half the time they just turn around and pass the ball back and the attack dies out. I know confidence doesn't just appear over night but I would love to see our wide players just have a go. There was like 1 very good cross yesterday from Dorgu (I think?) that Cunha missed that should be a goal 4/5 times. Sesko also had a good chance in the first half where Martinez did well to be fair to rush out and minimize his angle of scoring.

But yeah in a vacuum I thought we had a good game all things considered. Just unfortunate we've picked up only 2 out of 9 points against a 10-man Everton, a poor West Ham and an out of form Bournemouth.

 

[B]

I was pissed off yesterday as I thought we were definitely worth at least a point, we had 5 starters missing and no senior CB, but we controlled the bulk of the game, and while they were 2 good strikes from Rodgers, he never should have had acres of space and time to take the shots, Yoro was way too passive, and just trotted alongside him. Conversely I thought Heaven was good, there's obviously naive moments in his play, but he made a couple of excellent defensive blocks early yesterday, and he uses the ball well, once he gets more experienced and adds a bit of muscle, he's going to be very good Imo.

Can't solely blame Yoro though, Cunha had a good game yesterday but he missed an absolute sitter with that header from about 6-8 yards out. The other big performance yesterday was undoubtedly Martinez, listening to the clueless goofs on sky talking like they had no idea he's played DM regularly in the past, only Keane seemed aware, I swear they hire Merson just to keep his dumb ass off the streets. Martinez was excellent, both positionally, and on the ball, he's a quality passer, I'd definitely partner him with Casemiro on Boxing Day.

I've been quite happy overall with the performances both Yoro & Heaven have displayed in recent weeks considering one is 20 & the other is 19, with a million eyes on both. Yoro's had a few tough games here & there, in an ideal world we could stick him on the bench for a game or two in order to reset himself when he has a hard game, but given the injuries to Maguire, de Ligt, with Martinez seemingly still easing his way back into things, we simply have to play him through any woes, which never does any young players confidence any good.

Heaven has been the same, few errors here & there, but largely both he & Yoro have done well I think. Both are a little soft I think on the eye, I think both still have yet to fully get their man strength which will come with age & will make them more formidable an opponent for forwards.

Generally speaking, at this sort of age, the main thing I'd be looking for is them not being excessively error prone.

I just wanted to reply to this separately, I agree with you on Neves, as long as it's £20M and a reasonable contract, nothing silly. He also should only be considered a preemptive signing to replace Ugarte, who should be sold next summer, he shouldn't count as one of the 2 premium CM's we need to buy in the summer.

Speaking of which, I really hope we don't go for Baleba, we've had too many players with weak mentalities, and he's been crap for Brighton this season, after not getting his move in the summer, if he wilts that easily, then he'll get cooked in the fishbowl pressure of United. We should be going all out for Elliot Anderson, then look at possibly Wharton or Stiller.

Neves would be a nice replacement for Casemiro as he's likely leaving in the summer although I have seen a few stories saying United are interested in keeping him around for another year but only if he took a significant paycut.

Ugarte I'd move on if there's a decent offer there & as long as we aren't leaving ourselves ultra short for depth. He just hasn't worked out, so much so that he's never really been able to cement himself in the side for a significant series of games. He's hard working & is keen to constantly get involved with duels, he's usually fine in possession, largely because he knows what he is & regularly keeps his passes no more than about 7ft. But the most frustrating thing about him is the fouls, I don't know if he makes an exceptionally high volume of fouls statistically in comparison to the rest of the league, but visually watching him play it seems like he commits a lot. Then once he picks up a booking, you've almost always got to waste a sub taking him off as he doesn't seem to be able to make challenges anything other than aggressively.
I read that Galatasaray are interested for reportedly £25m-£30m, I'd honestly take that if that's true.

Fernandes isn't a natural CM but I don't think they'll sell him at least this summer, but he is 31 so it's time the club start planning for his long-term replacement in the side & Mainoo should be kept & should be competing for a spot this & next year.

Baleba's definitely dropped off this season, when United played Brighton there was a lot of eyes watching him for a potential audition & he didn't play well at all. We did the right thing by not over pursuing for him once Brighton effectively made it clear he wasn't for sale by slapping a £90m-£100m valuation on him as now there's some questions about his mentality as you said & his personality. United valued him initially in that £50m-£60m range & I think that was far more realistic & fair for what he is & how he'd been playing even last season.

If we actually have £80m+ to drop on a midfielder, I'd probably go for Wharton, he's got a skillset that I think is difficult to find, he's 21 & of all the names I see us connected with he seems like one of the more safer options in terms of getting a player that will actually work out & significantly improve us instead of another Ugarte, Fred etc. Obviously there's no guarantees, but as I said, he seems safer. If I were Crystal Palace though I honestly wouldn't accept even £100m for him especially if he's a player of the mindset that he's happy to stay loyal to them without kicking up a stink.

 

[B]

I think the first Rodgers goal kinda sums up what we miss in our team. He just barely kept the ball alive from going out of play, then he just barrels forward, goes inwards and takes a shot with confidence that is just unreachable for any goalkeeper. It's the kind of confidence and quality you want in a wide player (yes I know Rodgers sometimes plays more centrally) to just take players on and go for a goal and hit it like prime Bale would do (but with his left foot).

And I don't even want to say Dorgu or Dalot were bad yesterday but I get so frustrated when they bomb forward along the flank because it never results in anything at all. It's like 4 out of 5 crosses either hit the first defender or goes to China, and half the time they just turn around and pass the ball back and the attack dies out. I know confidence doesn't just appear over night but I would love to see our wide players just have a go. There was like 1 very good cross yesterday from Dorgu (I think?) that Cunha missed that should be a goal 4/5 times. Sesko also had a good chance in the first half where Martinez did well to be fair to rush out and minimize his angle of scoring.

But yeah in a vacuum I thought we had a good game all things considered. Just unfortunate we've picked up only 2 out of 9 points against a 10-man Everton, a poor West Ham and an out of form Bournemouth.

I typed this out the other day to reply to you but accidentally deleted the post & couldn't be bothered typing it out again.

But basically what I'd wrote was I am quietly confident on Dorgu's progression, he's relatively fine defensively & is a great athlete, but the most sort of promising thing about him is the amount of times he finds himself in promising positions on that left hand flank.

Even this season were he's been sort of in & out of the line up, there's been a few times he's turned up inside or at the edge of that left hand corner of the box & has been able to get a shot away. Now admittedly he's fluffed them all BUT, a touch of composure & calmness added to his game, which will naturally come with age anyway & he might be able to put a couple of those in the back of the net or square it to someone else for a tap in.

The crosses in general annoy me though from this side as a whole, Sesko was injured for a few weeks & during his absence I watched this side bombard poor Zirkzee with crosses against Everton, West Ham & Palace, when despite his height/size, it's just not his game. Yet in the weeks prior when we had Sesko available we hardly seemed to ever try to find him.. and Sesko's the player who's a proper striker that's got a reputation for being strong in the air!

 

[B]

I had only popped on just to wish you all a Merry Christmas & ended up typing 2 lengthy replies.

Have a good one guys!

 

[Zantera]

Happy holidays everyone!

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Zantera]

Great with 3p against Newcastle! Big game from Heaven, also happy with Dorgu's goal.

 

[B]

Rode our luck tonight, first half we did well but particularly the second half which was almost all Newcastle bar maybe a 5 minute or so spell. Very happy we managed to hold on though, some big performances from some players to show the resiliency to fight until the end & get an important 3 points.

Our squad is so thin at the moment it's ridiculous, we could honestly do with a couple of loan signings in January just to boost midfield/defensive numbers as we've some youngsters on our bench at the moment who don't seem anywhere near ready to play the number of minutes that could very well be thrust onto them if we lose anymore players.

Hopefully that Neves story turns out to be true, would certainly give us a bit of breathing room if we can land him. Maybe even a loan deal for Gallagher who's a player we've been connected with permanently, I'm not really a big fan of bringing him in permanently but a loan, sure.

 

[Zantera]

Considering we ended the game having Malacia, Fredricson and Heaven in defense it's not bad to keep a clean sheet. Lammens also gives us more relief at the back because unlike Onana he can grab a cross rather than punch the ball straight in front of 3 Newcastle players while also taking out one of our defenders in the process.

I agree we should look into a loan or two this January. I think defense should be fine because we have Martinez just coming back now (thankfully) but Maguire and De Ligt shouldn't be out that long and with the emergence of Heaven I think we should be OK there. Getting a CM in would be nice, though depending on the profile it could also be the nail in the Mainoo coffin. (that would be sad)

Wouldn't be surprised if we go hard for Wharton/Baleba or another name like that in the summer. Casemiro's contract is expiring I believe and I wouldn't be surprised if Ugarte goes either. Heard a rumor we might look to bring back Garner from Everton. He would be a fine bench option I think, but it could be bogus.

 

[BlackFox]

Missed we were even playing yesterday, Xmas does that to you, but glad we got the 3 points with a threadbare team it looked like. Makeshift but got the job done and over Xmas its just about getting points in the bag, do that in the next few games over the holidays and we will be in a really strong position come new year and hopefully when we get all our players back to full fitness.

 

[Zantera]

We just need a good run to build some confidence. Yesterday's game moved us up into 5th but the table is so tight that you're only a bad result away from being down to 9th or something again.

Wolves next HAS to be 3 points, they might be the worst PL team of the last 20 years. After that we got Leeds who on paper should be 3 points but they are in a decent run and beat Chelsea not long ago. Definitely one we could trip up where we need to focus. Then we have Burnley. I think 9 out of 9 points could very well happen but what we don't need is to get 3 or 4 points from these fixtures. Just get points on the board, get some players back, because later in January we have City at home and Arsenal away.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Rode our luck tonight, first half we did well but particularly the second half which was almost all Newcastle bar maybe a 5 minute or so spell. Very happy we managed to hold on though, some big performances from some players to show the resiliency to fight until the end & get an important 3 points.

Our squad is so thin at the moment it's ridiculous, we could honestly do with a couple of loan signings in January just to boost midfield/defensive numbers as we've some youngsters on our bench at the moment who don't seem anywhere near ready to play the number of minutes that could very well be thrust onto them if we lose anymore players.

Hopefully that Neves story turns out to be true, would certainly give us a bit of breathing room if we can land him. Maybe even a loan deal for Gallagher who's a player we've been connected with permanently, I'm not really a big fan of bringing him in permanently but a loan, sure.

To be honest I didn't feel we rode our luck, Newcastle dominated possession in the 2nd half as we'd lost Mount which killed the press, but for all the ball they had, they really didn't create much, Lammens barely had a save to make, while Martinez and Heaven really controlled the box well..

I thought we showed some real spirit when you look at how many players we had missing. My big concern coming out of the game was Amorim's subs, they were all odd, but taking Martinez and Shaw off with 8 minutes to go, when your defence is playing well but under pressure, to replace them with a kid who's barely kicked a ball at senior level, and a LB who's been injured for best part of 18 months, was utterly stupid.

Honestly mate I very much doubt we're going to do anything in January, we're the only club who tries to dodge the winter window if at all possible, probably because of the greedy trash who own the club.

We just need a good run to build some confidence. Yesterday's game moved us up into 5th but the table is so tight that you're only a bad result away from being down to 9th or something again.

Wolves next HAS to be 3 points, they might be the worst PL team of the last 20 years. After that we got Leeds who on paper should be 3 points but they are in a decent run and beat Chelsea not long ago. Definitely one we could trip up where we need to focus. Then we have Burnley. I think 9 out of 9 points could very well happen but what we don't need is to get 3 or 4 points from these fixtures. Just get points on the board, get some players back, because later in January we have City at home and Arsenal away.

Getting 9 points out of those games without Mbeumo, Amad and Bruno would show some real progression for the team as a whole. Like yih say the league is extra tight this season, there's not a single team I'd say we're playing impressively right now, I mean Villa were crap against us and Chelsea, yet grabbed 6 points, so it's all in the balance.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I've been quite happy overall with the performances both Yoro & Heaven have displayed in recent weeks considering one is 20 & the other is 19, with a million eyes on both. Yoro's had a few tough games here & there, in an ideal world we could stick him on the bench for a game or two in order to reset himself when he has a hard game, but given the injuries to Maguire, de Ligt, with Martinez seemingly still easing his way back into things, we simply have to play him through any woes, which never does any young players confidence any good.

Heaven has been the same, few errors here & there, but largely both he & Yoro have done well I think. Both are a little soft I think on the eye, I think both still have yet to fully get their man strength which will come with age & will make them more formidable an opponent for forwards.

Generally speaking, at this sort of age, the main thing I'd be looking for is them not being excessively error prone.

I think Heaven has looked the more rounded of the 2, more aggressive aerially and more composed with the ball, longterm though we have a potentially top class partnership with them, as despite a dip in form recently, Yoro has had some good games for us, and is still only 20. Both would benefit from a back 4 with senior players in the mix with him, I thought this really showed with Heaven being in a back 4 with a leader like Martinez as his partner, he was outstanding against Newcastle.

Neves would be a nice replacement for Casemiro as he's likely leaving in the summer although I have seen a few stories saying United are interested in keeping him around for another year but only if he took a significant paycut.

Ugarte I'd move on if there's a decent offer there & as long as we aren't leaving ourselves ultra short for depth. He just hasn't worked out, so much so that he's never really been able to cement himself in the side for a significant series of games. He's hard working & is keen to constantly get involved with duels, he's usually fine in possession, largely because he knows what he is & regularly keeps his passes no more than about 7ft. But the most frustrating thing about him is the fouls, I don't know if he makes an exceptionally high volume of fouls statistically in comparison to the rest of the league, but visually watching him play it seems like he commits a lot. Then once he picks up a booking, you've almost always got to waste a sub taking him off as he doesn't seem to be able to make challenges anything other than aggressively.
I read that Galatasaray are interested for reportedly £25m-£30m, I'd honestly take that if that's true.

Fernandes isn't a natural CM but I don't think they'll sell him at least this summer, but he is 31 so it's time the club start planning for his long-term replacement in the side & Mainoo should be kept & should be competing for a spot this & next year.

Baleba's definitely dropped off this season, when United played Brighton there was a lot of eyes watching him for a potential audition & he didn't play well at all. We did the right thing by not over pursuing for him once Brighton effectively made it clear he wasn't for sale by slapping a £90m-£100m valuation on him as now there's some questions about his mentality as you said & his personality. United valued him initially in that £50m-£60m range & I think that was far more realistic & fair for what he is & how he'd been playing even last season.

If we actually have £80m+ to drop on a midfielder, I'd probably go for Wharton, he's got a skillset that I think is difficult to find, he's 21 & of all the names I see us connected with he seems like one of the more safer options in terms of getting a player that will actually work out & significantly improve us instead of another Ugarte, Fred etc. Obviously there's no guarantees, but as I said, he seems safer. If I were Crystal Palace though I honestly wouldn't accept even £100m for him especially if he's a player of the mindset that he's happy to stay loyal to them without kicking up a stink.

I'll hold my hands up on Casemiro, he's done better this season than I'd expected after last season, and Ugarte had his first decent game in ages against Newcastle the other night, but you have to put that into context of how low expectations are given the poor standard of midfield at out club for some time now. Both should be moved on in the summer, Casemiro's contract is up so just let him go freely to get his Saudi payday, and if Galatassaray are willing to offer that fee for Ugarte, bite their hands off.

I'm not a big fan of Bruno, his chaosball style isn't for me, I'd have sold him last summer, and if another Saudi offer comes in 2026, I'd definitely sell. Right now Amorim is tweaking the system, if Bruno stays I don't want to see him in the deeper midfield role again, have him compete for a role in the front 4, now we're starting to play with a forward off the striker again.

Brighton completely overplayed their hand with Baleba, but actually I think it's done us a favour, for starters I don't really want another key player added to the squad who'll be off to AFCON, but moreso I think he's displayed a weak, unprofessional mentality this season, and we don't need that, we need top pros with a mentality like Guehi, not more immature, toys out the pram types.

I'm a fan of Wharton, and I would like him or Stiller to give us that deeper midfielder with passing ability, but it's also going to depend on if we are revamping the whole midfield, if so then yes, because we can get a dynamic #8 to partner him, as he's not quick and not very athletic. I certainly wouldn't pair him with any of our current CM's, so if we were buying only one it would be Anderson for me, as he's more fully rounded, not quite as good a passer as Wharton, but stronger and more agile against the press, can dribble and drive the ball through midfield, and is good as a #6 or #8. Ideally we'd get both these English midfield gems, and add another like Bouaddi, Rigg or Kees Smit to go with our even younger options.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Zantera]

Dropping points at home against Wolves is just not acceptable. Frustrating team because it feels like we've been on a treadmill through the whole Amorim era. One step forward one step backwards.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Dropping points at home against Wolves is just not acceptable. Frustrating team because it feels like we've been on a treadmill through the whole Amorim era. One step forward one step backwards.

Tonight was self sabotage from Amorim, we had a few good performances using a version of 4-4-2, Dorgu has his best game in a United shirt as a right winger, what does Amorim do? Changes everything back to his ****ty 5-2-3 and we are toothless yet again, and his use of subs is beyond explanation, the Martinez and Shaw ones with 8 minutes to go against Newcastle were ludicrous, but he got away with it, tonight he brought Jack Fletcher on to play RW when he's a CM and we had an actual winger on the bench in Lacey, and then when we're chasing a winner, he takes off Heaven and brings on Yoro, a sideways move at best that did nothing to improve our chances of winning.

Bottom line is we're just wasting time letting him remain in the job, a basic common sense manager could possibly nab top 5 with how things stand right now, Amorim will almost certainly piss it away.