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21 Jul 2025 21:22:07
Is it true that Rashford has signed but may be banned from registering and so unable to play? If so what's the point of him signing?
1.) 21 Jul 2025 22:06:11
Its a possibility he might not get registered.
I don't care what the point is as long a he is gone.
They couldn't register olmo until jan last year in la liga.
They have sold a few so it might not happen this year. It is the reason Williams didn't sign because they could not Guarantee his registration would go through.
2.) 22 Jul 2025 09:17:06
Whether they register him or not they still have to pay his wages.
3.) 22 Jul 2025 11:06:51
Barca’s financial challenges continue to impact their ability to register new players. Rashford has agreed to a wage reduction to help free up space on their wage bill and comply with La Liga’s financial regulations. However, Barcelona may still need to offload current players to create enough room to register him.
A similar issue occurred last season with Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, whose registrations were initially blocked due to Barça exceeding La Liga’s salary cap.
The Spanish Sports Council temporarily allowed their registrations despite La Liga’s objections, and although La Liga appealed the decision, the court upheld the CSD’s ruling, allowing Olmo and Víctor to play for the remainder of the season.
La Liga maintains that Barcelona violated financial fair play regulations by failing to meet the 1:1 salary-to-revenue ratio required for player registrations.
4.) 22 Jul 2025 15:34:48
Funnily enough I think that would be karma biting him in the ass.
5.) 22 Jul 2025 18:26:16
Do you seriously think this not already been addressed! Yes it happened last seasons, but now players and agents are aware of this potential problem, it amazes me you think this been overlooked…. unbelievable.
6.) 22 Jul 2025 19:05:22
German, Tebas recently warned that Barça still lacks sufficient cap space to register new signings like Joan García or Nico Williams, sales or salary savings were needed, that is why the Williams deal fell through.
7.) 22 Jul 2025 19:06:33
German I realise that there must be a point but what I was trying to get at is how they can sign knowing that there is such an issue. For example do you think Rashford would be prepared if nec to sit on the sidelines for six months if nec before his registration was allowed.? Or more cynically do Barcelona just have the clout or connections to flout the law?
8.) 22 Jul 2025 21:33:21
German, its the reason Williams didn't sign. He was not guaranteed to be registered it bairns last season to olmo.
They have sold a few but according to their league they still have to do more to comply.
Im sure they will but there is no clearance from la liga yet.
So you are right agents and players are aware Williams and his agent were aware and decided not to take the risk.
9.) 23 Jul 2025 06:31:13
Oh so Williams said oh I would have signed for Barcelona but now I just go and stay where I am and whilst I am at it, I will sign a 10 year contract…Williams and his agent just flirted with Barcelona to get a 10 year huge contract, the papers have jumped on same bandwagon about he could not be registered
I can’t get my head around why you think it’s only the press in U. K. who go after United and make every story be sensationalised it happens in every country towards there biggest team, having lived in spain for considerable amount of years I would say it’s much more vicious in Spain and you also have to remember it’s very political, you are talking effectively 2 countries within 1
Rashford will be registered, Rashford will play and Rashford will do very well.
10.) 23 Jul 2025 18:41:01
It’s a matter of public record that Nico Williams’ agent approached La Liga to inquire whether Barcelona would be able to register the player in the event of a transfer. La Liga reportedly informed them that Barcelona would need to resolve certain financial limitations before being able to do so.
Subsequently, Barcelona lodged a formal complaint regarding that approach. The exact nature of the complaint hasn’t been made public in full detail, but it’s understood to relate to the way Williams’ camp sought clarity on registration viability.
This suggests that there was genuine interest from both sides, but also that Williams’ camp were not given a positive answer.
{Ed077's Note - Barcelona need some FFPR room in both transfer and wage funds. Remember all the trouble they had to actually register OLMO last summer ? Have they even gotten the green light to register Garcia (new GK) they signed earlier in the window? They can cry all they want but Nico and Bilbao (and the actual people involved) were right to seek clarity and assurances on the viability of the whole deal before completing it, in my view at least.
11.) 23 Jul 2025 19:30:31
Of course they were right to do so. They did check with the league as the league have gone public on it. i'm sure they will sort it before the end of the window and have given rashford their word. But I'm sure they have olmo their word last year.
12.) 24 Jul 2025 10:13:14
Ed077, I don't think William's camp did anything wrong in speaking with the league over Barcelona's ability to register him if he was signed. They were after all working in their clients best interests. They had probably seen how Olmo spent the first half of last season sitting out as he couldn't be registered and they didn't want the same thing to happen to their client, especially with it being a world cup year.
I'd imagine Barcelona's annoyance is based in whether the league disclosed anything specific about Barcelona's financial position. Which if they did then I think Barcelona have a right to complain about private details on their accounts being disclosed.
It's a tricky situation, and without knowing exactly what happened it's hard to judge the situation. Like always we probably only know about 20%, at best, of what has actually gone on.
Either way Williams not joining them has probably worked in our favour as they definitely wouldn't have signed Rashford if they got Williams. While him signing a new deal also works in our favour as it makes it less likely that Barcelona will go back for Williams next summer when Rashford's loan has ended, which should increase the chances of them making his loan a permanent move if he's successful there (which I think he will be) .
The biggest issue we will have now is if Rashford is successful it'll be constantly used as a stick to beat us throughout the season. Much like his mild success at Villa was.
Ultimately Rashford is a good player, and is actually one of our best. The problem is that the relationship between him and the club has broken down to the point where the only positive solution for both parties is a parting of the ways.
As a fan I'm not really interested in whose fault it is, I expect both parties have to share a proportion of the blame. It's just sad that one of our own has got to the point where he has to leave despite being fairly successful with us (he is our 11th all time leading goal scorer, and he did it during a real downturn in our history) .
He is at least three times the player Antony is, and Antony was very successful at Real Betis in Spain. So I'd imagine Rashford being a better player and playing in a much better team in La Liga will do very well. And I genuinely hope he does. The only positive he can provide us now is by showing off how well we produce players. Which hopefully creates more competition for our players and inflates the money we receive for them.
{Ed077's Note - shouldn't the clubs FFPR situation be open information? Afterall their financial reports are publicly posted ?
29 Jan 2025 23:23:57
What about Jonathan David from Lille. Anyone heard any potential interest from Utd bearing in mind he is out of contract in the summer so should be relatively cheap this transfer wundow.
1.) 30 Jan 2025 12:43:55
They were debating him on MOTD last night. Supposedly not ready for a top side was the consensus, which we're not, but he will be available free come the end of the season and therefore maybe on the cheap for a few days so maybe a good option for someone.
2.) 30 Jan 2025 14:47:38
He is another one of those players that seems to get a lot of mention in the transfer window and we get linked to as a slightly cheaper option who scores a good amount of goals. For some reason nothing from any team ever comes close to him leaving which suggests he is either happy where he is or teams do not think he will make the step up.
Not sure what the truth is but with our current forward line I would be willing to take a punt on him.
3.) 30 Jan 2025 15:33:28
Can he put the ball in the onion bag?
4.) 30 Jan 2025 15:36:34
The latest Media Mumbles about us involve Mathys Tel, 19yo, Bayern Munich forward who wants away for more game time. His stats this season are a virtual flatline.
I know bringing on our Academy/ u21's has been done to death over the past week or so but has anyone seen the highlights of the u21's v Oldham last night? 5-0, all in the second half and quite easily could have been 8.
Obi was everywhere, same for Kone - the whole team running their tripes out for each other the whole 90.
I hope RA gives one or two of them the last ten minutes towards the end of the season.
Whatever, but on last nights showing, the future looks bright.
5.) 30 Jan 2025 17:07:38
I think a few of us hoped that Ten Hag would look to the academy, but it never happened. Hopefully Amorim will take a different approach.
6.) 30 Jan 2025 20:12:15
Grim
Collyer, Mainoo, Garnacho all came from there and were promoted by ETH. I mean that's pretty decent going if you ask me. I think it's a case of players in the academy not being ready. Amorim has been here for months and hasn't promoted one yet.
7.) 30 Jan 2025 22:27:14
Tel off to Spurs apparently NTTL.
8.) 31 Jan 2025 09:30:02
I think we need an experienced striker loan if possible. Getting another youngster in on loan, when we have plenty already seems pointless.
9.) 31 Jan 2025 11:43:54
I wouldn't be against signing Jonathan David, I think he's a good player who could potentially fit into a couple of positions in Amorim's system.
However, I'd only want him signed if he was a genuine target based on his skill set and with a specific role in the team in mind. I don't want us to sign square pegs for round holes just because they are cheap or available.
10.) 31 Jan 2025 12:37:40
. read Zirkzee.
18 Dec 2024 19:15:11
Rumours of Rashford to Barcelona as part of a poss exchange deal. Might just be lazy journalism but I can see him thriving in tbe Spanish league with a team like Barca.
1.) 18 Dec 2024 21:43:55
They don't have the finances to register him.
Would Olmo though, perfect for the 10 and Barcelona seem unable to register him.
2.) 18 Dec 2024 22:27:03
Having a player on extortionate wages very nearly bankrupted them a few years ago lol.
3.) 19 Dec 2024 15:24:01
Didn't they sell off a lot of future incomes for cash up front last year? I can't see the problems easing for them at all.
4.) 20 Dec 2024 05:53:21
Barca do a lot financial engineering just to keep going. Their finances are a mess and their wage bill is huge. They need to get some players off their books. Its crazy given the talent that they produce from their academy which is the best in football but still manage to get themselves into this kind of trouble.
5.) 20 Dec 2024 15:59:25
When a club are having to use the wage space of injured players just to register their summer signing for another 6 months, you cannot see them going for a high wage player like Rashfodd.
But it's Barcelona and they like kicking the financial can down road, so who knows.
6.) 21 Dec 2024 08:10:42
Well Barcelona have a few players we’d do well to look at if true. Let’s see.
As for Rashford, I think his ate was finally sealed after he came on against Arsenal. The “performance” he put in was the worst I’ve seen anybody in a Utd shirt.
02 Mar 2022 23:34:16
Ancelotti is being touted as a possible Utd manager. What are peoples thoughts about him?
1.) 02 Mar 2022 23:39:31
He’s great.
2.) 03 Mar 2022 05:16:06
Good manager but seems unrealistic. That he’d leave Madrid. Feel like it’s just links to make it seem like we looked other than Poch.
3.) 03 Mar 2022 08:35:54
im still in shock he went everton, they had a top manager and didn't use him.
he could have with some investment and time made them a decent team.
4.) 03 Mar 2022 08:58:58
No thanks, for the job we need done he'd be completely the wrong man.
5.) 03 Mar 2022 10:16:31
Good manager, but I would put him in the same category as Zidane. Someone who is tactically flexible and is good at getting the best out of a team of talented ego's who may have lost a little drive or direction.
Not the kind of manager to perform a rebuild, develop young players, create a distinct style of play etc.
6.) 03 Mar 2022 13:08:42
agree shappy, he's a decent manager but he's a manager of 10-15 years ago
hopefully he's not one of the choices.
7.) 03 Mar 2022 16:53:30
He wasn't on the list of managers that ED002 provided us with.
8.) 04 Mar 2022 23:57:57
Shappy, Good manager, but I would put him in the same category as Zidane. Someone who is tactically flexible and is good at getting the best out of a team of talented ego's. Isn't that exactly what you need?
02 Dec 2021 22:36:29
So Carrick departs. suggests either he has a potential job offer or that the new manager wants a clean sweep.
1.) 03 Dec 2021 02:11:10
I think it’s possible he just wanted a break. He got a ton of stick for the last few months under Ole and probably didn’t see the fans accepting him. Or maybe he was in line for assistant after Phelan and now there’s no chance of that.
2.) 03 Dec 2021 06:41:33
We should applaud Carrick, he is not waiting around to be paid off, had the courage to go before pushed. Well done Michael. If only Phelan, McKenna and co had the same conviction.
I watched Carrick and the player was quality, his way of leaving quality.
3.) 03 Dec 2021 07:39:57
Agree Red Man. Did a great job at keeping us on track once Ole was sacked, and leaves with his had held high. Fine midfielder for us too in his day and think he will be in demand when he decides to return to the dugout for a decent championship club.
4.) 03 Dec 2021 08:27:42
15 years service to the club. He will be as disappointed as any of us with the last few years but stuck around to help the club in the last 3 games. Great player and classy guy.
5.) 03 Dec 2021 08:57:22
Agree Redman. Plus not wanting a long emotional goodbye shows the class of the guy.
6.) 03 Dec 2021 09:33:13
Class act in every respect and very underrated as a player by many. How we could do with him in the team today. Seems he genuinely just wanted a break and after 15 years service nobody can begrudge him.
7.) 03 Dec 2021 09:39:30
The guy deserves a flag or maybe even a statute ?
On a serious note I think it just makes sense that he walks away while his stock is at it's highest. As a caretaker he won in Spain against Villarreal, drew at Stamford bridge against top to the table Chelsea, and beat Arsenal at home.
I mean 10 days ago we'd have snatched their hand off if we were offered those results given how we had played so far this season.
Results wise I don't think he could have done any better.
Maybe a few other sides might look at that and think he's worth a gamble.
Whereas if he stayed until the end of the season and then Rangnick and the club decided he wasn't good enough and he was sacked, it'd make getting his next job much harder.
Or maybe he feels his friend and former boss was unfairly sacked and is simply walking away on principal.
Who knows, but he was a fantastic player for us, and he has no doubt tried his best as a coach. It's hard to tell how good he is as the whole set up just wasn't working. Maybe he's a better coach than many give him credit for, or maybe he isn't good enough for the highest level.
I do wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours and he will always be welcomed back at Old Trafford.
8.) 03 Dec 2021 10:13:27
How embarrassing it was to read so many continually slagging him off as a player. You know who you are. Good luck Michael. Thank you.
9.) 03 Dec 2021 10:48:42
i doubt he's got any jobs in line.
dont forget him and the others that were with ole are just as to blame for the poor season so far. why mkenna is still there and phelan i do not know.
10.) 03 Dec 2021 11:02:42
Bolger,
We literally have no idea what jobs the staff were doing or whether Ole was listening to them or delegating or just making all the big decisions himself. McKenna is highly rated and working with the right manager will hopefully so well at the club. I’m not sure phelan will last too much longer.
Carrick has done a good job in the last couple of weeks, it can’t have been easy and he’s managed to steady what was very much a sinking ship at Watford, so fair play. It gives Ralf something to work with straight away and a bit of confidence going into Sunday. He will then have a week on the training ground with the players, hopefully he plays kids against Young Boys and sees if any of them are ready, Fernandez, Amad, Hannibal, Mengi, Elanga perhaps, just to take a look at them and give the first team a week of coaching in his new system before the mad Christmas run.
11.) 03 Dec 2021 12:11:08
i have respect for Carrick for his handling of the last couple of weeks and his playing career especially.
Am just a little disappointed he didn't decide to learn from Rangnick for 6 months and then take his break.
It would have been completely different philosophy and training ideas compared to Jose and Ole and he could have benefited from that immensely.
On the other hand I can understand why he feels it is the right time to leave.
Probably a huge learning curve involved and thus even less time for his family and probably would still have had to endure the stick from the fans.
All the best, let's hope he does evolve into a more expansive style of play before he comes back to the club as manager.
12.) 03 Dec 2021 13:12:01
Jonny, I think that's a really great point. Many of the world's top managers have learned a lot from Rangnick. Carrick may have just passed up the learning opportunity of a life time.
13.) 03 Dec 2021 19:13:19
Classy player and even more of a classy man. He leaves with his held high to spend some quality time with his family. i wish him the best in whatever the future holds for him.
14.) 04 Dec 2021 09:32:18
Ralf wanted to keep him but sometimes you just need a break from the intensity of it all I guess. Who knows after a 6 month sabbatical the new manager may want to bring him back on board.
Personally I think if he does want to pursue a career in coaching it would do him no harm to search for a role abroad in Spain, Germany or Italy and learn away from the spotlight.
15.) 07 Dec 2021 05:36:51
Every post about MC is spot on but to be honest I think he also feels responsible for the slump and decided a clean break and fresh start for everyone was best.
Salford7's banter posts with other poster's replies to Salford7's banter posts
30 Apr 2026 21:49:03
I know there is talk that Anderson is City bound, but watching him tonight do you not think he is reminiscent of a young Roy Keane? I would pay whatever it took to land him and Gibbs White. Would sort out our midfield for years.
1.) 01 May 2026 06:51:48
Salford
100%, but the people in charge have traditionally bought 4th choice before.
2.) 01 May 2026 09:17:06
Mbuemo, Cunha, Lammens and Sesko were 4th choice?
3.) 01 May 2026 09:56:12
So, who were the 1st choices?
4.) 01 May 2026 10:06:19
Ports, Red Man did say traditionally. Last summer wasn't typical of the last decade. If it were, we'd be in a great position.
5.) 01 May 2026 11:01:31
DonRed, because the people in charge now are different, so it's not fair to put them in the same bracket as previous leadership. Yes, they have made a couple mistakes, but overall, in the transfers they have been a lot better.
6.) 01 May 2026 11:01:38
Last summer was a welcome change; however, where was the central midfield player we had been desperate for? I take a view, over a long history of poor transfers; a lot stems back to when the Glazers arrived.
Even under SAF, there was "no value in the market." Many disappointing transfer windows followed, less so last summer, but, as I say above, it still missed that key buy.
26 Apr 2026 17:05:35
So Chelsea with a caretaker coach suddenly remember how to fight and win a match. Remind you of another team?
Just confirms how much responsibility should be on the players, not managers.
1.) 26 Apr 2026 18:58:59
If that is referring to us, that is just utter nonsense.
2.) 26 Apr 2026 22:38:42
Why is it nonsense? Even if you don't like a coach's tactics, the effort you put in every single match should be palpable.
More importantly, if you are a really good professional, you should want to and be able to learn new things and adapt. At least give your best efforts to do what a new manager asks of you.
Pep educates his players. He makes them see football through a different lens. City's team, man for man, is far better than Utds. (That hurts), but they aren't arrogant, and they listen, and do what he asks.
Most of their players are flexible enough, mentality-wise as well as technically, to play two or three different positions as required during a season. No throwing toys out of the pram.
Perhaps if Utds players had really listened to Amorim and put their whole efforts in, he might still be in charge. Yes, he made mistakes (Mainoo), but maybe if he had been given a longer time and better players to implement his style, he would have been vindicated.
Utd doing well against City, Arsenal and Liverpool suggests the players raised their level when it mattered to them, yet failed against so-called smaller teams.
Lastly, as others have pointed out, we were climbing the table under RA. He did bring in good signings and got rid of those not good enough or who didn't want to be here.
Utd are in a false position now because Liverpool, Chelsea, Villa, Spurs and Newcastle all have had poor seasons. When was the last time we put four or five goals past a side? I like Carrick because he is calm, cares about the club and has done a steady job so far. I really hope he does succeed, but I am absolutely convinced that until player power is not the dominant factor, we won't get back to the top of the tree.
3.) 27 Apr 2026 00:09:46
Your posts are so contradictory, I don't know where to start. The nonsense part is the suggestion that our players didn't try under either coach this year. I would say it's a palpable change in us. The toxic players were removed.
But, you are clearly suggesting the players are putting in an effort now that they didn't before. And I think it's clear that is nonsense. There is absolutely no sign of that at all imo.
4.) 27 Apr 2026 06:59:52
I don't know what you've been watching, DonRed, but it was obvious to me that they put more fight the moment Carrick came in.
5.) 27 Apr 2026 07:40:03
I think there was also an element of the 3 coming back from the African Cup of Nations for Carrick's first game. That was a big boost for the squad, and probably had an impact.
I do completely agree with Salford, though. You don't go through as many managers as we have - of all different experiences, success and style - and still see the same outcome without the players being the ones who the finger needs to be pointed at.
That's why we are on the eternal merry-go-round.
6.) 27 Apr 2026 09:15:45
So, what is the manager responsible for if it's all on the players and they supposedly pick and choose when to play well?
19 Apr 2026 23:59:15
Ollie Watkins would be a good striker for us. Always puts a shift in. Usually scores a decent amount of goals each season and would not cost a fortune.
1.) 20 Apr 2026 07:31:04
Amorim wanted him.....
2.) 20 Apr 2026 11:15:29
It's an interesting conundrum. I think Watkins would have scored more goals than Sesko this year, but he would only have been a short-term solution. Sesko has been an impact sub who hasn't found his groove yet, but he clearly has huge potential.
3.) 20 Apr 2026 14:25:51
Before Villa's game yesterday, Watkins had a season total of 8 league goals. Sesko has 9 league goals. On the basis of him having one good game and scoring a hat trick, should we go and spend many millions on him? Villa would ask for a fortune. They did last summer.
This would seem to scream Match of the Day fever. He would be far too expensive, and is he really the right age profile for the club? Also, some think his performance levels have started to decline.
Should we buy him? Just my view, but no, no, indeed thrice no.
4.) 20 Apr 2026 16:18:18
I agree with IWOTB.
5.) 20 Apr 2026 16:33:45
Lol, now I just feel silly.
6.) 20 Apr 2026 17:24:16
It's only when you look at the details you see that perception is often miles off reality.
People are entitled to their perception, thoughts and ideas, but lots of the time the detail and facts show that the perception some have flies in the face of reality.
If you have any opinion the earth is flat, then that's your opinion, but the facts show something very different.
Who knows, AJH, Watkins might have scored more playing for United than he did for Villa this season, but we simply don't know that.
One thing is for sure, he is a better cf than Mbeumo is and he has been playing there recently out of position.
I think there are very few sure things when you sign anybody. Even if we sign Haaland, for example, there is no guarantee he would do as well for United as he has for City.
Picking someone like Watkins up on a free would be good business imo, but I don't think they will pay a significant fee for him nor do I think they should.
7.) 20 Apr 2026 18:58:53
If he was available for say £20m, it's a no brainer for me. This is not MOTD fever. He has been a consistent scorer of goals, and in a Villa team which, until the present manager came, was not a very good team. He works hard. Stretches defences and would be a good figure for Sesko and other younger strikers to learn from.
8.) 20 Apr 2026 22:11:06
Ken, clearly there are no guarantees that any player will perform at a predetermined level when they move clubs. There will always be an element of lottery about it.
Decisions about buying or selling a player are made by people based upon what the player is actually doing. You cannot second guess what may or may not happen, so you cannot base decisions on imponderables.
Watkins has previously performed at a high level, but this season not quite so. Indeed, seemingly Villa are looking to sell him this summer and are looking for between £30-£40m. I would certainly prefer this amount of money to be invested elsewhere.
To support the assertion his performances have not been quite as good, his 11 goals this season have taken 2472 minutes playing time.
Take away yesterday, and his stats would be 8 goals, each taking 297 minutes to score. Even with yesterday, it is a goal every 224 minutes.
If you look at Sesko, in his first season in a new league he has by no means been playing regularly; in fact, he has played 1502 minutes, but he has scored 9 goals, thus one every 166 minutes. Clearly superior to Watkins, I fully expect these figures to improve next season with improved playing time.
I still think I would prefer other options to Watkins, although if it had been a few years ago it may well have been different, and the hope of getting him on a free transfer will not happen.
9.) 21 Apr 2026 00:57:53
So you and I agree on Watkins iwotb. Please read my post. He would be a good free, but I would not like us to invest in any significant fee. i'm not hoping to sign him on a free but it would be a nice bit of experience to add to support sesko if it were the case. He has a good contract so if he moves they will get decent money probably more than we will get for rashford.
Where i disagree is that players are bought solely on what they are doing.
If that was the case clubs wouldn't be buying young players like yoro or heaven. They are bought for their potential not on what they are doing more a case of what they might be able to do.
Players doing poorly at a club will find a move and the buying clubs are hopeful that they will play better and return to form at their club.
So when someone buys garnacho and they will at some point. They will not be buying him for what he is doing at Chelsea.
Its not as black and white as you make out.
Ill bet sanco finds a club even weggy found one.
I agree there is research and a lot of homework done like i'm sure there was before we signed sancho di Maria sanchez but sometimes it just doesn't work for any amount of reasons.
By your reckoning nobody would try to sign a player that's flopped elsewhere.
Coaches believe they can be the manager to rekindle players, and they often do despite their manky previous stats.
So many reasons why some signings work and why ones that look nailed on don't work and fail. Miki or pogba for example.
Humans by our very nature are not robotic so often one man's rubbish is another man's gold.
Twist seskos stats a different way and they will look worse than Watkins. Read them another way and they look better.
In many ways the stats of goals per min are totally irrelevant with both players playing in different teams so they are not comparable in any way. All they tell you is how they are both doing in their respective teams it tells you very little of how they would do in the other team playing with different players doing different roles etc.
I would imagine that their would be dozens of other and much more indepth and comparable statistics and data they would be referencing in their analysis to determine any players suitability.
Even then if they get all that right, if a player doesn't settle, doesn't bond in the dressing room, if his wife doesn't settle, if his kids don't like school, and the list goes on, all the above and dozens more reasons why signings often don't replicate what they were doing elsewhere.
So imo they are very few sure things.
Ive done zero analysis on this @shappy for next school holiday. But it would be very interesting to see a list of all 50m plus signings in the epl and see them rated hit or miss. But I bet my bottom dollar there is more flops and i'd also bet every chairman and every coach and lots of stats said they would all be hits. These days there seems to be many more misses than hits despite all the analysis in the world never mind incomparable ones.
Personally I think 95%of signings are 100% gamble. I sort of consider any guess as a gamble even educated guesses. Facts and figures are used to mitigate risk but when it comes to humans then most of it goes out the window.
Would di Maria have been a success at city? Would sancez? Would gazza have a better life now if he signed for fergie. All maybe cases of wrong place at the right time. All down to how they felt.
But we do agree on not investing in a significant fee for Watkins despite him being a very good player. His goals per min don't tell how many games he has played in front of a villa midfield without their 2 1st choices its no coincidence his stats dropped without them. You gave context of sesko being young and in a new league but offered no reasoning or context as to why Watkins has had a dip in productivity. Its not the most objective insight ?? I think both midfielders played yesterday and he got a couple.
Its not black and white and all about what they are doing this season a lot more is tremendous into consideration.
10.) 21 Apr 2026 07:39:28
Holy cr@p, Ken! Have you borrowed Shappy's keyboard?
{Ed025's Note - love it Keefy..
11.) 21 Apr 2026 07:55:00
Beat me to it, Keefy. ??
12.) 21 Apr 2026 08:43:55
Good post, Ken. Glad that it was the abridged version. ? I can see Watkins being like Dwight Yorke in that he was undervalued by some Utd fans until he moved to Utd.
13.) 21 Apr 2026 10:55:14
If you watched Watkins keenly, you'd notice he misses quite a number of very good chances, last season, especially. Very decent CF though.
14.) 21 Apr 2026 12:40:34
Personally, taking into account our priorities elsewhere in the team, I would love to see us sign Lewandowski. Could work for both parties. Barca have him on massive wages and he's out of contract in the summer. He's world class, and could be fantastic to show Sesko the ropes for a year, maybe even 2.
A real Zlatan-type signing. Alternatively, I would also love Ivan Toney for the same reason. Very capable and Premiership-proven. A transition striker, whilst we sort out the left and right FBs and our midfield, would be a great move either way.
15.) 21 Apr 2026 17:50:51
I agree, CO.
19 Apr 2026 16:57:18.
Gibbs White puts in another good performance today. I have mentioned him before as a good prospective signing.
Despite a late failed move to Spurs in the summer, he has not downed tools but instead driven his team forward.
1.) 19 Apr 2026 17:48:08
I like him. I think he is a good player. Comes across as a good pro, as you said. If Bruno stays, there is no room for him, really.
2.) 19 Apr 2026 18:59:47
I think you can use Gibbs White alongside Bruno.
Speaking of Bruno, so many pundits talking him up. Cherki as player of the season.
He is an excellent player, but he has been playing well only these past two or three months. Bruno has been consistently good for nearly a whole season.
Cherki is playing under one of the greatest ever managers. Bruno has been under two, learning their trade.
Cherki has top top class players around him, and Bruno is not the same quality.
Bruno has therefore been by far the most important and best player.
17 Apr 2026 01:12:57
A top team needs an elite level centre back and preferably a pair of them. None of those mentioned are that level. Look at the difference Van Djick made to Liverpool when he signed.
1.) 17 Apr 2026 11:53:52
Good thing Harry Maguire signed that one-year extension!
2.) 17 Apr 2026 13:29:25
Agreed, but we have three problems, which prevent us levelling up in this position:
1.) Two of our three experienced centre backs have availability issues, so we would struggle to shift them for a reasonable fee and bring in the elite centre-backs that you mention.
2.) The club invested a lot of money in Yoro, who is never going to be the finished article, but I think the club thought he would have developed quickly in a similar vein to Saliba at Arsenal.
At the moment he looks way off it, and it's only really his price tag and the sunk cost fallacy which is keeping him in the team over Ayden Heaven, who has performed admirably this season.
3.) We potentially need 3 first-team midfielders, which will probably take up 70/80% of our budget this summer. I don't think we have the resources to also strengthen centre-back, left-back and left wing.
3.) 17 Apr 2026 14:02:10
Yoro is an interesting one. If we were offered a decent fee, should we accept it?
4.) 17 Apr 2026 17:34:48
He's young and clearly talented, he needs coaching and development, there's a very good player in there.
5.) 17 Apr 2026 18:05:10
Saliba spent 2 1/2 seasons on loan in France after joining Arsenal, and at one point they were willing to sell him. That's not exactly a rapid progression; he's been at Arsenal since 2019, with a steady manager.
So let's not totally write off Yoro just yet; he's already had multiple managers and several different defensive formations and partners.
I think there may well be a good player there.
6.) 17 Apr 2026 18:33:35
How many 20yo cb's excel in the epl? Not too many. Imo a crazy fee was paid for sick a young player in that position. Most don't really mature there till mid 20s. So his initial contract was due to expire before he reached his prime years as a cb.
It didn't make sense to me at the time and still doesn't.
I do think he has good attributes and i'm sure he will have a really good career at the highest level.
Unless we can sell him for what we paid which is unlikely then I think he should be kept to see if he continues to improve amd show that he is capable of maturing into the player we hoped.
Cb imo maybe the most difficult position to play until you have physically matured and gained plenty of match experience.
7.) 18 Apr 2026 09:20:07
We invested in Yoro's potential, we should at least see it develop. Ken is correct, maturity and experience, CB is a lot about reading what is in front of you. Steve Bruce wasn't quick but read the game and made good decisions. If you have ever played CB, it is different to what is needed as a FB for example. There is talent in Yoro, so prepared to give him time in years to develop, I don't think we should sell him.
Heaven looked class to me whenever I saw him. Amorim trusted and gave him chances, Carrick, to my surprise and disappointment hasn't. The fact he impressed Tuchel didn't surprise me either. It also wouldn't surprise me if the useless Carrick doesn't start him on the bench tonight, trusting instead Cas and Shaw as CB's.
8.) 18 Apr 2026 15:34:45
The useless Carrick. ? Come on, Red Man.
9.) 18 Apr 2026 15:39:10
Here we are saying Yoro needs time and needs more maturity to be a CB (Agreed by the way), but the same lads will write off Mainoo already, even though I believe you need more experience and maturity to play CM than at CB. It's a much more difficult position.
10.) 19 Apr 2026 15:10:06
You might believe that, Angel, and you're entitled to your opinion, but all the stats say different.
U23 midfielders have played nearly 25 times as many minutes as U23 CBs in the EPL since its conception. It's much more difficult to get time as a young CB.
04 May 2026 12:16:59
Think it would be foolish to let him go unless we had a really competent keeper to back up Lammens. Who is so available that would do this? Prob will cost £10-20m, which money is better spent on other positions.
Bring back Vitek. Give him games in the Carabao and FA Cups, plus a few league matches. Let him adjust to the pressure and intensity of the Premier League and develop by training with the first team.
02 May 2026 23:33:46
Maybe alternate Vitek and Lammens in league and cup competitions.
30 Apr 2026 21:55:29
A lot would depend on how much authority he could impose on the dressing room, and could he do what Amorim could not... get the players to buy into his way of playing.
23 Apr 2026 22:44:47
Sesko is a young striker, and if he gets better service, he will score more goals. He doesn't hide, always tries hard, and I definitely see that he has improved over the season. He would benefit from having an experienced striker to play and train with.
19 Apr 2026 16:39:52
Van Hecke is not elite level. All top teams that win things need a top, top centre back, and preferably two of them. Look at the difference Van Dijk made to Liverpool when he signed for them; he is still having an impact today.
Senesi would be a good squad player, but we still need better. The two questions are: who is out there that much better, and willing to come to us?
05 May 2026 22:13:23
Jimenez not good enough. Watkins wld be a gd signing. Mateta is a possible option, but am not sure he is clinical enough. Still think Vlahovic, if available, shld be signed.
04 May 2026 22:22:19
We have difficult games ahead. Forest are playing well, and Anderson will be looking to make a statement, as I suspect he is City-bound. Brighton will be fighting for a European place, and are always a thorn in our side.
We owe Brazil nothing, but at the same time I would hate Cunha to not be able to play in the World Cup, so maybe it's best not to play him for 90 mins every game.
I would keep the centre-back pairing as it is now, and if we go two goals up in a game, then perhaps play Yoro and Heaven together.
Would def like to see some of the youngsters getting game time, espec Lacey, but also Obi.
02 May 2026 22:24:23
We have been lucky this year, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Spurs all hugely under performing.
Looking back at the moment, whole season, or even the time Carrick has been in charge, I can't recall one game where we really thrashed a team and scored a hatful of goals.
Who we sign now, more than who is theamaget, will determine how we do next year.
01 May 2026 17:22:54
Absolute folly to suggest a coach doesn't make much difference.
26 Apr 2026 22:38:42
Why is it nonsense? Even if you don't like a coach's tactics, the effort you put in every single match should be palpable.
More importantly, if you are a really good professional, you should want to and be able to learn new things and adapt. At least give your best efforts to do what a new manager asks of you.
Pep educates his players. He makes them see football through a different lens. City's team, man for man, is far better than Utds. (That hurts), but they aren't arrogant, and they listen, and do what he asks.
Most of their players are flexible enough, mentality-wise as well as technically, to play two or three different positions as required during a season. No throwing toys out of the pram.
Perhaps if Utds players had really listened to Amorim and put their whole efforts in, he might still be in charge. Yes, he made mistakes (Mainoo), but maybe if he had been given a longer time and better players to implement his style, he would have been vindicated.
Utd doing well against City, Arsenal and Liverpool suggests the players raised their level when it mattered to them, yet failed against so-called smaller teams.
Lastly, as others have pointed out, we were climbing the table under RA. He did bring in good signings and got rid of those not good enough or who didn't want to be here.
Utd are in a false position now because Liverpool, Chelsea, Villa, Spurs and Newcastle all have had poor seasons. When was the last time we put four or five goals past a side? I like Carrick because he is calm, cares about the club and has done a steady job so far. I really hope he does succeed, but I am absolutely convinced that until player power is not the dominant factor, we won't get back to the top of the tree.