Current squad members you can imagine being top class in the future...

Pogue Mahone

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Was going to say "world class" but that's always a tiresome debate. By top class I mean regular starters in a team that will consistently be in and around the top of the Premier League. It's ok to be optimistic. We're obviously hoping that a top manager can turn water into wine.

Bear in mind, we need at least 15 of these players to allow for the rigours of a long season.

I'll kick things off:

Rashford
Sancho
Shaw
Fred
Martial
Varane
Bruno
Eriksen

I haven't seen enough of Martinez/Malacia to have an informed opinion.

So there you go. I think I'm being very optimistic with my list but we still need at least 5 more new signings - and every one of them needs to be a success - before we can compete at the top again.
 
Generous but a fair list. I do think we tend to be a bit unfair on Lindelof and Maguire at times.

I think at the right place at the right time, they should be able to hold their own in a good team. Kinda like Gary Cahill at Chelsea
 
Important players:

Sancho
Malacia
Garnacho
Varane
Bruno

Good squad options:

Eriksen
Martial

Not sure on Martinez, could go either way.
 
Shaw, Rashford and Martial just don't have the hunger to succeed.

Fred is a bit of a myth. If he hasn't been top class yet, when is that even supposed to happen? He turns 30 this season.
 
I think the majority of our squad will struggle to ever rediscover high levels of form, a number of them seem to have the footballing equivalent to the yips. I don't even think they'd rediscover it at another club.

Maybe Sancho* and Eriksen could, and maybe the other new signings if they have the potential to reach 'top class' level. Possibly Bruno, but Varane can't stay injury free it seems so fully expecting that he's hit his career heights and is heading down the slope on the other side. Fred could be a decent player, maybe short of top class, but you never know what he could be like in a stronger midfield with a stronger defence (I know, I'm in a dream world thinking that'll happen at United!)

* Noting the obvious and fair concerns that a number of players have looked top class in the bundesliga and then totally failed in the premier league.
 
No one. World class is not just delivering high quality stats and performances across multiple seasons ex: KDB, Salah. None of our lot seem capable of it. In theory, Sancho may do it but nothing he has done on the pitch makes it evident.
 
Skills said:
Generous but a fair list. I do think we tend to be a bit unfair on Lindelof and Maguire at times.

I think at the right place at the right time, they should be able to hold their own in a good team. Kinda like Gary Cahill at Chelsea
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Lindelof I would agree with, he has a great pass and in a less physical league could do really well. Maguire possible the worst defender at the club. Only can play well of theres 4/5 players around him that are defensively capable like the England NT.
 
Ronaldo and Bruno in a counterattacking system.
End of list.

I'd have included Varane, but players like him who have won it all usually don't have it in them to raise their performances to lift the team when the chips are down (Ronaldo is an exception)

The rest of them either don't have enough quality or enough desire to be part of a top 2/3 team in the PL as first choice players.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Was going to say "world class" but that's always a tiresome debate. By top class I mean regular starters in a team that will consistently be in and around the top of the Premier League. It's ok to be optimistic. We're obviously hoping that a top manager can turn water into wine.

Bear in mind, we need at least 15 of these players to allow for the rigours of a long season.

I'll kick things off:

Rashford
Sancho
Shaw
Fred
Martial
Varane
Bruno
Eriksen

I haven't seen enough of Martinez/Malacia to have an informed opinion.

So there you go. I think I'm being very optimistic with my list but we still need at least 5 more new signings - and every one of them needs to be a success - before we can compete at the top again.
Click to expand...

8 years ago Shaw joined.

I don't see how he is in any top team.
 
Sancho. That's it. He has time on his side. The others haven't ever been good enough, have shown quality at points, but don't seem to have the mentality to do it consistently, or they're at an age where I expect them to start to decline within the next 2/3 years. I guess Bruno doesn't really fit in that criteria. He has shown quality and he's still at a good age. Maybe him, too, I guess.

Not counting the youth players that have joined the first team this season or our new signings. Haven't seen them play enough.
 
McGrathsipan said:
8 years ago Shaw joined.

I don't see how he is in any top team.
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Because, depressing as this sounds, he is one of maybe two or three players in the whole squad who have a track record of being “good enough” for a whole season already. I’d have more faith in someone who’s hit the required standard previously than anyone who’s not yet managed it.
 
I can *imagine* myself having a lay with Kate Upton in the future. Means nothing though.

At some point potential just turns to lost potential - Shaw and Martial are in that category. Rashford is flirting dangerously close to it, but he's only had one bad season so still TBD.
Fred? Come on.

I'd rather put my money on Dialo and the kids.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Because, depressing as this sounds, he is one of maybe two or three players in the whole squad who have a track record of being “good enough” for a whole season already. I’d have more faith in someone who’s hit the required standard previously than anyone who’s not yet managed it.
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For me he'd be what I describe as the best option of a bad bad bunch of choices.
I die a little inside when I see his name on the sheet at the start of every season. He is a middle of the road leftback, nowhere near what a team planning a title challenge needs, and should have been replaced 3 years ago.

Not the most pressing problem at the minute but the team needs better nonetheless
 
I think that's certainly a generous list.

Quite a few of them need to either reach potential, or have a massive reversal in their current direction of travel.

For example, Sancho is all potential. Great potential on his Bundesliga form, but wholly unproven at this level. So I couldn't say with any degree of confidence he's a top class footballer. I hope he is.

Then you have the ones with bursts of form. Rashford, has been a very good player for periods, maybe even for a season at times so I can see the logic, but needs a huge change. Martial and Shaw have had the odd season over an extended period of the club, so that's an unappealing success rate. Are they more likely to become top class or revert to type?

Quite a few of these will fall by the wayside and some will succeed. Which probably suggests a complete rebuild of the squad to be regularly competing at the top end is even bigger than the OP would suggest. However there are a few high potential youngsters that might make up for some drop outs.
 
Sancho, Garnacho and I do agree with you on Shaw. I'm sitting on the fence with Bruno. He plays at his best when he's given all the freedom he wants but is ETH (or any other manager) prepared to give him that freedom? I'd like to see more of Malacia but as for the rest no chance.
 
@Pogue Mahone Varane has been atrocious since he signed for us. Fred, Rashford and Martial have been extremely disappointing. Rashford looks finished already, there's no joy left in his football. That said - he's still capable of being top class. Maybe. With a mentality shift.

So that makes my list of players CAPABLE of being top class at Manchester United as:

Bruno
Rashford
Shaw
Sancho
Ronaldo (can't write him off he's still dangerous)
And Maguire.

People forget Maguire had a phenomenal season for us during covid, he's had a crisis of confidence ever since the European championship final + what happened in Greece, but it's there still.

The rest are basically finished as far as I'm concerned and if they were top class I think it's obvious now that they won't be ever again. It's unbelievable to me that we've not signed cover in midfield or a promising striker to take the pressure off the guys we have already.
 
Bruno

In a system that suits them (that's a "maybe"):
Ronaldo
Sancho

A somewhat small chance(If he can rediscover his hunger for the game):
Rashford

The rest i think are more of a Europa League and CL hopefuls (if lucky) options right now.
 
Opening post nails it.

Obviously, guys like Rashford, Shaw and Martial (who are now in their mid-20s and at least 18-24 months removed from their "best") are running out of time to still be considered in that bucket - they all get about 3 months before we can safely conclude they're past their peak. Eriksen is in the same category for me - great half-season for Brentford, but his career had been stagnating for a couple of years before the Euros.

Varane, Sancho and Fernandes could pop into any of the top teams in the league right now and immediately look 10X better than they do here. Fully backing this manager to get a tune out of them.

Ronaldo, Fred and Maguire would all be useful for the top teams even if they're not nailed-on starters.

McTominay, Dalot, Wan-Bissaka and De Gea are the ones that just aren't good enough for a CL or Europa League team.
 
Starters:
  • Varane
  • Martinez
  • Malacia
  • Bruno/Eriksen
  • Sancho
Squad players:
  • Dalot
  • Shaw
  • Maguire
  • Lindelof
  • Fred
  • Bruno/Eriksen
  • Rashford
  • Martial
Basically any player or position not listed means I don't think they have any use in a hypothetical team next season if we could spend massive sums and get a squad that could compete. So that leaves these gaps for a finished squad that can compete for everything on paper:

Starters:
  • GK
  • RB
  • DM
  • CM
  • RW
  • CF
Squad players:
  • GK
  • DM
  • RW
DM will be sorted by Casemiro, but still no backup for him. Rashford has the potential where he could form part of the starting 3 with Sancho, but been a while since he's been good so I'll leave him as a squad player/the first winger sub. Martial can't be relied upon to be main striker. 6th attacker can be someone like Garnacho/Amad. The partner for Casemiro will probably end up being a purchase long term, short term this season probably Eriksen/Fred/Bruno will rotate the role. RB will likely need to be purchased. Our whole group of goalkeepers are shite and need changing.
 
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