Are we in better shape for this season?

Not sure how you could deny that we're stronger this season. Better team, more time for the players to adapt to LVG, more time for LVG to figure out what he wants.

Still likely to strengthen further too, so not too shabby.

Obviously De Gea getting sold would be a big blow for us, much more so than losing Di Maria.

My main worry this season is less our actual level of quality and more the amount of new players who will have to bed in.
 
I don't think we've come far enough for the money we've spent but we do seem to be moving forward and setting a solid base to progress on.

If we're not somewhere close to a title challenge I'll be very frustrated
 
certainly in better shape than the first day last season.

that was a horrible lineup, defensive injuries, players who'd soon be on their way, Di Maria on his 6week hotstreak hadn't arrived yet, blooding untried youngsters, trying to merge new players.
and all after we'd ridiculously had a friendly in the midweek before!
 
Name Changed said:
There is a lack of goals. There is a lack of pace. And I don't see who we are going to buy to change either. This season to me looks to be more about consolidation that challenging at this juncture.
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when people say lack of pace, Young and Memphis are pretty quick aren't they? And Shaw and Smalling too? Schneiderlin's probably fairly quick for a centre mid too.
Januzaj has a turn of pace too, Hernandez etc.
 
Better shape than last season barring any departures of course. I still believe we'll have problems creating goal-scoring opportunities and finishing teams off unless we get someone fast with a comparable creative output to Di Maria on the right flank. Mata strikes me as a second striker, a similar player in natural tendencies to Rooney, who plays in a different way due to his skill-set. Though he is a great passer, he isn't actively searching for passes nor agile enough to become a creative force from the flank. Januzaj can definitely grow into that sort of role in future but we need proven quality there, especially if our only creative midfielder is going to be Herrera.
 
Not sure many said we didn't do better because of the midfield last season. With Carrick was fit, midfielder was functioning fine. Yes it's more competitive but wasn't the biggest issue. The defence is the high profile challange but the lack of goals is a bigger problem. We've not resolved the problem and should Rooney get injured the first game of the season, and we haven't signed someone, then what? I'm not sure we are gonna sign anyone up front or at CB. It will only now be Pedro for ADM I recon.
 
The only worry is our lack of significant goal threat, I'm not worried about losing DDG mainly because I don't think we are stupid enough to sell our GK just a fortnight before the season starts. The CBs, Smalling, Jones and Rojo have had a year to learn LVG's ways and hopefully don't have to contend with that 3-5-2 nonsense - that's a major improvement in itself.

From a players pov we need to replace the output we expected from ADM and if we do that then we'd be in a better position than last year imo. Hopefully Pedro will sign and actually produce the goods.
 
We'll know after the Spurs game

During the 2013 pre season, I was giving it the whole, "See, ya see!!! I told you Moyes was shite" craic. Turned out to be true.

During the 2014 pre season, I was giving it the whole, "See, ya see!!! We're going to win everything" craic. Turned out to be false.

So we'll know when Spurs dick us :D
 
Nothing I've seen tonight has changed my view. Same old issues, CB's and up front. I'm really concerned about us doing the two most fundamental parts of football, defending and scoring goals....
 
- Defense is even worse then last season (Jones&Blind ffs :lol:)
- Great options in midfield, but we're using them terribly
- Lack anything upfront.

4th is the best we'll do. No chance we're finishing ahead of City/Chelsea/Arsenal.
 
Sam said:
- Defense is even worse then last season (Jones&Blind ffs :lol:)
- Great options in midfield, but we're using them terribly
- Lack anything upfront.

4th is the best we'll do. No chance we're finishing ahead of City/Chelsea/Arsenal.
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this.....
 
We're Chelsea two years ago. We're struggling with what our best CB pairing is, we have (hopefully) just signed our Matic and we are waiting to find our Costa.

Ridiculous to suggest we're not in a better position than we were 12 months ago.
 
I dont think our CBs are good enough to play and do well if we are playing in both Europe and league. With many matches and also increased competition, our CB quality is at best average and will struggle.
Add to it an unsettled GK.

I am hoping that we will be seeing progress in bringing new players in these positions before the window shuts.

An to answer the actual question, we are better than last year but not good enough to say we will definitely challenge the title.
 
We're in much better shape I think.

We would've pushed Chelsea and finished 2nd last season if Carrick hadn't got injured just before Stanford Bridge. I'm sure of that.

We've addressed that glaring weakness with two top class Carrick type midfielders.

We're replacing a disinterested Di Maria with Depay, though he'll still need to have a decent season to match Di Maria's tallies. Pedro will help a lot.

Full-back positions looking very very promising.

Centre-back is biggest concern for me. If they could stay fit I'd be happy but I have visions of Blind/Carrick constantly needing to drop back there to cover holes. This is an area where Chelsea are blessed with players (Terry especially) who don't get injured.

Rooney is also a concern but then if we're comparing to last season he's pretty much the same player. Just hope consistently playing up front can help him hit a decent 20 goal tally.
 
So based on the assumption AdM is on his way out:

GK: Strange Situation. As Long as DdG is still here we might have the world`s best GK. As soon as he joins Real we are left with a big gap.
CB: Smalling and Jones can both be decent defenders. Rojo has some potential and even Blind showed that he can be a starter in some games. We do not have real worldclass Quality but I do not see any realstic Targets which would be an upgrade on what we have.
RB/LB: Darmian and Shaw are both top class. I hope they stay injury-free and will start most of the games. These 2 have the potential to be up there with the very best like e.g. Lahm/Alaba etc.
CM/DM: Schneiderlin should turn out as a very important signing. One of the best DM with good work rate and also good Vision and passing game. Schweini is nice-to-have but I do not expect him to set the league on fire. Him and Carrick should provide us with some experience. I expect one of those 2 to be injured most of the time. Herrera should be one of the first names on the teamsheet as our 8.
Attacking Players: Rooney can still be one of the best strikers. I hope he stays fit and proves this Statement. Memphis is a great Talent to have as is Pereira. I hope we Switch Mata back to the 10 as his game lacks pace and power in 1:1 situations. In the middle he can Play his brillian through balls and link the attacking Play. I hope we do not have to rely so much on Fellaini as last season. Young proved a lot of his doubters wrong but he is not Neymar. Others like Chicha, Januzaj or Wilson might Play smaller roles.

In the end I think on paper our Team Looks slighty worse than last season. This is mainly due to AdM gone. I agree with everyone that he did not Show up but Players like him have so much latent potential which the others just lack. If DdG leaves we might run into some serious Troubles.
We have too many "very good and solid but not fantastic" Players. Some like Rooney or Mata Need to step up.
 
We could give the squad as it is a go, but I wouldn't expect to be in contention for winning anything. Then we assess and buy again next summer in the positions we've decided about on the basis of this year, is how I'm seeing it.

For now,

GK - who knows how this pans out, probably best if DDG goes and we do well getting a replacement in sooner rather than later. Unlikely DDG plays as well as last year in these circumstances even if he stays...

CB - all are unproven (still, ffs). Give it a go, don't expect to win anything with them --> Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Blind. You could make a half-reasonable case for none of them being good enough. We may be pleasantly surprised how they pair up, miraculously avoid injuries etc

Striker - what do we do if Rooney gets injured? or under-performs (loses interest)

MF looks good, plenty of options / strength there (on paper).

Some improvement on last season I reckon. But not a lot of silverware.
 
Mali_Zeus said:
We're actually in the worse position.
Cause we still have the same manager as last year.
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Surely that would mean we would be in the same position?

The "Van Gaal Out!" brigade as twisted as usual.
 
Defense is better.
Midfielder is a hell of a lot better.
Attack might be less known quantity, but RvP and Falcao were just names, they could barely be called players.
We've signed Memphis, so I'd say we're better off there as well.

Defense, including GK, will likely get worse with DDG moving on.
Attack will be very much a toss-up on how well Pereira/Januzaj does, as well as how Memphis settles in after Di Maria leaves, we might be worse off there as well.

I'd say we are in better shape, but it may fast change.
 
Blind is no defender. I know he passes better then Smalling but hopefully we have a bit of common sense once the season starts. We're maybe 3 players short but good potential in the squad. De Gea situation is messy and if De Gea cannot be professional, I wouldn't even play him in the youth team. He can clean the toilets next season if he don't man up.
 
Ødegaard said:
Defense is better.
Midfielder is a hell of a lot better.
Attack might be less known quantity, but RvP and Falcao were just names, they could barely be called players.
We've signed Memphis, so I'd say we're better off there as well.

Defense, including GK, will likely get worse with DDG moving on.
Attack will be very much a toss-up on how well Pereira/Januzaj does, as well as how Memphis settles in after Di Maria leaves, we might be worse off there as well.

I'd say we are in better shape, but it may fast change.
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Agree with all of this.

Still, I don't understand why we didn't sign a CB though. Especially, if we lose De Gea, we will be massacred next season and we'll concede 40-45 goals in EPL.
 
Revan said:
Agree with all of this.

Still, I don't understand why we didn't sign a CB though. Especially, if we lose De Gea, we will be massacred next season and we'll concede 40-45 goals in EPL.
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I agree that we should buy a top CB, but I do think the much better midfield is the reasoniong for LvG not panicking and looking at lower-quality CBs.
Not that I necesserily agree with LvG, but I do see some reasoning if that is the case.
 
Ødegaard said:
I agree that we should buy a top CB, but I do think the much better midfield is the reasoniong for LvG not panicking and looking at lower-quality CBs.
Not that I necesserily agree with LvG, but I do see some reasoning if that is the case.
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I always thought that - unless you are Sir Alex Ferguson, or have a super-team like Barca - the team is as strong as the weakest department on it. And while our team now is very strong, the weakest department on it (Central Defense) is very weak. Not signing a CB is just asking for trouble IMO.

Smalling is ok - though far from a top CB - while the others aren't near top 4 defenders. Central Defense department this year will be the midfield of some years ago. Hopefully we don't sell De Gea now at any price.
 
We still need a top quality centre back to pair with Smalling, and a top quality winger to replace Di Maria. LVG last season said that we didn't have winger of Di Maria's or Robben's ilk and he got ADM. Now he is most probably going to PSG we need someone of that calibre to replace him. Hopefully the whole Pedro saga is just a fluke to distract the media and work on a deal for another world class player a la Reus or Bale (doubt Benitez would sell to us)
 
Mali_Zeus said:
Uf where did you dig that post from, I dont even remember it.
But what's not to understand.
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I'd imagine that United would rather be a league two side than 'be like Chelsea'. You're talking about a club who spends what we spent on Alexis Sanchez on a player like Juan Cuadrado.
 
The Purist said:
I'd imagine that United would rather be a league two side than 'be like Chelsea'. You're talking about a club who spends what we spent on Alexis Sanchez on a player like Juan Cuadrado.
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Well people are creaming themselves here on the deals Chelsea has made in recent years and most things they do it's brilliant. I guess that's what I meant.
 
LVG is tinkering and playing players everywhere other than their natural positions.

Defence/GK is a total mess bad management and bad selections - Blind at CB is simply a joke.

Midfield We have better options but we play the most static 2 in a 442!

Up front - Rooney looks worse every year and we've done nothing to address it. Letting RVP and Falcao go without signing a replacement, really!?

I know people will say it's only pre-season but I can't see the LVG changing the system to a 4-3-3 and playing players in their natural positions against Spurs or for that matter for the first 10 games by which point it will be too late.
 
The Keeper situation is very worrying.

Central Defense is no better, we still need a ball playing CB addition.

Fullbacks both look sharp and should aid our somewhat pedestrian attack more this season.

Midfield is stronger than it's been in years.

Attack is slightly improved by Memphis but Mata and Young are no great shakes as the wide options in attack and Rooney is declining. certainly don't feel that even with Pedro being added we'd have enough to challenge for the title, but his extra goal threat should be able to help us maintain top 4.
 
Mali_Zeus said:
Well people are creaming themselves here on the deals Chelsea has made in recent years and most things they do it's brilliant. I guess that's what I meant.
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The only brilliant deal they've done is Fabregas.. and it was pretty much a no-brainer for a team with such a poor midfield, in terms of creativity, at the time.

I just thought it was a weird comment. No harm done. If I told my United supporting mates that you guys need to be more like Chelsea, they'd probably laugh until they died.
 
The Purist said:
The only brilliant deal they've done is Fabregas.. and it was pretty much a no-brainer for a team with such a poor midfield, in terms of creativity, at the time.

I just thought it was a weird comment. No harm done. If I told my United supporting mates that you guys need to be more like Chelsea, they'd probably laugh until they died.
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I agree, I was joking to be more in the vibe here.
I think its more the thing about them selling players even the likes of Cuardado, Salah and co who didnt have a sniff, they sell them for good profit so that's why its oh if only we were like Chelsea in transfers.
 
All 3 United said:
LVG is tinkering and playing players everywhere other than their natural positions.

Defence/GK is a total mess bad management and bad selections - Blind at CB is simply a joke.

Midfield We have better options but we play the most static 2 in a 442!

Up front - Rooney looks worse every year and we've done nothing to address it. Letting RVP and Falcao go without signing a replacement, really!?

I know people will say it's only pre-season but I can't see the LVG changing the system to a 4-3-3 and playing players in their natural positions against Spurs or for that matter for the first 10 games by which point it will be too late.
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Well said. The signings of Darmian, Schweinsteiger, and Schneiderlin glosses over the deficiencies you've pointed out. Apart from Memphis, there's not a lot of pace up front. Blind and Jones in the centre of the defence is laughable; they'll get run ragged.
 
All 3 United said:
LVG is tinkering and playing players everywhere other than their natural positions.

Defence/GK is a total mess bad management and bad selections - Blind at CB is simply a joke.

Midfield We have better options but we play the most static 2 in a 442!

Up front - Rooney looks worse every year and we've done nothing to address it. Letting RVP and Falcao go without signing a replacement, really!?

I know people will say it's only pre-season but I can't see the LVG changing the system to a 4-3-3 and playing players in their natural positions against Spurs or for that matter for the first 10 games by which point it will be too late.
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Sums up my thoughts exactly, well said. We will finish 4th again this year.

The team is a complete mess.
 
Moriarty said:
Well said. The signings of Darmian, Schweinsteiger, and Schneiderlin glosses over the deficiencies you've pointed out. Apart from Memphis, there's not a lot of pace up front. Blind and Jones in the centre of the defence is laughable; they'll get run ragged.
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I was just considering how much pace other top teams have.

Man City - Sterling
Chelsea - Hazard, maybe Willian if you count him
Arsenal - Walcott, Sanchez
Liverpool - Sturridge


We have Depay and Young, so I'm not sure if we're actually that badly off. I think it's more the pace of our play that's the problem.
 
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