03 May 2023 23:27:02
Eth admitting that his summer transfer plans are in limbo and he has no idea what his budget is. Brilliant from our owners yet again, another manager about to get screwed because all they care about is themselves and their bank accounts.

1.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 07:41:00
I would guess that the Glazers are completely ignorant of the need for clarity for the transfer window (both in and out) .

They don’t seem to have a clue about running a football club, instead viewing United as a source of income.

Thus, United’s Summer could be in jeopardy because of them. As a previous poster said, the father was the shrewd one - the kids seem to lack any nouse at all, probably not understanding that shrewd football decisions now will add value to them later.

Also, a lack of a director of football will be hampering United’s transfers also: City etc will have a smooth machine purring in the background sorting out transfers while United have the amateur Murtough having his pants pulled down by the wily foxes around him.

2.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 09:07:55
Shock, a manager refuses to reveal his transfer targets and budget lol.

3.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 09:46:37
Wallace I’ll give murtough and Arnold a little bit of credit here they brought in ETH and the signings that followed him so I’m sure ETH knows exactly who and what is happening!

4.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 10:06:21
Next season will be Top 4 again only. Regardless who takes us over there will be a desire for a top striker but with deals delays due to takeover and FFP limitations meaning we will need to sell and clear players off the wage bill I think we see ST, CM and CB only. Blood some of the younger players like Mejbri and Mainoo also. And I wouldn’t be surprised if midfielder wise we end up with a free transfer such as Tielemans plus Sabitzer made permanent for c £20m.

Henderson injured and won’t have enough money to buy a GK and top level striker. See De Gea holding out for £300k pw which isn’t being offered. Personally I’d call his bluff. Much cheaper / better GKs on the market for how Erik wants to play but a shame we won’t be able to sell Henderson as we’d get £25-30m for him.

Our problem will be moving players on who have colossal wages and will, as is their right, wish to stay put.

I know we’d all love to be in Harry Maguire's position of surviving on only £190k a week but who else in the Prem will pay that outside Top6 where he’s clearly not good enough to play. Villa possibly could have a spot but not on those wages surely.

Some of the deadwood we simply won’t be able to sell so suspect it will be at least 2 summer transfer windows before we see a real Ten Hag team and that obviously means key players now such as Eriksen and Casemiro on their last legs physically and only squad players by that point.

Ten Hag has turned United around. Hopefully new owners will be providing the assistance he needs to get the players he needs to build his team.

Meanwhile City and Arsenal will be the ones to beat based on current form.

Hard to see past City while Pep still there if truth be told. At least we have a manager now who looks to be taking us places no matter how long it takes to get there!

5.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 10:42:25
Looking like we’ll miss out on MF transfer target Mac Allister because of takeover stasis/ inability to make decisions.

Liverpool, as always, will act quickly and secure him before us.

6.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 11:24:40
The main thing that really concerns me is how a few of our rivals are already agreeing transfers. Not that he seemed a target but Real are already on the cusp of Bellingham, no doubt to gazump City. Getting deals done early to make for a better pre-season seems a more logical approach than dragging them out until the last day of the window. Imagine if in a month's time we already had a few in. No chance!

7.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 11:50:49
He's hardly going to come out and say "yes i have 250 million to buy players" is he?
Nobody knows what is going on inside the club.
We just have to wait and see.

8.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 12:15:58
We never seem to be organised and in a position to get the work done early. This summer will only be more of the same. I’m not expecting eth to list his targets and name his budget but would anyone be surprised if he genuinely doesn’t have a clue? The ownership is up in the air and provides the perfect excuse for the money men, Don’t be shocked if it turns out to be a frustrating period.

9.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 12:32:52
Honestly, I despair at the absurdity of this club since the parasites acquired it. Malcolm had some idea, but these clowns have none.

Of the two bids, I would prefer Jassim's, not only because of future investment into the squad, but also because he has made it clear that he will immediately stump up for development of OT and other facilities.
SJR has not made such declaration and, although I'm sure he'd wish to, he wouldn't be able to deliver the long overdue development any time soon.

The two bidders have obviously different limitations too.
Jassim could take United to the level of City and Newcastle in terms of outright spending power, whereas SJR would only get us to Liverpool level.
The problem is that Jassim absolutely will buy a PL club.
If that's not to be United, then in 5 or so years time, that club will also be beyond the reach of United.
Let's be frank, Chelsea will get it all right soon.
Then what? A United owned by SJR and the clagnuts will find itself way behind City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Jassim's club. Just imagine he buys Liverpool. How irritating would that be?

For ten Hag, this must be especially frustrating.
For those who believe he's been given solid assurances of this purchase or that are incredibly naive. It just does not work like that. Everything is about budget. If, for example, he wants Kane for £70m, but Levy holds out for £100m+, where does that leave these fantasy assurances? They don't exist, simple as that.
He doesn't yet know the budget because the Glazers will ONLY be thinking of how much they can stuff into their pockets with the proposed sale/ investment. He'll be told what ballpark figures Jassim and SJR have proposed so he'll be drawing provisional lists, but that does not represent any kind of assurance because these figures could well be subject to change as the sale/ investment costs become clear.

Murtough and Arnold have brought in an initial culture change, overseen the arrival of a coach with a clear plan, and have generally done well, but they are, ultimately, paid to do a job as instructed by their bosses.
If SJR invests, declares that United's budget this summer is £100m without sales, they and ten Hag will be limited accordingly in terms of what is delivered.
Meanwhile, Newcastle will spend big, Liverpool will spend well, Chelsea might get their act together, then United will still be playing catch up. I fear that with SJR, there never will be proper success again in my lifetime.

In an ideal world, there would be good time for a new plan to deliver on all fronts, but the dynamics have changed. Where before, football ownership was already the playground for wealthy people, it is now becoming the focus of the mega rich.
When Jassim buys his PL club, there will be 4 owned by people/ consortiums who will spend far more than a SJR/ Glazer United and have far better grounds and facilities.

Imo, United need to be that 4th club.

10.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 13:48:17
Wallace,

It’s going to be a long hard summer for you if you are disappointed when players we aren’t interested are linked with other clubs. Mac Allister is decent but expensive and not sure where you think he fits in for us? We will sign 4 or 5 players this summer as usual, we will be linked with 400-500 players as usual, some of which won’t move, some of which will sign for other clubs and some of which, god forbid will sign for rivals.

Remember the meltdown last year when Liverpool signed Nunez and the year before when they signed Thiago, there has been numerous meltdown, usually about players that haven’t set the world on fire in the premier league once they signed.

{Ed014's Note - ? Mr GDS2

11.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 16:08:58
Woggle - I was just about to commend your post until you cut Murtough and Arnold some slack.

I’ve said it before and maintain my stance that last years transfer window was an absolute joke.

The forlorn FdJ saga basically kicked everything else into the long grass, hardly a single new player went on tour, even free agent Eriksen missed out.

Dumb and dumber embarked on hapless trips to Barcelona and Turin, then came the Anartouvic bid!

They vastly over paid for Anthony where is it now readily accepted he was available for much cheaper earlier in the summer.

Following a calamity of country hopping, incompetence they somehow pulled Casemiro out of the hat which probably wouldn’t have materialised if their trip to Turin to meets Rabiot’s mother had gone well.

Murtough is a disciple of Moyes and has been at the Club for over a decade. He’s not considered by anyone to be one of the best in the business.

Arnold was Ed Woodwards lackey and University chum. Another lurking in the shadows for over a decade trying to pretend he had nothing to do with over 10 years of abject failure.

Utd need massive investment, the squad needs strengthening, the stadium re building, the training facilities updating.

The Glazer muppets need to be moved on and the best in class recruited and put in post.

If some think that can be achieved whilst still servicing massive debt let’s see what happens.

That synopsis may sound harsh to some but if Utd want to be successful they need the best both on and off the field, it’s a simple as that.

12.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 16:39:48
DLIB

:D I missed out the 'recently' regards Murtough and Arnold.
With de Jong, I believe that ten Hag made him the No1 target and the aforementioned 2 simply tried to haggle their way through while giving assurances. For all intents and purposes, they blagged it because they weren't aware of ten Hag's secondary options.
Rabiot would never be a ten Hag type of player, he was simply an option they were presented with by previous managers.

I know what you're saying about the pair of them lurking and shirking in the shadows, and I also made it clear last summer that the window was badly managed yet again, but they have overseen the basics of initial change - strategy + the right people.

The slack I've cut them is only a little, based only on the recent changes.

13.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 16:47:18
I'm cutting Murtaugh and Arnold a lot of slack. They inherited a dysfunctional disaster. They hired the best manager, which was not Pocchetino. They listened to the manager, and tried to get de Jong, ultimately settling on Casemiro who has been excellent for us. There's no indication that we would have done better if we'd pulled the plug earlier. Nor do we know whether what we read in the papers was the whole story. The talk may have been just that. They came up with more money for transfers than we thought likely, given that the club's been run into the ground financially (in more ways than one) . We have had a better season than anyone thought likely. Hopefully we will be back in the ECL next season. Not bad for year 1.

It is not their fault that they have been left in the lurch by the owners as they attempt to bleed every last £ out of the club. How are they supposed to go about their business knowing that if there's no sale the club will remain £1bn in debt and have a limited transfer budget. If we had secured champions league football areas guaranteeing maybe an extra £50m in revenues, and the lure of participation to potential targets, they would be in a better position, but we're not there yet. Murtaugh and Arnold may have many faults but they are not responsible for this situation, and just because RM have said they're getting Bellingham, and they haven't called you to tell you what their plans are, does not mean to say that we aren't close to any agreements ourselves,

14.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 17:24:31
I don't know if Murtagh has enough experience for a club like United, his background is certainly underwhelming in comparison to the role.

Thats not to say he can't develop but United shouldn't have a DoF we hope will become brilliant, we should have one who has proven himself top drawer already.

15.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 17:26:48
Woggle - Fair enough pal, I think we’re on the same page. If I’m being generous I suppose they do get some credit for appointing EtH.

The Glazers have bled the Club dry, some may argue they’ve invested in the squad, but there’s been no investment elsewhere whilst we’ve seen billions syphoned off in dividends, interest and loan repayments.

The debt is a noose around the Clubs neck that still needs to be serviced and now it’s not just the team that needs investment but the stadium, training facilities and infrastructure as well.

For those dismissing the importance of wealth, before Roman Abramovic purchased Chelsea they had not won the league title since 1955.

Before City we’re bought by Abu Dhabi they had now won a league title since 1968.

Newcastle recently acquired by the Saudi’s are on the cusp of their first champions league campaign in nearly 20 years. They only took control of the Club last season. I think most fans accept its now probably only a matter of a few short years before they win their first league title for nearly 100 years.

It’s not just the spending power of these football clubs but also their ability to write off mistakes.

If Utd want to compete consistently for the top honours then in my opinion this cannot be achieved through organic growth whilst also servicing significant debt and simultaneously updating the stadium and training facilities.

Some may argue that improvements can be made with better decisions around recruitment and by appointing people with more expertise but I believe that can only take the Club so far.

Of course there are moral dilemmas and I would never criticise anyone who may oppose Qatar on those beliefs but to be successful in this era I think you need both expertise and super wealth to succeed and win on a consistent basis.

16.) 04 May 2023
04 May 2023 22:15:21
Took you long enough Ed, you’ve been nice on a couple of my posts so it’s been lovely actually and proved my point from previously, let’s carry that on please ?.

{Ed014's Note - and what point did I prove?

17.) 05 May 2023
04 May 2023 23:47:41
I’m not going to go into that, you can ask your gaffer. It’s been nice, fingers crossed it continues ??.

{Ed014's Note - cool well let’s keep it that way ??