12 Apr 2022 21:46:09
Pereira will be back in the summer by the looks of it, martial too and a few others. Apparently flamengo have decided against a permanent deal as he's been in poor form (shocker), sevilla won't be taking martial either. Add that to the dross in the squad currently and ETH (if confirmed) will have plenty of work to do.

1.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 08:24:16
If the club can’t move on players such as Perriera, Martial, Jones, Matic, etc who are unlikely to either be consistent enough for the first team or just not good enough, then TH will be starting the job with a huge stone around his neck: there will be inevitable unrest but he’ll be stuck with them because of the absurd contracts they’d been given by the businessmen trying to protect their value. (Plus huge wages…)

Just hope they’ll be allowed to go for reasonable prices and money men not try to hold out for unrealistic fees which will stop them leaving.

TH needs a fresh start with no ghosts from sinking squad left lurking around the dressing room.

I really hope Ronaldo goes too: another cynical marketing ploy who was brilliant once but now not relevant to the high energy pressing that’s now needed.

Really hoping TH can improve the likes of AWB, Shaw, Fred, Telles, Sancho, Rashford, Elanga and Henderson, plus bringing in youngsters such as Hannibal, Amad, Pellistri, Shoretire, Garnacho and Garner.

Possible squad options next year? (Lol! )

Henderson/ De Gea (he wanted to take him to Ajax)

AWB/ Dalot/ Laird (tho injury prone)

Lindelof/ Varane

Maguire/ Akanji/ Mengi

Shaw/ Telles (plus young Spanish under 23 left back)

Rice/ Bissouma:Palhinha

Fred/ Haidara/ Garner:McTominay

Bruno/ VDBeek/ Hannibal

Sancho/ Amad/ Pellistri

Rashford/ Elanga/ Garnacho

Nunez/ McNeill/ Hugill

Going to be a very busy Summer….

2.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 11:23:40
That’s our problem though, we will try to squeeze every last drop of transfers for these players and it will probably blow up in our face. I’m all for being savvy and not been taken for mugs but most of those names aren’t good enough so what way do we benefit by keeping them around for the sake of a few million. We will save that in wages alone. I really hope ETH has autonomy on transfers but I have my doubts.

3.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 12:36:44
If anyone watched Chelsea last night then you’ll have seen how a team should press with a front 3. Havertz has his critics but my God he puts a shift in. That’s why Tuchel goes for these players instead of Lukaku. RR is famed for this pressing game but the players we have aren’t mobile enough (or clever enough) to do it. Sorry to say, but Ronaldo doesn’t have the legs for a high energy 90 minutes.

4.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 12:37:33
Those two should be sent to anyone who will take them. Pereira does not have the ability whatsoever to play at this level. Martial does, but does not have the work rate to succeed. Simple as that. Take the loss, and move them on.

5.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 13:54:45
Wallace, I expect it will be a busy summer, but more due to the number of players we are shifting out the door rather than how many we bring in.

I think EtH will make do at RB this summer and get a look at Dalot, AWB, Laird and maybe even Williams and see if he can coach them and make them better. How he sets up his defense is very different to anything they have been asked to do before (inverted full backs for example) As such he may want to see how they adapt.

While signing a RW might be useful if the budget allows, the reality is we have Sancho, Rashford, Elanga, Amad, Pellistri, Garnacho and Shoretire who can play wide and although several of those players are young an inexperienced, I'd expect EtH would look at them and see young talented and mouldable players.

Neither RB or RW will transform our team.

CDM, and ST are without a doubt two positions we will definitely see players come in for.

CDM seems like it will be more of a playmaker than a destroyer. More Carrick than Makelele, as that suits EtH's style.

ST is a difficult one, maybe he'll look to mould Rashford, maybe Ronaldo will stay. Who knows.

While the type of striker is difficult to pin down, he has used both Dolberg and Haller as taller target men type strikers and he had also used Tadic as a false 9 type striker. So clearly EtH is very flexible in what sort of striker he can use. Which makes narrowing down the options much harder. He could use Darwin Nunez as a out and out striker, or Jonathan David as a false 9 just as easily.

I think he will almost certainly go for a CB. How he structures his defence and the high line they play requires certain skills and abilities from his central defenders, skills we are in short supply of. As you build your team from the back and defensive is so vital I don't see this being an area he looks to make do with.

If we sign a 4th player I actually think it is more likely to be a GK than any other position.

For EtH it is a vital position, his team's play out from the back and play a high line. While his teams tend to concede few shots. As such his keeper needs to be comfortable with the ball at his feet, able to play out comfortably while under pressure, they also need to be very good and willing to come off their line and sweep up. While shot stopper is less important as his keepers face fewer shots.

This could make things difficult for DDG, as he is almost the exact opposite of the kinsd of keeper EtH tends to prefer.

If Henderson is unwilling to fight for his place and wants more guaranteed first choice football this summer then a new keeper will have to come in and replace him.

Sam Johnstone might have worked well as a back up to DDG if the club was looking to playing more as a counter attacking side, yet Johnstone has many of the same weaknesses in possession and a lack of willingness to come off his line as the Spaniard.

If Henderson leaves I'm pretty sure EtH will want the club to sign a keeper that suits his style. In fact I think it will be vital for him to be able to implement the style of football he typically tends to play.

So for me 3-4 signings is most likely, a CDM, ST, CB and maybe a GK.

While the list of players leaving including Cavani, Pogba, Mata, Grant and Lingard who are all out of contract. While Matic, Williams, Jones, Bailly, Andreas Pereira, Martial, Henderson and Ronaldo are all players who could look to leave this summer. I'd expect Donny to stay with his former manager joining the club.

That's potentially 13 players leaving.

Most don't play that often and probably aren't considered key players. With 3-4 players coming in to push the quality up, with youngsters like Mengi, Laird, Garner, Levitt, Hannibal, Garnacho, Shoretire and maybe McNeil supplementing the squad if needed.

6.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 15:43:22
I bet Pereira lights up pre-season ?.

7.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 16:15:55
Personally I would like to see ETH, his assistants and Rangnick have all the inputs on all the players.
Players at loan Brandon, Tuanzebe and others should atleast be given a pre-season to see at what level they really are.
If ETH feels Mata or Matic stay we have to agree with them.

I think a maximum of 10-12 first teamers should be allowed to leave and the rest can leave in the future windows.

A lot of our players are performing at their lowest of lowest levels.
I have not seen rashford and martial as bad as they have been this season.
AWB plays like a guy who's forgotten everything about football.
Some of these can be improved and kept as squad depth and quite a few can be moved on.
I think the next season is a write-off simply because our squad is not good enough and has a lot of players that Ole should've let go and instead kept.

8.) 13 Apr 2022
13 Apr 2022 19:08:31
Thanks for detailed response Shappy: am hoping we sign a DM (ideally Rice; if not, Bissouma), striker (Nunez) upgrade on Fred/ Matic (Haidara or Lyon’s Caquerie) plus integrate raft of youngsters.

As a minimum, need to move on Ronaldo, Cavani, Lingard, Pogba, Mata, Martial, Telles, Bailly, Jones, Matic plus make some money on players like Chong, Axel and Perriera.

Just want to see some sort of progress in the right direction and everyone working together rather than current toxic atmosphere.

9.) 14 Apr 2022
14 Apr 2022 06:54:40
How do you know haidara is an upgrade on Fred! Fred will be one of the first names on ETH team sheet, he’ll see Fred as an important player imo!

Can’t remember who said it on this thread but we desperately need a right back and it does have a huge affect on this team! If we persist with Dalot and awb I’ll be amazed their both dreadful!

10.) 14 Apr 2022
14 Apr 2022 09:26:48
Rapinha at RW and Lamptey at RB would fix our right hand side of the squad.
Haidara is a pressing beast and can properly control, pass the ball unlike Fred.

DVB will be a proper player under ETH.
Darwin Nunez upfront will be a game changer.

11.) 14 Apr 2022
14 Apr 2022 10:07:52
Wallace, I'd be more concerned at CB than CM as I feel with players like Donny and Garner coming back into the squad along with a manager like EtH who can work with them and probably set up a system that works better with their skill set I think a second midfielder is not that pressing this summer.

I actually feel like Fred could work very well in EtH's system. With someone like Bruno staying high and maybe more of a playmaker at CDM someone of Fred's industry and mobility could be very useful. While playing with a higher line and having Fred mostly play in the middle or final third of the pitch actually limits his weaknesses in giving the ball away.

Is he good enough? Probably not, but certainly he could be useful. Plus he has a great attitude, so will be important in creating a better atmosphere.

Chris, I don't think Dalot is a terrible player and I think that if EtH integrates a similar system to the one he plays at Ajax I actually think Dalot could do well in that system.

I think EtH will look to work with AWB and Dalot this summer, both seem to have a decent attitude, work hard etc. Dalot has just come into a disjointed team while AWB is in the worst form of his career, he was actually pretty good in his first season with us. Whether he can develop and has the skills needed to play a front foot style remains to be seen, but given that we will have to bring in several player and will see a raft of players leave I expect EtH to stick with our current full back and look to create a solid centre of the pitch in defence and midfield.

This is a minimum of a 2-3 year rebuild, so we won't fix all the problems in one summer window or even two for that matter.

This will be the first time AWB and Dalot have a progressive top class coach who can work with them and improve them. Maybe hold fire for 6 months at least and see how they fair. In truth they probably will need replacing, but I expect they will be given a chance at least.

For me the key this summer isn't replacing all the players who aren't good enough, but shipping out all those with poor attitudes who don't want to be here or work hard.